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 23 December, on the 1033th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2602
Fake
774
Manipulation
753
Message
541
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Manipulation Zelenskyi does not respect Biden and the US Congress as he came to the meeting in a “T-shirt”

A photo is being circulated on Twitter and Facebook of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in a suit and tie greeting World Economic Forum (WEF) President Klaus Schwab. In the captions to the photo, users note that Zelenskyi came to a meeting with US President Joe Biden and a speech in the US Congress in a “T-shirt” (actually in a sweater).

One example of such messages is: “Zelenskyi was in a camouflage T-shirt in the Oval Office and during his address to Congress. But he wore a tie [to meet] Klaus Schwab. Does this need any comment at all?”

This was noted in Reuters Fact Check. They write that the photos of Zelenskyi and Schwab were taken in January 2020 at the annual WEF conference in Davos. The fact checker also added that Zelenskyi met with Biden in September 2021, before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, and then the Ukrainian president was in a suit.

In addition, users are spreading manipulation around this photo, noting that Zelenskyi's clothes during meetings may indicate disrespect for the president and the US Congress, or that this photo is allegedly evidence of “who really controls everything”. Such manipulations are aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian president in the eyes of a foreign audience, primarily American users.

These are attempts to undermine the confidence in the Ukrainian authorities among citizens of other states, including the United States, in order to further influence the support of Ukraine from international partners.

Fake Hostages in Dresden were taken by a Ukrainian who demanded that Ukraine join NATO

A fake was spread to a foreign audience, which said that in December hostages in the center of the German city of Dresden were taken by a refugee from Ukraine, who demanded Ukraine's entry into NATO. In particular, WhatsApp distributed a voice message saying: “[The attacker] who took the hostages in Dresden, German Davyd V., is actually called Davyd Voshchenko, […] he is a refugee from Ukraine, and his demands were that [ . ..] that Ukraine shall join NATO”.

In fact, this incident had nothing to do with Ukraine. According to Correctiv's fact-checkers, they were told at the Dresden Police Department that there were no links to the situation in Ukraine in this case, and that the man was a German citizen. Law enforcement officers also denied that his name was Davyd Voshchenko. In addition, a video with a similar statement about an alleged perpetrator named Davyd Voshchenko was posted on Tiktok. It was made public on the account with the description “Entertainment/satire”, and at the bottom of the video and hashtags it was indicated that it was fake. Despite this, as fact-checkers note, some users took the content of the video seriously and demanded “immediately stop any assistance to Ukraine”.

The spread of this fake to a foreign audience indicates attempts to influence the attitude of foreigners towards Ukrainian migrants and undermine support for Ukraine among the international community. Detector Media has previously written what messages and manipulations about Ukrainian refugees are most often spread by Russian disinformation.

Fake The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) does not have permission to hold a divine service on January 7 in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC - MP) spread a fake that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine allegedly did not receive permission from the administration of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reserve to hold a service on January 7. The UOC-MP calls Epifanii's intention to hold a service in Lavra an “attempt to seize by force”.

The UOC-MP also said that Oleksandr Rudnyk, the reserve's acting general director, told them on January 5 that he had not received any requests from the OCU regarding the use of the Uspenskyi (Assumption) Cathedral and the Refectory Church for worship.

In fact, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine granted OCU permission, and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra national reserve concluded a corresponding agreement. This, in particular, is confirmed by the acting general director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reserve Oleksandr Rudnyk, who said that he gave permission to the OCU and concluded an agreement to hold a service on January 7 from 8:00 am to 12 pm.

He explained that the conversation with the UOC-MP took place in the morning of January 5, and in the evening of the same day he received an appeal from the OCU and a corresponding permit from the Ministry of Culture. The representative of the press service of the OCU provided Ukrainska Pravda with a document confirming that the ministry had agreed to hold the OCU service in the Uspenskyi (Assumption) Cathedral.

Fake European Union lost its independence

Such messages are distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that the EU has rapidly lost its independence due to assistance to Ukraine, and therefore is unlikely to be able to further claim the role of a state institution. Like, Russia destroyed the remnants of the collective West in each country, so they are deprived of sovereignty. It's a lie.

The experts of the EU vs Disinfo project say that the European Union is a sovereign entity created on the voluntary initiative of European nations, and it has its own independent foreign policy.

EU Member States are sovereign countries and make sovereign decisions on their own domestic, economic, foreign and security policies. The European Union is clear on national sovereignty: “Member states remain sovereign and independent states, they have decided to pool some of their “sovereignty” in areas where it makes sense to work together”. That is, there is no question of any loss of sovereignty and independence.

Fake The war in Ukraine is part of the West's secret plan to destroy China

Such messages are distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that for 10 years the West has been preparing Ukraine for a confrontation with Russia, and thus has set its sights on China. Like, the Russian attack was part of a plan to start a war, because the West will provide weapons to destroy first Russia and then China. However, this is not true.

Experts from the EU vs Disinfo project say that the United States, the EU and some NATO member countries are providing Ukraine with military assistance to repel unprovoked Russian aggression. Ukraine receives weapons for the sole purpose of restoring its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. That is, we are not talking about the destruction of a particular country. However, the entire international community is helping Ukraine to expel the invaders from its territory.

Propagandists spread this message to show Ukraine as a puppet of the West, undermining the statehood and sovereignty of Ukraine. At the same time, this statement was intended to justify the war of conquest by Russia, because it seems that all this is a conspiracy to organize the destruction of countries.

Disclosure Fraudsters offer five thousand hryvnias of assistance from PrivatBank

In social networks, in particular, in the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, they spread messages about the opportunity to receive five thousand hryvnias of assistance from PrivatBank. To do this, you need to fill out a questionnaire and take a short survey. However, this is a scam.

According to the fact-checker of the “Brekhunets” (Lier) project, such a financial assistance program does not exist. Experts found that when you go to a site with a survey, an antivirus program immediately works and warns that the resource can be harmful. Fact-checkers are convinced that the site has nothing to do with an official bank. There is not a word on the official website of PrivatBank that the organization makes payments of certain financial assistance from the state. Moreover, people who allegedly received the winnings write with errors in the comments.

After completing the survey, you are invited to send a link to your friends.

By spreading such messages, scammers are trying to mislead Ukrainians, because the method of such mailings is beneficial in social networks in order to increase activity and sharings.

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.