Propagandists have created a fake British media website to discredit Zelensky and his entourage
Pro-Russian propagandists on Telegram, X (Twitter), and Instagram are spreading a “video investigation” allegedly conducted by a British outlet called London Telegraph. The video claims that a former investigator of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Iryna K., fled Ukraine with a large number of documents “proving” that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s family owns real estate in Europe worth EUR 1.2 billion. It also alleges that the Ukrainian leader controls these assets through a close circle of trusted persons.
This is false. The media outlet London Telegraph cited by Russian propagandists does not exist. According to WHOIS data, the site was created only on August 14, 2025.
The article cites a journalist named Charlotte Davies. However, the photo shown belongs to another media professional, Helen Brown, who has no connection to the alleged investigation.
In the video, Iryna K. is shown speaking Ukrainian, but her speech contains multiple mistakes uncharacteristic of a native speaker. For example, word stress is placed incorrectly, and pronunciation of letters “і/и” is faulty. This suggests that the person speaking in the video does not know the Ukrainian language and is merely reading the text aloud.
Furthermore, the propagandists used footage from a different case previously published online. The original photos were taken during SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) searches of relatives of MP Fedir Khrystenko in a case related to leaks of confidential NABU data.
The fake investigation provides no evidence of Zelensky’s alleged property or ownership by his supposed trusted associates.
It is worth noting that Russian leader Vladimir Putin himself uses proxies in corruption schemes to hide his wealth and property. For example, the first owner of the complex near Gelendzhik, known as “Putin’s Palace,” was Putin’s longtime acquaintance and former member of the Ozero cooperative, Nikolai Shamalov.
This fake story is clearly aimed at discrediting President Zelensky and his team. The propagandists specifically used NABU in the fake story because of mass rallies in Ukraine in support of independent anti-corruption agencies in the second half of July.
Earlier, Russia also spread a fake story about tattoo checks at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Andriy Olenin
Source: Russian fake: NABU 'discovered' EUR 1.2B in European real estate belonging to Zelensky
