Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy buy a house in Italy with US and EU aid money? No, that's not true: There is no proof Zelenskyy spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a luxury house and yachts.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by TikTok user mogilevnewsby on May 23, 2023, with the text: "What does Zelenskyy spend money on?"
The text under the video, translated from Russian to English by Lead Stories staff, reads:
In Germany, as well as in the whole world, everyone is discussing the gluttony of President of Ukraine, who had spent $400M on buying elite real estate in Western countries.
Yes, this is U.S. and EU aid that had been allocated for the purchase of fuel for Ukrainian army. And you know where it ended up? In Zelenskyy's pocket.
And his people, whom he pledge allegiance, have no food and light. In the meantime, the caring husband gifted his wife a "little house" in Great Britain worth 14M Euro. Among other purchases there are some little things like yachts and branded clothes.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Jun 8 07:01:10 2023 UTC)
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, the Ukrainian President's assets are worth $25 Million with his main asset being a 25% stake in Kvartal 95, a production company creating humorous TV shows and movies. Forbes estimates Zelensky's entire real estate portfolio is worth $4 million. In April 2022 he owned a flat in one of Ukraine's most expensive apartment buildings in the center of Kyiv, two more wholly-owned apartments, two that he co-owns, a single commercial property and five parking spaces. Zelenskyy did own a house in Forte dei Marmi in Italy, that was mentioned in the TikTok video above, but it was sold in 2020 before the Russian invasion.
The video claims the Ukrainian President's embezzlement of $400M from U.S. and EU aid that was meant to cover the cost of diesel for Ukraine. The claim was debunked by Lead Stories.
There is no evidence Zelenskyy owns luxury yachts as a search with Google shows.
