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 22 December, on the 1032th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

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

Fake The Ministry of Defense of Poland urged to join the Polish Army to protect Europe from Yevhen Pryhozhyn

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric and users of the Russian segment of social networks distribute a photograph of an alleged advertising poster of the head of the Wagner group, Yevhen Pryhozhyn, with the caption: “Poland is the shield of Europe. Protect Poland from the crazy Russian!”. After the Wagner military base moved to Belarus, the Polish Ministry of National Defense allegedly launched an advertising campaign for contract service in the Polish army. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. The image has been edited. At the request of specialists, the press service of the Polish Ministry of Defense reported that none of their departments responsible for recruiting candidates for the Polish Army is the author of this poster. They noted that the logo was “illegally used or tampered with”. Also, the press service added that joining the troops of the Polish Ministry of Defense is only voluntary.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among the Poles in front of the “crazy Russian” and his army, as well as to discredit them. Like, the Poles are aggressive and ready to go to war. Earlier, Detector Media denied the manipulation that Poland is preparing for a military coup in Belarus.

Fake The 92nd brigade will be disbanded, the military will be transferred to other units

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information about the alleged disbandment of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the otaman Ivan Sirko. They refer to the words of lawyer Yevheniia Zakrevska, who serves in the aerial reconnaissance of the 92nd brigade. In her message, it seems to be written: “I understand the commander, Bies, a little. After he was forced to accept a company, the company soon almost disappeared. Less than a week later. Now there is actually no 92nd OMBR: there are several units of UAV operators and a hundred infantrymen scattered by other brigades”. It's fake.

Specialists of the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center drew attention to the case. They found Yevheniia Zakrevska's message and established that the Russian propagandists simply came up with and added several proposals, allegedly submitting them on behalf of a lawyer and a serviceman. Yevheniia Zakrevska wrote about how hard it is to inform people about the death of a loved one, and not about the disbandment of the brigade. In fact, her post  says: “I understand the company commander, Bies, a little. He doesn't even look older than 25. After he was forced to accept a company, the company soon almost disappeared. Those who ended up on Kreminna have almost run out in Bakhmut. Less than a week later. Bies is good. He is not hiding in the rear of the KSP, he pulled us out of various pricks several times. The fighters love him. And Pasha too. But Bies did not tell the wife about Kent's death. And now Pasha must do it”.

Against the background of news about the counteroffensive, Russian propagandists are trying to convince the Ukrainians that it is unsuccessful, and there are many losses in Ukraine, that the brigades have to be disbanded. Thus, Russian propaganda sows panic and despondency among Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media denied the manipulation that the former head of Estonian intelligence, Rainer Sachs, said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was a “failure”.

Newspeak How Russia blurs reality with the help of a newspeak: “central power”

Russian propagandists are constantly trying to show their state as the best alternative to the “collective West”. The argument in support of this assertion, in particular, is that decentralization in the countries of Europe is just a front, and in these countries dictatorship reigns. In Russia, everything seems to be open - the center of power of the “multicultural” country is in Moscow.

In fact, in the case of Russia, this is a manifestation of the authoritarianism of its regime. Historically, Moscow controls all processes, especially in the occupied territories of Ukraine. In this context, the so-called “governments” of the “LDNR” are not separate governments, but only “branches” of the Kremlin. However, this also applies to Russia itself - the republics within the Russian Federation do not have their own autonomy, and all those who try to go against the whims of Moscow are severely punished. For example, the amount of subsidies from the Kremlin for the regions is determined not by objective criteria or needs, but by the level of commitment or geopolitical importance for Moscow. As a consequence, the Russian Federation is a myth and a cover-up for Russia's imperial ambitions.

By using such words heavily, the propagandists are also deepening the power of Russia's political elites and suppressing the voices of dissidents. With tacit approval, such tools become more widespread and important.

Fake All potassium iodide sold out in Kyiv after Zelenskyi's statement about the mining of the Zaporizhzhia NPP

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric reported that Zelenskyi allegedly intimidated Ukrainians by mining the ZNPP, which allegedly caused potassium iodide to disappear from Kyiv pharmacies. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They note that the demand for potassium iodide tablets has indeed increased, but they can be bought in many pharmacies in Kyiv. Potassium iodide produced by Darnytsia is available in 17 pharmacies, and other manufacturers - in 852 pharmacies in Kyiv. On June 22, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that Ukrainian intelligence had received information about the mining of the ZNPP, and then the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyryl Budanov, confirmed the mining of the plant’s cooler by Russian troops in an interview with The New Statement.

By spreading information about the shortage of potassium iodide tablets in pharmacies in Kyiv, Russian propaganda is trying to create chaos, intimidate Ukrainians and cause them to panic. However, these pills are not suitable for everyone and they will need to be consumed only after official notification from the authorities or the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that Ukraine was deliberately raising the water level in order to flood the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Manipulation Ukraine has a significant lack of air defense due to which more than 60% of Russian missiles hit targets

On July 6, anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric began to circulate reports that a significant air defense shortage had formed in Ukraine. Such statements appeared after a night attack by Russian missiles on the territory of Ukraine and hitting a high-rise building in Lviv. It is noted that this was supposedly a test version of air defense tracking. “As it turned out, it was almost empty. Most of the missiles reached their targets (there were no more than a dozen missiles, more than 60% reached their targets, others were shot down)”, they write on anonymous telegram channels. This is manipulation.

According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of July 6, the enemy attacked Lviv with Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea. 7 out of 10 missiles were shot down, there were hits on civilian targets in the city. Consequently, 70% of the missiles were shot down, only 30% reached their targets, and not 60%, as Russian propaganda writes. Also, the representative of the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, commented on the night attack on Lviv on the air of the Radio Svoboda (Liberty) project Svoboda.Morning. “It is the presence of the F-16 that can make it possible to destroy all air targets attacking Ukrainian infrastructure”, the military man notes. Yurii Ihnat adds that the Russians “worked out the route, using both the terrain and the riverbeds – in this case Dnipro – they flew to Kyiv and turned sharply in the direction of Lviv”.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians and arouse distrust in the authorities. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that all air defense systems were installed in Kyiv, so other cities of Ukraine are unprotected.

Manipulation Ukraine will join the EU in 20-30 years, Ursula von der Leyen , the head of the European Commission, said

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, allegedly stated that Ukraine would join the European Union in 20-30 years. She said this as if during her interview on June 22 in London at a conference on the restoration of Ukraine. This is manipulation.

The case was noticed by experts from the StopFake project. Russian propaganda took the words of the head of the European Commission out of context. In fact, Ursula von der Leyen said that “the European Union in 20-30 years is unthinkable without Ukraine and a bloc of Western Balkan countries in it”. When asked by journalists when exactly Ukraine will join the EU, she replied that she could not name the exact date. Accession to the EU depends on when Ukraine fulfills all the requirements.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the European Union and convince Ukrainians that the West does not want to see it as a member of the EU. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukrainian grain is being destroyed by the European Union.

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.