Pro-Kremlin accounts falsely claim LA fires destroyed homes of Ukrainian generals

Thousands of Los Angeles area homes were destroyed by raging wildfires, but social media claims that Ukrainian generals lost mansions in the blazes are baseless. Several pro-Kremlin outlets promoted the allegations and posts sharing aerial images of the purported California properties, actually show residences in Ukraine.

"In Los Angeles, 8 houses belonging to Ukrainian military officials burned down during fires. The total value of the destroyed property reaches about $90 million. The mansions were purchased from April 2022 to February 2024 and belonged to the team members of Valery Zaluzhny," says a January 11, 2025 X post, referring to Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's former top general.

Another January 12 Facebook post says: "8 Ukrainian High Ranking Army Generals Mansion burned in Los Angeles, California."

The latter post includes a video showing over 40 luxury homes along with the names of various Ukrainian judges and prosecutors.

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Screenshot from X taken January 21, 2025

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Screenshot from Facebook taken January 21, 2025

The same claims have circulated elsewhere on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, Rumble and Gettr. Several Russian media outlets and Telegram channels also amplified it, along with a network of websites the French government has accused of spreading pro-Moscow propaganda.

Several wildfires near Los Angeles have claimed more than two dozen lives and billions of dollars in property damage. 

Ukrainian government officials are often targeted online with false claims that they spend vast sums of money on expensive goods, including valuable real estate or luxury vehicles. Many posts are part of a pro-Moscow campaign that seeks to undermine Western support for Kyiv and damage confidence in the government as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.

Lack of evidence

The video claiming Zaluzhny's subordinates purchased eight mansions in Los Angeles includes a supposed quote from Ukrainian ground forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty saying: "When you steal money from the people fighting for their lives, be prepared that the fire of war will reach you even on another continent."

The Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (CSCIS), a Ukranian government organization, called the posts "fake" and said Drapaty had not made any statements about the Los Angeles fires.

"With such lies, Kremlin propagandists are trying to discredit Ukraine and its military and political leadership, as well as undermine confidence in the Armed Forces," says a January 13 Ukrainian-language Facebook post from CSCIS (archived here).

The clip also contains the logo of United24, a Ukrainian government-run platform aimed at soliciting donations for the embattled country. However, a search of the United24 website does not contain any articles or videos about Ukrainian military officials owning California mansions.

The Center for Countering Disinformation, another Ukrainian government body, also debunked the video (archived here). "After verifying this information with United24 Media, the Center reports that the platform did not create or share this video," it posted on X.

A keyword search did not reveal any reliable news source that detailed the claims, and the Russian-language articles and Telegram users only cite unnamed "Ukrainian sources." One of the early Telegram posts also includes the Russian word for "satire" at the bottom.

Researchers at the social media analytics firm Graphika linked the claims to pro-Kremlin media and social media users as part of a vast foreign influence campaign tied to the war in Ukraine.

Unrelated houses

A reverse image search using keyframes reveals that many houses in the second video were photographed by the non-governmental organization Automaidan, which maintains a database tracking Ukrainian judicial authorities' financial assets. The website often publishes aerial footage of the homes of officials' and their families.

At least half a dozen houses included in the video were taken in Ukraine, not California, as the posts claim (archived here, here, here, here, here and here). Automaidan also published those investigations before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

AFP has fact-checked other claims about the War in Ukraine here.