FALSE: The different color of the eyes in Valeii Zaluzhnyi’s video indicates that he was replaced

Russian Telegram channels are spreading information about the replacement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. They cite recent video footage as evidence, claiming that the general’s eye color has supposedly changed.

In the footage from recent videos, it is noticeable that the eye color remained the same. Also, in the later released video, it is clearly visible that the color of the Commander-in-Chief’s eyes was the same as before.

First, we identified the source of the photo that supposedly shows a change in Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s eye color. It is a frame from a video by the Telegram channel “Anatolii Shtefan ‘Shtirlic’.” In that video, he debunked the information about Zaluzhnyi disappearing, being injured, or killed by Russian strikes.

If you examine the video more closely, it is evident that the Commander-in-Chief’s eye color has not changed – he has blue eyes. The “change” is attributed to the lighting falling on Zaluzhnyi’s face and the specific frame chosen by the propagandists. If you watch the complete video, you will notice that his eye color remains the same.

Later, in the same Telegram channel, another video with Zaluzhnyi was released. It is also noticeable in that video that the color of Zaluzhnyi’s eyes is the same as before.