Mariia Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that foreign embassies are allegedly leaving Kyiv due to fears of retaliatory strikes for Ukraine's use of long-range weapons against Russia. They say this is proof that Ukraine is no longer valuable to the West. However, this statement is manipulative.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes about this. Its experts note that not a single embassy in Kyiv has announced its closure or evacuation. On November 20, a number of countries, including the United States, Italy, Spain, and Greece, temporarily suspended the work of their diplomatic missions due to the threat of massive missile attacks from Russia. Such measures are aimed at protecting the lives of employees and citizens in the potential danger zone, reflecting the awareness of international partners of the real threat of Russian aggression.

The purpose of spreading this disinformation is to undermine Ukrainians' trust in partnership relations with the West and sow discouragement in the international community's support for Ukraine. Russia seeks to create the impression that Ukraine is becoming isolated and that its international allies are losing interest due to fear of being held responsible for the escalation of the war. Such fakes are also intended to influence public opinion in Western countries in order to reduce support for Ukraine, justifying Russia's actions as a defensive reaction. This is another attempt to shift the focus from Russia's aggressive policy and distort the reality in which international partners are actively helping Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are spreading messages with the same wording that the number of cases of sexual violence against men in Ukraine has increased, and that NATO instructors are responsible for this. In these messages, propagandists claim: “It seems that NATO instructors are not only training Ukrainian men in military matters”. In fact, this is manipulation.

StopFake experts write about this. They emphasize that the messages spread by the propaganda are indeed about victims of sexual violence due to Russian aggression, and the perpetrators are Russian military personnel, not NATO instructors. In June 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 10132, which provides support for victims of sexual violence caused by Russian aggression, in particular, determining their legal status and reparations mechanisms. Gender Policy Commissioner Kateryna Levchenko reported that more than 300 people out of 535 applications have received payments so far. Most of them are men, and the applications came mainly from the regions affected by the occupation. Russia uses sexual violence as a tool to intimidate the population, torture and humiliate, which is a gross violation of human rights, noted Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

The purpose of spreading this disinformation is to undermine trust in NATO instructors and Ukraine as a state, as well as to create a negative attitude towards Ukraine's military cooperation with NATO among the international community. In addition, propaganda seeks to distract attention from the facts about the crimes of the Russian military, switching the focus to false accusations. This approach uses sexual violence as an emotionally sensitive topic to enhance the shock effect and cause mistrust of Ukrainian partners, playing on stereotypes and prejudices.

Russian Telegram channels and social media users are spreading information that Ukrainian military personnel are allegedly being removed from databases so that the families of the deceased do not receive payments. As “evidence”, a video is shown in which a woman, introducing herself as the wife of the deceased, claims that her husband is not on the lists. However, she does not name names, military units or other details. StopFake writes about this.

The photo that the woman is holding in her hands shows Andrii Kainara, a defender of Azovstal who was held captive and later returned to service. The organization that deals with his brigade confirmed his death in battle in September 2023, noting that Kainara did not have a wife, only a sister. The video is recognized as a fake aimed at discrediting Ukraine and its military.

The purpose of spreading this disinformation is to undermine the trust of Ukrainian citizens in state institutions, in particular, in the Armed Forces and government agencies. The propaganda seeks to create the impression that the state allegedly does not fulfill its obligations to the families of the fallen soldiers, which can sow despondency and demoralization among the population. This fake is also aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian army before the international community, demonstrating its alleged incompetence or indifference to its own soldiers and their families.

Russian media are actively spreading a narrative about the alleged oppression of the “canonical church” in Ukraine, meaning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP). This time, propagandists claim that Metropolitan Longin is being tried for his “loyalty to the church” and accuse the Ukrainian authorities of oppressing the clergy.

StopFake writes about this. Its experts note that in fact, the metropolitan, known as Mykhailo Zhar, is accused of inciting interreligious hatred. According to the SBU, he insulted the religious feelings of representatives of other faiths and provoked an escalation of the situation in the region with his statements. In addition, Zhar has repeatedly expressed anti-Ukrainian views, supported the Yanukovych regime, called for not fighting in the ATO, and in 2022 he said that Ukraine allegedly “started a war against God and the church”. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, he blamed Ukrainians for the “sins” that, in his opinion, caused the war.

