Fake: Olena Zelenska allegedly involved in trafficking Ukrainian children in Turkey
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?
- Use of pro-Kremlin sources. The alleged “evidence” of Olena Zelenska’s guilt in such posts is often based on screenshots from outlets such as Russkaya Vesna and other Kremlin-controlled media. Fact-checking organizations, including Maldita, have repeatedly documented that such claims are part of a systematic Russian disinformation campaign.
- Manipulation of the Slidstvo.Info investigation. The trigger for this latest wave of fake stories was a real investigation conducted by journalists from Slidstvo.Info. The report examined inadequate conditions in which Ukrainian orphans were housed in hotels in Turkey and included information about:
- psychological abuse and exploitation of children, including being forced to perform;
- cases in which two underage girls became pregnant by hotel employees;
- a lack of proper oversight by Ukrainian officials.
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.