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***!

Fake Kyiv disrupted the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

In the Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, and in the Russian segment of Facebook, information is being disseminated that Ukraine has “thwarted” the rotation of the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The rotation did not take place due to the fact that allegedly the Ukrainian military began shelling. Russian propaganda refers to collaborator Volodymyr Rohov, a representative of the occupation administration of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region. It's fake.

According to Stop Fake experts, the IAEA mission did not really take place on the specified date, but it was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. This statement was made by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

“The planned rotation of the current IAEA team of experts at the site - the eighth one since the mission was established last September - has been delayed due to local weather conditions”, Grossi said in a statement.

Russian propagandists once again want to convince the whole world that Ukraine is an aggressor and it is committing so-called provocations at the ZNPP. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that the IAEA resolution allows Ukraine to shell the ZNPP.

Fake A video has appeared showing how the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up

Anonymous Ukrainian telegram channels and Russian channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are distributing a video showing the explosions at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on June 6, 2023. Russian telegram channels also note that the Ukrainian military carried out strikes that destroyed the dam. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated the case and determined that the video that went viral on Telegram channels was first published on November 12, 2022. On it, we see the undermining of the bridge at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. In 2022, it was distributed by the Russian media, and the explosion itself, experts say, could have occurred on November 11. That is, on the day when the Russian troops retreated from the right bank of Kherson. Consequently, these are shots on undermining the Antonivskyi bridge, and not the hydroelectric power plant.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the West and shift the responsibility for Russia's crimes to the victim. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that Ukraine allegedly blackmails Western partners with terrorist attacks if they stop supplying weapons.

Manipulation Australia wants to transfer Hawkei armored vehicles with faulty brakes to Ukraine

In Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, reports are circulating that Australia will transfer Hawkei armored vehicles with faulty brakes to Ukraine as part of a military aid package. Russian propaganda refers to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, which allegedly released an article about this. This is manipulation.

As fact-checkers of The Insider media note, in fact, the Australian newspaper reports that the obligation to supply armored vehicles to Ukraine has not yet been formally fixed, but an agreement has been reached. The aid package itself will be announced in July, during Prime Minister Anthony Albaniz's visit to the NATO summit in Lithuania. Australia has 1,100 Hawkeis equipped with the same US-Norwegian air defense system protecting the White House. However, the army opposed the transfer of these vehicles to Ukraine, referring to the fact that the vehicle has faulty brakes. Retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryman believes this is a cop-out.

Also, the Australian military came up with another argument. They say that Ukraine will have to transfer so many spare parts that the entire Australian fleet of armored vehicles will become unusable. However, despite this, agreements were reached.

By spreading such manipulations, Russian propagandists are trying to show that the West does not want to support Ukraine in the war, does not believe in its victory, and therefore transfers broken equipment to it. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Ukrainian military is unprofessional, so the United States is transferring tanks to Ukraine without secret equipment.

Fake Ukraine has no success on the battlefield

Such a message is allegedly being spread on the Ukrainska Pravda media website and on Facebook on the Biohosdo page. The messages write that we are “winning exclusively in the information war” and add images of skeletons that should personify the dead Ukrainian military. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications drew attention to the case. They found that the site, which posted the text about the defeats on the battlefield, is a clone of the Ukrainska Pravda website. Russian propaganda uses the pravda-ua.com domain, while the real address is pravda.com.ua. Also, these narratives are spread through the empty Biohosdo page. According to the information received, this campaign was launched on June 5, and the fake page was created on May 17.

Thus, propagandists are trying to sow discouragement among Ukrainians and convince them that there is no point in resisting. Earlier, Detector Media explained the manipulation that, according to the US general, Russia was defeating Ukraine in the war.

Fake Russian military destroyed a Leopard tank in Ukraine

The Russian Defense Ministry and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric published a video captioned “destruction of foreign armored vehicles, including Leopard tanks”. They even suggest that they have attracted the Vykhor (whirlwind) anti-tank missile system (VTRK). It's fake.

OSINT community experts determined that the Russians fired from the Ka-52 not at Leopard 2 tanks, but at agricultural equipment - a sprayer and a combine. Later, the specialists of the Stratcom project of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed this.

Thus, propagandists are trying to convince the whole world of the effectiveness of Russian technology. It has no equal, and Western technology can be easily destroyed. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that the Russians “hit” the Leopard2A5 tank near Vuhledar.

