The term “shchenevmerlyky” is used by supporters of the “Russian world” to refer to Ukrainians. This derogatory collective term comes from the first words of the Ukrainian national anthem: “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” (Ukraine has not yet perished). By using this term, Russians try to provoke Ukrainians' emotions and draw attention to the supposed absurdity of the Ukrainian anthem's lyrics.

First and foremost, “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” is a poem written in 1862 by poet and public figure Pavlo Chubynskyi. The work quickly spread among the Ukrainian communities of the Dnipro Ukraine, which did not go unnoticed by the Russian authorities of the time. On October 20 of that same year, Pavlo Chubynskyi was exiled to the Arkhangelsk province under police surveillance. The reason for his exile was his authorship of “outrageous songs and proclamations” and their “harmful influence on the minds of the common people”. That is, from the very beginning its existence, “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” has not been to the liking of Russians.

Later, the poem caught the attention of the priest and composer Mykhailo Verbytskyi who set it to music. The artistic work “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” was used as the anthem for state formations on Ukrainian territory, including the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917) and the West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918). The song was adopted as the official anthem of Carpathian Ukraine, which existed in 1938-1939. In January 1992, the Verkhovna Rada approved “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” as the national anthem. However, the law On the National Anthem of Ukraine was passed by the parliament only in 2003. At the suggestion of then-President Leonid Kuchma, the first line of the song was changed: instead of “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina, i slava, i volia” (Ukraine has not yet perished, and its glory, and freedom), it became “Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia” (The glory and freedom of Ukraine have not yet perished”).

Debates about the “imperfections” of the Ukrainian anthem continue to this day. Its opponents insist that the anthem is pessimistic and does not reflect modern realities. Consequently, Russian propaganda appeals precisely to the supposed pessimism of the first words of the Ukrainian anthem, while disregarding its historical continuity, and calls Ukrainians “shchenevmerlyky”, hinting that they have “not long” left to live.

Thus, Russian propagandists on their social media pages write things like: “Once again, the shchenevmerlyky are going to a rally, and why do they dislike Russia?”. Sometimes they even combine this term with another propaganda product of Russian media “saucepan heads”: “the new dreams of the saucepan-headed shchenevmerlyky”.

Russian propaganda continues to spread false information about Ukraine supposedly “selling children from Donbas”. To create these fakes, individuals who have betrayed Ukraine are used, such as a former SBU employee, as well as representatives of the occupying authorities of the so called DPR, including the so called children’s ombudswoman. According to their statements, Ukraine allegedly kidnaps children from families in Donbas and "sells them abroad, to pedophiles, or for organs". However, this is not true.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. Its experts found that this message is a classic example of Russian disinformation aimed at diverting attention from its own crimes. In fact, it is Russia that is systematically deporting Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories, as evidenced by numerous investigations. The International Criminal Court even issued arrest warrants for Putin and the Russian Ombudsman Lvova-Belova for these crimes. Fakes about Ukraine are created to discredit its image and manipulate the international community. This is yet another attempt to justify Russia’s actions by shifting the blame onto the victim of aggression.

Russian propagandists also spread disinformation about Ukraine allegedly “selling children from Donbas” to create a false impression of Ukraine as an inhuman state and to discredit its international reputation.

Propagandists are spreading a message on anonymous Telegram channels about a disabled man from Zaporizhzhia who was allegedly captured 10 days after mobilization. However, it is false.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council. Its experts found that the Zaporizhzhia Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support refuted this information. The man was not mobilized by this center and was last registered for military service at the Pokrovsk Territorial recruitment and social support center of Donetsk region back in 2009. He is also not registered at the address provided in the video. The video is a staged creation made as part of an information-psychological operation to discredit mobilization and hinder the formation of Ukraine's Defense Forces.

Russian propagandists are spreading disinformation about mobilization in Ukraine to achieve several important goals. In this way, they create the impression of its supposed chaos and injustice, which undermines trust in Ukrainian state institutions. They also aim to instill fear and uncertainty among those who may be mobilized and their families. One of their goals is also to demoralize soldiers and potential recruits by spreading false information. This is yet another attempt to portray the Ukrainian government in a negative light before the international community.

