Rumors are circulating on Polish social media claiming that Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, allegedly sold Ukrainian children to Turkish repeat offenders. Propagandists are exploiting real challenges related to the evacuation of orphans in order to accuse Olena Zelenska of “human trafficking”. The disinformation was debunked by Polish fact-checkers from Demagog.

At the beginning of December, posts appeared in the Polish segment of Facebook claiming that Olena Zelenska was involved in the illegal trafficking of Ukrainian children to Turkey. One such post stated:

“A scandal erupted when Zhydlensky’s wife (a derogatory distortion of the surname Zelenskyy intended to emphasize his Jewish background) sold children again, and the world found out once more. This time, Zhydlensky sold girls to sadists and pedophiles in Turkey. The case came to light when battered underage Ukrainian girls began returning from Turkey, pregnant by Turkish rapists”.

These posts were often accompanied by comments filled with hostility toward Ukraine, such as:

“A tragedy. And no one will do anything about this foundation because such practices are widespread among the ‘elite’. This woman is not even hiding anymore. Putin should level this Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground”. Or “This is why these scumbags care so much about never being held accountable. Under the cover of war, they remain untouchable”.

On 3 December 2025, investigative journalists from Slidstvo.Info published a report concerning a visit by Ukraine’s Ombudsman to hotels in Turkey. The document, dated March 2024 and signed by 11 officials, was made public as part of the investigation. However, it contains no references whatsoever suggesting that Olena Zelenska was responsible for any abuse, misconduct, or neglect involving children.

How does this fake work?

However, the investigation contains no mention whatsoever of Olena Zelenska being involved in any of these violations.

Who actually organised the evacuation?

Although Olena Zelenska and Emine Erdoğan provided diplomatic support for the evacuation of children at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the “Childhood Without War” project was not directly organized by the First Lady.

The evacuation of children from the Dnipropetrovsk region to Turkey was organized and financed by Ukrainian businessman Ruslan Shostak. It was under the management of his organizations that the children stayed in the hotels where violations were later discovered. Accusing Zelenska of “trafficking” on the basis that she supported the idea of a safe evacuation is a logical manipulation.

The attempt to turn a real problem (insufficient supervision of evacuated children and the misconduct of certain organizers) into a personal attack against Olena Zelenska is a fake based on Russian propaganda and distorted interpretations of the facts uncovered by the journalistic investigation.

Russian propaganda has launched yet another fake story about the luxurious lifestyle of Ukraine’s president. This time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is falsely accused of purchasing an upscale property in New York that allegedly belonged to the controversial comedian Bill Cosby. Experts from Myth Detector examined how this fake was created using clone websites designed to imitate legitimate media outlets.

In early December 2025, a number of Russian and Georgian propaganda outlets (including Tsargrad, RG.RU, and MK.RU) circulated a story claiming that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had purchased a $29 million mansion through an offshore company called Film Heritage Inc. As “evidence”, the reports cited the well-known American publications New York Post and Page Six.

Anatomy of the fake: a clone website

The main tool behind this manipulation was a cloned version of Page Six. Propagandists created a website that visually replicated the popular American celebrity news outlet.

Neither the genuine Page Six website nor its YouTube channel contains any mention of Zelenskyy or the alleged purchase of Bill Cosby’s mansion. The story appeared only on the newly created dummy domain, which was then used as the “original source” cited by Russian propaganda media outlets.

Who actually bought the house?

Bill Cosby’s mansion was indeed put up for sale in September 2025 due to the owner’s financial difficulties. However, publicly available property records refute any connection between the transaction and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy:

Who is behind the disinformation campaign?

An investigation by BBC Verify indicates that the campaign was orchestrated by the Russian influence operation known as Storm-1516. This group specialises in fabricating stories about alleged “corruption” and the supposed extravagant wealth of Ukrainian leaders in an effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine.

The claim that Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchased a $29 million property in the United States is disinformation. The original source of the story was a cloned Page Six website created only days before the article appeared.

