The article was written after Ukraine deployed thousands of troops in a major offensive in the western Russian region of Kursk on August 6 (archived link).

Ukraine has announced that it has made new progress in its offensive against Russia, capturing over 1,100 square kilometers in the largest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

Ukraine said it now controls dozens of settlements as well as the town of Sudzha, eight kilometers from the border.

The photo was also shared elsewhere on X here, here, here, here and on Facebook here.

However, the photo was not taken until 2022, more than two years before the Ukrainian attack. There have been no credible reports since August 15 that Zelensky has been in Sudzha or any other part of the Kursk region.

2022 Photo

A reverse image search and subsequent keyword search on Google revealed the same photo – distributed by the Ukrainian Presidential Office – published in the AFP archive on May 29, 2022.

The caption says the photo was taken in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and shows Zelensky visiting houses and buildings destroyed by the clashes and meeting with army representatives.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the fake X post (left) and the photo published by AFP (right):

AFP also reported in May 2022 that Zelensky visited the war-torn east of the country for the first time since the Russian invasion during a trip to the Kharkiv region (archived link).