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FACT BRIEF

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wear a T-shirt with a Nazi iron cross on it while addressing Congress?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

The shirt Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore when he addressed the U.S. Congress on March 16, 2022, had the symbol of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the left chest.

Social media posts calling attention to the cross shape of this symbol tried to associate it with the infamous Iron Cross of Nazism. The T-shirt graphic on Zelenskyy's shirt is a simplified version of the full-color emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that was adopted by decree of the president of Ukraine on Sept. 3, 2009. In the center of the cross is the Ukrainian coat of arms, the trident or "tryzub."

An article on symbolsage.com describes the history of the cross that has arms that narrow toward the center, known as the cross pattée. Its history dates back as far as the Crusades, and is still used in religious, national, military and heraldic symbolism.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Ukraine Ministry of Defence Ukrainian Armed Forces Emblem
Symbol Sage What Is the Cross Pattée? – History and Meaning
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.