This is not the first attempt to attribute expensive real estate purchases to Zelenskyy. Previously, Detector Media debunked another fake story claiming that he had purchased a ranch in Wyoming.

Russian propaganda is spreading yet another manipulative video aimed at casting doubt on the President of Ukraine’s visit to a frontline city. In reality, the trip was documented by numerous sources, while the alleged “evidence” of video manipulation turned out to be archival footage from three years ago. As experts from StopFake have established, claims that Zelenskyy’s video from Kupiansk was artificially staged are false.

After Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region on 12 December 2025, Russian propaganda Telegram channels and media outlets began spreading a fake claim that the president’s video address had been filmed in a studio. According to the propagandists, the footage was allegedly recorded against a green screen in Kyiv by specialists from Lucasfilm.

As supposedly “irrefutable proof”, the authors of the fake circulated a video showing the creation of a digital avatar of Zelenskyy, which they claimed could be placed against any background.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Kupiansk on 12 December is an officially confirmed fact. The trip took place against the backdrop of a successful operation by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which resulted in Russian troops being pushed out of, or encircled in, the northern parts of the city and several surrounding settlements.

Why the “green screen” claims are false:

Claims about “Hollywood special effects” and the use of a green screen are a classic attempt to downplay the successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupiansk sector and to create the impression that Ukraine’s leadership is “afraid” to visit the front line. In reality, propagandists once again repurposed old footage from a completely different context in order to spread disinformation.

Fact-checkers from StopFake have drawn attention to an edited screenshot allegedly taken from a publication by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that is being circulated in the pro-Russian segment of social media.

The fake headline claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is willing to hold elections if he receives genuine security guarantees from the United States, but only on the condition that the vote count is conducted by the government itself. Propagandists accompany this fabricated message with mocking comments such as: “Give him money for elections, but just take his word for it”.

The original article states that Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his readiness to organize presidential elections in Ukraine within two to three months, provided that adequate security guarantees could be ensured. The President emphasized that he expected assistance from the United States, particularly in coordination with European partners, to create the necessary conditions for holding the vote. There was no mention whatsoever of any special vote-counting procedure or of the government controlling the counting of ballots.

At the same time, the issue of elections in Ukraine has been actively commented on by Donald Trump, who views them as one of the possible elements of a peace settlement to the war. In one interview, the U.S. president stated that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s prolonged stay in office was “undemocratic”, while at the same time acknowledging that Ukrainians could re-elect him for a second term.

Russian propaganda media outlets and numerous Telegram channels are circulating a video allegedly produced by Page Six, claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchased a house in New York through an offshore company from disgraced comedian Bill Cosby. The alleged value of the property is said to be USD 29 million. This claim is false.

This was reported by Ukrinform.

No such video or news report exists on either the official website or the social media accounts of Page Six. The circulating video contains no supporting documents or any other evidence that could substantiate the alleged real-estate purchase.

The fabricated video mentions a company called Film Heritage Inc., which was supposedly used to carry out the transaction. In reality, this firm – allegedly registered in Basel, Switzerland – is an invention of Russian propagandists. Fact-checkers have previously debunked similar fakes involving the same “company”, including claims that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had purchased a hotel in Courchevel and the Vuni Palace casino.

To promote the new fake, Russian actors created a clone website of Page Six on 27 November. The fake domain is pagesix.now, whereas the official address of the genuine publication is pagesix.com. The fraudulent website also has a different structure, contains no links to social media accounts, and lists a mailing address in Iceland.

The spread of this fake is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian government and, in particular, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the eyes of the international community.

Russian propaganda media, Telegram channels, and bots on the social network X are spreading a video allegedly filmed in New York’s central square, Times Square. In the clip, one of the billboards displays an “advertisement” for the Polymarket platform, supposedly offering users a chance to bet on which country President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would allegedly flee to after Ukraine’s “capitulation”. This video is fake.

Ukrinform reports this.

