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***!

Message Ukraine works on creating a "dirty" nuclear bomb

Such a message intensified this week in Russian media and anonymous Telegram channels controlled by the Kremlin.

The process of negotiations with Great Britain allegedly regarding the transfer of nuclear weapons to Ukraine to deter Russia has failed. Because of this, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered to gather of all nuclear scientists in Ukraine as soon as possible to create a "dirty" nuclear bomb. Messages that Ukraine was "preparing" the so-called "dirty atomic bomb" were actively spreading on the eve of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

This was also indicated among the reasons for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Later, Russian propaganda spread the thesis that Kyiv was trying to turn the plant into a "dirty" nuclear bomb by shelling the Zaporizhzhia NPP, and that the US was allegedly interested in having a "dirty" bomb in Ukraine.

There was also an option that Ukrainian scientists were already working on the components of a "dirty" bomb directly near the Russian border. A "dirty bomb" is a type of "radiological dispersal device in which a conventional explosive, such as dynamite, is combined with radioactive material. Such bombs don`t release enough radiation to kill people or cause serious illness.

However, the explosion of such a bomb can cause fear and panic, pollute the space, and require expensive cleanup. Such bombs are considered to be weapons of terrorist groups rather than armies. "Ukraine doesn`t have nuclear weapons and doesn`t conduct any work on their creation/acquisition. We are a responsible member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on his Twitter account. The Center for Combating Disinformation drew attention to the fact that Ukraine has nowhere to get uranium, and plutonium was produced by the reactors of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and such work has not been carried out for a quarter of a century, therefore statements about the creation of a "dirty nuclear bomb" have no basis.

At the same time, members of the National Commission for Radiation Protection of the Population of Ukraine, Anatoliy Nosovskyy and Viktor Dolin, reported in an interview with Science magazine that during the occupation of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant by Russian troops, a barbaric raid was carried out on the Ekocentr radiation monitoring laboratory, and it was looted. According to scientists, in the laboratory, the Russians could extract radioactive isotopes that were used to calibrate devices and the remains of radioactive waste. "These materials can be mixed with conventional explosives to form a 'dirty bomb' that spreads pollution over a large area," Nosovskyy said.

Fake In Kyiv, an image of a stamp with explosions on the Crimean Bridge was immediately displayed near the city hall

Russian Telegram channels and the pro-Russian online publication Strana.ua in Ukraine write about this. In fact, it is not so.

The idea to create such a stamp belongs to the director of "Ukrposhta" Ihor Smilyansky, who on August 9, after the explosion in Crimea, wrote: "What, is it time?" and published a sketch of the new stamp with the Crimean bridge.

The "CHESNO" movement picked up the initiative and prepared the "Information Resistance" exhibition for the Independence Day of Ukraine, a part of which is the "Bavovna over the Crimean Bridge" photo zone stamp. A huge stamp could be seen on Podil near the Ferris wheel from August until the middle of September.

On September 18, it was installed in Khreschatyk, near the building of the capital city hall. The explosion on the Crimean Bridge occurred at dawn on October 8. Russian propagandists, including presenter Olga Skabeeva, didn`t like the photo zone "Bavovna over the Crimean Bridge".

They complain about how Ukrainians can enjoy someone else's grief and take pictures next to images of destroyed infrastructure. At the same time, "CHESNO" urges: "Well, it is definitely an excuse to go there and take a photo!

To anger Skabeeva, come to the KSCA, the stamp is there." "Ukrposhta" has published a sketch of a new stamp called "Crimean Bridge - END (vsyo)" and is preparing it for release.

Manipulation The US military is discussing the assassination of Vladimir Putin

This information was spread by Russian publications concerning the American magazine Newsweek. Allegedly, the military doesn`t agree with US President Joe Biden on deterring Russia exclusively by non-nuclear means. He said that the American military believed that it would be necessary to "hit the Russians with a hammer" and prepare "a blow to kill Putin in the heart of the Kremlin."

Russian propagandists took the quotes out of context. In fact, the Newsweek article said that “Biden believes non-nuclear threats will stop Putin. His military doesn't think so." It refers to a disagreement over the role of American nuclear weapons and the most effective way to deter Vladimir Putin. The article points out that Washington "told the Russians at a very high level that there would be catastrophic consequences for Russia if they used nuclear weapons in Ukraine."

Moreover, their unprecedented threats are just a reaction to Putin's equally unprecedented speech about a nuclear strike. Russian propagandists spread the thesis that the USA is preparing a nuclear attack on Russia and the assassination of Putin to justify any decisions of Putin and the crimes of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine, allegedly for protection. More details.

Fake Russian rockets destroyed the factory in Shepetivka, where weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were repaired

Such information is spread by the Russian mass media and users on social networks.

At dawn on October 6, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the territory of the Shepetiv district of the Khmelnytskyi region. As the head of the regional military administration, Serhiy Gamalii, reported, one rocket fell next to an infrastructure object, and the other fell on a cemetery. There were no casualties or injuries as a result of the missile strike. Partially damaged residential buildings and farm buildings.

Every time after launching missiles over Ukraine, the Russians "report" that they hit the target and allegedly destroyed yet another factory or warehouse with Western weapons, or premises where mercenaries were located. Russian propaganda needs such messages to "wash its hands" of shelling civilian objects and to claim its pretended success.

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.