Footage shared online shows Volodymyr Zelensky’s bodyguard

People on social media claimed a man recently shown on camera during US President Joe Biden’s trip to Kyiv was a secret body double for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In the following days, clips and screenshots of the video were shared across several social media platforms – including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – to show the “accidental” reveal of the President’s “body double“, “decoy” or “clone“.

One Twitter post by American far-right online personality Stew Peters describing the appearance as “a glitch in the Matrix” was retweeted more than 5,000 times.

Evaluation: False

Although the man was wearing similar clothing to Mr Zelensky and has a similar build, he is his bodyguard Maksym Donets, whose appointment was announced in 2019.

The facts

On February 20, Polish tabloid Fakt published a video of the man trailing Mr Zelensky inside the Mariinsky Palace, his official Kyiv residence, with the footage being used in a series of claims.

However, higher-quality images from the February 20 visit captured by press photographers and news agencies clarify the identity of the mystery flanker.

The photographs show Maksym Donets, who was appointed as head of the Ukrainian president’s personal security in May 2019.

The man who appears in the video was matched to these images using the “magnifier” function on InVid-WeVerify, a digital tool which enables users to zoom in to to more clearly see his face on screenshots of the clip.

Mr Donets has been widely photographed by the president’s side since being appointed, including during former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to the Ukrainian capital in April last year.

Links

Original video showing the bodyguard (from around 30 seconds in) (archived)

Twitter claim referring to the “accidental” reveal of a purported body double (archived)

Instagram claim referring to Mr Donets as a “decoy” (archived)

Twitter claim referring to Mr Donets as a “clone” (archived)

Tweet claiming there was a “glitch in the Matrix” (archived)

Kyiv Post article announcing Mr Donets’ appointment (archived)

Getty image of Mr Donets from the same day (archived)

Another example of a Getty image from the same day (archived)

AP image of Mr Donets with the two presidents on the same day (archived)

InVid-WeVerify tool (archived)

Ukrainian Government image of Boris Johnson’s visit to Kyiv in April 2022 (archived)

Other Ukrainian Government images of Boris Johnson’s visit to Kyiv in April 2022 (archived)

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