There is no such bet on Polymarket’s official website as the one attributed to the platform by Russian propagandists. Polymarket does accept other types of wagers, including on possible peace agreements or a ceasefire, but the scenario shown in the video does not exist on the platform.

In addition, the fake video features the logo of the American media outlet USA Today, but there is no such video on the publication’s official website or social media accounts. The propaganda material also claims that the clip is being broadcast on a billboard located on a building belonging to the Regal cinema chain. In reality, this screen shows only trailers for new films and posters for movies currently playing at the theater.

The original source of the fake was Ukrainian collaborator Oleh Tsaryov, who is hiding in Russia. In many versions of the fabricated video, a watermark with his name is even visible.

Thus, the propagandists edited the clip using video-editing software and replaced the real advertisement on the billboard, creating yet another piece of disinformation.

Propagandists fabricated a supposed “investigation” allegedly conducted by the hacker group Anonymous, using the name of a Ukrainian media outlet as cover. The fake was debunked by fact-checkers at Ukrinform.

A video bearing the logo of the English-language version of the website and YouTube channel of the Ukrainian outlet NV is being actively circulated by Russian media and propaganda Telegram channels. The video claims that hackers from Anonymous allegedly breached the database of Rosreestr (Russia’s state real estate registry) and discovered information about a Russian passport belonging to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, supposedly issued to him in 2015 in occupied Crimea. In addition, based on these alleged passport details, the hackers claim to have found luxury apartments owned by Zelenskyy in the Moscow City complex, valued at nearly two million dollars.

However, this is a fake. No such material exists on the NV website or on the outlet’s English-language YouTube channel, where the most recent video was published four weeks ago.

The image of the passport copy is also a forgery. The photograph that Russian propagandists inserted into the document using photo-editing software was taken from President Zelenskyy’s video address on February 23, 2022, recorded just hours before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and concerned Russia’s recognition of the so-called “L/DPR”.

The claim that Zelenskyy owns real estate in Moscow is likewise false, as it is based solely on this fabricated passport copy.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Kremlin propagandists have spread rumors about a fake Russian passport allegedly belonging to Zelenskyy. In 2022, they already published a similar “document”, supposedly issued in the Moscow region back in 2001.

This fake is aimed at discrediting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels and social media accounts (X, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram) are widely spreading false information claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly purchased the “Pathfinder” ranch in the state of Wyoming (USA) for an astronomical sum of $79.5 million. This disinformation campaign is a typical attempt to undermine trust in Ukraine’s leadership both among Ukrainians and international partners, by creating the image of a “corrupt elite” enriching itself during wartime. This fake was analyzed in detail by fact-checkers from Gvara Media.

To “confirm” this mythical deal, propagandists are using a specially produced video with Russian subtitles and English voice-over, which allegedly reveals details of the purchase.

An analysis of the “evidence” revealed several key manipulations:

Fact-checkers from Gvara Media also found an official denial from the brokerage company that had listed the ranch for sale. In a statement published in the Wyoming local newspaper Cowboy State Daily, Swan Land Company categorically refuted online rumors that the “Pathfinder” ranch had been purchased by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The story about Zelensky purchasing a ranch is entirely fabricated and is part of a long-running Kremlin disinformation campaign aimed at creating a false image of Ukraine’s leadership living in luxury at the expense of Western aid. The disinformers used a fake video “proof” and a hastily created bogus website to lend “credibility” to their lies.

Fact-checkers from MythDetector recorded the spread on social media – particularly on Facebook, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) – of images allegedly showing the cover of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The image depicts a caricature of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stealing exhibits from the Louvre, with the caption “J’en ai davantage besoin!” (“I need more!”). In the background, the Louvre building and armed individuals are visible, while at the bottom there is the caption “LA TRACE UKRAINIENNE” (“The Ukrainian trail”). This cover is presented as a reaction to the robbery of the Louvre that allegedly took place on October 19.

