Putin’s LIES about Ukraine

“False flag” operations, misinformation and disinformation were standard Soviet/Russian tactics during the Cold War and still used today by Russia against Ukraine. The “big lie” still works on naive supporters of Putin. Stop believing Putin’s propaganda!!

Zelensky ran on an anti-corruption platform winning with 73% of the vote in May 2019. He has done a good job rooting out corruption. Zelensky is the Winston Church of Ukraine.

Isolationists want to abandon Ukraine because the country has some flaws. Every flaw Ukraine has is minor compared to Russia. Democracies at war shouldn’t be judged in the same light as countries at peace. During WW2, the US interned 120,000 Japanese believing they were a security threat. In December 1941, the US Government outlawed the German-American Bund – the American Nazi Party.

Here are some of Putin’s LIES:

** Putin’s LIE: Ukraine is the money laundering capital of the world.

The TRUTH: Ukraine is no longer the money laundering capital of the world. The Council of Europe, which has 46 Member States totaling 700 million citizens has been working with Ukraine to root out corruption and has been largely successful. In August 2020, they reported improvement in two key areas:
1) Improving the criminal law provisions for the offense of terrorism financing;
2) Enhanced sanctions for financial institutions and other entities for non-compliance with AML/CFT legislation.

The positive steps by Ukrainian authorities have prompted MONEYVAL to assign Ukraine higher international compliance ratings in the above mentioned areas; they have been re-rated from “partially compliant” to “largely compliant”.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/moneyval/-/moneyval-publishes-new-follow-up-report-on-ukraine

** Putin’s LIE: Putin accuses Zelensky of attacking the Russia’s Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
The TRUTH: Ukrainian officials are cracking down on the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine because they are a subversive force doing the Kremlin’s bidding.

The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is a vocal supporter of Putin and the invasion of Ukraine. Church pasters who aren’t sufficiently pro Putin were replaced by Kirill. Putin uses the Russian Orthodox church to brainwash citizens into believing Putin is doing God’s will attacking Ukraine. https://time.com/6167332/putin-russian-orthodox-church-war-ukraine/

** Putin’s LIE: Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelensky spent $1,100,000 on Cartier jewelry and got a salesperson fired in the process during a visit to the U.S. with her husband, Ukrainian President Zelensky, in September 2023.

The TRUTH: This accusation is FALSE. The claim in all cases cited is based on a Sept. 30 YouTube video uploaded by user “Marshall Leonard” purporting to show a screen recording of another video from Instagram. That Instagram video came from a user named gorgeous.bb.jeanette, whose account is now private and devoid of public content. The individual in the video describes herself as a recent immigrant from Benin who had weeks earlier landed a job as a sales intern at Cartier’s Fifth Avenue Mansion. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/olena-zelenska-cartier-jewelry/

** Putin’s LIE: Zelensky’s Wife went on a $40K shopping spree in Paris in Dec. 2022.

The TRUTH: In the days following Zelenska’s visit to Paris, several Twitter accounts posted about her supposed shopping trip, assuming the money came from U.S. aid transferred to Ukraine over the past year. Journalist Max Blumenthal tweeted on December 21 that “French social media has been buzzing about a $40,000 Paris shopping spree by Olena Zelenska, the wife of Volodymyr Zelensky.”

None of those tweets cite a source. A screenshot of the article, titled “Zelensky’s Wife Spent $40,000 Shopping in Paris While Demanding US Give Ukraine Money,” appeared on known hoax news site NewsPunch, widely reported to have disseminated misinformation online. NewsPunch, in turn, does not cite sources for the claim other than an embedded tweet by SGM World News.
https://www.newsweek.com/zelenska-zelensky-ukraine-russia-paris-france-shopping-spree-1768736

** PUTIN’S LIE: The claim that Zelensky bought two luxury yachts, named Lucky Me and My Legacy, through proxies for more than $75 million.

The TRUTH: In Dec. 2023, social media users began falsely claiming that Zelensky recently purchased two multimillion-dollar yachts despite the devastating conflict. “Ukrainian President Zelensky uses proxies to hide ownership of two yachts worth $75.000.000,” a post on X, formerly Twitter, states. “This man will go down in history as the person who destroyed his own country for fame and fortune.”

Social media posts carrying the claim cite a Nov. 21 story from The Islander, an online publication, that reported Zelenskyy “is now ensnared in a scandal involving the alleged purchase of two luxury yachts, ‘Lucky Me’ and ‘My Legacy,’ worth a combined $75 million.” The yachts are still for sale.
https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-zelenskyy-luxury-yachts-75-million-067680385163

** PUTIN’S LIE: Zelensky bought a $20 million mansion in Florida.

The TRUTH: Zelensky did NOT buy a new mansion. This is more Putin propaganda. Lauren Witzke, the 2020 Republican Senate nominee for Delaware, recirculated the claim about Zelensky purchasing a Florida mansion in Dec. 2023 while calling on the U.S. to “CUT OFF UKRAINE” from additional funding for the war against Russia.

According to a fact check from PolitiFact last year, the earliest mention of the claim stems from a post that was made a day before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 on the website EPrimeFeed, which only publishes posts from anonymous authors and appears to have ties to the Russian government. PolitiFact concluded the claims were false.
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-zelensky-buy-20-million-mansion-florida-1852474

** PUTIN’S LIE: The Ukrainian first lady is strutting around in high end apparel while millions of Ukrainians struggle to survive.

The TRUTH: A high end Ukrainian Apparel company called Gasanova is essentially using the First Lady as advertising for their apparel throughout Europe. This has helped the company, founded by Elvira Gasanova to grow despite the war wrecking the country. The company brings in tax revenue that is desperately needed.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelelspethgross/2023/12/22/gasanova-is-using-the-power-of-dragons-to-dress-ukraines-first-lady/

** PUTIN’S LIE: Zelensky’s Wife did NOT spend millions on a Bugatti Sportscar.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2024/07/02/social-media-posts-claim-zelenskys-wife-spent-millions-on-bugatti-sportscar/

June 2025

Comments to: info@AmericanAction.us

To View other issues on Ukraine:

Phony reasons Putin invaded Ukraine:
https://www.americanaction.us/defense-foreign-policy/phony-reasons-putin-invaded-ukraine/

Why NATO was NEVER a threat to Russia:
https://www.americanaction.us/defense-foreign-policy/why-nato-was-not-a-threat-to-russia/

Why we must defend Ukraine:
https://www.americanaction.us/defense-foreign-policy/why-we-must-defend-ukraine/

Is Trump a putin stooge? Follow your conscience:
https://www.americanaction.us/defense-foreign-policy/is-trump-a-putin-stooge-follow-your-conscience/