The head of the Polish National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera, said in an interview with Polskie Radio that Poland currently has no plans to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. One of the reasons for this decision is the desire not to contribute to the spread of Russian disinformation about Warsaw's alleged plans to annex the western regions of Ukraine. This is reported by the Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security.

“This narrative that Poland is allegedly interested in seizing western Ukraine has been used for years, but since the start of a full-scale war it has been further intensified. If our troops are involved, it will receive additional fuel”, Siewiera noted.

At the same time, he suggested that the possibility of sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine remains potentially discussable in the future. However, for Moscow, this is an undesirable scenario, which is why Russian propaganda is intensifying the information war, trying to “mine” the public space with fabricated fakes.

Russian propaganda spreads disinformation about possible Polish plans to annex western Ukraine to achieve several goals. It creates the impression that Poland has hidden geopolitical interests in Ukraine, which could cause tension between the countries. The spread of such messages is intended to sow doubts about the sincerity of European countries' support for Ukraine. These messages are designed to turn Ukrainians against Poland and split the unity of the West.

Propaganda sources are actively promoting the channel Sheikh Tamir, calling it “especially dangerous” for the Ukrainian authorities due to allegedly reliable predictions and insider information. However, the author of the channel, Maksym Shykhaleiev, moved to the occupied Crimea in 2014. He is known for his anti-Ukrainian statements and is a frequent guest on Russian talk shows. For his actions, Shykhaleiev has been included in the Peacemaker database.

This is reported by the Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security. Its experts note that Shykhaleiev’s “predictions” and publications are often outright fakes. In particular, he spread absurd stories about Zelenskyi’s doctor who allegedly fled to London, about a “fortune teller” who predicted a negative scenario for Zelenskyi, and a fabricated story about the Ukrainian air defense that allegedly shot down over a hundred rare eagles, mistaking them for drones.

The channel and its author serve as instruments of information warfare aimed at discrediting Ukraine through fake news and absurd manipulation. Propagandists spread disinformation using figures like Sheikh Tamir for several reasons. The publication of absurd statements about “escaping doctors” or “shot down eagles” is aimed at creating the impression of chaos in Ukraine. Absurd but emotionally charged statements are intended to provoke distrust among Ukrainian citizens towards state institutions. The focus on supposed “failures” of the Ukrainian government justifies Russia's actions in the eyes of part of the audience. Spreading false narratives about a “crisis” and “collapse” of Ukraine is meant to reduce trust in Kyiv among Western allies. Sheikh Tamir serves as a transmitter of pro-Russian talking points, creating the illusion of an “alternative viewpoint”.

Russians are spreading a video with the logo of the American TV channel ABC, claiming that Ukraine allegedly lost about one million servicemen and had hundreds of thousands of people disabled due to injuries sustained in the war.

However, this video has been edited, reports the StopFake project. Using Google's reverse search function, it was possible to find the original video that was used to create this fake. It was an ABC News video from March 30, 2023 about the assistance of American non-profit organizations to Ukrainian veterans who lost limbs in the war. It talks about the work of the charity Kind Deeds, which provides Ukrainian veterans with prosthetics and organizes rehabilitation in the United States. The propagandists cut out individual frames from the original video and, using artificial intelligence, completely forged the audio track, mimicking the voice of the program's host. The original video report does not mention any data on the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed.

On December 8, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi reported that Ukraine had lost about 43,000 soldiers killed since the start of the full-scale war. As for the number of people with disabilities, there is no up-to-date official statistics available today. However, in mid-2023, the American publication The Wall Street Journal reported that over one and a half years of war, about 50,000 Ukrainians had become disabled due to amputations.

Earlier, we debunked the claim that the irreparable losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly had already exceeded 500,000 people.

Pro-Russian sources are spreading reports that the newly elected US President Donald Trump may allegedly cancel the $20 billion loan provided to Ukraine by the United States. In making this claim, the propagandists refer to the text of The New York Times, noting that for this to happen it would be enough for Trump to lift sanctions on frozen Russian assets, which are intended to be used to pay off this loan.

