Propaganda resources are disseminating information that supposedly Ukrainian refugees in Dresden (Germany) are being given canned cockroaches as humanitarian aid. As proof of their assertion, the Russians provide a video with such canned food in the hands of a “Ukrainian refugee”. However, this is a fake.

Journalists from the StopFake project drew attention to this case. They found that there was no information confirming the fact that Ukrainian refugees in Dresden or any other city received such canned food as humanitarian aid. Moreover, canned goods with the name like in the video are not available for sale in German or Austrian online stores at all. Such canned food can indeed be bought on large marketplaces, but not as a food product, but only as an “entertaining gift for Halloween”. Considering this, it can be argued that the video distributed by the network is fake.

Previously, some Kremlin-controlled media have already used the topic of eating insects as food in some Western countries for their own propaganda purposes, building a narrative about the decline of the West and the harm of anti-Russian sanctions. Detector Media denied the information that the alleged invasion of bedbugs in France is a consequence of anti-Russian sanctions.

This information is disseminated by pro-Russian resources. They say that a referendum on this matter will take place on January 15, 2024 in Lviv and the region. According to the video that propagandists add, the survey was conducted by CBOS, the Polish Center for Public Opinion Research. Considering the comments, some residents of the Lviv region are allegedly even happy about the opportunity to live in Poland. It's fake.

The experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council examined this information. They found out that the CBOS website does not contain any materials about such a sociological survey. The latest study on Ukraine is dated November 27, 2023, and its topic is the war in Ukraine, and not the so-called referendum. In the end, no referendum on the annexation of the Lviv region to Poland can be held, since this is contrary to the legislation of Ukraine and poses a threat to the territorial integrity of the state and its security.

With the help of such disinformation materials, the Russians are trying to fuel their narrative that Poland is allegedly planning to occupy the Ukrainian event. One can also trace the attempts of propagandists to create an image of an enemy for Ukrainians from Poland. Previously, we refuted the information that during the 1.5 year war against Russia in Ukraine, more than 10,000 Poles allegedly died.

This information is disseminated by pro-Kremlin resources. As proof, propagandists attach a photo of a “certificate” addressed to Volodymyr Zelenskyi granting him US citizenship. In addition, they add that the President of Ukraine plans to escape not alone, but with his family. For this purpose, it seems that all the relevant documents have already been prepared. However, this is a fake.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council examined this information. The center has established that the primary source of this “news” is the fake publication The DC Weekly, which has repeatedly spread lies about the President of Ukraine and the First Lady. The photo of the so-called certificate of US citizenship is also not real - its number cannot be found in the database. After all, the author of the material is a fictitious person named Jessica Devlin, whose profile generally contains a photo of actress Judy Batalion.

Accordingly, this fake, within the framework of the narrative about the alleged insignificance and treachery of the Zelenskyi family, aims to discredit the President and First Lady of Ukraine. Another motive for creating this type of disinformation is the desire of propagandists to awaken panic among Ukrainians regarding the future of the country. Previously, we refuted information that the foundation of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska is allegedly associated with child trafficking.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council stated that Russia is planning a series of disinformation publications against the military-political leadership of Ukraine, which will be published on English-language resources. The materials are prepared by foreign journalists who have experience working in Russia, in particular, during the beginning of Putin’s power. The key goal of such actions by Russian propaganda can be considered an attempt to sow discord among Ukrainian society, discredit the government of Ukraine and demotivate Ukrainians to fight against Russia. Previously, we analyzed the manipulation that supposedly it was time for the Western world to admit Ukraine’s defeat in the war against Russia.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the Ukrainian authorities seem to have begun to prepare for the surrender of the central and western regions of Ukraine to Poland. This is evidenced by the fact that children began to be taught Polish in schools in the Poltava region. However, this is a fake.

This case was studied by specialists at the Center for Countering Disinformation. They managed to find out that the Polish language in the Poltava region is taught in only two schools, and not in all, as propagandists claim. This was reported by the Poltava City Council. Moreover, at the beginning of the school year, in addition to compulsory English, children in the region were offered to study Polish or German as a second foreign language, which indicates free choice and not coercion.

By claiming that Ukraine is ready to surrender its territories to Poland, Russian propaganda  is trying to demoralize Ukrainian society and assure everyone around that the defeat of the Ukrainian side in the war against Russia is inevitable. Propagandists also aim to create an image of Poland as an enemy among Ukrainians by spreading disinformation, as in this case. As part of the narrative that Poland will supposedly “absorb” Ukraine, we wrote about a conspiracy theory called “Ukrpolin”.