Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that the ex-Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, allegedly stated the need to lower the conscription age. As Russian propaganda notes, they are going to resort to such measures due to the alleged “complete failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces summer counteroffensive”. And this will be a continuation of the “Western policy” of killing a large number of Slavs associated with the Ukrainian and Russian sides”. This is manipulation.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. They established that Russian propaganda refers to a column by Ben Wallace published in The Telegraph. Wallace didn't actually write about the failed Ukrainian counteroffensive or the need to draft 16-year-olds and “throw them into a meat grinder”. On the contrary, he noted that Ukraine will win this war, and the allies must increase the pace of assistance.

Ben Wallace writes that Putin is mobilizing all of Russia, and in Ukraine the average age of soldiers on the fronts is 40. “So, as Britain did in 1939 and 1941, perhaps it is time to reassess the scale of Ukrainian mobilization”, Wallace said. It was this quote that Russian propagandists used to create manipulative news.

Thus, Russian propaganda continues to promote the narrative that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is a failure, and the West will indeed destroy Ukraine. Previously, we described the message that the European Union benefits from Ukraine’s defeat in the war.

In the Russian segment of social networks Facebook and TikTok, propaganda media and pro-Kremlin telegram channels are distributing videos with fortune telling on Tarot cards about Volodymyr Zelenskyi. At some point, the fortune teller’s online stream is interrupted, allegedly because the police came. According to propaganda, law enforcement officers detained the fortune teller because of her regular negative Tarot spreads for the President of Ukraine. The reason for the arrest was criticism of the president. “Having opened the cards, the woman said that the head of the independent state was becoming more and more aggressive and obeying his mind less and less, being exposed to emotions”, the Russian propaganda wrote. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. The circulated video does not mention the name of the fortune teller, and there is also no link to her Twitch. Russian propaganda refers to the “original source” posted on the YouTube channel under the nickname “Lera”. It was created on June 9, 2023. The fact-checkers analyzed the content and concluded that its purpose was to spread Russian disinformation.

In a comment to StopFake, representatives of the National Police of Ukraine said that the Cyber Police Department does not have information about such a detention. However, they established that the original source where the video was posted was probably the pro-Kremlin telegram channel Sheikh Tamir.

Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian authorities; they have already begun to arrest people for allegedly criticizing the President of Ukraine. Russian propaganda is using deflection tactics to portray Zelenskyi as a dictator whose criticism could land him in jail. That is, propagandists accuse Ukraine of what Putin is really doing. Previously, we talked about the message that Volodymyr Zelenskyi is introducing “Nazism” into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In the American segment of the social network Facebook, a message is being circulated that NATO allegedly sent troops to Ukraine to fight Russia. The post contains a video in which a man expresses support for the candidacy of US ex-President Donald Trump in the White House elections in 2024 and notes that “NATO troops have been sent to Ukraine”.

As fact-checkers of the PolitiFact project note, there are no reliable news or official sources that could confirm the message that there are no NATO troops in Ukraine. The man in the video refers to Russian sources.

Moreover, NATO press officer Matthias Eichenlaub commented to the fact-checkers, where he noted: “There are no NATO troops in Ukraine”. The official website also contains no information about these military personnel in Ukraine. “And we have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine. That would be even more dangerous, destructive, and even more deadly”, the alliance’s website says.

Russian propaganda continues to spread messages that Russia is fighting the West on the territory of Ukraine. Thus, the Russians are trying to justify their defeats at the front and absolve themselves of responsibility for crimes in Ukraine.

In the Ukrainian segment of the social network Facebook, photographs and news are being circulated that in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the statue of Christ the Savior was allegedly dressed in a giant embroidered shirt. It seems that this was done as part of an action in support of Ukraine. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the VoxCheck project. They found the original photo of the statue, as well as an edited photo on the social network X (formerly Twitter), which appeared back in August 2022. It was posted by the user Metreveli Nugzar, ridiculing pro-Russian politicians.

Neither the website nor the pages and other resources of the Embassy of Ukraine in Brazil and the Embassy of Brazil in Ukraine wrote about the act of dressing the statue in embroidery.

Previously, we refuted the fake news that ants carried an icon of Jesus Christ from a destroyed house in Makiivka.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are distributing an article from the Nigerian publication The Nation, which posted photos of receipts for Olena Zelenska’s alleged purchases in jewelry stores during her official visit to the United States. The First Lady allegedly spent over a million dollars on Cartier jewelry. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. The “receipt” distributed by Russian propaganda shows the date September 22, 2023, but it was on this day that Olena and Volodymyr Zelenskyi were on an official visit to Canada. That is, the first lady physically could not be in jewelry stores in New York.

Before traveling to Canada, the Ukrainian President and First Lady made an official visit to Washington, where they visited the Pentagon Memorial and held several meetings, including with Jill Biden.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Olena Zelenska, saying that Ukrainians are fighting while the first lady is spending money. Propagandists are trying to create a negative attitude towards the first lady. Previously, we refuted the fake news that Russians found Olena Zelenska’s Russian passport in Crimea.