Zelensky didn’t talk about the war in Ukraine when he said the US would send ‘sons and daughters’

A 19-second video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talking about US involvement in the ongoing war with Russia has racked up millions of views on social media.

The video shows Zelensky sitting at a microphone and speaking in Ukrainian with English voice-over. In the video, Zelensky talks about the fact that the United States is sending “sons and daughters” to war.

The video was posted on TwitterFacebook, TikTok and Truth Social by people like media personality Stew Peters. It was also circulated by the conservative news site Townhall. It is implied in some posts that Zelenskiy said that the US was going to send American soldiers to the war in Ukraine.

One tweet, which has more than three million views, says: “Ukraine needs fresh young Americans to help fight the ground war.”

The President of Ukraine said that the United States will send “sons and daughters” to participate in the war in Ukraine?

No, Zelensky was not referring to the war in Ukraine when he said that the US would send “sons and daughters.” Zelenskiy talked about what would happen if Ukraine lost the war and Russia then invaded a NATO member country.

On February 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a press conference dedicated to the first anniversary of the war with Russia.

The full version of the conference, which lasted over two hours, was posted on The Telegraph’s YouTube channel. The Telegraph is a UK based news outlet and their watermark can be seen on their YouTube video and in the top right corner of the viral video clip.

An hour and 37 minutes into the conference, Zelensky is asked about the ongoing U.S. involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

VERIFY recorded this question and answer from the press conference. The part of the answer used in the viral video is in bold:

ABC News Journalist: Mr. President, public opinion polls in the United States show that a growing number of Americans believe that America is too supportive of Ukraine. What would you say on the occasion of the anniversary to these Americans?

Zelensky (translated with English voiceover): I would like to thank the American people. I would like to thank all the American people who support Ukraine – the Congress, the president, TV channels, journalists and everyone who supported us.

And this percentage of Americans, as you mentioned, is increasing. I can only tell them one thing. If they don’t change their minds, if they don’t understand us, if they don’t support Ukraine, they will lose NATO. They will lose the influence of the United States. They will lose the leadership position they enjoy in the world they enjoy for good reason. And they will lose the support of the country with [a] 40 million population, with millions of children. Are American children different from ours? Don’t Americans enjoy the same things that we do? I don’t think we are that different.

I’m actually very happy that we have bipartisan support, but we keep hearing these reports from time to time and they are dangerous. There are political leaders who are elected by the people, and if this issue is raised, then these political leaders must be responsible and careful, because they are being watched.

Who needs a third world war? Anyone willing to take that risk? The US is never going to give up NATO member countries. If it happens that Ukraine loses due to different opinions and the weakening or depletion of aid, Russia will go to the Baltic states – NATO members – and then The US will have to send its sons and daughters just as we send our sons and daughters to war. And they will have to fight, because it is about NATO, and they will die. God forbid, because this is a terrible thing. I wish peace and Ukrainian support to the United States.

Zelensky did not say that the US would send Americans to fight in Ukraine. He predicted what would happen if Ukraine lost the war and then Russia invaded a NATO member country.

NATO is an alliance of 30 North American and European countries created in 1949 after World War II. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which is the founding document of NATO, states that if any NATO country is attacked, then this attack “shall be considered an attack on them all.”

This means that if Russia advances into the Baltic states, as Zelensky mentioned, the US will have to respond to help its NATO member if a group of members invokes Article 5.

On February 22, President Joe Biden met with nine NATO allies. They discussed continued support for Ukraine, and Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Article 5 of NATO.

While the US has provided Ukraine with financial and military equipment as aid, Biden also never said the US would send troops.

CONFIRM also the recently verified false claims that Biden will be resurrecting the call to help the right against Russia. These statements are false.