In reality, the Russians manipulated The New York Times material. This is reported by the StopFake project. The text of the publication, titled “U.S. Transfers $20 Billion Loan to Ukraine Backed by Russian Assets”, mentions that the G7 countries had already agreed on the loan earlier this year in case Trump won the presidential election, as he had promised to reduce support for Ukraine. This means Ukraine will receive the funds regardless of the new U.S. leader's policies.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury already sent funds to the World Bank, which will later transfer them to Ukraine. The New York Times only briefly mentions in the text that Trump “could try to cancel” the loan by lifting sanctions on frozen Russian bank assets. At the same time, the article notes that Republicans would challenge such a decision, and it would not affect the European portion of the loan, which amounts to $35 billion. Therefore, in the material of The New York Times, this initiative is depicted as a reliable and safe way to transfer funds to Ukraine, with the likelihood of the loan being canceled being minimal.

Earlier, we documented a fake claim that Ukrainian soldiers began surrendering more often after Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Russian sources are spreading claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly said that he would “ask Biden to invite Ukraine to NATO, since there is no point in talking about it with Trump”.

In reality, Zelenskyi’s words were taken out of context. This is reported by the StopFake project. The statement in question was made during Zelenskyi’s remarks following his meeting with German chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz in Kyiv. During the press conference, Zelenskyi  mentioned that he planned to call Biden to discuss the issue of Ukraine’s invitation to NATO.

“As for the invitation to NATO, it is still difficult to talk with President Trump because he is not yet in the White House and does not have all the legal powers. I plan to call President Biden in the near future, if he has the opportunity to talk with me, to raise the issue of the invitation to NATO because he is currently the sitting president of the United States, and much depends on his position”, Zelenskyi said.

In other words, Zelenskyi meant that since Trump is not currently in the White House and has not assumed the powers of the U.S. president, the issue of Ukraine’s invitation to NATO should presently be discussed with the sitting president, Biden.

American billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Musk shared a corresponding video of Zelenskyi on his X social media account, accompanied by a surprised emoji. However, social media users added context to the video, clarifying that “Zelenskyi is simply saying that Trump cannot invite Ukraine to NATO yet because he is not currently president”. This clarification appears under all similar manipulations on X.

This propaganda manipulation aims to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine and discredit Ukraine on the international stage. Previously, we debunked claims that a school in Kyiv replaced a portrait of Biden with one of Trump.

Russian propaganda has revived the fake story claiming that “a certain percentage” of Ukrainian citizens are buying up real estate in Kharkiv in order to supposedly “legally end up on Russian territory” in the coming years.

This disinformation was initially spread in early November 2024, and we debunked it. In short, the primary source of the spread of disinformation is Maryna Onishchenko, a Ukrainian from Kharkiv who moved to Russia after the full-scale invasion. She provides no evidence for her statements and does not reference verified or objective sources to support this claim. The woman expresses her personal opinion, implying that Ukrainians are supposedly hoping for the occupation of this region by Russia.

Maryna Onishchenko is a collaborator and pro-Russian propagandist. She also maintains a blog on the Russian video portal Rutube, where she showcases life in Russia and claims that Ukrainians supposedly have a better life in Russia than in Europe. The woman also interviews foreigners who have moved to Russia and spreads various fakes about Ukraine on her social media pages.

Propaganda sources claim that an unknown person allegedly left a marker near the Verkhovna Rada building to guide a Russian strike, accompanied by the inscription: “Putin, here”. As “proof”, propagandists have shared a video purportedly showing the individual who marked the spot.

In reality, this is another fake by the Russians, the VoxCheck project writes. Since the start of the full-scale war, the part of Mariinskyi Park leading to the Verkhovna Rada has been closed off. A regular citizen could not access the area to record such a video. Since February 24, 2022, only certain categories of individuals, such as government officials and parliamentary staff, have had access to the Verkhovna Rada’s premises. Someone among them could have theoretically recorded such a video.

However, two facts indicate that this is a fake. Firstly, public transport in the video goes to the government quarter, which is closed today. Secondly, the guards in the video are wearing medical masks, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the footage was recorded before the full-scale invasion.

The markers themselves began to appear at the beginning of the full-scale war. Some of them turned out to be ordinary markers on buildings that existed before the invasion. Others were deliberately created by Russians or their supporters to destabilize Ukrainian society and sow chaos. That is, it was an information and psychological special operation (IPSO). In reality, Russian strikes are guided by coordinates, not by such markers.