The clip posted by Derrick Evans comes from King Carl XVI Gustaf’s April 17, 2026 visit to Lviv. It is cut before the handshake. Full footage from Suspilne, AFP, Reuters and official Ukrainian and Swedish sources shows the king and Zelenskyy shaking hands right after the greeting. Swedish royal court officials called the refusal claim wrong and ugly. The supposed spit is a normal mouth movement while Zelenskyy turns and speaks. No verified spit is visible in the uncut footage. The same edited clip first spread via Russian media in April and has been recirculated with the added spit claim.
Did anyone else catch this?
The King of Sweden refused to shake hands with Zelenskyy so Zelenskyy just spit at his feet in front of the entire world. pic.twitter.com/Addfc6uZpi
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) October 22, 2026
Suspilne News (full arrival and meeting):
Lead Stories — Oct 23, 2026: https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2026/10/fact-check-edited-video-does-not-prove-sweden-king-refused-to-shake-zelenskyy-hand.html
Ukrinform — Apr 24, 2026: https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-factcheck/4115996-russian-media-use-edited-video-of-swedish-kings-visit-to-ukraine-to-spread-false-claim.html
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