Propagandists try to explain current events using conspiracy theories, distorting the original meaning of certain terms. An example of this is the “false flag operations” theory.

Its original definition is used to describe operations that the enemy is falsely accused of committing in order to initiate or revive hostilities. Such operations have indeed occurred throughout history, especially during World Wars I and II, and historians use the term “operations under false flag” in professional literature. Conspiracy theorists have distorted its meaning by using it to describe almost every event in the world. For example, conspiracy theorists argue that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States were allegedly carried out by the American government, and not by terrorists, in order to begin and justify their “War on Terror”, including the invasion of Iraq.

Russian propagandists used the “false flag operations” theory to launch their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A few days before February 24, 2022, Russian state media claimed that Ukraine was allegedly preparing an attack on Russian territories in order to start a war against Russia. After Russia attacked Ukraine, conspiracy theorists and propagandists claim that Russia was allegedly framed and the invasion was allegedly staged. Like, it was not Russia that attacked Ukraine, but the West that attacked Russia in Ukraine.

By using the theory of “false flag operations”, Russia wants to erase the sense of reality and make people doubt everything that is happening around them. In addition, in this way they are trying to shift responsibility for military aggression onto others in order to reinforce the image of “Victim Russia” cultivated by propagandists. This theory is an example of how Russian propaganda distorts the meaning of terms to obscure the information space.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Sweden has allegedly confirmed the loss of all Leopard 2A5 tanks with the Swedish modification of Strv 122, which were provided to Ukraine as part of military aid. However, this is a fake.

The Reuters fact-checkers drew attention to the case. In response to their request for comment from a spokesperson for the Swedish Armed Forces, they received information that no such official statements had been made. Experts also could not find any reliable materials on the Internet that all 10 Swedish tanks were destroyed. In the press release of the Armed Forces of Sweden for September 21 on the topic of Swedish tanks, there is no mention of their loss. For example, in the article for September 23, the Forbes publication claims only two Swedish tanks were destroyed by a Russian air attack.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian military and Western partners. For example, either Ukrainian soldiers do not know how to use Western weapons, or the weapons themselves are of poor quality compared to Russian ones. Detector Media has already refuted a number of other fakes aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces.

Fake pages of Ukrainian journalists, activists and volunteers are being created on social networks and dating sites. They are created using photos and information from authentic profiles.

The specialists of the NotaYenota project drew attention to this. They note that, in particular, Lviv volunteer Mariia Kisil and producer of Ukraїner found themselves in such a situation. The volunteer claims that each of her volunteer reports is distributed by a closed page with her name, which she cannot even access due to the privacy settings of the fake account. NotaYenota analysts remind that fake pages of Ukrainian military and volunteers have been actively created by the Russians since last year, however, they do not exclude the possibility that scammers may be behind this.

By resorting to this technique, propagandists can more easily spread falsehoods into the information space, as was the case last year. Using them, they want to obtain certain information, discredit Ukrainians, or lure money under the guise of well-known names with a good reputation.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement that Ukraine has liberated more than 50% of the territories seized by the Russian Federation is allegedly erroneous. Like, this information was taken “from a parallel reality”. This is manipulation.

The specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found the original video of Blinken speaking. In it, he states that Ukraine has returned more than 50% of the territories Russia has seized since the start of the full-scale invasion. However, he did not mean part of the territory that Russia captured back in 2014. Project analysts cite statements from foreign military experts who claim that Ukraine has returned 50–54% of the territories captured by Russia since February 24, 2022.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists want to undermine trust in Western officials and discredit the successes of the Ukrainian army. All this is being done to show that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is allegedly not successful. Detector Media has previously refuted other fakes and manipulations of propagandists on this topic.

A number of anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information that on Ukraine’s Independence Day, children sang the Ukrainian Anthem in English. They say that this proves that Ukraine has, in fact, already fully become a “puppet” of the West, which means it has lost its independence.

The specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to the manipulation. They found out that the anthem was performed by students of Nadvirnianskyi Lyceum No. 1 in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and this video was posted on the official Facebook page of the institution on March 6, 2017. Accordingly, the children did not complete this version for Independence Day. Project analysts also note that international partners do not stop expressing their support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, citing numerous speeches by the US President, NATO Secretary General and other officials in Western countries. In addition, they remind that the anthem of Ukraine was also heard in concert halls of other countries, where spectators greeted it standing.

By spreading this message, propagandists want to undermine trust in Western partners and justify Russia’s crimes against Ukrainians. They say that Russia is really helping Ukraine maintain its independence in front of the “collective West” and if Russia loses, Ukraine will finally be occupied by Western countries. Detector Media has already written about how the Russians are scaring Ukrainians with the “occupation” of the western regions of the country by Poland.

A number of anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi invited the “Satanist” Maryna Abramovych to become the Ambassador of Ukraine so that she would “be involved in Ukrainian schools”. It's fake.

The specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the article on the British media The Telegraph, to which the propagandists refer, has already been deleted. Its author, in turn, refers to an interview with Maryna Abramovych, a shareholder of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, but the fact-checkers were unable to find it. They also note that the English term ambassador, used in the article, can mean both a diplomatic rank and an unofficial representation of the interests of a specific group of people without a government appointment. Ukrainian-language media have no mention of this, and foreign media, such as The Jerusalem Post, refer to the Italian publication La Repubblica, which has no open access publications on this matter. There are no messages about the invitation on the website of the Office of the President of Ukraine, its official telegram channel or Facebook page. Abramovych’s official accounts make no mention of this either.

Propagandists also do not detail why they consider Abramovych a Satanist, not only in messages on this topic, but in all messages where the name of the shareholder appears. According to the VoxCheck analysts, they refer to the situation since 2016, when WikiLeaks published part of the emails from the broken account of John Podesta, who then headed Hillary Clinton's election campaign in the US presidential election. Among them was a message from Abramovych expressing her joy that Podesta's brother, an art collector named Tony, would be attending the spirit cooking. This can be translated as both “spiritual cooking” and “spirit cooking”, which is the more threatening version. In response to this, the shareholder noted in an interview that it was an ordinary dinner with a regular menu, which she calls “spiritual cuisine”. In addition, Maryna Abramovych has a poem called Spirit Cooking, which does not contain satanic motives. From the very beginning of her career, her performances involve testing the boundaries of her own body, which is why they are considered Satanic rites.

Maryna Abramovych has publicly supported Ukraine since February 25, 2022, but there is no evidence that she has received offers to be an embassy or ambassador for Ukraine.

By resorting to such fakes, propagandists aim to discredit the Ukrainian government and those who support Ukraine. They say that it can only be supported by Satanists who grab the opportunity to stay in the headlines on current topics. All this is in order to justify its aggression against Ukraine; it seems that Russia is fighting against the “Satanists” and those who support them.