However, this is a fake. The cover has nothing to do with the real Charlie Hebdo magazine. It is part of a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian president.

Verification details

Such fake Charlie Hebdo covers are nothing new. Detector Media has repeatedly debunked similar fakes, which are often spread by Russian-language sources. They typically portray Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a negative light – as a criminal, a corrupt figure, or an aggressor. The aim of such materials is to sow distrust toward Ukraine’s leadership, especially in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

This case is a classic example of propaganda: exploiting a well-known satirical brand to spread falsehoods.

Kremlin media and pro-Russian bloggers are spreading disinformation claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was allegedly not met by anyone in Washington during his working visit to the United States. Propagandists argue that this supposedly “demonstrates the true attitude of the Trump administration toward Zelenskyy and Ukraine”. This was reported by StopFake.

One of the promoters of this disinformation, Irish commentator Chay Bowes, even claimed that the person standing near the aircraft stairs was supposedly “Zelenskyy’s pilot”, implying that no U.S. officials were present. In reality, the photo shows not a pilot, but Ukraine’s defense attaché to the United States, Major General Borys Kremenetskyi. The presence of diplomats, including a military attaché, at meetings with a head of state is standard international practice.

In fact, the claim that “no one met” Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an outright lie. The Ukrainian president published a video of his arrival in Washington, which clearly shows that he was greeted not only by the Ukrainian delegation. In particular, Zelenskyy was welcomed by the Acting Chief of Protocol of the U.S. Department of State, Abigail Jones.

According to U.S. protocol, the level of officials who greet foreign leaders depends on the type of visit. During a state visit, guests are welcomed by the U.S. president or vice president, while during a working visit they are met by the head of the State Department’s protocol service. Zelenskyy’s visit in October 2025 was a working visit focused on military and energy assistance, so being greeted at the level of the chief of protocol fully complies with diplomatic norms.

On 12–13 October, a video filmed in the Kyiv metro was circulated on social media (in particular by Georgian-language and Russian-language Facebook accounts). According to the descriptions, the footage allegedly shows Kyiv residents chanting “Ze, come down to us” during a Russian strike, supposedly demanding that Volodymyr Zelenskyy go down into the metro instead of staying in a “private comfortable bunker”. This manipulation was debunked by Georgian fact-checkers from Mythdetector.

However, this is fake. Fact-checkers from Georgia established that the video is not current and is being circulated with an altered audio track. Its original version was published back on 10 October 2022.

The video fake circulating on social media is a classic example of disinformation: authentic footage (Ukrainians in the metro) is paired with fabricated audio and invented slogans to create a false impression of alleged mass protests and public dissatisfaction with the president during wartime.

Kremlin media and some Telegram channels presented the president’s remarks as a “request to Moscow to stop the strikes”, but this is a distortion.

In a Telegram post on 5 September, Zelenskyy described the consequences of massive attacks on energy infrastructure and called for stronger defense and increased diplomatic pressure on the aggressor – not for an appeal or plea to Russia. The fake framing of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s words was exposed by StopFake fact-checkers.

On Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel, it stated: “More protection is needed, faster implementation of all defense agreements, especially on air defense, to deprive this air terror of any meaning. A unilateral ceasefire in the sky is possible, and it is precisely this that could open the path to real diplomacy. America and Europe must act to force Putin to stop”.

Disinformation is being actively spread online claiming that Ukraine allegedly plans to deploy units of its Armed Forces to other countries to “attack Transnistria and the Kaliningrad region”. StopFake experts have explained why these claims are unfounded and manipulative.

On 24 September 2025, propagandist Telegram channels circulated screenshots of a draft law titled “On the Deployment of Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to Other States”, registered on 22 September. Propagandists claimed that this document allegedly provides for sending troops to attack Transnistria via Moldova and the Kaliningrad Oblast via Poland.

Debunking

In reality, the draft law clearly defines the purpose of sending Ukrainian military personnel to Turkey and the United Kingdom: training personnel and receiving military equipment from partner countries. The document contains no mentions of Poland, Moldova, Transnistria, or the Kaliningrad Oblast.

