This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Polish media is “hiding the truth”: they do not tell that “the United States is inciting discord between Ukraine and Russia” and are doing everything to hide “the real peacekeeping actions of Russia”. Like, all this is a consequence of russophobia, which the Poles feel towards the Russians.

Analysts of The Insider project investigated this case and determined that the material of the Mysl Polska publication became the basis for creating this message. This is a propaganda publication that spreads fakes and manipulations about the Russian-Ukrainian war. Consequently, the materials of the publication do not accurately indicate the position of the country in relation to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Analysts explain that in August 2022, Slovak, Czech and Polish investigators discovered that the Polish newspaper Mysl Polska was supplying content for one of the Russian propaganda editions, NewsFront. More than 7 percent of all content published on NewsFront is reprinted from Mysl Polska.

At the same time, propagandists calling the actions of other countries against Russia “russophobia” imply an allegedly groundless phenomenon, which consists in hatred for everything Russian: from products to culture. However, the so-called russophobia is a response to the actions of the Russian army, leadership and people. The Russians bear collective responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence. World condemnation and sanctions against the aggressor are the consequences of Russia's criminal actions, and not just “a manifestation of hatred for Russians as a people”, as Moscow is trying to convince everyone. Russian propaganda also wants to convince that “hatred of the Russians” blurred the eyes of many Europeans, thus trying to whiten themselves and become a victim, not an aggressor.

Such information was disseminated in social networks and propaganda media. Reports say that allegedly the Ukrainian government does not allocate funds for the rehabilitation of military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder. Allegedly, Zelenskyi “spends all the money on something else”. It is not true.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found that, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On social and legal protection of military personnel and members of their families”, the state provides free psychological assistance:

to military personnel who do military service on the territory of Ukraine and perform military duty outside its borders;

to the military, who became persons with disabilities due to a disease associated with the passage of service;

to members of volunteer formations of territorial communities.

That is, the law regulates the process of providing free psychological assistance, so the thesis about “non-allocation of funds by the government” is unfounded. Analysts believe that the basis for creating this fake was the material of The Economist, in which journalists talk about a military rehabilitation center for the treatment of PTSD, located in the Kharkiv region. The material also said that all this was “new” for Ukraine, since until 2014 the military had received almost no psychological assistance.

It is worth noting that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic mental disorder that can develop after a traumatic event. Persistent thoughts about the traumatic event last more than a month and usually occur 6 months after the event. Intrusive thoughts appear involuntarily when some kind of trigger reminds of trauma.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that in the Polish coal mine “Bohdanka”, which is located 40 km from the border with Ukraine, a “burial ground” with five hundred bodies of military men was allegedly found. These bodies, according to the authors of the messages, allegedly belong to the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and “foreign mercenaries” who participated in the war on the side of Ukraine. It is not true.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to this case and determined that the information is not true. Analysts are sure that this is another conspiracy theory from Russian propaganda. The information was also denied by the representative of the mine “Bohdanka” Ian Matysik. The representative of the company said that the information shared online is a fake. He also noted that “there are no military operations in the immediate vicinity of “Bohdanka”, as well as on the territory of the Republic of Poland”. Consequently, there is no so-called burial ground.

By spreading this fake, propagandists want to distort reality and show that Ukraine is constantly losing and trying to hide the victims in every possible way. In addition, Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. Thus, propaganda substitutes the concept, calling the foreign legion “mercenaries” and at the same time wants to create the appearance that Russia is really at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called “collective West”.

We recall that earlier Detector Media explained the message in which they claimed that only the foreign legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses foreign equipment on the battlefield.

“It’s your own fault” is one of the most common propaganda tactics both in the internal (Russian) and external information spaces. Propagandists transfer the responsibility for what has been done to the victim, causing them to feel ashamed or guilty, etc. For example, the authorities are bad, but the officials who violate the laws are not to blame for this, but the voters who voted for them. Like, you have what you have voted for.

Since the beginning of a full-scale war, Russian propaganda has been convincing that it is Ukraine that is to blame for the duration of the war. Like, if the Ukrainians had not resisted, the so-called “special military operation” would have already “achieved its goals” and ended. The propagandists also tried to transfer part of the blame to the West. They say that the supply of air defense systems and weapons to Ukraine only “increases the number of victims and prolongs the conflict”. These messages propagandists spread to the internal audience. They say that Ukrainians “asked for it” with their resistance.

