Russian propaganda invents 'secret escape' of Zelenska with millions of euros in cash
Russian propaganda media, Telegram channels, and accounts on the social network X are spreading information from anonymous "sources" in the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Kyiv that Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska allegedly secretly left Ukraine in an armored cash-in-transit vehicle with 66 million euros in cash.
It is claimed that this was preceded by the fact that Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were allegedly planning to serve Zelenska with a "suspicion notice" in connection with corruption.
This is fake. The source of the disinformation was the anonymous Telegram channel Condottiero. In the description of the channel, it is stated that its administrator is a "veteran" of the Russian Wagner PMC. At the same time, the post does not provide any facts or evidence that the episode of Olena Zelenska's "escape" actually took place.
This "insider information" was published on May 18. However, on May 19, Olena Zelenska and President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the opening of an Ivan Marchuk exhibition at the Chocolate House in Kyiv.
The NABU and SAPO stated that the information about an alleged investigation regarding Zelenska is fake.
"NABU and SAPO draw attention to the spread in Russian and pro-Russian media of another wave of disinformation regarding alleged 'investigation' concerning the Ukrainian president's wife. This information does not correspond to reality. NABU and SAPO are not carrying out any procedural actions referred to in these 'leaks'," NABU said.
The institutions also stressed that such "leaks" are part of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Ukrainian institutions, undermining trust in anti-corruption bodies, destabilizing the socio-political situation, and weakening Ukraine's unity under conditions of full-scale war.
According to Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia is preparing a new destabilization campaign in Ukraine. For this purpose, the Kremlin plans to amplify scandals around the detention of former Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak.
The Foreign Intelligence Service reports that it has obtained access to Russian documents that indicate preparation to destabilize the situation inside the country and undermine its external support. The reason for this is the failure of the Russian spring offensive and critical problems in the country's economy.
This fake is an example of how Russian propaganda tries to use high-profile topics and corruption scandals for informational pressure on Ukraine. The absence of evidence, anonymous sources, and official refutations indicate the manipulative nature of such messages.
Russian propaganda previously fabricated front pages of international media about Zelensky after an interview with Mendel.
By Andrii Olenin