According to the text of the draft law, the following units will be sent to Turkey and the United Kingdom:

The explanatory note to the draft law states that its purpose is to facilitate the receipt of military equipment from partners, the manning of units, and training in its use. This is necessary to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities, not for offensive actions against other countries.

Claims that Ukraine is allegedly preparing to attack Transnistria or the Kaliningrad Oblast are part of a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine.

Ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly, Russian propaganda media, including the TASS news agency, spread false information aimed at discrediting Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska. According to these claims, Zelenska allegedly tried to arrange a meeting with Melania Trump in New York, but the latter supposedly refused. In addition, Russian sources asserted that Zelenska had “edited herself” into a photo with Melania Trump in place of Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and that she had allegedly spent one million euros on luxury clothing in Paris. Fact-checkers from Ukrinform examined these claims and explained why they are disinformation.

Melania Trump allegedly “refused” to meet Olena Zelenska

Russian propagandists, citing the American outlet New York Post, claimed that Melania Trump had refused to meet Ukraine’s First Lady. After the meeting was officially confirmed, Russian Telegram channels began spreading a new version, alleging that Zelenska and Trump never met and that the photo was fabricated.

What actually happened?

Olena Zelenska allegedly “spent” one million euros on clothing

Russian media, Telegram channels, as well as Facebook and TikTok accounts also circulated a video in which a supposed French stylist of Moroccan origin, Amina El Mansouri, claims that Olena Zelenska purchased clothing and accessories worth one million euros in Paris.

In reality, no such stylist named Amina El Mansouri exists. The woman in the video is an actress whose face was altered using deepfake technology. Using the facial search service PimEyes, Ukrinform fact-checkers determined that the video was created using the face of a woman from stock photos available online. There is also no confirmation in any reliable sources that Zelenska made such purchases.

These fakes are aimed at creating a negative image of Olena Zelenska and the Ukrainian authorities in the eyes of the international – particularly Western – audience. By promoting narratives about an alleged “lack of support” from allies such as the United States, propagandists seek to sow doubt about international solidarity with Ukraine. Such fakes distract from real events and Ukraine’s achievements on the international stage, including the successes of Ukrainian diplomacy at the UN General Assembly.

A number of Kremlin propagandist media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and TASS, are spreading a manipulation claiming that Ukrainian “ultra-right groups” are allegedly threatening to kill President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he makes concessions to Russia and hands over territories of Donbas. These narratives are part of Kremlin propaganda aimed at discrediting Ukraine and its leaders. The fake was analyzed in detail by experts from The Insider.

The outlets cited a quote from an interview with Serhii Sternenko, whom they describe as the “former head of neo-Nazis from the Odesa branch of the Right Sector”, given to the British newspaper The Times. They manipulated the quote to suggest that he threatened the Ukrainian president with death in the event of “surrendering territories”. Propagandists quoted him selectively: “If Zelenskyy gave up even a single piece of unconquered land, he would be a corpse – politically and literally”.

Serhii Sternenko headed the Odesa regional branch of the Right Sector from 2014 to 2017. In 2018, he was accused of premeditated murder after fatally wounding one of his attackers with a knife during an assassination attempt against him. Human rights defenders described the prosecution as politically motivated, and in 2021 he was released on personal recognizance.

Today, Sternenko is a well-known blogger (with more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube and 850,000 on Telegram) and a civic activist who actively raises funds for drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He has survived four assassination attempts, the most recent of which, according to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), was organized in May 2025 by a woman recruited online by Russian special services.

In his interview with The Times, Sternenko was responding to a question about Vladimir Putin’s demands that Ukraine “hand over” the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions to Russia. The full quote reads:

“If Zelenskyy gave up even a single piece of unconquered land, he would be a corpse – politically and literally. It would be a bomb under our sovereignty. People would never accept this”.

