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.