The apparent screenshot shows a photo of Zaluzhny above a red BBC News banner in the lower third of the frame, with a timestamp and text that reads: “Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The next President of Ukraine.”<\/p>\n
![\"<span>Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/7ebdda417ac033b8b1d35b06189c4ee1.jpeg\"\/)
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Screenshot from X taken April 14, 2025<\/p>\n
The post comes from “Lord Bebo,” an X account that has previously spread<\/a> other disinformation<\/a>, including about Ukraine<\/a>. “Sprinter Observer,” another user<\/a> AFP has repeatedly fact-checked<\/a>, also amplified<\/a> the image.<\/p>\n Similar<\/a> posts spread<\/a> in other languages<\/a> such as Russian<\/a>, Polish<\/a>, German<\/a> and Arabic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Russian President Vladimir Putin, in power for 25 years, has\u00a0frequently challenged<\/a> Zelensky’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader and called<\/a> for new elections in war-ravaged Ukraine — points that US President Donald Trump has\u00a0repeated<\/a> as global efforts to secure a ceasefire continue to stall.<\/p>\n Zelensky was elected to a five-year term in 2019 but has remained president because Ukrainian law stipulates that elections be suspended during times of major military conflict.<\/p>\n In March 2025, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u00a0told Zelensky<\/a>: “You have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take.”<\/p>\n Zaluzhny<\/a>, who led Ukraine’s army from before Russia’s 2022 invasion until his dismissal<\/a> by Zelensky two years later, was appointed<\/a> ambassador to the United Kingdom in 2024. The popular<\/a> former general has polled<\/a> favorably and been seen as a contender to unseat Zelensky were he to stand for any future presidential vote.<\/p>\n No election has been called as of April 15, 2025, however — and the BBC has not declared Zaluzhny “the next President of Ukraine” in a chyron.<\/p>\n A BBC spokesperson told AFP in an April 11, 2025 email that the posts spreading online “are fake screenshots and not genuine BBC News stories.”<\/p>\n AFP found no evidence of any such segment on BBC’s website<\/a> or YouTube channel<\/a>, although the outlet did report on comments<\/a> Zaluzhny made about the Trump administration and speculation<\/a> that Zelensky could choose to hold elections (archived here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n The picture of Zaluzhny used in the posts is not a BBC photo, but a picture he posted<\/a> on Telegram in October 2024 (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n