A video posted by Ukrainian soldiers on Sunday from the southern entrance of the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov region has raised questions about whether President Volodymyr Zelensky recently visited the area, as claimed in footage released by his office on Friday.
On Friday, Zelensky published a video showing himself standing in front of the Kupyansk city entrance sign, where he spoke about what he described as successful Ukrainian counterattacks in the area. The video was presented as evidence of a visit to the front-line city, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months.
However, a video uploaded on Sunday by two female Ukrainian soldiers filmed at the same location appears to show significant differences in the condition of the site, casting doubt on the timing of Zelensky’s recording. In the soldiers’ footage, the entrance sign shows visible damage that was not present in the president’s video.
In Zelensky’s recording, the word “KUPYANSK,” written in Cyrillic, appeared intact, mounted on a blue-and-yellow background. In contrast, the Sunday video shows several of the lower letters destroyed, along with damage to the background bearing the Ukrainian flag colors. The discrepancy suggests the sign may have been struck or damaged after Zelensky’s video was filmed.
Further differences were visible in the surrounding area. Zelensky’s video showed protective anti-drone netting around the sign in good condition, with little visible debris nearby. The soldiers’ footage, however, showed the netting collapsed and torn, with rubble and scattered debris clearly visible around the site.
The Sunday video also showed the soldiers quickly leaving the area due to the presence of Russian drones overhead, indicating that the location remains under active threat and is not considered safe for prolonged exposure. This contrasts with the calmer conditions depicted in the president’s video.
Russian reporting channels have circulated older footage showing a drone strike on the Kupyansk entrance sign last month, with damage appearing consistent with the missing letters seen in the Sunday recording. This has led to speculation that Zelensky’s video may have been filmed weeks earlier and later released to support morale or messaging efforts.
Throughout the conflict, Zelensky has frequently delivered video addresses from controlled environments, including studio settings using green screens depicting streets in Kiev or other cities. Such presentations have been widely noted as part of the Ukrainian government’s emphasis on optics and information management.