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| - Does a video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying "fuck him" after a reporter asked him about Donald Trump as Zelenskyy entered a meeting with U.K. Prime Minster Keir Starmer? No, that's not true: The video uses a tone to cover a supposed obscenity by Zelenskyy, and the post obscures the word with "F* him" in the caption, but the implication is clear. In reality, video from the event posted on social media with sound shows that a reporter asked Zelenskyy,"How was the trip, how do you feel?" and he replied "OK, thanks so much." He did not use an obscenity about Trump following their argument in the Oval Office.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) where it was published on TikTok on March 1, 2025. It opened with a video of Zelenskyy getting out of his car at 10 Downing Street and a voice-over saying:
Breaking News: A diplomatic firestorm has erupted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was caught on camera delivering an unfiltered response to Donald Trump. As he arrived at 10 Downing Street for high-stakes talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a reporter asked about Trump's latest remarks on Ukraine. Zelensky, smirking, muttered just loud enough to be heard (AUDIO BEEP).
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Mar 3 18:51:31 2025 UTC)
The caption on the post claims Zelenskyy says "F* him," implying the obscenity without spelling it out:
Breaking News: A diplomatic firestorm has erupted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was caught on camera delivering an unfiltered response to Donald Trump. As he arrived at 10 Downing Street for high-stakes talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a reporter asked about Trump's latest remarks on Ukraine. Zelensky, smirking, muttered just loud enough to be heard: "F him."*
The video posted does not show what Zelenskyy says as he exits a car and meets with Starmer on March 1, 2025, it is just a voice-over implying he said "fuck him."
ABC News reported (archived here) on Zelenskyy's arrival and meeting with Starmer. A video with the actual sound was posted on X (archived here) and shows that as Zelenskyy gets out of his car, a reporter asks, "Mr. President, how was the trip, how do you feel?" Zelenskyy responds, "Okay, thanks so much."
President #Zelensky arrived at Downing Street. He is meeting PM @Keir_Starmer. #Ukraine #UK pic.twitter.com/cyyvtxZtED
-- Alexander Seale (@AlexSeale) March 1, 2025
The voice in the video posted on TikTok stated Zelenskyy used an obscenity to refer to Trump after "a disastrous Washington meeting where Trump accused Ukraine of 'gambling with World War Three' and cast doubt on continued U.S. support."
This is in reference to the February 28, 2025, Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy over the war in Ukraine, as The Associated Press reported (archived here).
Had Zelenskyy actually used an obscenity about Trump while appearing in public, it would have been national and international news. A Google search of keywords "zelenskyy says fuck you trump at meeting keir starmer," returned no matching news stories.
Other Lead Stories fact checks about Donald Trump can be found here and Volodymyr Zelenskyy can be found here.
Stories concerning Russia's war on Ukraine can be found here.
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