Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Pro-Kremlin social media accounts and outlets have been spreading false claims that mansions destroyed in the California wildfires belonged to Ukrainian military officers. These claims have been viewed over 1 million times on platforms such as X and Instagram.
Researchers studying Russian influence operations report that these posts aim to discredit the Ukrainian government and undermine U.S. support for Ukraine. Léa Ronzaud, a senior investigator at a research firm, wrote in an email that the social media posts are “the latest in a long string of assertions by Russian officials, media, and the pro-Kremlin online ecosystem that Ukrainian officials are corrupt and misuse foreign aid to enrich themselves.”
Darren Linvell, a communications professor at Clemson University, commented, “It’s just so typical of what we see from Russia—to take advantage of an ongoing crisis for their own ends.” The story first emerged just four days after the fires began in Los Angeles and quickly gained traction on X before being labeled as satire.