A photo of former Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov is circulating online. Users claim it shows him yachting in Europe with his wife - just days after his dismissal over corruption scandals. Also, a video of a riot inside the Ukrainian parliament is falsely posted as recent. We tell you where these images really come from in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Old image of the former Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on a yacht shared as recent
Social media posts claim photos show a multimillion-dollar property recently purchased by the daughter of Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. This is false; the luxury villa in Cannes, France has been on the market since October 2021, according to a real estate firm and the owners of the house.
On the sidelines of President Volodymyr Zelensky's European tour, online claims went viral that the Ukrainian president has purchased luxury villas in Crimea, Italy and England with Western military aid money. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
The claim: Zelenskyy has a Florida home, $1.2 billion in overseas account, 15 homes, 3 planes and $11 million in monthly income.
Our rating: False
Social media posts shared thousands of times say Volodymyr Zelensky earns $11 million per month, has billions in assets, including a $35 million house in Florida, and numerous other trappings of a moneyed lifestyle. This is unproven; public records show Ukraine's president does not own property in his name in the US state, financial disclosures and independent investigations indicate he is far from a billionaire, and none of the online claims include evidence of such significant wealth.
Claims that electricity is redirected from schools and kindergartens to elite resorts is a manipulative distortion of reality. For two days in a row, several towns in the Khust district of the Transcarpathian region allegedly were not affected by the regional power outage schedules. According to the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration chairman, there are indeed recreation centers in these towns. However, it is extremely difficult to establish a causal relationship between these events, since recreation centers are located throughout all of Transcarpathia, and not only in the Khust region. It is impossible to selectively reroute electricity from schools and kindergartens to recreation centers.
Verdict: False
There is no evidence suggesting any children have been rescued from Bidenâs properties. There is also no evidence suggesting Biden himself owns any properties in Ukraine.
There is no proof that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a net worth of $596 million or receives a monthly income of $11 million.
Leaked financial documents showed Zelenskyy had several assets like real estate property and cars, but not enough to corroborate the claim made on Facebook.
A report by Forbes found the Ukrainian president's net worth was closer to $20 million to $30 million.
Our ruling
A Facebook post shared a screenshot from a website claiming to show Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's net worth as being $596 million while receiving a monthly income of $11 million and a salary of $780,000.
The website featured in the Facebook post offered no corroborating evidence for the claim.
Leaked financial documents showed Zelenskyy did have some assets, but nowhere near what's being claimed on the website and Facebook post.
A report by Forbes found his net worth to be much smaller, around $20 million to $30 million.
We rate this False.
A Swiss land registry official said that documents claiming to show purchases of luxury properties by Ukrainian officials are forged.
The documents contain errors, such as the wrong digit count in numbers identifying the property.
A Swiss newspaper said the false claims were the work of a blogger loyal to the Kremlin.
Our ruling
A website claimed that three high-ranking Ukrainian officials had purchased luxury property in the resort town of Gstaad, Switzerland.
A Swiss land registry official said the documents cited as evidence were forged; errors in them prove that they did not come from the registry, the official said.
We rate this claim False.