The context makes clear that Sternenko was not threatening Zelenskyy, but rather expressing an opinion about the likely reaction of Ukrainian society to any attempts to concede territory. He emphasized that surrendering land would be unacceptable to Ukrainians and would have catastrophic political consequences for any leader. Later in the The Times article, it is noted:

“Discussing Russia’s uncompromising position and President Trump’s efforts to end the war, Sternenko appeared not to consider the possibility of peace or any compromise over Ukrainian territory”.

Thus, Sternenko did not issue threats, but explained why concessions to Russia are impossible due to the position of Ukrainian society.

Kremlin media outlets took Sternenko’s words out of context, distorting them to create a fake story about “threats” against Zelenskyy. In reality, Sternenko merely underscored the firm stance of Ukrainians on defending sovereignty and territorial integrity. This fake is part of a broader Kremlin campaign aimed at inciting hostility and spreading disinformation about Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels claim that Ukraine has allegedly banned Israeli pilgrims from visiting Uman for Rosh Hashanah because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “offended” by the Israeli authorities over the absence of Independence Day greetings for Ukraine.

This was noted by analysts from the Center for Countering Disinformation.

In reality, Ukraine has not introduced any bans on pilgrimages to Uman. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein confirmed that Ukraine’s policy regarding the arrival of worshippers for the celebration of Rosh Hashanah remains unchanged.

Moreover, claims about Zelenskyy being “offended” are fabricated. Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially congratulated Zelenskyy on Ukraine’s Independence Day on behalf of Israel and its people, which refutes the alleged “reason” for the ban.

Such disinformation is aimed at portraying Ukraine as a country that supposedly violates religious freedoms or creates obstacles for international pilgrims, which could damage its reputation.

By spreading false information about a “ban” on pilgrimages by Israeli worshippers, Russia is trying to create tension in relations between Ukraine and Israel and provoke discontent within Jewish communities.

Propaganda sources are circulating a screenshot from Donald Trump Jr.'s Instagram profile, allegedly sharing a publication from Newsweek. In it, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi is quoted as saying he does not plan to attend Trump's inauguration. Trump Jr. is supposedly commenting that “the funniest thing is that he [Zelenskyi - Ed.] unofficially asked for an invitation about three times, and each time he was refused. Now he pretends like he decided not to go... what a weirdo”.

In reality, this screenshot is fabricated, reports the StopFake project. Donald Trump Jr. did not post anything like this. The Instagram page of Newsweek, from which the publication was allegedly shared by Trump Jr., does not contain a post with Zelenskyi's quote.

Additionally, publications such as Politico and The Economic Times, which have previously reported on Trump Jr.'s criticism of Zelenskyi shared on his Instagram, did not mention this incident. Had the publication been genuine, at least one of these outlets would have likely drawn attention to it.

Ultimately, the fabricated screenshot is being spread exclusively in pro-Russian segments of the internet, and it has not been published by any credible foreign or Ukrainian sources.

Earlier, in an interview with American journalist of Ukrainian descent Lex Fridman, Zelenskyi said he would not attend the inauguration without a direct invitation: 

“I would like to, but I will look at what is happening right now. I cannot come, especially during the war, unless President Trump directly invites me. It would just be inappropriate”.

This fake is part of an effort by Russian propagandists to claim that Trump supposedly does not care about Zelenskyi. In this particular case, they are portraying the Ukrainian president as excessively persistent.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels have spread claims that Ukrainian media allegedly ‘photoshops’ smiles onto injured Ukrainian soldiers in photos with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. To ‘prove’ this claim, propagandists have shared a manipulated photo, alleging that photo editing is the ‘only tool for creating any kind of victory’ for the ‘Kyiv regime’.  

In reality, this information is false. The original photo, which propagandists edited using graphic design software, was first shared online on March 13, 2022. On that day, President Zelenskyi visited wounded Ukrainian defenders in a military hospital. The sudden reappearance of this photo in early 2025 is already suspicious.  

