In January 2025, reports spread on social networks that Ron Desantis did not appreciate the generosity of Yuri Kosyuk, who allegedly decided to donate $10 million to victims of a fire in California. We decided to check if this news was true.
In mid-January, news appeared in Russian-language Telegram channels with a link to the Instagram of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The posts are accompanied by a screenshot in which Desantis, in turn, posted another screenshot - Kyiv Independent. The picture, allegedly taken from a reputable Ukrainian publication, reports that Ukrainian businessman Yuriy Kosyuk will donate $10 million to residents of Los Angeles affected by the fires. Desantis, as the caption below the picture says, reacted to this with skepticism: “Thank you, rich Ukrainian, for returning some of the American money. We are waiting for the remaining $69,990,000,000.” This news was shared by such Telegram channels as “Russia now • news"(199,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Putin on Telegram"(193,000), "Kot Kostyan - official channel" (82,000) and "Special Operation Z"(66,000).
Fires in California began on January 7 and became one of the largest natural disasters in the western United States in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated, dozens died, many lost their homes and all their property. Most suffered Los Angeles County, where fire destroyed thousands of homes.
The message about Desantis’ reaction to Kosyuk’s initiative consists of two parts: the news itself about the Ukrainian businessman’s proposal and the post of governor of Florida.
“Verified” did not find news about Yuriy Kosyuk’s initiative either in Ukrainian or in English-language sources. Such a businessman, however, exists: he owns the MHP agricultural holding and is on the list of the richest people in Ukraine. However, nothing is known about whether he intended to donate money to victims of fires in Los Angeles. There is no such news in the publication either Kyiv Independent. Accordingly, Desantis had nothing to react to. However, the governor could, for example, himself become a victim of a fake. But on his Instagram - not on personal account, nor in official - there is no such record either.
The earliest post that “Verified” found with a screenshot of Desantis was an entry in the channel “Putin on Telegram", made on January 16 at 11:18 Moscow time. This channel was repeatedly mentioned in analyzes as the primary source of fakes, mainly dedicated to Ukraine. In turn, the topic of assistance to Ukraine and its allegedly misuse is one of the most popular in pro-Kremlin Telegram channels over the past two years.
Thus, both the news itself about possible assistance to the victims from the Ukrainian billionaire and the reaction of the Florida governor to it are fake.
Cover photo: social networks
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