Propagandists are spreading a photo according to which the British magazine The New European allegedly published a cartoon on the cover of one of its issues, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi sits on the lap of the Dalai Lama who put forward his tongue. Zelensky seems to be saying “I'll suck it if you pay me!”, which is a parody of the situation with the Dalai Lama and the boy to whom he offered to “suck his tongue”. In the drawing, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak glares at the other two characters, and at the top of the drawing is the title: “How much is Britain willing to pay to solve the Ukrainian crisis?”. It's fake.

It was noticed by many fact-checking projects, by particular, in Mythdetector. Project specialists found out that the cover is not real. The real cover of number 337, shown on the fake, features a photo of the current British Prime Minister with the heading: “Rishi Sunak's war on the elites”. In addition, the publication on its Twitter published a photo from the printed issue of the magazine, which, under the heading “Lies of the Week”, depicts the mentioned cartoon.

By publishing fake covers of foreign publications, propagandists want to show that the West seems to understand and support Russia's actions, while Ukraine seems to have tired everyone. Detector Media has already debunked such reports, in particular, “covers” of Charlie Hebdo.

Propagandists are spreading the message that Ukrainian grain allegedly “broke” the European Union and the structure of the division of labor in it. They add that the European Commission is bogged down in negotiations and is lobbying for the position of the wealthy countries of Western Europe.

This message was noticed in the EUvsDisinfo project. Project specialists claim that in fact the EU is working together with Ukraine to resolve this situation. In the solutions, they try to take into account both the needs of Ukraine and the need for the EU to export grain from its own member countries. Exports from the EU play an important role in keeping food prices down. After consultations with the European Commission on April 21, Romania and Poland lifted the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. Project analysts note that the EU is taking various measures to export Ukrainian grain, in particular, through the “corridors of solidarity” and the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

This message is part of a large-scale information campaign of Russians against the EU. Within its framework, propagandists spread messages according to which the EU is “falling apart” in front of their eyes. Thus, they want to shift the responsibility for aggression and its consequences from the aggressor to the victim and those who help it. Project experts note that it is Russia that is to blame for the “food crisis” that has developed due to logistical problems caused by the war against Ukraine. In addition, it is Russia that wants to destroy the Ukrainian agricultural market, causing damage to farmers in the billions.

In the international arena, Russia positions a number of countries as unfriendly. Like, they are engaged in “unfriendly actions” against Russia as they impose sanctions and other restrictions. According to propaganda, of course, Moscow receives sanctions unfairly and is not respected in diplomatic groups for no reason at all. Therefore, Russia is fighting back by creating its own list of “unfriendly countries” and showing which countries Russians should not be friends with.

For the first time, the term “unfriendly country” appeared in Russian legislation in April 2021. The restrictions were that such states could be prohibited from hiring citizens of other countries in their diplomatic missions in Russia. It is understood that only Russians can work in embassies and consulates of foreign countries in Russia. Initially, there were two countries on this list: the United States and the Czech Republic. Subsequently, the Russian government not only increased the list, but also created another one. So far, there are two lists of “unfriendly countries” in Russia. Propagandists say that such measures are solely a response to the “hostile actions of those countries”. That is, the entire European Union, the USA and Canada, as well as Japan and Australia - 48 countries of the world.

In fact, there are no “unfriendly” countries. The whole world opposes the aggressive policy of Russia and responds with sanctions, limiting the number of Russians in diplomatic institutions. The countries do not intend to be at enmity, but on the contrary, declare democratic values, respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For Russia, obviously, such actions are unfriendly. Russia has made friends with Belarus, Eritrea, Syria, and North Korea. These countries, for example, are actively blocking any legislative initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine in the UN General Assembly. One of these friends - Belarus - even admitted that it was participating in the war together with Russia.

Propagandists spread the message that on May 2, 2014, “Nazi groups” organized a “brutal burning” of protesters in the House of Trade Unions in Odesa and thus killed 48 people.

It was brought to the attention of the EUvsDisinfo project. The project specialists claim that the trial, which would clearly identify those responsible for the events of May 2, 2014 in Odesa, has not yet taken place. At the moment, 5 court cases and 3 open investigations related to the events are known. In addition, the chronology of events can be followed by reports from The Guardian and DW. Project analysts also recommend watching the documentary “May 2. Without myths” for a better understanding of the events that took place then in Odesa.

They emphasize that this message is not new and is often repeated on the anniversary of the tragedy. Thus, propagandists want to create a stereotype about “Ukrainian Nazis” and justify Russia's crimes by shifting responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of aggression.

Information was disseminated in local groups of social networks, allegedly in Kherson, cholera is expected to appear in the water, which will lead to mortality “more than from COVID”. The outbreak of the disease is allegedly caused by “decomposing corpses” near the rivers flowing into the Dnipro. It's fake.

It was noticed in the Kherson edition of “Kavun. city” (Watermelon.city). Its journalists found out that messages with a fake spread in Kherson chats had already been used in Russian local chats a year ago. At the same time, the fake was then refuted by the Russian media.

Journalists of the publication also note that the abbreviation BSMP, which is referred to in the fake, is rarely used in Ukraine, which indicates the Russian nature of the creation of the message. The information on the fake was also refuted by the Kherson military administration and by the local Water utility office, recalling that water from the Dnipro river is not used for water supply.

Thus, propagandists want to cause panic among the population and distrust of local authorities. All this is done to divert attention from the crimes of Russians at the front.

Last year,  Russian propaganda launched a wave of similar fakes in relation to Ukrainian cities, in particular, about “contaminated water” in Kyiv and Odesa.

Pages spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks distributed a screenshot of a “tweet” from the American media CNN. It allegedly quoted the words of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Like, he said that Ukraine wants to use “mass migration” to “solve the demographic problems” in the country. According to the “tweet”, Zelenskyi argued that Ukraine will become a “diverse and multicultural nation that will become a model for the rest of Europe”. It's fake.

Reuters fact-checkers drew attention to it. They found out that CNN did not have such a publication either on its website or on its Twitter account. They also found the original image of the “tweet” from a meme site. Moreover, the agency’s specialists also could not find Zelenskyi’s relevant quotes. Presidential Speaker Serhii Nikiforov did not respond to Reuters' inquiry about the comments.

Thus, propagandists want to force Ukrainians to negotiate through reports of “worsening problems” inside Ukraine due to the war. They say that everything is bad in Ukraine, and therefore it is necessary to stop the war on their terms. In addition, by using such messages, they want to present multiculturalism and diversity as a negative phenomenon. This coincides with the message about a “spiritual Europe” that wants to “pull Ukraine” into its “trap”. However, a question of this kind is an internal affair of Ukraine.