Was Zelenskyy alone and ignored by other leaders during the NATO summit in Vilnius? No, that's not true: there are several pictures and video footage that prove that Zelenskyy and his wife Olena received a warm welcome from other leaders.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by TikTok on July 13, 2023, with captions in Czech translated by the Lead Stories staff as "his puckered lips say it all" or "the look in his eyes." It contained a quote in Czech attributed to Scott Ritter, saying in English:
Zelensky has been convinced that he is at the center of the universe, but he is not. He has been led to believe that Ukraine is important to NATO and the West, and that´s not true either. Zelensky and the rest of Ukraine need to realize that NATO is sacrificing them.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Jul 18 09:24:21 2023 UTC)
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy was not sidelined or isolated by other leaders during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, taking place on July 11-12. There are a number of pictures and videos provided by NATO, showing Zelenskyy interacting with NATO General Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg or the presidents of countries such as the UK, or the US or France.
Here is a NATO video from the start of the first-ever meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, in which Stoltenberg and others warmly welcome Zelenskyy at the event. A photo gallery from the same meeting shows Zelenskyy talking to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak or US President Joe Biden. The Times published a video showing Zelenskyy and his wife Olena, who also visited Vilnius, receiving huge support from the crowd upon his arrival at the site. It also shows the warm welcome the Ukrainians received from Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and his wife. Tatler wrote that Olena Zelenskaa and Brigitte Macron looked very comfortable in each other´s company when they accompanied their husbands to an evening event in Vilnius.
Scott Ritter, a person, quoted in the TikTok video claiming that Zelenskyy was sidelined at the summit, is a former UN weapons inspector, and a convicted sex offender, who often spreads pro-Russian propaganda, Euronews reported.
Ahead of the summit in Vilnius, Zelenskyy expressed frustration over NATO´s failure to extend membership to the war-torn country, Politico wrote. On his way home from the event, the Ukrainian president tweeted that he considered the event a success for Ukraine, having received security guarantees and assurances from leading nations. An official NATO communique from the summit, which also states that Ukraine´s future lies in NATO can be found here.