Using such tactics, Russian propaganda shifts responsibility for Russian massive missile strikes to the Ukrainian army. They say that if Russian “high-precision” missiles had not been shot down with the help of Ukrainian “ridiculous” air defense systems, they would have hit “only military targets”, and civilians “would not have suffered”. In particular, propagandist Olha Skabieieva voiced this on the air of a Russian TV channel: allegedly, the Ukrainian military fires dozens of missiles from air defense systems that randomly move in the sky, do not hit Russian missiles, but collide with each other and fragments of these missiles fall into civilian buildings while Russian rockets reach their goals. So, Skabieieva explained the consequences of rocket attacks on Kyiv. Similar explanations were given about the reasons for the X-22 missile hitting a multi-storied building in Dnipro: the Russian missile allegedly flew clearly at a military target, and it was “unsuccessfully” shot down over the building.

The propagandists also spread messages that, thanks to Poroshenko, Ukraine had lost Crimea and part of the East, and thanks to Zelenskyi, the loss of territories was even greater. They say that it was not Russia that began to occupy Ukrainian territories in 2014, but the “it’s own fault” of Ukrainians who supported the Revolution of dignity (in the language of propagandists - “coup d'état”), elected Petro Poroshenko, and later Volodymyr Zelenskyi as presidents. 

“It’s your own fault” tactics is used in combination with the “substitution of concepts” technique.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Alleged Ukrainian seismologist Oleksandr Kendzera said that “Kyiv will shake like Turkey”, referring to the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria that took the lives of about 52,000 people, according to recent reports. The authors of the messages refer to the interview of Oleksandr Kendzera on the Kyiv TV channel. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the propagandists distorted the context of the interview when the seismologist was answering the question of whether an earthquake is possible on the territory of Ukraine, in particular in Kyiv. The seismologist replied that there is a special map - the seismic zoning of Ukraine - with which you can determine the seismically active zones. Kyiv may be threatened by an earthquake with an intensity of 6 points, but with a frequency of once every 5 thousand years. The percentage of excess of seismic intensity in the coming years is also very low - the probability of a 6-magnitude earthquake in the capital is 1%. Therefore, Oleksandr Kendzera did not say that “an earthquake will happen in Kyiv”, but only spoke about the seismic activity of Ukraine and Kyiv in particular.

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists want to further provoke a sense of fear and panic among Ukrainians. Like, now we must also be afraid of natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Thus, the authors use intimidation tactics to achieve their goals.

We recall that earlier Detector Media denied a fake that an earthquake from Turkey would allegedly spread to Volyn and Rivne regions and explained the message that claimed that Europe decided to punish Turkey with an earthquake.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that Ukraine, together with the United States, allegedly conducts dangerous experiments in Ukrainian biological laboratories. Like, such information was confirmed by the US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland. At the same time, the authors also refer to the material of the American edition of OAN where this is mentioned. However, this is not true.

Analysts at the VoxCheck project got down to this case and investigated that Victoria Nuland did not make such a statement. There are no laboratories in Ukraine that would develop biological weapons or conduct dangerous experiments. However, such a story from the American channel “One America News” really exists. Analysts explain that this is a biased publication that spreads propaganda, conspiracy theories and fake news. Therefore, the plot cannot testify to the official position of the country, since the plot is fiction.

Russia uses the topic of “biological laboratories” as part of the narrative about the “Western control of Ukraine”, as well as the existence of “Russophobia”. It seems that Ukraine is a “puppet of the West”, which follows its instructions and works with dangerous substances in order to do harm to Russia.

Such a “postcard” was distributed on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “postcard” states that the so-called Department of cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine under the Orthodox Church of Ukraine of the Kyiv Patriarchate calls on Ukrainian soldiers to kill Russians. Allegedly, the metropolitan himself signed the postcard, which means that the Ukrainian church calls for murders on its own behalf.

Analysts of the NotaYenota project took up this case and determined that the postcard was fake. Analysts analyzed this “postcard” and found a number of inaccuracies in it, in particular:

There has been no Kyiv Patriarchate in Ukraine since 2018;

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine does not have a “Department of cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine”. Instead, there is such a department in the Russian Orthodox Church;

Varsonofii, whose name the “postcard” was signed with, is in fact the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, emphasized that it is not a sin to wish death on the enemy and to kill the Russian occupiers. However, there were no calls to “kill on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine”.

Such a “document” was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “document” states that the people's deputies of Ukraine are turning to the head of Energoatom with a request to provide a list of Ukrainian NPP workers to be mobilized.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the document was fake. As analysts explain, the “document” includes a number of inaccuracies, in particular:

The fake document does not meet the standard design that people's deputies use when writing an appeal;

The wording used in the “document” is not typical for official business correspondence;

The authors of the “document” made grammatical and spelling errors.

In addition, as analysts note that some people's deputies who allegedly signed the “document” have already resigned and are not fulfilling the duties of people's deputies.