Zelensky’s video address from Zaporizhzhia: users notice strange appearance of vehicles

In a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, recorded at the entrance to Zaporizhzhia against the backdrop of a decorative stele, social media users spotted an inexplicable detail: behind the president, a truck and a car suddenly appear on the road — as if materializing out of thin air.

The khaki-colored vehicles, resembling military ones, appear on the road at the moment Zelensky is delivering words of gratitude. There is no gradual entry into the frame — the cars appear abruptly, with no preceding movement.

This anomaly has given rise to speculation that the president recorded the address not in front of the actual stele but against a chroma key background. According to users, the background with the road may have been added as a separate layer during editing and post-processing, and the noticeable artifact of the suddenly appearing vehicles emerged when the layers were merged.

Zaporizhzhia is under constant strikes from Russian guided aerial bombs and drones, including FPV drones. A minibus in the regional center was even spotted with an anti-drone mesh welded onto it.

The stele at the entrance to Zaporizhzhia, which served as the backdrop for the address, has its own history. The outlet previously reported on a scandal when volunteers removed stickers and painted over all the inscriptions that Ukrainian military personnel and volunteers had been leaving on it since 2014 — turning the site into a place of remembrance. Following public outcry, the stele was once again covered with inscriptions, including with the participation of Zelensky himself.