Against the background of news about the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the UK, France and Belgium, pro-Russian anonymous telegram channels have been spreading a lot of disinformation messages, with the help of which Russia imposes its own interpretation of events on the audience. Analysts of Detector Media have identified the most common of them.

Zelenskyi's visit diverts attention from the situation in Bakhmut

In December, during Zelenskyi’s visit to the United States, propagandists wrote that Zelenskyi deliberately flew out of the country in order to “hang” the surrender of Bakhmut on the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Like, there is a long-standing conflict between Zelenskyi and Zaluzhnyi and such a decision is the consequences. Allegedly, “guilt” will allow them to change the commander-in-chief. However, Bakhmut is still under the control of the Ukrainian army. This time, the propagandists also take advantage of the difficult situation that has arisen in the city due to the Russian invasion. In their opinion, Zelenskyi wants to look like a hero, so he personally left to negotiate for weapons. However, to do this, he allegedly needs to convince Western partners that at least three hundred thousand more people will be mobilized into the Ukrainian army. Allegedly, such a figure is “justified” by the losses of personnel. However, such statements are only the assumption of propagandists. They don't provide any evidence. In this case, Russian propaganda is promoting several manipulative messages at once: Western support for Ukraine is waning; there are huge losses in the Ukrainian army, which will be covered by forced mobilization; Zelenskyi is “playing the hero”. In fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyi is acting president of a country at war and is negotiating with partners for further cooperation.

Zelenskyi’s trip to Europe “extinguishes” the corruption scandal in Ukraine

They say that the corruption scandal with procurement by the Ministry of Defense undermined the image of Ukraine. As if Ukraine now needs to create a positive “motivational” picture for the Europeans. According to the authors of anonymous telegram channels, Zelenskyi's visit, they say, will be able to change the headlines on the front pages of the Western press. Such theses are manipulation, because they do not have a causal relationship. Of course, the media will cover the visit of the President of Ukraine, we see a lot of positive feedback, but there are no guarantees that there will be no negative headlines for Ukraine either.

Zelenskyi is no longer a “bunker ruler” after debunking the myth that Putin wants to kill him

In such reports, anonymous authors refer to a recent interview with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, which Russian propaganda used to spread disinformation. Propagandists claim that Putin showed mercy and promised not to kill Zelenskyi. However, propagandists invented this statement, distorting the meaning of what Bennett said.

In spreading this message, Russian propaganda uses the tactic of substitution of concepts. In fact, the Russian president is called the “bunker old man”, and not only by Ukrainians, but also by Belarusians and Russians. Unlike Putin, who rarely attends any events, Volodymyr Zelenskyi from the first days of the great war recorded videos in front of the building of the President's Office and showed the Ukrainians that he was in Ukraine. Trips to the liberated Bakhmut, Kherson, Izium and other cities, a visit to the United States also refute the version of the propagandists about “concealment” of Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

Zelenskyi will travel more in Europe in 2023, in particular because of the elections

Anonymous telegram channels write that Zelenskyi is allegedly preparing for the upcoming elections, so there will be more foreign work trips in the near future. Thus, propagandists are trying to be proactive and try to convince Ukrainians that the authorities are supposedly more worried about the upcoming elections and their continued tenure than about the war and the current problems of Ukrainians. However, according to Ukrainian legislation, elections are not held under martial law. So far, martial law has been extended until May 20, 2023. That is, elections to the Verkhovna Rada, presidential elections in Ukraine or local elections will take place only after the end of the war.

In Britain, they took a photo of Zelenskyi in front of a tank - this is the maximum that he can get from the trip

Reports say that the British allegedly allowed Zelenskyi to be photographed in front of the Challenger 2 tank solely to advertise the tank in the world media. As if these tanks will never appear on the front lines in Ukraine. Like, they promised to give them within a month, but only when placed in the capital for “PR”. Tanks will not be sent to the front. In fact, the Ukrainian military has already arrived in the UK and is learning how to operate these tanks. Moreover, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured Volodymyr Zelenskyi that the UK would expedite the dispatch of its and allied equipment to Ukraine “to ensure it reaches Ukraine’s frontline in the coming days and weeks, not years”.

Visit to the European Parliament will not have results

There are also messages in anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric, the authors of which claim that “except for the applause of insane senile people” a visit to the European Parliament will not give Ukraine anything. Like, they applaud Zelenskyi, take a picture with him, and that will be the end of it. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to promote messages about “insignificant Europe” and “the absurdity and helplessness of European institutions”. Like, in fact, they do not solve anything and are not capable of anything. However, the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, in her speech noted that the European Union should take the next step and consider providing fighter jets to Ukraine. The visit of the President of Ukraine is still ongoing, so it is too early to sum up the results, as propagandists do.

Messages aimed at ridiculing Volodymyr Zelenskyi personally

In anonymous telegram channels, propagandists also use the tactics of ridicule and discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi. This is necessary for propagandists to devalue the results of a foreign visit. In particular, they write that Zelenskyi was allegedly brought to the UK “like an amazing monkey” for the British monarch. Like, Zelenskyi, as a “beggar”, went to beg for help, moreover, he cried in the European Parliament, and this is a sign of weakness for propagandists. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to make Ukrainians feel ashamed of their leader and his behavior abroad.

The second foreign visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyi since the beginning of the full-scale invasion has already become historic: the British monarch honored the Ukrainian president with an audience. Against the backdrop of Zelenskyi's visit, the UK imposed new sanctions against Russia. The President of France also awarded Volodymyr Zelenskyi with the Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest award in France that can be received for civil merit.

Telegram channels and pro-Russian media are spreading messages that allegedly the Ukrainian army and authorities are leaving Kupiansk. Such messages also found their way into the English-speaking segment. It is not true.

