Pro-Kremlin mass media and social networks reported that the Indian edition of The Economic Times wrote that Western weapons supplied to Ukraine by allied countries will not help it win the war with Russia. The Russian media also reported that the Armed Forces might repeat the fate of the Afghan army: get large amounts of resources but ultimately be defeated. Propagandists also hint that there are fewer and fewer personnel in the Ukrainian military, and morale is significantly falling because the mobilized soldiers practically do not resist the Russian military. However, all this is not true.

As VoxCheck writes, The Economic Times reported problems with developing Western weapons but did not say that Ukraine would repeat the fate of Afghanistan. There is no resource that purports to be an article from The Economic Times that cites the original material. More details.

Russian propaganda media spread this information. They refer to the statements of the Russian Ministry of Defense. They said that during the battles for Lysychansk, the Armed Forces of Russia allegedly destroyed 14 "mercenaries" fighting for Ukraine, including fighters of the Georgian Legion. However, it is not true.

Some propagandists even stated that the Russian military allegedly succeeded in destroying the entire volunteer Georgian National Legion, which has been fighting in Donbas since 2014. As StopFake writes, this information is refuted by the commander of the Georgian National Legion, Mamuka Mamulashvili, and the Georgian fighters fighting in Ukraine. Members of the Legion claim that it is another disinformation campaign by the Kremlin against Georgian fighters who are fighting against Russian aggression. The mass death of Georgian Legion fighters is also not confirmed by other sources, particularly the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More details.    

According to the State Intelligence Service, the public authorities of Ukraine received new dangerous letters with the subject "Specialized prosecutor's office in the military and defense sphere. Information about the availability of vacancies and their staffing". According to the department, the letters have an attachment in the form of an XLS document containing a macro, the activation of which will lead to the creation and launch of the "write.exe" file on the computer. It may cause the device to be damaged by Cobalt Strike Beacon. The State Intelligence Service associates the activity with the work of the UAC-0056 group, which was already involved in cyberattacks in Ukraine in April and March.    

The Russian propaganda media spread this information regarding the words of the head of the national defense management center of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Mykhailo Mizintsev. Reports say that in Kharkiv, territorial defense fighters have equipped firing positions on the lower and upper floors of residential buildings on Rymarska Street. At the same time, locals are not allowed to leave their apartments because they are held hostage. Russian propagandists add that local radicals harshly stop any attempts to move civilians through the territory of Kharkiv. However, all this is not true.

Journalists of the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center turned to the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Kharkiv City Council for a comment. They refuted the information spread by the propagandists and explained that the city council had not received any complaints from the residents of Kharkiv about there being held hostage by the armed forces. The city council also denied a fake about the arrangement of armed forces firing positions in residential buildings on Rymarska. We will remind you that it is not the first time propagandists have reported that the military is firing positions in residential buildings, hospitals, and schools in various cities, including Kharkiv and Odesa. However, all these cases of "capture of civilian objects by the Ukrainian military" were not confirmed.    

Russian propaganda media spread information that French self-propelled guns, which Ukraine received as military aid, were sold to the Russian army by the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for nothing. All propagandist media refer to the publication Bulgarian Military, which claims that "French and Ukrainian [from Donbas] sources assure that in the hands of the Russian army, and more precisely in the production workshops of the Russian manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, there are two 155 mm Caesar self-propelled howitzers, donated by France to Ukraine as military aid against the Russian invasion on February 24."

It is alleged that Ukrainians sold two Caesar self-propelled howitzers through an intermediary for $120,000 each. However, as The Insider writes, there is no evidence that the French self-propelled guns were sold to the Russians. The publication Bulgarian Military, which did not write about it, cites only the comments of experts, particularly a lawyer, who claims, referring to his own observations, that the Ukrainian military sold self-propelled guns to the Russians. Since no proper evidence has been found, such facts cannot be believed for sure; it is only assumption. More details.    

The information that the Russian army captured a trophy German howitzer was spread by Kremlin propaganda media. In materials, they allegedly refer to the publication of the German magazine Bild. Propaganda media reports that the howitzer had reportedly been damaged by a trophy German grenade launcher, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine also received from Germany. However, it is not true.

According to the fact-checkers from StopFake, the Bild publication did not publish the information that the Russian Armed Forces allegedly took possession of the German PzH 2000 howitzer, which was previously given to Germany as military aid to Ukraine. Also, the German publication Welt journalists could not find any confirmation of the information distributed on the network. Also, the Russian side did not provide any photo or video evidence that this self-propelled gun ended up in their military's hands. More details.

Russian propaganda media spread such information. In their reports, they refer to the Polish mass media, claiming that Ukrainian refugees come to Poland only for financial gain and perceive it as a "cash cow." However, the Kremlin media in their texts regard only one article in the Polish press — Myśl Polska. It is said that Ukrainians allegedly came from peaceful regions to receive help. "Millions of refugees from Ukraine are just people who want to use Poland as a cash cow," writes Myśl Polska, adding that Poland is allegedly even forced to limit access to medical services for its citizens to ensure the "maintenance" requests of Ukrainians. However, it is not true.

As the fact-checkers from StopFake write, the publication also claims that many resources allegedly go to "numerous interventions with the removal of children from drunken Ukrainian mothers." According to the author, such violations have become almost massive, but the local mass media do not write about it because "censorship works properly" in Poland. Such information is not confirmed in other Polish media and official sources. However, such material in the Polish mass media served as an excuse for Russian propaganda to discredit Ukraine and Ukrainians. StopFake writes that the financial component is not the most crucial reason Ukrainians go to Poland. Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Poland after February 24 are entitled to a one-time allowance of 300 zlotys ($66) and a monthly child allowance of 500 zlotys ($110). The average salary in Ukraine in December 2021 was $641, 9 times more than the allowance in Poland. The minimum fixed wage in Ukraine is $233. It is almost four times more than the aid for which, according to Russian and some pro-Russian Polish media, Ukrainians go to Poland. Ukrainian refugees are looking for a safe environment in Poland, which, unfortunately, is not currently available in Ukraine due to the Russian military aggression. More details.    

Materials with this content appeared in Russian propaganda media. Reports claim that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet announced during the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It is said that Bachelet accused the Security Service of Ukraine of violating the norms of humanitarian law in the eastern regions of Ukraine and expressed her fears about the arrests of pro-Russian collaborators. The military commissar reported on the war in Ukraine. Still, the main complaints about human rights violations and humanitarian law in the context of the military actions that Russia is conducting in Ukraine were addressed to the Russian military.

According to StopFake, among the facts of such crimes, the report mentions shelling of civilians, destruction of the civilian infrastructure of cities and villages, murders not related to hostilities, arbitrary detention of civilians, and cases of rape. However, the pro-Kremlin mass media drew attention exclusively to violations of international humanitarian law by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the eastern regions of Ukraine to discredit Ukraine and the Ukrainian military. Fact-checkers emphasize that the report on the Ukrainian military mentions only the problem of pro-Russian collaborators, the guarantee of their rights, and the problem of Russian prisoners of war.