The source of the disinformation is former MP Ihor Mosiychuk, who frequently posts Russian narratives
Russia’s state propaganda agency TASS, citing former Ukrainian MP Ihor Mosiychuk, along with pro-Russian bloggers on TikTok, Telegram channels, and social media platforms X and Facebook, are circulating information claiming that the son of Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Oleksii, supposedly bought an elite apartment in the tallest residential building in Warsaw for $2 million.
As “proof,” propagandists provided a screenshot allegedly from a Polish online land registry and a photo of the apartment itself.
This is a fake. Firstly, the form in the screenshot of the land book is indicative of its falsity. Specifically, the name, surname, and patronymic are listed in Polish (Oles Ruslanowicz Stefanczuk). However, in Polish official documentation, a patronymic is never included; only the first name and surname are given. Additionally, the name and surname in the screenshot are translated into Polish, but in Polish official documentation, foreign surnames are listed in the original form, as they appear in the person’s foreign passport.
Secondly, the apartment in the photo, located at 44 Zlota Street, does indeed cost around $2 million, but it is currently for sale. A listing can be found on the Property Listings website.
Thirdly, according to Ukrainian law, when purchasing such a costly piece of real estate, even by the family members of an active politician or government official, changes must be made to their asset declaration. The latest update to Ruslan Stefanchuk’s declaration was on September 4, 2024, when the parliament speaker reported income from the sale of real estate.
Fourthly, the source of the fake is former MP Ihor Mosiychuk, who fled abroad after the full-scale Russian invasion and regularly supports Russian propaganda by spreading disinformation and fake news about Ukraine on his social media accounts.
In particular, in January 2023, Mosiychuk posted on TikTok that the Russians had struck military factories on Ukrainian territory, naming their locations. According to information published on the Texty.org.ua website on November 27, 2023, Mosiychuk assisted pro-Russian politician and journalist Oleksandr Dubinsky in spreading disinformation.
On March 2, 2024, Mosiychuk claimed that Ukrainian forces had supposedly shot down a Russian Shahed drone over Odesa, not during its approach, thus accusing them of causing the death of 12 people. On March 28 last year, the Center for Countering Disinformation, together with the Cyber Department of the SBU State Security Service, exposed a network of enemy disinformation being spread on TikTok and released a list of harmful channels to the public, including Mosiychuk’s channel.
In September 2024, Ukrinform’s fact-checkers debunked Mosiychuk’s fake story in which he exaggerated Ukrainian military casualties following a ballistic missile strike on one of Poltava’s educational institutions.
During the war, Russian propaganda repeatedly spread fakes about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena purchasing luxury real estate, cars, and jewelry. In particular, Ukrinform journalists debunked fakes about Zelensky “buying” Sting’s estate in Italy and Hitler’s car, and Ukraine’s First Lady allegedly buying jewelry in New York and an exclusive Bugatti.
Such Russian fakes aim to sow distrust in the Ukrainian government both domestically and internationally. The goal of Russian propagandists is to destabilize Ukrainian society and turn citizens against the authorities.
Previously, Russian propaganda also spread fakes about Zelensky purchasing a hotel in Courchevel and about former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s son supposedly acquiring the “Iron Throne” from “Game of Thrones.”
Andriy Olenin, Yuriy Banakhevych
