Fact check: Macron, Merz and Starmer targeted by Russian ‘cocaine’ claims

The allegations that the leaders of France, Germany and the UK took drugs while on a train on their way to Kyiv are part of a wider Russian disinformation campaign.

Viral social media posts are alleging that French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were caught taking cocaine on their trip to Kyiv.

At the centre of the claims is a video showing the three leaders greeting one another on a train from Poland to Ukraine, ahead of a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reaffirm their support for his country.

Social media users allege that the white object next to Macron’s glass is a bag of cocaine, which he hurriedly removes, and that the object next to Merz’s hand is a snuff spoon.

The claims have also come from the highest echelons of Russia’s government, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posting on her official Telegram channel that the trio “got high” together.

“Apparently, so much so that they forgot to remove their instruments (bag and spoon) before the journalists arrived,” she alleged.

 

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