As you know, Viacheslav Taran died in a tragic helicopter crash last week. I have lost a loving husband and a father of three of our children. It is intolerably painful for me to realize that we will never see him again. But, it is even more difficult to stay silent when someone is spreading lies about my beloved Viacheslav.

The Ukrainian news website UNIAN.net published a story that my husband allegedly was a billionaire and was involved in money laundering for Russian elites and on top of that they claimed him to be a Russian spy. All of this is outrageous and manifests an absolute and utter lie. My husband never had any connections to the Russian gouvernement or any political affiliations. He left Russia to pursue and focus on his business interests back in 2008.

Moreover, since 2014 my late husband has constantly supported charitable foundation Changeonelife.ua and since the very first days, when the war broke down, Viacheslav with his friends created Pristaniste.me a charitable foundation for Ukrainian refugees in Montenegro which accepted first refugees on 5th of March, 2022 and still is actively helping the Ukrainians in need.

This attack is unfair to Viacheslav who always actively supported supported Ukrainian people through his charity foundations, especially children who lost their parents.

Furthermore, I urge all Western journalists who cite UNIAN.net to stop spreading the lies (Will Steward and Rachael Bunyan from Daily Mail, Aliki Kraterou from The Sun). My children have already been bullied because of these accusations and I am concerned for their safety.

I understand that you do not know Viacheslav personally and reading these cynical articles one may consider them to be true, but everyone who knows Viacheslav, including the entire Monaco community knows it to be an absolute lie.

Please do not tarnish his good name and memory. We still have not received Viacheslav’s body due to the investigation and each day brings unbearable pain.

Olga Taran