by polloponzi
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is expecting an attack later this week, CNN reported Monday.
In a message Zelensky posted on social media, the Ukrainian president said his administration has been informed that his country will be attacked on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
After this news the stocks dropped, and both the VIX and the crude oil spiked.
Guess what? he was trolling
However, hours after making the post, Zelensky’s aides told NBC News and CNN that the president — a former comedian — was only speaking ironically and was not being literal. Rather, he was sarcastically citing media speculation pinning Wednesday as an invasion date, they said.
Politico and other international outlets had cited officials based in Washington, London, Ukraine and elsewhere in recent days specifying Wednesday a date when an invasion could come.
Zelensky’s intent with the post, the aides said, was to reassure Ukrainians the country is for any contingency and to downplay speculation over an imminent invasion as overly alarmist.