The TRUTH about Starmer and Macron's 'cocaine party' on the train to Ukraine - and the chilling message it tells us about the future: JANE FRYER

There's a video doing the rounds. It is astir 15 seconds long, has caused a hellhole of a disturbance and was filmed connected Saturday nighttime connected the precocious bid from Poland to Ukraine.

In it, 3 middle-aged men successful knitwear are sitting astir a highly polished league table, smiling.

One is Sir Keir Starmer, relaxed successful a navy zippy. Across the array successful lavender bluish is the marque caller German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz. And betwixt them, crisp achromatic garment nether navy cardy, is Emmanuel Macron, the 47-year-old president of France.

They are en way to bid talks successful Kyiv with President Zelensky and Donald Tusk, the Polish premier minister, and look remarkably cheerful and smiley arsenic the cameras participate the room.

Some – and let’s beryllium precise wide here, we’re talking either pro-Russian conspiracy theorists oregon huffy MAGA fanatics – accidental they look astir excessively jolly. As if they’re having excessively bully a time. Or possibly person thing to hide.

Because... bent connected a minute, what’s that achromatic happening by Macron’s h2o glass? Is it a achromatic container of something?

It’s hard to archer as, speedy arsenic a flash, helium grabs and shoves it nether his elbow.

And what is 69-year-old Merz doing with that small achromatic instrumentality – is helium hiding it guiltily retired of show successful his palm?

Golly gosh! Could thing utterly huffy and reckless beryllium going connected here?

Could these 3 antecedently upstanding leaders of the Western satellite truly person decided to person a (not so) backstage cocaine enactment portion preparing for bid talks successful the train’s league saloon?

There person been plentifulness connected societal media who look to deliberation so. That possibly the 3 men thought a speedy perker-upper mightiness assistance them amended absorption connected the tiny people successful the heavy bluish folders connected the table.

Or that possibly Merz, a gramps of seven, conscionable wanted to fto his hairsbreadth down aft 1 of the bumpiest weeks of his governmental career.

Or – who knows – could they each person been truthful sick of being labelled ‘boring’ that, conscionable for once, they decided to unrecorded it up for a brainsick hr oregon so, earlier buckling backmost down to different agelong time of planetary diplomacy?

Oh halt it!

Of people it isn’t a gigantic container of cocaine! You lone person to look decently to spot it’s a utilized insubstantial which Macron didn’t privation successful the camera shot. And that Merz’s ‘snuff spoon’ is simply a achromatic integrative java stirrer.

All of which volition travel arsenic nary astonishment to anyone with fractional a encephalon and a dash of communal sense.

But that didn’t halt a flurry of pro-Russian societal media channels from whizzing the video – on with fake quality accusations – circular the satellite astatine the weekend.

One French-language, pro-Russia relationship commented: ‘Coke is going to instrumentality decisions connected the 3rd satellite war.’

‘Macron, Starmer and Merz caught connected video connected their instrumentality from Kiev. A container of achromatic pulverization connected the table. Macron rapidly pockets it, Merz hides the spoon. No mentation given,’ work 1 much-shared post.

And determination were endless videos spliced unneurotic of Macron sniffing and wiping his chemoreceptor portion executing his statesmanlike duties.

All of which, members of US President Donald Trump’s online MAGA assemblage seized upon and shared with gusto. In ample portion perhaps, to distract from the information their beloved president has conscionable accepted a $400million level from Qatar that helium says helium volition beryllium keeping astatine the extremity of his word of office.

And past conscionable erstwhile it each couldn’t consciousness overmuch sillier, the ‘coke party’ communicative was backed up by the Russian overseas ministry.

Spokesman Maria Zakharova claimed connected societal media: ‘The destiny of Europe is being decided by utterly [drug] babelike individuals,’ she wrote. ‘It’s arsenic if the Almighty Himself is lifting the veil connected this putrid spectacle.’

Maria echoed a much-repeated Kremlin assertion that Zelensky was an ‘unstable cocaine addict’ and insisted a Western diplomat had told her that cause usage was wholly mean among European leaders.

Bloody hell! What full madness. We each cognize astir Russia’s emotion for fake quality – the endless mendacious quality stories circulated connected societal media by Kremlin-backed accounts.

That Ukraine is liable for the war. That brainsick deepfake video from March 2022 of Zelensky’s tremendous caput inexpertly attached to idiosyncratic else’s body, telling his followers to ‘lay down their weapons’. That Putin has the carnal property – and musculature – of a young man. The database goes connected and connected and on.

And if this latest fakery wasn’t rather truthful brainsick – and backed up by Russian officials – it would person been decently funny. After all, it’s hard to deliberation of 3 individuals little apt to person been chopping retired lines connected that shiny table. Or of a cause little conducive to calm, thoughtful, negotiating.

But the Elysee Palace did not spot the comic side. In fact, officials determination were intelligibly hopping mad.

‘When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes truthful acold arsenic to marque a elemental insubstantial look similar drugs,’ posted the president’s bureau connected X.

‘This fake quality is being dispersed by France’s enemies, some overseas and astatine home. We indispensable stay vigilant against manipulation.’

They besides posted a photograph of the offending insubstantial and the words: ‘This is simply a tissue. For blowing your nose.’ To beryllium fair, mediocre Macron has been connected the receiving extremity of much than his just stock of conspiracy theories, each of which, the French claim, were either started oregon encouraged by Russia.

Everything from a long-time cocaine usage (which supposedly helium shares with Zelensky), to being gay. To being portion of a dodgy planetary concern set-up backed by financier George Soros. To rumours that his woman Brigitte, was calved a man.

And French authorities officials importune it is getting worse and worse.

Earlier this month, they claimed that the GRU, Russia’s subject quality service, had ramped up the cyber and societal media warfare it has been waging against the Macron medication since 2017.

It isn’t lone France.

Russia’s fake stories are coming heavy and accelerated astir anyone and thing and often get traction successful unsafe places.

Last year, conspiracy theories claiming that Zelensky utilized US assistance to bargain 2 luxury yachts were repeated by members of US Congress with the effect that the US assistance bundle to Ukraine was temporarily stalled, creating devastating results connected the beforehand line.

Researchers besides pass that Russia is employing an service of AI chatbots to peddle pro-Kremlin falsehoods online.

And a caller study revealed that Pravda, a Russian disinformation tract which targets Britons, has already posted much than 47,000 English connection articles since it was created successful November – mostly either undermining enactment for Ukraine oregon spreading fake stories astir the royal household and elder politicians – and has present expanded into posts successful Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.

The existent occupation with fake news, of course, is that the madder and crazier it is, the faster it travels. Which means that nevertheless blindingly evident it is that determination was ne'er immoderate cocaine, oregon a snuff spoon, oregon the merest whiff of a enactment connected that late-night bid to Kyiv, the existent communicative volition ne'er rather drawback up with the fakery.

Particularly if it’s arsenic mundane arsenic a crumpled hanky and a integrative java stirrer.

And the existent quality volition often beryllium deflected and buried. Which, this play – successful lawsuit you missed it – was that, aft that much-discussed bid journey, European leaders successful Kyiv challenged Russia, with the menace of ‘massive caller sanctions’, to state a 30-day ceasefire by Monday.

Which, naturally, President Putin rejected.