Russian propagandists are spreading information that Ukrainians allegedly set fire to the Spektrum Tower skyscraper in Warsaw. They say that Western countries are silent about the participation of Ukrainians and justify this by faulty electrical wiring. The Ukrainians themselves, according to propagandists, are taking revenge in this way for the fact that Poland and the Baltic countries are deporting them back to the war. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that on May 8, 2024, a fire occurred in the Spektrum Tower office building in Warsaw. However, the State Fire Marshal's Office did not then release the cause of the fire or the names or nationalities of those who may have been involved. The Polish media did not report this either. Additionally, the VoxCheck team has not received a response from the Polish police regarding this event.

On May 20, 2024, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Polish law enforcement authorities had detained 9 suspects who were most likely members of a Russian spy ring and involved in arson attacks in Poland. However, Tusk did not note that it was Ukrainians who were involved in the fire at Spektrum Tower in Warsaw.

It is also important to note that Poland and the Baltic countries are not deporting Ukrainians to the war, as the Russians claim. The Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine at one time emphasized that the Polish authorities will not force men of military age to return to Ukraine forcibly.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Russian propagandists are distributing images allegedly taken on the banks of the Tysa River. They say they show a spontaneous memorial intended to commemorate the men “shot by border guards” while illegally crossing the Ukrainian border. In the water one can see flowers, paper boats, as well as the inscriptions “Tysa - Sticks” and “Forgive us all”. Propagandists also claim that these images were published by the news agency Reuters. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to the case. They found that although the images contained Reuters watermarks, they were not found on the agency's website. A search for the name of the photographer listed in the posts containing the images, Horatiu Negrescu, did not return any results. Moreover, there are no sources confirming the existence of such a “memorial”. The screenshot distributed by propagandists indicates that images from the Tysa River were published on the Reuters website on May 26 and were included in the Photos of the Day section. However, this section appears on the site only on weekdays, and May 26 was a Sunday, therefore, the image for that day was not published. On Monday, May 27, the column included three photographs from Ukraine, showing the consequences of the shelling of the Kharkiv region and the actions of the Ukrainian military. Thus, there is no reliable evidence that these photographs were taken near the Tysa River - it is likely that the attackers created the photographs anywhere and added the Reuters logo in Photoshop.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and cause panic among the local population. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Information is being spread on social networks that from June 1, men over 18 years old without a military ID will not be allowed into ATB supermarkets. They say this is evidenced by an advertisement launched on the screens of a store in Zhytomyr. This message was also picked up by Russian propagandists. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Beyond the News project drew attention to him. They found out that no restrictions were introduced for visiting ATB stores. In addition, in their refutation they referred to the official statement of ATB on the fake:

“The fabricated ad is another attempt by low-quality communicators to hype up a brand on a top topic. We ask everyone to be careful, not to fall for such provocations and check the information on the company’s official information channels!” - Serhii Demchenko, director of communications at ATB, said.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and cause panic among the local population. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Propaganda telegram channels working in the interests of the occupation forces in the Zaporizhzhia region quote an article from the Turkish publication dikGazete. The author of the article claims that Russian reforms in the agricultural sector of the Zaporizhzhia region allegedly led to economic growth. This, according to them, became possible thanks to the support of the Russian government, which purchases the products of local farmers at market prices and provides them with subsidies. They also praise the organization of the State Grain Operator, which creates jobs and pays high prices for grain. However, they do not have objective information about the work of this operator. They say that Ukraine, on the contrary, sold off land and neglected the region. The article was pointed out by the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center.

Its experts found that the information in this publication is manipulative and deceitful. For example, the mention of Russia’s “rescue” actions in restoring the agricultural sector of the Zaporizhzhia region after the Ukrainian government does not reflect the real situation, since the region had developed agricultural activities even before the invasion. In addition, the statement about the sale of agricultural land to foreign investors is not true, since until July 2021 there was a moratorium on the sale of such land in Ukraine, and after its lifting, sales to foreigners remain complicated.

This media has a pronounced pro-Russian slant. At the time of writing, columns were published on the main page of the publication’s website about the alleged blackmail of the families of Russian prisoners of war by Ukraine and disappointing forecasts for Ukraine. These materials have a direct connection with Russia: the author of one of them indicated Moscow as his location, and the other - St. Petersburg.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to the TOT inhabitants to convince them that Russia supposedly cares about “new regions”, unlike Ukraine.