Florida
Does Volodymyr Zelenskyy live in Florida? What to know about social media claim
President Trump pauses federal aid to Ukraine
World leaders are reacting to President Donald Trump’s decision to pause federal aid to Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy does not live in Florida despite online claims he purchased a mansion in Vero Beach.
- News agencies like USA Today and Reuters debunked the claims.
- President Donald Trump paused aid to Ukraine on Monday following the clash between him, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 at the White House.
There is no proof Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lives in Florida, much less Vero Beach, despite such rumors circulating since 2023 and many people searching for that information online this week.
A right-wing activist and failed U.S. Senate candidate started the rumor with a social media post, which has been debunked by media outlets such as USA Today and Reuters.
Here’s what to know about the social media claims that Zelenskyy owns a Florida home.
Does Zelenskyy live in Florida?
Lauren Witzke, a Delaware Republican who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, claimed Zelenskyy is a U.S. citizen and had bought a $20 million mansion in Vero Beach, according to her post on the social media platform X on Dec. 13, 2023.
Since then, the post has received a community note on X saying the naturalized citizenship document was photoshopped and the photo of the home is not in Vero Beach.
The post includes photos of a mansion in Ponte Vedra Beach, which is in St. Johns County, Florida. Property records for Indian River and St. Johns counties do not list Zelenskyy as a property owner in either location.
The Ponte Vedra Beach home was being auctioned on Feb. 23, 2024, and sold on March 25 for $7.5 million, according to St. Johns County property records. See the home here.
Is Zelenskyy a U.S. citizen?
An aspect of the viral tweet was a naturalized citizenship document for Zelenskyy, which claimed his residence in Vero Beach.
Zelenskyy’s photo in the document is an edited version of an image distributed to media outlets by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, USA Today reported. In both images, Zelenskyy is wearing the same jacket and shirt, and the garments are oriented identically, with the left collar slightly opened.
An authentic certificate of naturalization includes the person’s full name and signature, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The document shown in the post is missing Zelenskyy’s middle name of Oleksandrovych and missing his signature.
Who is Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Zelenskyy is Ukraine’s sixth president and was elected in April 2019. The 47-year-old unseated incumbent Petro Poroshenko, who had been in office since 2014, with 73% of the vote.
Since Russia invaded in February 2022, Zelenskyy has been the face of Ukrainian resistance, notably for his visibility online and his pleas to other countries for support.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden provided Zelenskyy with billions of dollars in arms, cash and loans for Ukraine to fight the war against Russia. However, President Donald Trump’s approach to Ukraine has been a complete change, with him pausing aid to Ukraine on Monday, March 3.
The pause followed the clash between Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Feb. 28 in the Oval Office after Zelenskyy complained about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The clash between the world leaders ended with Zelenskyy being asked to leave the White House, and a planned news conference with both presidents was canceled.
The meeting came after Trump opened negotiations in February with Putin to end the war in Ukraine in a dramatic break from longstanding U.S. policy and the Biden administration’s complete support for Ukraine.
USA Today writers Francesca Chambers and Joey Garrison contributed to this report.
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X @gonthescene.