The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, swiftly escalating the ongoing conflict between the two countries and causing widespread loss of life and property. So, when rumors about Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, buying a Bugatti car started circulating, it drew considerable attention.
Here is what we have discovered about the rumors about Olena Zelensky purchasing a Bugatti car and whether they are true.
Did Olena Zelenska buy a new Bugatti car?
As of early July 2024, the claims about Olena buying a new Bugatti car appear to be nothing more than rumors.
Outlets such as AutoJosh reported on July 1, 2024, that Olena purchased a Bugatti Tourbillon, the latest hypercar from the automobile manufacturer. The company reportedly organized a private presentation for Olena and her husband on June 7, 2024, two weeks before the car’s official unveiling.
These outlets and several social accounts also claimed that an insider from Bugatti’s Paris dealership disclosed the purchase. Further, they reported that the invoice of the transaction was made available to the journalists. Bugatti Tourbillon costs €3.8 million, but according to the invoice, Olena paid €4.5 million due to the additional options she selected for the car.
Since then, these reports and social media posts have been vehemently refuted. The invoice mentions an address, “Neuily-sur-Seine, Paris,” in France. However, the community notes on various posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) sharing the invoice state that there is no such as address in France and that the entire invoice is fake. Given that there is a Parisian commune named Neuilly-sur-Seine, there is a possibility that the invoice is indeed fake, as a Bugatti dealership is unlikely to make such a typographical error.
Additionally, there is a video making the rounds online that features a man named Jacques Bertin, purportedly the Bugatti insider mentioned above. The community notes under some of the posts that shared this video state that it’s a product of deepfake technology and that the person in the video doesn’t exist.
