Zelenskyy 'Appears to Spit' Near Sweden's King After 'Handshake Snub' in Viral Video: Did He Really Do It?

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spit near King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden after the latter allegedly failed to shake his hand? The viral video was shared by RT on X with the caption: 'Zelensky appears to spit toward [the] feet of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf after the king refused to shake his hand.'

'Carl XVI Gustaf just stared in disbelief. The internet is now debating whether Zelensky really spat or not,' the post continued. RT, formerly known as Russia Today, is a Russian state-funded media network.

The Viral Moment

The video reshared on 22 October 2026 had been viewed at least 3.7 million times on X as of this writing. It had 12,000 likes, 2,700 bookmarks and 2,500 quote posts. However, in the comments, the RT account clarified that it was a clip from Zelenskyy and King Carl XVI Gustaf's meeting on 17 April 2026.

King Carl, accompanied by Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, was in Lviv to discuss support for the embattled country. It marked the first time a reigning Swedish monarch had visited Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

The video starts with King Carl getting out of his car and approaching Zelenskyy. The president seemingly offers his hand at least twice, but King Carl clasps his hands together and adjusts his jacket, giving the impression that he is ignoring Zelenskyy's offered handshake. This is the interpretation promoted by some people on the internet, although the footage is misleadingly edited.

Following the alleged snub, Zelenskyy turned towards King Carl while talking. At one point, some social media users claimed he spat near the king's feet. However, there is no verified evidence that he did so.

What Really Happened?

It was unclear from the circulating clip whether Zelenskyy had spat during the meeting. However, Zelenskyy shared a video from their April 2026 meeting on the day of the visit. The video shows Zelenskyy shaking King Carl's hand and those of his delegates.

King Carl also shook hands with Ukrainian government officials.

Zelenskyy captioned his video: 'For the second time since the restoration of our independence, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has come to Ukraine... I thank His Majesty for his visit and for supporting our people. Sweden is among the five largest donors in terms of support for our Armed Forces and our citizens.'

Zelenskyy said the bilateral meeting discussed humanitarian support, energy assistance and the Gripen aircraft, which is manufactured by Swedish aerospace company Saab. The president also said Ukraine was willing to share 'experience and technologies' with Sweden.

Social Media Comments

However, comments on the viral RT video largely ignored that the footage was from April. One social media user asked Grok, X's in-house chatbot: 'Did that actually happen?'

Grok replied: 'No. The clip is an edited version from the Swedish king's April 2026 Lviv visit. Full footage, AFP photos and official sources show they shook hands multiple times. RT cut it to skip the handshake. Sweden's royal court called the refusal claim wrong. No evidence of any spit—just a normal gesture misread.'

Swedish officials also denied in April that King Carl had refused to shake Zelenskyy's hand. Margareta Thorgren, the royal court's head of information, told public broadcaster SVT that the claim was 'wrong and ugly' and that it was being 'portrayed that way in Russia' (translated from Swedish).