Moreover, using Google’s reverse image search function reveals that, at the time of its original publication, all media outlets shared the unedited version of the photo. The manipulated version propagated by Russian sources is not found in credible outlets. The original image is still available on the official website of the President of Ukraine.  

By spreading this fake claim, Russian propagandists aim to portray Ukraine as ‘losing at all fronts’ and suggest that Ukrainian authorities are artificially fabricating a ‘victory narrative’. Once again, this tactic seeks to discredit President Zelenskyi and undermine Ukrainians' trust in their government.  

Previously, similar disinformation included claims about Zelenskyi purchasing a €18 million villa and building an underground bunker there, which were also debunked. 

Russian propaganda Telegram channels are spreading a video in which ABC meteorologist Mike Rizzo, when a screenshot of a news story with Volodymyr Zelenskyi appeared on the studio screen by mistake, says: “This is not a storm, this is a little spinach”. In fact, this information is not accurate. In January 2024, during a broadcast, when the host was commenting on an approaching storm in the region, a spinach image indeed appeared on the screen, prompting Rizzo to joke, “This is not a storm, this is a little spinach”. However, propagandists distorted the context by replacing the image of spinach with a fake BBC news story. In this manipulated version, an image of Volodymyr Zelenskyi appeared alongside a fabricated claim that, supposedly, the Pentagon had stated that over a million Ukrainian soldiers had died.

However, such information is fake. In November 2024, in an interview with Kyodo News, Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that the number of Ukrainian casualties on the front since the beginning of the full-scale invasion was much less than 80,000.

“Some recently in the American press reported that 80 thousand Ukrainians had died. But I want to tell you, no, it’s less. Much less”, the President said.

According to estimates by The Economist, based on leaks from Western intelligence agencies, by the end of November 2024, at least 60,000–100,000 Ukrainian military personnel could have died during Russia's full-scale invasion. Around 400,000 others were injured, making them unable to continue serving in the army.

Russian agitprop manipulates facts and distorts contexts to sow distrust in Ukrainian leaders and reduce international support for Ukraine. Such manipulations create an atmosphere of doubt and uncertainty, which, in turn, can weaken Ukraine’s ability to effectively counter Russia’s aggression.

Russian sources are spreading disinformation, alleging that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi called on Los Angeles authorities to stop focusing on ‘fabricated problems’ and instead prioritize financial support for Ukraine.  

In reality, President Zelenskyi made no such statement. Fact-checkers from StopFake  found no evidence of this claim. On the contrary, in his evening address on January 12, 2025, the Ukrainian president expressed his willingness to assist the United States in combating the California wildfires: “The situation there is dire, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives. This is currently being worked on, and through the appropriate channels, we have offered our assistance to the U.S”.  

Zelenskyi also mentioned that 150 Ukrainian rescue workers are prepared to provide the necessary aid.  

The wildfire situation in California remains critical, with at least 24 reported fatalities and approximately 180,000 people forced to evacuate due to the fire threat.  

This disinformation aims to discredit Zelenskyi by portraying him as a corrupt leader who misuses international aid. A similar narrative was debunked earlier, where Russian sources falsely claimed that eight mansions belonging to Ukrainian generals had burned down in Los Angeles.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi of ‘blackmail and begging’, a claim that is actively picked up by Russian propagandist outlets to discredit Ukraine. However, this is a manipulation.

Experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security have debunked this claim. They note that in response, Zelenskyi explained that Ukraine had offered Slovakia compensation for the period of adaptation to the loss of Russian gas transit, but this proposal was rejected by the Slovak prime minister.

Slovakia’s dependence on Russian gas remains critical, reaching nearly 90%. Other countries, such as Austria, which were even more dependent, managed to fully stop energy supplies from Russia.

Fico avoids rational explanations for Slovakia's continued gas dependency, unlike the rest of the EU, which is actively reducing its energy dependence on Moscow. Instead, he uses accusations against Ukraine as a way to justify his policy, which is likely based on shadow agreements with Russia.