Russian propagandists are spreading a narrative about the alleged oppression of the UOC-MP in Ukraine in order to create the illusion of persecution of the “canonical church” by the Ukrainian authorities. This is aimed at discrediting Ukraine in the international community as a state that allegedly violates the rights of religious communities. In addition, it is aimed at distracting from the anti-Ukrainian activities of the UOC-MP and justifying its ties to the Kremlin. It is also part of a wider information war aimed at undermining the unity of Ukrainian society.

The decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to use ATACMS missiles to strike Russian military targets has served as a pretext for manipulation by Russian propaganda, including the idea that Ukraine is allegedly doomed to destruction as a result of this decision. This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

In particular, statements by American blogger Jason Ginkle, who has no connection to journalism and cooperates with the Kremlin, are used to spread fakes. Ginkle previously disseminated disinformation, for example, about “ties between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and ISIS” or about “luxurious purchases” of Ukrainian officials.

The dissemination of statements by American blogger Jason Ginkle by Russian propaganda is an attempt to discredit Ukraine's decision to use ATACMS missiles to strike Russian military targets.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels are distributing a video story allegedly created by the German WELT, which says that in the city of Dresden (Germany), the police allegedly found more than 400 gold dental crowns in the house of a morgue attendant, a Ukrainian refugee Mykyta Tereshchuk. He allegedly took them out of the mouths of corpses in the Dresden morgue. In turn, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii  Makieiev, allegedly publicly apologized for his compatriot and promised to send him to the front.

In fact, this information is not true. WELT did not create or distribute such a video story,  it cannot be found either on their official website or on their social media pages. In addition, the style of WELT videos differs from the style of the story distributed by propagandists. One can verify this by watching any video of this format on the WELT Instagram page. Also, WELT creates all such videos in German, not English, as in the fake version.

The “news” about the alleged discovery of “more than 400 gold dental crowns” on a Ukrainian refugee in Germany was not disseminated by any other reliable Western or Ukrainian media.

In the end, there is no information on the forgiveness of the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makieiev, and his promises to “send to the front” a Ukrainian refugee, because this supposedly “outrageous case” is a primitive fake.

With this disinformation, propagandists are trying to discredit Ukrainian refugees in the eyes of citizens of those countries that have accepted Ukrainians. Thus, with this specific case, Russian propaganda wants to show the “true nature” of Ukrainians, resorting to the typical tactics of Russian propaganda of “thoughts of the enemy”.

Earlier, we analyzed a Russian fake about a refugee from Ukraine shooting at a church icon in Zurich.

A “Ukrainian” pro-Russian Telegram channel is spreading information that 77% of Ukrainian citizens are supposedly ready to give up the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. The propagandists claim that they are citing data from a real, not a “bought and fabricated” sociological survey.

At the same time, they do not indicate which sociological company or organization conducted this survey and in what period. Presumably, this data was simply fabricated, the VoxCheck project writes. In addition, the “insider” data of the pro-Russian Telegram channel cannot be considered a reliable source of information. Even before the full-scale invasion, the SBU proved that the “Legitimnyi” Telegram channel, which is the primary source of dissemination of this data, is engaged in destabilizing the socio-political situation and sowing panic in Ukraine.

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) has been conducting regular surveys since May 2022 on the willingness of Ukrainians to make territorial concessions in order to achieve peace as soon as possible. According to the results of a recent poll conducted from September 20 to October 3, 2024, the majority of Ukrainians are against territorial concessions by Russia. 58% of respondents said that Ukraine should not give up any of its territories, even if this would prolong the war and threaten the preservation of its independence. The institute's sociologists note that the share of those ready to make territorial concessions has not changed since May 2024 — it is 32%. In turn, the share of those who are against concessions has increased from 55% to 58% from May to October of this year.

