Spilnota Detector Media
Detector Media collects and documents real-time chronicles of the Kremlin disinformation about the Russian invasion. Ukraine for decades has been suffering from Kremlin disinformation. Here we document all narratives, messages, and tactics, which Russia is using from February 17th, 2022. Reminder: the increasing of shelling and fighting by militants happened on the 17th of February 2022 on the territory of Ukraine. Russian propaganda blames Ukraine for these actions.

On 16 May, on the 812th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2148
Fake
693
Manipulation
648
Message
441
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Manipulation Ukraine blocked entry to the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region for no reason

The Kremlin media reports this regarding collaborator Volodymyr Rogov. Ukraine allegedly blocked entry to the "liberated" part of the Zaporizhzhia region, so now residents can`t leave the territory controlled by Kyiv. People are allegedly not being released for various imaginary reasons and are being threatened. It is not so.

In fact, entry is blocked from both sides. The head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh explained that the entrance to the temporarily occupied part of the region was closed after the Russian military fired on a humanitarian convoy in Zaporizhzhia. A safer algorithm for the passage of vehicles to occupied territories is currently being developed. Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, announced the closure of exits to the temporarily occupied territories through Zaporizhzhia due to the tragedy with the humanitarian convoy.

The information that the occupiers don`t allow Ukrainians to leave the temporarily occupied territories of the region is also confirmed by the local mass media. Now, to leave the occupation, the Russian military requires filling out applications, which must contain all personal data, copies of documents, information about the location at the time of departure, etc.

So the Ukrainian authorities have restricted entry for the safety of citizens, but instead, the occupiers are blocking passage to obtain personal information. Earlier, propagandists spread fakes about the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired upon refugee columns in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv Region. And they also manipulated that Russia would "consult with the population" of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region regarding determining "borders". More details.

Manipulation The Austrians demand to stop supporting Ukraine

Russian media write about this. The majority of Austrians allegedly want their country to maintain neutrality.

Allegedly, for this, it is necessary to stop helping Kyiv and lift sanctions from Russia. The motivation for such statements was allegedly added by an article in the Austrian edition of Express with an open letter of invitation. 47,000 Austrians have already signed it. It is not so.

According to the fact-checkers of The Insider project, the letter published in Express contains pro-Russian rhetoric. Apart from the total number of signatories, there is no other information that could be used to claim that the letter was signed by Austrians. The letter doesn`t include names or pseudo-users, so there is no evidence that these are people and not bots. Anyone from any country can register and vote, as the site does not verify at least the email address. The population of Austria is about 9 million, so even 47 thousand signatories are only 0.5%, not the majority, as agitprop claims.

The author of the "blogger and entrepreneur" initiative is Gerald Markel. He blogs about politics on Telegram. During the coronavirus pandemic, he spread fakes about the alleged sudden death from vaccination, which he called fascism, and compared the government's policy to 1938. Markel also supports Vladimir Putin's policy.

Message Ukraine is being "prepared" for a nuclear accident, which will be arranged by "third parties," but they will blame Russia

Pro-Russian Telegram channels write about it. He said that the very fact of a nuclear attack on Ukraine would be important, and they would not be able to figure out who would carry it out. Because of this, allegedly, the Ukrainian authorities issued a manual on the rules of behavior during a nuclear threat. Some anonymous Telegram channels are spreading rumors that the Americans will strike at the spent nuclear fuel storage in the Chornobyl zone.

Since February 24, Russia has systematically threatened Ukraine and the world with the use of nuclear weapons. At the beginning of a full-scale invasion, the Russians put the nuclear forces on special combat duty. During a speech on September 21, Putin again threatened the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the event of a "direct threat to Russian territory," saying that this was "not a bluff."

Considering the seriousness of the danger, the Ukrainian authorities developed appropriate recommendations for citizens, which agitprop immediately called "preparation for a nuclear accident."

Russian propaganda conducts informational terrorism to induce Ukraine to negotiate on the Kremlin's terms.

Disclosure Fraudsters are distributing a fake letter on behalf of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council regarding financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

It was reported by the Head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council, Violeta Labaziuk. Such messages come to business representatives, organizations, enterprises, and individuals.

Fraudsters promise tax benefits with the help of the Armed Forces. The actions were allegedly coordinated with the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada.

The Khmelnytskyi Regional Council doesn`t send such letters and doesn`t collect funds. The fraud was reported to law enforcement agencies. Violeta Labaziuk also asks to contact the law enforcement officers in case of receiving the letter. Previously, similar letters were sent to entrepreneurs in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Message France is an "accomplice of genocide" in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine

This message is spread by pro-Russian media. Allegedly, Ukraine is shelling Donbas with French self-propelled guns "Caesar", therefore France is complicit in "crimes" against the civilian population.

The fact-checkers of the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to the message. Russian propaganda has been spreading the narrative that "Ukraine is shelling Donbas" since 2014. Agitprop baselessly called these actions genocide.

The atrocities of the Russian army in Ukraine have signs of genocide. Western countries are helping Ukraine resist the Russian invasion and supplying the necessary weapons. In particular, France provided the Armed Forces with 18 Caesar howitzers as part of military aid. It is also planned to deliver several additional units of this weapon (from 6 to 12). These self-propelled guns belong to the category of precision weapons, which limits collateral damage.

Earlier, propagandists spread fakes that the Ukrainians sold self-propelled howitzers "Caesar" to the Russians, and it turned out that they were allegedly not very effective weapons.

Orest Slyvenko, Artur Koldomasov, Vitalii Mykhailiv, Oleksandra Kotenko, Oleksandr Siedin, Kostiantyn Zadyraka, and Oleksiy Pivtorak are collaborating on this chronicle. Lesia Bidochko serves as the project coordinator, while Ksenia Ilyuk is the author of the project.