Claim that Zelenskyy Was Singing in Russian Language Based on Digitally Altered Video

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Photo: Screenshot from the video

It’s not Zelenskyy the one who sings in the video shared on Facebook. Furthermore, the singing is not in Russian. The video is digitally altered, and Zelenskyy was “inserted” in the place of the Ukrainian comedian Vasyl Baydak, who with the song is appealing for donations for the Ukrainian Army

 

We are fact-checking a post on Facebook (screenshot here) sharing a video of a singer who looks like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The post itself states the following:

The Ukrainian vocal that adored the Russian language 😏😏

The song itself is a rendition of the English song “Just the Two of Us” but in the Ukrainian language.

What is disputable about the post, however, is that the video is digitally altered. Zelenskyy is not singing in the original video. Furthermore, the singing is not in Russian. The person singing is the Ukrainian stand-up comedian Vasyl Baydak.

The original title of the song in Ukrainian is ”Prosto skin donat” (Просто скинь донат), which means “Just send a donation”.

Interestingly enough, in the video not only is Zelenskyy’s face inserted in the place of the singer, but also in the place of the female backing vocalists.

The digitally altered video with the face of Zelenskyy

The original video with the stand-up comedian Baydak

The digitally altered video with male faces in place of the female backing vocalists

The original video with the female singers
Vasyl Baydak is a renowned Ukrainian stand-up comedian who is fundraising for the Ukrainian Army by remaking songs. Thanks to his creativity, he has raised more than 10 million Hryvnia for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This is not the only remake Baydak has made for fundraising. He has also made a video with a rendition of Oleksandr Ponomarev’s song “He is Waiting for Her”, turning it into “He is Waiting to Donate” and singing with the Army bend.

More details about his fundraising activities for the Ukrainian Army can be found here.

Hence, the conclusion is that it’s not Zelenskyy the one that sings in the video shared on Facebook. Furthermore, the singing is not in Russian. The video was digitally altered and Zelenskyy was “inserted” in the place of the Ukrainian comedian Vasyl Baydak who is appealing for donations for the Ukrainian Army with this song.