Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that one of the universities in the United States posted a job advertisement for the Foreign Legion of Ukraine. The ad itself says: “Don't know how to pay off your student loan? Join the Foreign Legion of Ukraine!” It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, who found out that such an announcement was not real, took up the case. Through a reverse search on Google, the experts found that ads are published only in the Russian segment of social networks. It is most likely that the authors of the fake compiled the photo using Photoshop.

Russian propaganda systematically nourished the narrative that regular military personnel of other states, the so-called “foreign mercenaries”, are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda is also trying to justify the failures of the Russian army. Like, they are fighting not with “weak” Ukrainians, but with “specially trained NATO members” or Americans. Moreover, Russian propaganda throws in fakes about hiring students, the unemployed, and the like to show that there is no one to fight in Ukraine and they are recruiting “everyone in a row”.

Earlier, we refuted such a fake, that the United States calls on people without a fixed place of residence to join the International Legion of Ukraine.

One of the necessary conditions for the existence of any totalitarian or authoritarian regime is the education of citizens in the spirit of devotion to power, the ruling regime and ideology. With adults, this is sometimes quite difficult to do, because they have their own well-established principles, attitudes and life experiences that may contradict what a non-democratic regime needs. Also, at least some adults have critical thinking, which further complicates the task for propagandists.

So the ideal option in this regard for such regimes is the education of “correct” citizens “from scratch”, that is, from childhood. That is why animation has become a powerful weapon of Soviet propaganda since the 1920s.

The beginning of propaganda cartoons in the USSR was laid by such films as “Soviet Toys” in 1924 and “China on Fire” in 1925. The first animated film ridiculed the “bourgeois way of life” and the gluttony of the so-called “Nepmen” - Soviet entrepreneurs of that period. In the second, support for the revolution in China was expressed and the alleged interference of Western states in its internal affairs was condemned. After that, the animation was firmly entrenched among the main means of Soviet propaganda.

As with many other propaganda tactics and methods, modern Russian propaganda follows its Soviet predecessors in the field of animation as well. Back in 2018, opposition Russian journalist Arkadii Babchenko explained in detail why the Russian animated series Masha and the Bear is propaganda and dangerous for the psyche of Ukrainian children. The cartoon is promoting Soviet symbols and Russian militarism, imposing unhealthy behavior patterns on children (hysteria, unwillingness and inability to conduct a dialogue, radical stubbornness and self-righteousness, etc.). All these features are inherent in the propagandists and ordinary sympathizers of the Putin regime.

Another example of Russian propaganda in cartoons is the Three Bogatyrs (Heroes) series. In it, Kyiv Rus appears as an integral part of the “Russian world” with a large number of Russian symbols, authoritarian power is popularized (and, of course, Prince Volodymyr is the ruler, although there were many princes in the history of Kyiv Rus). Bogatyrs are blind executors of the will of the prince and completely obey all his whims, even if his ideas and actions look absurd. Everything Russian in the animated series is extolled, and everything Western and European is portrayed as evil. So, Baba Yaga dreams of living like in Europe, but the “valiant heroes” drive her out of Kyiv.

The most recent and well-known example of propaganda in animation is the Tale of Vania and Mykola, released in 2022, after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is direct propaganda: children are explained in a language they can understand why Russia attacked Ukraine, thus justifying the aggression, killings of civilians and massive war crimes of the occupiers. The cartoon uses an old Russian narrative that supposedly Ukraine “bombed Donbas and killed its children for 8 years”, and Russia only “defends its compatriots”.

This thesis was spread by Russian media and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports claim that it is the West, not Ukraine, that actually nourishes the hatred against Russia. Allegedly, Ukraine's actions are caused only by the “influence of the wrong partners”. The authors add that the war was started on the initiative of the West, and Russia is only responding to the actions of the so-called Western enemies.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated this case and explained that it was not the West, but Russia that started the war. The Russians bear collective responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence. At the same time, Russian propaganda is convincing that this is a war of the West and thus hushing up its war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Moscow is calling Ukraine a “Western springboard” to hint that Ukraine is a non-independent state governed by “outside control”. This is how propagandists seek to form the image of a puppet country that cannot exist on its own. Let us say that such a state is constantly in need of “protection”.

