Fact Check: Did Zelensky buy a $20 million dollar mansion in Florida?

The claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has purchased a $20 million residence in Florida has started flying around online again after his recent trip to the U.S. Capitol building. Zelensky met with members of Congress on Tuesday to enlist additional aid ahead of winter, when Russia is expected to target civilian infrastructure such as energy plants with an offensive that would force Ukrainians to conserve energy in cold weather.

The Biden administration has sent more than $75 billion in cash and equipment to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, but Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young last week notified congressional leadership Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on September 28, 2023 in Kiev, Ukraine.

On Wednesday, a publication circulated on social media saying Zelensky had purchased a $20 million luxury villa in Florida. Lauren Witzke, an activist on the far right and Republican candidate for Delaware senator in 2020, reposted this statement calling on the U.S. to stop additional funding for Ukraine in the war against Russia. "Zelensky has sent Ukrainians to slaughter and drained the US treasury with no intention of staying in Ukraine and supporting his people. Instead, he plans to flee and retire to the beautiful beaches of Florida, where he is said to have bought a $20 million luxury villa," Witzke said." said Witzke. Her post with photos of the alleged property quickly racked up 9.1 million views and was re-shared by other popular conservative accounts such as Catturd, who said: "Please tell me this isn't true". Witzke's publication of Zelensky's alleged $20 million home in Vero Beach, Fla. Twitter.

This is not the first time such a statement about Zelensky has appeared. In April 2022, former Canadian politician Nicolas Tetrault accused Zelensky of embezzling Ukrainian aid on Facebook, claiming that the Ukrainian president owned 15 homes, including a $35 million house in Florida, and three private jets. The post has been deleted. According to a fact-check conducted by PolitiFact last year, the earliest mention of the allegation has to do with a post made the day before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, on EPrimeFeed, a website that only publishes posts from anonymous authors and appears to be affiliated with the Russian government.