Russian sources have circulated screenshots allegedly from a French media outlet, TF1 Info, claiming to show graffiti by the French artist OakOak. The graffiti supposedly depicts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi as a dog tied up next to French President Emmanuel Macron and former US President Donald Trump.

However, this claim is false, according to VoxCheck. TF1 Info has not published any such story, neither on their official website nor across their social media platforms like X, Facebook, or Instagram. Furthermore, the graffiti in question does not appear on the official pages of the artist OakOak.

In one of the screenshots, a beauty salon sign can be seen, written in both English and Korean. Using the Geo Spy Ai tool for image-based geolocation, it was determined that the building is located in Koreatown, Los Angeles, USA. Google Maps further confirmed the exact location where the photo was taken. As expected, no such graffiti exists at this address.

This incident follows previous debunked claims, such as fake information about a graffiti mural in Miami depicting Zelensky as a fly.

Russian sources have circulated a claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, through a shell company called Aldorante LTD, allegedly bought a mansion for €18 million on the French island of Saint Barthélemy and started building an underground bunker on the property. According to these propagandists, Zelenskyi is preparing an “escape plan”.

However, this claim is false, as reported by the StopFake project. The ‘news’ being spread does not contain any official documents or credible sources. Moreover, the real estate management company that sold the villa in October 2024 confirmed to StopFake journalists that the buyer has no connections to Ukraine and denied the claim about a bunker being built on the property.

Propagandists continue to systematically discredit Zelenskyi and his family by spreading fake stories about supposed expensive purchases. Previously, we debunked claims about alleged ‘new properties’ owned by the Zelenskyi family, including the home of Joseph Goebbels, a villa on the coast of Egypt, a winery owned by Sting, and others.

The news is spreading online that Volodymyr Zelenskyi, through the shell company Aldorante LTD, has purchased an estate for 18 million euros on the French island of Saint Barthélemy and begun construction of an underground bunker. Proponents suggest that the President of Ukraine is thus preparing an escape plan.

The information was allegedly published by French media, but the French-language video with “evidence” and “documents” distributed by propagandists could not be found online. But this information from propagandists is a careful fake, part of a disinformation campaign designed to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his entourage in the eyes of Europeans. From the address indicated on the “documents” in the video, it was possible to understand that we are talking about Villa Stellae — a luxurious mansion with an ocean view, six bedrooms, a terrace and a private garden, located on the resort island of Saint Barthélemy.

The villa was managed by local property management company Sibarth until October 2024, when the company posted a message on its Facebook page that the previous owners had sold the property: “We sincerely thank the seller for their trust, and we sincerely congratulate the new owners on the acquisition of such a prestigious home”. The propagandists created the fake based on this post.

Here are other cases involving the ‘possession’ of real estate with ‘stolen funds’: how Zelenskyi allegedly bought the villa of Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels for 8 million euros; or how Zelenskyi's mother-in-law allegedly purchased a villa on the coast of Egypt with Western humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Russian resources are spreading information that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi made his New Year's address against the backdrop of the Motherland monument illuminated in the colors of the US flag. The propagandists add: “As they say, 'an independent and sovereign state'”.

In fact, this is another manipulation by propagandists, the StopFake project reports. During President Zelenskyi's New Year's address to Ukrainians, the Motherland monument was illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag for the vast majority of the time. At the same moment when Zelenskyi spoke about Ukraine's allies and thanked them for their support, the monument was illuminated in the colors of the flags of other states, including the colors of the US flag. Then Zelenskyi said the following: “Because our friends are with us. And from the first minutes of this war, America was with Ukraine. And I believe that America will be with Ukraine in the first minutes of peace”.

This manipulation is intended to assert that Ukraine is actually ruled by “overseas masters” and is not a sovereign state at all. We previously wrote about how Russian propagandists twisted Zelenskyi’s words in an interview with CBN.