Also, as of March 2023, the total amount of direct budgetary assistance from the European Union reaches 4.5 billion euros. Moreover, this is from the beginning of 2023. And according to the Ministry of Finance, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the EU has provided Ukraine with 11.7 billion euros of macro-financial assistance. Financial assistance is not the only range of Western support for Ukraine. A chronology of initiatives implemented by the EU in relation to Ukraine has been created on the website of the European Commission. Among other things, there are the adoption of packages of sanctions, the creation of mechanisms for the restoration of infrastructure, the granting of the status of an EU candidate country, etc. This approach testifies to the comprehensive support of Ukraine by Western leaders.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the July protests in France, protesters used Ukrainian weapons that the West handed over to Ukraine. The reason for the riots was the likely deliberate murder of a 17-year-old teenager by a policeman in the suburbs of Paris. The publications hint that in Ukraine they are engaged in the illegal sale of weapons and “inciting” people to violence. The authors refer to the material of one of the French publications and add a screenshot.

The German fact-checker group Correctiv investigated that they did not find a single material on the sale of Ukrainian weapons for protests in France. They explain that this is just a stuffing, because with the help of a reverse search on Google, specialists managed to study a possible “screenshot” of the material. It turned out that the fakerobes overlaid text on the photo of the weapon and passed it off as material. However, this is a random image from the network and has nothing to do with either the material of the French edition or Ukrainian weapons.

By publishing such fakes, propagandists once again want to show Ukrainians as ungrateful provocateurs who want to destabilize the situation in Europe. Like, Ukrainians resell it on the black market and it falls into the hands of criminals. Thus, the authors undermine the authority of the Ukrainian authorities and try to disrupt future deliveries of armed assistance from NATO countries. After all, such fakes are targeted at the Western audience and leaders in order to inspire despondency towards the actions of Ukraine.

We recently debunked a fake about the so-called “illegal sale” of weapons to Africa.

This thesis was spread by Russian media and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports claim that Ukraine is losing support from Western leaders. Like, everyone is tired of the war in Ukraine. In support of this thesis, the authors write that British Foreign Minister James Cleverly allegedly hinted that they “will not be able to support Ukraine” in the future. As the authors explained, the official allegedly made such a statement during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

The case was noticed by the specialists of the VoxCheck project, who found out that in fact the words of the British official were made up, and the context of the statement was distorted. Indeed, in his speech, the head of the Foreign Ministry expressed support for Ukraine and commitment to the peace plan of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Cleverly noted that the Russians will be held accountable for the crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine. That is, the speech of the official does not contradict the ideas of supporting Ukraine. There are no signs that Britain is going to deprive Ukraine of aid.

This is how propagandists try to dissuade the Ukrainians because the West will allegedly stop supporting them. The authors systematically promote the idea of “decrease in support” and “weariness” of the West from the war in order to hint that gradually support will supposedly decrease and Ukraine will “be left” alone without help. Although the recent diplomatic event in Europe - the NATO summit in Vilnius - proved that Ukraine will not be left without help. As a result, Ukrainian officials received assurances from NATO leaders that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance after the victory. Also, as a result, Ukraine received a new weapon, a program for training pilots on the F-16, a new body - the Ukraine-NATO Council, coordinating relations between Ukraine and NATO. What propagandists wrote about the NATO summit in Vilnius can be read here.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during one of the briefings of US President Joe Biden, he said that cancer was “overcome” in the United States. The authors add that Biden once again turned out to be speaking up. The reports are convincing: such behavior indicates the “old age” of the official. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up this case and found that on July 25, 2023, the President of the United States gave a speech about expanding access to mental health care. He also commented on the administration's plans for other aspects of the medical sector. So he said that he seeks to reduce the incidence of cancer in the United States. During the speech, he explained that if he had the opportunity to do anything, he would first of all cure cancer. Currently, he is considering the possibility of reducing the incidence of cancer as much as possible. That is, the propagandists distorted the context of the speech and came up with their own theses.

Propagandists are systematically trying to discredit the US President, showing his “clumsiness” and “senselessness”. Allegedly, the strategic partner of Ukraine is not competent at all and does not deserve recognition. Thus, the authors ridicule Western leaders.

Analysts have recently refuted similar cases about an official where they want to undermine his authority. For example, how Joe Biden seems to be buying books about dementia, “sniffing” a teenager, or, they say, fell asleep during a meeting with the President of Israel.