Pro-Russian resources disseminate information that after the capture of Krokhmalne, Russian troops “liberated” the village of Tabaivka in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.

In fact, this information is not true. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation with reference to the speaker of the Ground Forces Command, Volodymyr Fitio. According to him, as of 9:00 on January 29, 2024, fighting is taking place in Tabaivka. At the same time, the representative of the Ground Forces emphasized: “If it is possible to take the best positions in order to take up the defensive and then move on to offensive actions, improve the tactical position, this will be done”.

Regarding Krokhmalne, V. Fitio said that there were no civilians there anymore, and the village itself was completely destroyed. Ukrainian defenders retreated to more advantageous positions.

By spreading disinformation about the capture of Tabaivka, propagandists seek to exaggerate the achievements of the Russian army at the front in order to reassure Russians that “everything in the war is going according to plan”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine was allegedly preparing for the surrender of Kherson.

This information is published by pro-Russian resources and supported by “evidence”: a fragment of a video with an alleged comment by the head of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, on the air of a telethon. Basic Russian-made medicines are also imported into the territory of the Zaporizhzhia region in large quantities.

In fact, the Melitopol mayor did not say anything like this during the telethon, because such a video simply does not exist, and there are no comments on this topic on his official communication channel. This was brought to the attention of the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. The video itself was made using the deepfake method. It can be viewed here. The video shows facial expressions that are not typical for humans, a lack of speech pauses, and desynchronization of lips and direct speech. In addition, the video is of low quality, the date and time of inclusion are blurred. The last broadcast, where Fedorov commented on the medical situation in Melitopol, was on December 16, 2023. There he spoke, in particular, about the fact that the Russians are conducting medical experiments on Melitopol residents.

Thus, propagandists strive to assure that “Russia will come and restore order”. However, the reality is somewhat different. Considering the atrocities of the Russians in Bucha, Hostomel and Izium, it can be argued that this war is genocidal in nature, and Moscow’s ultimate goal is the complete destruction of the Ukrainian people.

• Read also: In Italy, a propaganda exhibition about Mariupol “revived” by the occupiers was banned.

Pro-Kremlin media write that there will soon be a breakthrough by Russian troops on the contact line, as the number of Ukrainian defenders is getting smaller. Russian troops are allegedly successfully moving forward along the entire front line. In asserting this, propagandists refer to former intelligence officer of the US Armed Forces Scott Ritter, who made a corresponding statement.

This information is fake, as reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Ritter's statements duplicate Russian narratives. He has more than once predicted the “imminent collapse of Ukraine” and the “victory of Russia”, and frightened the Ukrainians with a “large-scale offensive by the Russians”. In November 2023, Ritter also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would soon be destroyed, but Ukrainian soldiers continued to hold the line. As for the supposedly successful advance of the Russians, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the offensive operation of the Russian troops has been going on for two and a half months: “They have a certain advance in the fields, what happened near Avdiivka. But this is not what they expected. The occupiers wanted to reach the barrier line along the Black Stallion River in the Kharkiv region and the administrative border of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as quickly as possible. There’s nothing even close to that”.

Russians fill the information space with news demotivated by the Ukrainian people. This is all happening against the backdrop of the fact that the United States and the EU have been unable to unblock financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $61.4 billion and €50 billion, respectively. Therefore, the Ukrainian army suffers, which may not receive enough weapons and equipment necessary for waging war. Previously, we refuted Ritter’s assertion that “Ukrainian aviation has been completely destroyed”.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that Ukraine needs to escalate the conflict in order to receive help from its allies. That is why the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly ordered the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike civilian infrastructure facilities in Russia.

In fact, this information is not true. This is written about in the Center for Strategic Communications. The President did not give any such orders or instructions. The priority task for the Ukrainian Armed Forces military is, first of all, the de-occupation of the Ukrainian territories seized by the Russians. To limit Russia's ability to wage war against Ukraine, the Defense Forces are also working to deny the terrorist country access to natural resources (oil and gas); destroy its military-industrial complex, military infrastructure, bases and warehouses with equipment and weapons. In addition, legal targets on Russian territory include oil depots, gas storage facilities, and research institutions, but not residential buildings with a civilian population - Ukraine understands this and acts in accordance with the laws of war. The blame for the deaths of Russian civilians lies primarily with the Russian air defense forces.

With this fake, Russian propaganda discredits Zelenskyi and tries to convince everyone around him that he has gone crazy, so Russia is now forced to defend itself - it is supposedly a victim of the current situation. However, the aggressor was and is precisely Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 in order to realize its imperial ambitions. Previously, we denied information that Zelenskyi is allegedly one of the richest politicians in the world.