There has been a war in Ukraine for months - that is causing many people great concern. Those not affected try to help where they can, not least by donating money to certain organizations and foundations. Many people have donated to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February. So far, more than 180 million euros have been raised through online donations.

However, there are always fraudsters who try to take advantage of people's compassion and make money with supposed requests for donations.

So it may be that when you are looking for aid projects you come across the website of an alleged “ military foundation of the President of Ukraine ”. This describes itself as a “unique financing program for the resistance against the hordes of Russian barbarians”. Unique in the sense that you can supposedly even benefit financially if you donate money to the foundation.

MIMIKAMA
Screenshot of the mentioned website. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, confirmed to the German Press Agency (dpa) that the so-called “Zelensky Foundation” is a fake site, which is why they are clearly distancing themselves from it.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Germany has taken a closer look at the organization and is now presenting important facts:

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, confirmed to the German Press Agency (dpa) that the so-called “Zelensky Foundation” is a fake site, which is why they are clearly distancing themselves from it.

Please stay vigilant and do not fall into this Russian trap , Melnyk appeals to the Germans.

He describes the case as a new level of the Kremlin's cynicism to mislead people and calls on the police authorities as well as the Federal Criminal Police Office to " quickly investigate the particularly malicious fraud case and hold the perpetrators accountable ."

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the foundation has its origins with the Russian government.

As early as August 11, 2022, this secret service warned of an information campaign to discredit the Ukrainian president and issued a statement saying that a “fake platform of the so-called “Zelensky Foundation” would be created and published.” This is aimed at foreign citizens and institutions with a call for donations for the Ukrainian population.

Website itself unbelievable

If you examine it more closely, you will also find some evidence on the website that suggests that it is a scam. The very assumption that a profit is expected from a donation investment is questionable. Nevertheless, in addition to certificates for donations received, the website also advertises profits if people in the area can also be convinced to trust the foundation and donate money. A video explains that if you donate €20 and three other convinced people donate the same, you will receive €30 back. According to the same system, it should also be possible to make a contribution of €100 and get €200 back.

Furthermore, on the otherwise German-language website you can find the English spelling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj - written as Zelenskyy, whereby the last letter (the y) has also been omitted.

Equally unusual is the fact that the supposed donation organization aggressively asks for supporters' personal data. It is not possible to register for the donation program without providing first and last delivery, email address, telephone number and a Telegram account. Even if you find the sentence “We will never pass on your email to third parties” on the website, what actually happens to the data remains unanswered.

According to the initial report from T-Online, however, it is not yet possible to contribute anything to the fake foundation. Instead, there is a countdown on the website that will announce the start of the project on September 30, 2022. Even after that, you should refrain from donating!

An impressive donation platform has been online for months!

The fake foundation's profiles were conspicuously registered on both social networks and the Internet under the domain "zestiftung.com" just a few days ago, namely from August 28th, although a state donation platform has been available online since the beginning of May 2022.

Donations can be made separately for the army, humanitarian causes or post-war reconstruction via the official website United24 You can currently pay with a credit card or bank transfer as well as with crypto money.

Sources:
DPA
website “Zelensky Foundation”
Warning from the Ukrainian military intelligence service
Website of the Ukrainian president in English
Article on this topic at “t-online.de

Also read:
Deepfake: Zelenskyj's fake call for surrender

Author: Nick L.


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Notes:
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