Short Verdict: The viral image claiming to show an Israeli passport for Volodymyr Zelenskyy is fake. The document misspells his surname and contains a malformed machine-readable zone (MRZ) that uses an invalid code ("4UKR") instead of Israel's "ISR". NABU confirmed a search of Andriy Yermak’s apartment but released no detailed list or passport images. The fake document matches a pattern of repeated disinformation about Zelenskyy and his family.
Fact Check: Viral Image Does Not Prove Zelenskyy Held An Israeli Passport
Lead Stories says: Wrong Spelling
A widely shared image purporting to show an Israeli passport issued to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a fabrication. The photo contains clear errors — most notably a misspelling of Zelenskyy’s surname and a malformed machine-readable zone (MRZ) that does not follow international passport standards.
What Was Shared
On December 11, 2025, a post on X (formerly Twitter) asked, “Can someone explain this?” and included a photograph resembling an Israeli passport with Zelenskyy’s photo. Although the original account was marked as a parody, other accounts reposted the same image and linked it to items allegedly found during a search of the Kyiv apartment of Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to the president.
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/JeffreyxEpstein
Why The Image Is Fake
1. Misspelling of the Surname. The passport photo page in the circulating image spells the president’s last name incorrectly. The official English-language site of the Ukrainian presidency uses the spelling "Zelenskyy" (with a double "y"). The fake passport omits one of those letters.
2. Invalid Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ). The lower portion of a passport page contains a two-line MRZ that follows strict formatting rules set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). An authentic Israeli passport would repeat the country code for Israel (typically shown as "ISR") in the standardized positions. The social-media image instead shows a nonstandard entry reading "4UKR" on the second MRZ line, which is inconsistent with ICAO rules and strongly indicates manipulation.
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of page at president.gov.ua
Note: The MRZ encodes information in a fixed layout. Deviations from those specifications — such as extra characters or incorrect country codes — are a reliable sign of a forged document.
Context And Official Response
Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau (NABU) did carry out the search cited by some posts. NABU confirmed the search took place but has not published a detailed inventory of items seized and did not release any passport images. That absence of official documentation means the circulated image cannot be verified as authentic evidence from the search.
Relevant legal context: Zelenskyy became president in 2019. In June 2025 Ukraine adjusted its approach to multiple citizenships to allow ordinary citizens to hold more than one nationality. However, both in 2019 and under the 2025 rules, many public officials and judges were subject to restrictions on holding foreign passports. Lead Stories and other media searches found no credible reporting that Zelenskyy’s alleged foreign citizenship affected his 2019 presidential campaign.
Pattern Of Disinformation
This fake passport image fits a broader pattern of false claims and doctored documents circulated about Zelenskyy and his family. In 2022, disinformation falsely claimed he was a Russian citizen, and in 2023 a similarly fabricated passport image was shared as supposed proof that his wife, Olena Zelenska, had obtained Israeli citizenship.
Bottom line: The image circulating online does not prove Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an Israeli passport. The misspelling of his name and the invalid MRZ code make clear that the document is not authentic.
