$11 million from Zelensky’s parents? The viral material turned out to be a fake

A recording stylized as a Euronews material is being widely spread on social media. It is supposed to prove that the Ukrainian anti-corruption services discovered $11 million in the accounts of Volodymyr Zelensky’s parents, and then the presidential administration allegedly interfered in the matter. The film aroused great emotions and collected millions of views. Entries with this material suggest that the money was to come indirectly from foreign support for Ukraine. This issue has given the false message a life of its own online, but therein lies the problem. This story has no basis in fact, it was fabricated.

There is no evidence of an investigation and $11 million in the Zelenskiy accounts

There is no credible confirmation that Zelensky’s parents were detained, interrogated, or that millions of dollars were found in their accounts. Neither Ukrainian anti-corruption institutions nor recognized media reported on this case.

There is also no trace of the alleged Euronews material. The recording was not published either on the station’s website or on its official channels. This is the first strong signal that the film about the Zelenskys was fabricated.

Euronews and “Ukrainska Pravda” were faked

The creators of the fake used the Euronews logo and made it look like a fragment of an article by “Ukrainska Pravda”. The problem is that no such text exists. There is also no official comment from the NABU spokesman, which is referred to by the narrator in the recording.

The entire story is therefore built from elements that are supposed to look credible, but do not stand up to simple verification. It is worth emphasizing that this is a classic mechanism for building disinformation: a well-known logo, a serious tone and a sensational thesis.

The materials are true, but have no connection with the Zelensky family

The recording used authentic shots previously published by NABU. However, they did not concern Zelensky’s parents, but a completely different anti-corruption investigation. Also, the scenes depicting the search of the house do not match the date described and come from different material.

This means that the authors did not create everything from scratch. Instead, they took real footage and spliced ​​it into a false narrative to make it look more convincing.

This is how the Russian network “Matryoshka” works

The false message was also denied by the Ukrainian Center for Counteracting Disinformation. According to this institution, this is a typical example of provocation and activities of the Russian network “Matryoshka”, which produces prepared materials imitating well-known media.

The story about $11 million in the Zelenskiy accounts is therefore not supported by facts. This is another viral provocation that preys on emotions surrounding the war and aid for Ukraine.