Circulating claims online assert that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is showcasing a stolen artwork in his office. However, examination of the footage and its source reveals that this claim is false and part of an orchestrated disinformation effort.
On X, posts display what seems to be a BBC News interview with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy from his office in Kyiv.
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In the background of the clip, a painting can be seen, identified as Nature morte aux cerises, also known as «Still Life with Cherries,» created by French painter Paul Cézanne.
The posts claimed that this artwork, recently stolen in Italy, ended up on the wall of Ukraine’s presidential office.
Indeed, «Still Life with Cherries» was one of three paintings taken during the night of 22–23 March from the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma, with the estimated total value of the stolen pieces ranging between €9 million and €10 million.
Nonetheless, no evidence connects the stolen paintings to Ukraine or to Zelenskyy personally.
A fabricated video
The video shared on X fails under scrutiny as the purported BBC report is entirely fabricated.
Its voiceover was produced by artificial intelligence, while visuals, including elements from the Ukrainian presidential website, were digitally manipulated to make the clip appear genuine.
When contacted by Euronews’ fact-checking unit, The Cube, the Ukrainian presidency denied the accusations, affirming that claims about the stolen painting ever being displayed in the office are untrue.
The original interview
The doctored video is derived from an interview filmed three months prior by the Associated Press.
Comparing the genuine and edited versions highlights a critical difference. In the authentic footage, the artwork behind Zelenskyy is not the same.
Which paintings are actually exhibited on that wall?
The Ukrainian artist Andrii Chebotaru informed The Cube that both paintings visible in the office during the interview were his creations.
«My specialty is landscape painting, which has been the central theme of my work throughout my career,» he explained. «Both artworks displayed in the office are Post-Impressionist style pieces, inspired by my travels.»
The actual painting on Zelenskyy’s right shows Mount Demerdzhi in Crimea — the artist’s birthplace.
«This painting was created before Crimea’s occupation; it depicts an area near Mount Demerdzhi, close to the city of Alushta, where I am originally from,» Chebotaru stated.
He added that some of his works were later given to Zelenskyy as presents by friends, although the president did not purchase them directly from the artist.
A disinformation campaign made in Russia
The video has been connected to a pro-Kremlin disinformation scheme called «Matryoshka.» Such networks usually depend on coordinated accounts and manipulated content to boost misleading stories.
This campaign involving the stolen painting is not an isolated incident. In October 2025, Antibot4Navalny, a group of anonymous disinformation analysts, exposed a similar network spreading false information that Ukrainian refugees had been detained by French police over a theft at the Louvre in Paris.