European Parliament member Mick Wallace expressed disappointment that, in his opinion, Europeans in Ukraine bought more land than Russian troops captured in the east of the country. He accused the West of turning Ukraine into a colony, pointing to reform of land laws that allowed foreigners to purchase agricultural land. His statement was quickly picked up by the Russians. However, the facts show that the information is false.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this fake. They note that the Law on the Land Market in Ukraine was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on March 31, 2020, but according to it, foreigners do not have the right to buy agricultural land. This is confirmed by Serhii Datsiv, senior lawyer at Integrites. He noted that the lifting of restrictions could become the subject of an all-Ukrainian referendum. It is now impossible to predict when this will happen due to the martial law in the country.

During the two years of operation of the land market from July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2023, Ukraine sold only 1% of agricultural land that was previously under a moratorium on sales. According to the Geodetic Service of Ukraine, as of May 2024, 307,966 land plots with a total area of 677,982 hectares were sold.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit Ukraine among Western partners and create distrust of the government’s actions among Ukrainians. They say that there is almost no country left because all its land was sold off.