Epstein files: Russian propaganda spreads fake claims of Ukrainian government’s “involvement” in human trafficking
The Russian state propaganda agency TASS and the Kremlin-linked network of Telegram channels are spreading claims that the so-called “Epstein files” allegedly contain references to a “connection” between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and human trafficking.
Russian propagandists cite a letter from an unknown author, dated 2024, claiming that Zelensky may have collaborated with Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2022 after being accused of pedophilia and human trafficking.
This is fake. First, Russian media provide no evidence of such correspondence. The publications do not include screenshots of the letter or any direct references to it. Leading international and Ukrainian media outlets that analyze the Epstein case documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice typically publish scanned copies or photographs of the materials.
Second, Ukrainian media have indeed reported on documents linking Brunel to Ukraine, but solely in the context of his contacts with Ukrainian modeling agencies. For instance, the “Epstein files” contain correspondence between Masha Manyuk, director of the Kyiv modeling agency Linea 12 Models, and Jean-Luc Brunel. The letters show that in the 2010s, he was seeking models in Ukraine for work abroad. Manyuk clarified to Ukrainian media that these were just inquiries, none of which led to collaboration, and all proposals for Ukrainian models to work in New York were rejected. The documents do not mention Volodymyr Zelensky or any other Ukrainian high-ranking officials.
Third, according to Ukrainian outlets, the released documents do mention Zelensky – at least 24 times. However, these references are mostly news headlines or mentions in articles sent by email to FBI staff. They likely relate to his 2019 presidential campaign. In Epstein’s correspondence with former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s advisor Miroslav Lajčák, the financier asked about the chances of Petro Poroshenko’s rival in the elections, which likely referred to Zelensky, according to Ukrainian journalists who analyzed the U.S. Department of Justice documents.
In conclusion, there are no mentions of human trafficking or collaboration between Zelensky and Brunel in the documents.
Russian propaganda also circulated a video using the logo of an opposition Russian media outlet called Agentstvo, claiming that Ukrainian elites after 2014 supposedly knew about child trafficking for Jeffrey Epstein’s schemes and “turned a blind eye.”
This is also fake. Russian propagandists doctored the video, using the Agentstvo logo to mislead viewers. The actual outlet has a different video format, visual markers, and watermarks.
These fake materials are intended to undermine trust in the Ukrainian government. Russia has used the “Epstein files” as a pretext for a disinformation campaign against Ukraine. According to SPRADVI, over the past few days, Russian propaganda has spread more than 300 news posts containing fake content related to the “Epstein files” and Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian propaganda also spread fake stories about Zelensky amid tensions around Greenland and the Davos Forum.
By Andrii Olenin
