Propagandists used artificial intelligence tools to generate forged passports for a fabricated narrative.
Russian state-controlled broadcaster NTV and a network of Telegram channels have circulated a story claiming that President Volodymyr Zelensky secretly sent his wife and children out of Ukraine just hours before Russia’s full-scale invasion, allegedly using forged passports. The report also claims that businessman Tymur Mindich organized the supposed operation.
The story is false.
First, NTV’s report contains no verified evidence of any “secret evacuation” of the Zelensky family and exhibits characteristics commonly associated with Russian disinformation campaigns.
Second, the report features images of documents allegedly belonging to members of the President’s family. However, the published images contain numerous signs of forgery and inconsistencies with official Ukrainian documents.
