Fact Check: Did Zelensky Tell World Leaders to "Spend All Your Money on Weapons"?

Currently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on a tour in the United States, seeking increased assistance in the ongoing conflict with Russia. However, there have been instances of misleading information circulating regarding his visit. Our investigation aims to shed light on one such misleading video.

Social Media Posts

Viral social media posts suggest Ukrainian President Zelensky urged the U.S. to spend all its money on weapons, drones, society, and pensions of Ukrainian people instead of building roads in an interview with Fox media.

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Users commented on it like below.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact-Check

We found the original video of the FOX interview.

In reality, President Zelensky was responding to a question about internal criticism within Ukraine and was not addressing the issue of American support for the war against Russia. His remarks were specific to the measures Ukrainian politicians should take to support their war effort, not a request for financial assistance from the U.S.

There is no evidence to support the claim that Zelensky made such a statement in an interview with Fox or on any other occasion where he was seeking financial assistance from the U.S. The viral social media posts appear to be using a cropped video without providing the necessary context.

It is crucial to be cautious about the information shared on social media and to verify claims by checking the full context of statements to avoid spreading misinformation. In this case, the statement attributed to Zelensky is inaccurate in the context presented in the viral posts.

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Conclusion:

The claim that Zelensky told world leaders to "spend all your money on weapons" is false. The viral quote is based on a misleading social media post that misrepresents Zelensky's words. The full interview clarifies that Zelensky was speaking about internal criticism within Ukraine, not about US support for the war.