Russian-language Facebook accounts ( 1, 2, 3 ) shared a fragment of a story from the Russian media outlet Известия, which claims that Alexander Soros, the son of philanthropist George Soros, and Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, signed an agreement. According to this agreement, Alexander Soros would be granted 400 km² of land free of charge. The story mentions that the land would be used for the disposal of hazardous waste from chemical, pharmaceutical, and oil refining factories. The video indicates that the story is dated December 2, 2023. The same information was circulated on December 2, 2023, by various Russian media outlets (ria.ru, gazeta.ru, ukraina.ru).
The media outlets claim that a document confirming the agreement was obtained by French journalist Jules Vincent and published on social network X. The document is dated November 13, 2023.
The claim that Alexander Soros received a plot of land from the Ukrainian authorities is disinformation. The circulated decree is fake. A decree with such content from the specified date cannot be found on the president’s official website. Additionally, according to Ukrainian legislation, foreign citizens are not allowed to purchase agricultural land. Moreover, while French journalist Jules Vincent does exist, the account that published this information is likely fake.
The information was fact-checked by several fact-checking organizations. Euronews reports that Jules Vincent published an audio recording on X, where he speaks with a non-native French accent, claiming to work as a reporter and stating that he has been covering environmental issues for over five years.
After introducing himself, Vincent hands over the narrative to an anonymous representative of Ukraine’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. The representative states that the land will be given to companies free of charge for undefined use, specifically for disposing of chemical waste. At the end of the video, the journalist addresses the public, urging those concerned about nature to pay attention to the disastrous consequences of this agreement.
Euronews examined the journalist’s biography. It is worth mentioning that he had not published any other stories over the past five years on his X account. The account remained inactive for several years until November 2023, when he began posting environmental content. Additionally, the journalist’s biography on X states that he is a member of the French Association of Independent Journalists, Pigiste. However, Pigiste issued a statement on X denying that Jules Vincent is a member of their association.
A journalist named Jules Vincent does indeed exist and represents the French newspaper Libération. However, the account that disseminated the information about Ukrainian authorities allegedly transferring land to Soros is likely impersonating this journalist.
Alongside the recording, Kremlin-affiliated media outlet circulated a screenshot of a decree allegedly signed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The document is dated November 13, 2023. Euronews verified the authenticity of the decree on the president’s official website. On that date, only one decree was listed on the official site, but it had no connection to agricultural land or George Soros.
According to euvsdisinfo.eu, the Ukrainian-language decree contains grammatical errors.
Under Ukrainian law, foreign citizens are not permitted to purchase land in Ukraine. Foreign companies can only acquire non-agricultural land for the purpose of constructing real estate directly related to their business activities in Ukraine.
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