Billion-euro project in Ukraine Why a luxury ski resort is at the center of fake news
A luxury ski resort for 1.5 billion US dollars - and paid for by the Ukrainian state in the middle of a war? News about the Goro Mountain Resort made big waves online. But it is fake news.
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- The Goro Mountain Resort is to be built in western Ukraine over the next 15 years. The luxury ski resort is expected to cost 1.5 billion US dollars.
- Recently, pro-Russian channels spread the word that the Ukrainian state was financing the XXL construction project - fake news, as is now clear.
- The private Ukrainian OKKO Group and a number of investors are responsible for the project. The state is only providing support in the form of tax concessions.
41 ski slopes on 1200 hectares, 74 kilometers of pistes and a huge tourist area with 25 hotels and numerous wellness facilities and restaurants: the Goro Mountain Resort is undoubtedly an XXL construction project. It is to be built over the next 15 years on the territory of the settlement community of Slavsko at the foot of the Vysokyi Verkh Mountains in western Ukraine.
However, the fact that the ambitious construction project is currently causing a stir is not due to the recent start of construction or the gigantic investment sum of 1.5 billion US dollars. Rather, news has been doing the rounds on pro-Russian channels for some time, claiming that the luxury ski resort is being financed by the Ukrainian government.
However, as reported by "20min", among others, this is deliberately spread false information intended to support Russian propaganda. In fact, the Goro Mountain Resort is not financed by the state, but is managed by the private Ukrainian OKKO Group. It sees itself as the "sole owner, main investor, main developer, developer and operator".
Spokesperson clarifies: "The state is not involved"
One third of the investment sum comes directly from the Okko Group's coffers, with the rest being contributed by "other investors", who the company did not wish to name. However, Oleksandr Tkachenko from GORO Development emphasized to "20min": "The Ukrainian state is not involved." Nevertheless, the construction project is intended to contribute to the "reconstruction" of the country and the "future of Ukraine".
Pro-Russian-minded channels seem to have no interest in the former. The false claim is not only repeatedly picked up by pro-Russian accounts on Platform X; AfD regional groups have also shared the reports. In addition, blogs and other portals that have already reproduced propagandistic content in the past are creating a breeding ground for the anti-Ukrainian narrative.
False claims of this kind have been launched since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in order to discredit the country. For example, it has been repeatedly claimed that aid money from abroad is being misused for tourism projects.
Ukrainian state helps with tax breaks
The case of the Goro Mountain Resort is similar - although a distinction needs to be made here. Although the Ukrainian state is not supporting the construction project financially, it is helping the project through the "Investment Nanny" initiative.
According to "Interfax-Ukraine", this initiative provides state aid for investment projects in the form of "exemption from certain taxes and duties, especially when importing new equipment, and makes it easier for investors to obtain land and the necessary infrastructure".
Construction was already scheduled to start in 2019
Ukrainian media such as the "Kiev Independent" reported on the announcement of the Goro Mountain Resort eight years ago - long before the outbreak of war in February 2022. However, an initially planned start of construction in 2019 failed, and subsequent attempts were also repeatedly postponed.
At the beginning of 2022, when "unresolved land issues" finally seemed to have been resolved and it looked as though the way was clear to start building the ski infrastructure, Russia invaded Ukraine.
Now, after a further delay of almost two years, things can get underway in western Ukraine. According to the official website, the first bookings for hotel rooms will be possible from February 2025. The OKKO Group is also relying on companies from Europe such as the Doppelmayr Group, which includes Swiss ropeway expert Garaventa, to implement the project.
