This thesis was spread by the propaganda media. Reports say that during the Crimean Platform on August 23, 2023 in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyi “recognised” the transfer of the Crimean peninsula to Western countries. They say that after the de-occupation of Crimea, the West will try to seize it and establish its own order there. The authors conclude: Zelenskyi is not seeking to return Crimea to Ukraine, but merely trading it to Western leaders.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed this message and explained that the international summit was not about “selling Crimea to Western countries”. Such a message is baseless and does not contain any factual basis. This is an invention of Russian propaganda and an attempt to discredit the international partnership of Ukraine and other states for the return of Crimea to Ukraine. Among other things, at the summit, for example, they discussed the total militarization of the peninsula, its isolation from the rest of the world. They also talked about the consequences of the occupation since 2014 and the return to Ukraine and further development prospects. But they did not talk about the “sale” of the peninsula to other countries.

The Crimean Platform is an international coordination mechanism initiated by Ukraine to bring the issue of Crimea back on the agenda. This year's summit was attended by 63 states and various international organizations. That is why Russian propagandists are using such rhetoric to demonize the West and Ukraine, which allegedly act only in predatory and selfish interests.