Fact Check: No Evidence Zelenskyy Wore Platform Shoes at European Council Event

Brussels — A viral image that appears to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wearing platform dress shoes during a press conference is not authentic, according to a review of official photos and video.

The image circulated in a post on X by the account @ninnyd101 (archived here), dated Sept. 24, 2026. It showed Zelenskyy in what looked like elevated dress shoes, with a caption that read, 'When you have a hight complex for them photos.' [sic]

The setting in the image resembles the Europa building in Brussels, with its distinctive background and red carpet, as noted by the French fact-checking outlet Les Surligneurs (archived here). Zelenskyy also appears next to a man who looks like António Costa, President of the European Council. Similar images of the two leaders were captured on Oct. 23, 2025, when Zelenskyy visited the council.

Lead Stories could not find a real photo that matched the viral image except for the platform shoes. The lack of a matching original suggests the image may have been digitally altered. Real photos, including one posted on Shutterstock (archived here), show Zelenskyy and Costa speaking with the press at the Europa building on Oct. 23, 2025. In official footage from the European Council (archived here), Zelenskyy is wearing black sneakers, not platforms.

No credible source has published or verified the photo as authentic. Other fact-checkers, including AFP and France 24, have also examined the claim.

The false post fits a familiar pattern of social media misinformation that uses altered images to mock public figures. Because visuals can spread faster than corrections, official video and wire-service photos remain the most reliable way to verify what actually happened at a diplomatic event.

(Image source: Cristi Dangelgeorge on Shutterstock.)