The Story Behind the Claim of Zelensky's Lavish Lifestyle

In the modern era, false news is often used as a weapon to influence public opinion and harm opponents. It can be used in political campaigns and international conflicts to cause reputational harm, create controversy, and even provoke violence.

In the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, false news has been particularly destructive, with both sides using it to discredit their opponents. One recent example is the widespread social media claim that Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, traveled to Poland in a luxury private train.

Social Media Claim

The claims of Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, traveling to Poland in a luxurious private train were shared alongside a series of photos highlighting the train's ornate gold detailing on its walls and ceiling and a caption stating that the Polish media were surprised by the train's luxury. The post criticizes Zelensky's alleged lavish lifestyle, accusing him of begging for money and traveling like an Arab oil sheik. The veracity of the claim is questionable, with some speculating that it may have been fabricated for political purposes.

Source | Archive

Source | Archive

The claim was accompanied by a Fakt magazine cover featuring a picture of Zelensky with the headline "Przyjada limuzyna na szynach (A limousine on rails arrives).”

The article on Fakt's website features additional pictures of the luxurious train's interior. The article also notes that the train was renovated a few years prior to the war.

Fact-Check

After investigating, we found that the train in the picture was not President Zelensky's private train and had not been redecorated in the past few years. We used the Reverse Image Search feature to find the origin of the photo and found that the photos have been online since 2015. The train with golden decorations is the VIP type of train operated by Ukrzaliznytsia or the Ukrainian Railways. This VIP train is open for public reservations, with prices starting at UAH 13,000 per one-way trip (Source).

We also discovered a video of the golden train from 2015. We noticed that the hallway decoration style in the golden saloon was different from that shown in recent pictures of Zelensky traveling in a train.

Left: Ukrzaliznytsia Golden Train (Source) | Right: Recent picture of Zenlensky in a train’s hallway during an interview with AP

Unfortunately, we could not find any pictures of the train that the President used to travel to Poland, as there is limited information publicly available on Zelensky's travels. We also cannot confirm whether he used the golden train of Ukrzaliznytsia or not. The news source, Fakt, did not present any picture of Zelensky on the train. They only showed separate pictures of his portrait and an empty train, as seen below.

Moreover, many media outlets suspect that this claim and article may be fake and created to attack the Ukrainian president. Articles that oppose this claim can be found here, here, and here.