According to another KIIS poll conducted during the same period, 63% of Ukrainians are ready to endure the war as long as it takes.

A little earlier, we analyzed a similar propaganda message, claiming that the absolute majority of Ukrainians are supposedly ready to capitulate.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels claim that the cover of the German satirical magazine Titanic for November 2024 allegedly depicts a US Air Force plane that Ukrainians are clinging to. And the caption on the cover is supposedly: “The US withdrawal from Ukraine will remind us of something”. As proof, Russian propagandists add a corresponding photo.

However, in fact, this is a fake cover of the Titanic issue for November, as reported by the VoxCheck project. The original cover for this month is posted on the official website of the magazine - it looks different and does not concern Ukraine.

Also, at the top right on the fake cover there is the inscription “Internet-Aufgabe”. Probably, the authors of the fake article wanted to use the word “ausgabe” (issue) instead of “aufgabe” (task).

Titanic is a German satirical magazine that comes out monthly and features mostly politically themed covers.

During the full-scale war, we have documented at least five fake Titanic magazine covers created by propagandists. A detailed analysis of each fabricated cover can be found here.

The pro-Russian segment of the network is spreading information that allegedly the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that “the European Union is forced to buy Russian oil so that Putin does not earn more money elsewhere”.  The corresponding statement was made at the opening of the European Political Community summit on November 7, 2024 in Budapest.

However, propagandists distorted her words and changed the context of the statement, writes the StopFake project. First of all, this quote is not from von der Leyen's speech at the Budapest summit, but from an interview with the MSNBC channel more than two years ago. In that interview, the President of the European Commission said that a complete embargo on Russian oil products is not an appropriate option for economically isolating Russia. According to the politician, a sharp end to the EU's purchase of oil from Russia would allow it to sell resources on the world market, then prices would inevitably rise, and this would further replenish Moscow's military budget. She spoke in favor of implementing a strategic and gradual policy of abandoning Russian oil. At the same time, von der Leyen emphasized that the EU plans to get rid of its dependence on Russian minerals and never return to it again.

Also in the same interview, the President of the European Commission announced another package of sanctions against Russia (as of November 2024, 14 of them have already been adopted). The EU is trying to replace Russian minerals with analogues from other countries: recently, von der Leyen announced Europe's plans to buy liquefied natural gas from the United States instead of Russia.

In turn, in Budapest, which was written about by propagandists, von der Leyen only indirectly recalled the victory over the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as an example of the unity and strength of the European community.

Russian propaganda regularly resorts to manipulating the words of Western politicians. For example, they previously analyzed the manipulation, they say, von der Leyen allegedly stated that Ukraine will join the EU in 20-30 years.

Russian sources are spreading information that the President of Finland Alexander Stubb did not rule out a rapid improvement in relations with Russia. He allegedly said that relations between Russia and Finland will improve and will be used for good.

However, Russian propagandists took Stubb's words out of context, distorting their content. This is reported by the StopFake project. On November 9, 2024, in an interview with the Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat, the President of Finland spoke about foreign policy and security issues, in particular, possible threats from Russia. Stubb's full quote is as follows: “Yes, someday these relations (between Russia and Finland. - Ed.) will improve and will be used, but now is not the time. You must remember that everything starts with values. I would rather be in that situation in 2024 than in the situation we were in, say, in 1956 in our relations with the Soviet Union and the West”.

In the interview, the Finnish president also mentioned the Kremlin's aggressive policy towards its neighbors several times. For example, when asked by a journalist whether Russia would become a greater threat to Finland after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, Stubb said that the threat assessment and security analysis of Russia remain unchanged. He added that Russia continues to build up its military potential and may, in a few years, reach the level it was at before the invasion of Ukraine. “Russia's foreign policy will continue to be a zero-sum game. I see no end to Russian imperialism, which illegally expands its territory”, the Finnish president said.

Stubb also said that the threat from Russia and instability in the world are forcing Finland to increase its military budget. He finally concluded: “Someone wisely said that Europe has handed over its energy to Russia, its economy to China, and its security to the United States. Europe must take on more responsibility for security and defense”.