Disclosure How Tucker Carlson repeats the messages of Russian propaganda in his new show

Tucker Carlson, a fired FOX News host and pro-Russian propagandist, has tweeted the first episode of his new show. In it, he claims that the Ukrainians blew up the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, and the American government controls the media and hides important stories from the Americans. The video was distributed among others by Elon Musk, and as of now it has already been viewed more than 50 million times. Detector Media singled out the main propaganda messages in the video.

1 Ukraine blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant

The TV presenter claims that Ukraine, at the direction of Zelenskyi, blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. His argument is that if Volodymyr Putin ordered it to be done, it would be absurd because it harms Russia itself. Carlson is ironic that, despite the fact that everyone is used to thinking that Ukraine does not have the resources to do this, this does not negate the fact that it can do it.

Ukrainian members of the government and public organizations, in particular the organizations of the coalition Ukraine. The Fifth Morning claims that it was Russia that purposefully undermined the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. The destruction occurred from the inside as a result of the detonation of explosives. Ukraine has no motive to destroy the dam, especially now.

2. The US should stop supporting Zelenskyi as he is doing bad things

Further, the TV presenter begins to be ironic towards the President of Ukraine, calling him “almost a saint”. He criticizes the information noise around Zelenskyi and his support among Western countries. In addition, Carlson hints that Zelenskyi is allegedly the real evil in the war against Ukraine, but it is easy for everyone to say that Russia is committing crimes. The TV presenter reproaches the President for choosing clothes for official meetings and calls him rat-shaped, almost accusing him of destroying Christian values. Therefore, according to Carlson, the United States should stop supporting Ukraine.

Although such statements are the subjective opinion of the TV presenter, among them there are objective accusations against Zelenskyi. However, reality proves otherwise – it is Russia and its army that daily commit war crimes against Ukrainians, including the forced deportation of children, the mistreatment of prisoners of war and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Even the example of the dam blowing is indicative - while in the settlements controlled by Ukraine, people are being evacuated and given the necessary assistance, in the flooded temporarily occupied territories, the so-called “local authorities” have left civilians to fend for themselves with tragedy.

3. The American government is hiding “really important topics” from Americans due to “puppet media”

Trying to explain the appearance of his new show on Twitter, Carlson accuses US President Joe Biden and his team of censorship and silence on important topics. In particular, he appeals to the fact that the “puppet media” allegedly too actively covers the aggression against Ukraine, the problems of broadcasters and the topic of global warming, so the Americans do not know what is really happening in the world. The TV presenter compares the situation with freedom of speech in the last years of the USSR, recalling foreign radio stations listening “under the covers”. According to him, this new show will be analogous to those stations so that Americans know about “really important things”. For example, a former American intelligence officer allegedly announced the shooting down of an unidentified flying object with unknown creatures on board.

Tucker Carlson deliberately substitutes the concept, reinforcing the message about “conservative censorship”, which is quite popular in certain circles. Like, corporations deliberately block conservative figures just because they have conservative views. However, in fact, most of these cases of blocking the accounts of conservative figures are related to the fact that they disseminated information dangerous to the lives of social network users. For example, when they publicly spoke out against vaccines, called the coronavirus a global conspiracy, or called on people to protest on January 6, 2021 to take over the Capitol by force.

By the story of the former intelligence officer and the UFO, Carlson means the testimonies of David Grush, which he gave to NewsNation yesterday. The man claims that the US government allegedly has a special secret program to collect UFOs and the remnants of persons on board. Tucker Carlson condemns the fact that many American media like The New York Times have not published any material on this topic, so it can be considered hushed up. A Google search shows that a number of leading conservative media and tabloids not only in the US but also in the UK wrote about this “sensation”. It is currently difficult to verify the credibility of Grush's testimony, but both the FBI and NASA have UFO pages on their official websites.

We recall that Tucker Carlson regularly distributes Russian propaganda messages. Previously, he claimed that Volodymyr Zelenskyi is a “Biden puppet”, Ukraine is “not a democracy”, and Volodymyr Putin is “America's true friend”.

Such rhetoric around the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant is beneficial for Russia and resembles the situation with the loss of the Boeing-777 flight MH17, since it dilutes responsibility and creates ambiguity. In fact, Carlson is helping Russia justify its aggression against Ukraine, confusing foreign audiences about Russia's role in this war, and further destabilizing American domestic politics.

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.