The head of the Kupiansk military administration, Andrii Kanashevych, denied this information. He said that the employees of the district military administration, the Security service of Ukraine, the National police, the prosecutor's office of the Kupiansky district are at their workplaces and continue to do their job properly. The Ukrainian army, according to Kanashevych, keeps the situation under full control.

According to the Kharkiv anti-corruption center, Russians have recently been spreading fake reports about a new offensive by the Russian army on Kharkiv, Kupiansk, Dvorichna, Izium and other settlements. Propagandists also say that Ukraine allegedly does not restore the liberated settlements.

Russian media and pro-Russian social media accounts are spreading reports about two Ukrainian soldiers who allegedly went to study in Germany and asked for political asylum “because of their unwillingness to die in a senseless war”. The messages refer to news published in the Financial Times. Like, the military believes that Western weapons will not help Kyiv win, but will only lead to an increase in casualties both among the military and among the civilian population. It's fake.

The Financial Times article, cited by Russian media, does not mention the Ukrainian military who asked for political asylum in Germany. It also does not contain statements by Ukrainians that Western weapons will not help Ukraine win the war. The screenshot of the publication was edited and a paragraph was added that was not in the original article.

As StopFake writes, in fact, in the article, citing two sources, they say that everything is ready at Eckernförde, the German training ground, for the start of training for the Ukrainian military on the operation of modern Leopard 2 tanks. The training will begin in two weeks.

In this way, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army, sow panic among  and demoralize the Ukrainians. Allegedly, if the military does not believe in victory, the situation is quite bad.

First of all, “foreign agents” are media and persons who are in a special register of “foreign agents”, which is formed by the Russian government. According to Russian law, it should be added only for the receipt and use of funds from abroad. However, the occupiers often add to this list people or media who do not have confirmed foreign income, but directly or covertly criticize Russia's actions. In particular, the list included media that refused the wording “special military operation” in their materials.

Experience shows that propagandists can use this definition without reference to this list or Russian citizens. The term is repeatedly used as an informal or satirical name for foreign sources or Western media people who openly oppose Russian aggression.

In this way, Russia mocks democratic values and accuses all those who criticize it of bias. They say that the sources of information are confirmed, but “foreign agents” lie and are simply jealous. Propagandists often transfer responsibility for their actions to Ukraine or the West, calling the information of “foreign agents” fake. This definition is another example of how the Russian media space is limited and controlled.

This is the sixth text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes that Russian propaganda uses to distort reality.

Telegram channels spread information that there are allegedly not enough ambulances in the Volyn region, since they are regularly transferred for the needs of the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Roman the Great. Also, many doctors were allegedly mobilized into this brigade, so there is an alleged shortage of professional personnel in the region. This is manipulation.

Reports of a shortage of doctors and ambulances are “fictitious”. The Volyn region indeed handed over nine ambulances to the military hospital and the 14th separate motorized brigade. Three more were donated by Lithuania as humanitarian aid. In addition to ambulances, SUVs and buses purchased with volunteers' money were handed over.

As VoxCheck fact-checkers found out, the messages are illustrated with photographs from the final meeting of the medical council of the Volyn medical center for emergency medical care and disaster medicine. During the meeting, the head of the Center, Volodymyr Shmal, said that 72 emergency teams were working in the medical center in November, provided with everything necessary. In December, another 7 brigades were formed. The center's car park was also updated - 5 new ambulances were bought. As for doctors, the official noted that certain personnel changes are now taking place. However, they are not associated with mobilization - some doctors have retired, and some have changed jobs. Shmal did not say anything about the lack of staff due to the mass mobilization of doctors. Moreover, according to the legislation, hospitals have the opportunity to “book” specialists from mobilization.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to undermine trust in the authorities and local governments and scare Ukrainians that they will be left without proper medical care. Previously, for this purpose, fakes were spread about the business trips of doctors to the combat zone.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels, based on the words of Dmytro Medvediev. The Russian politician posted a message to his telegram channel allegedly criticizing the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war according to the “Korean scenario”. Like, such a development of events is only a “whim” of Ukraine to become “South Korea” after the war. According to him, the “remnants” of Ukraine will never reach such a level of development as South Korea. Moreover, according to the “Korean scenario”, two independent states were formed. At the same time, Ukraine allegedly will never be independent, because it is “controlled by the West”.

Dmytro Medvediev's message is manipulative. The “Korean scenario” involves the distribution of territory between the warring parties along the conditional “38th parallel”, that is, along the front line. That is, the Russian politician is trying to create the impression that Ukraine is considering the possibility of giving up part of its territories in favor of Russia. He also notes the “post-war” future of Ukraine, which supposedly will be difficult. They say that the temporarily occupied territories will “finally” become part of the “strong, independent state”, which allegedly is Russia. At the same time, the “remnants” of Ukraine will “remain” under external control.

In fact, Ukraine does not consider the “Korean scenario” of ending the war. This was confirmed by National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Secretary Oleksii Danylov. He noted that the message about the “probable” “Korean scenario” is deliberately promoted by Russian politicians and pro-Russian resources.

Russia did not achieve the original goal of the so-called ‘special operation”, that is, the rapid capture of Ukraine, therefore, now in this way it is trying to realize the most acceptable option for ending the war. At the same time, Ukraine seeks to return the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that the number of artillery shells that Ukraine allegedly uses per day would be enough for a small European country per year in peacetime. They say that the production of ammunition can be increased, but this will take several years. Allegedly, Europe now cannot but satisfy the “appetite” of Ukraine, since there is a crisis with ammunition.

These messages are manipulative. Any country in peacetime spends much less ammunition than in time of war. The intensity of hostilities, and hence the consumption of ammunition, can also be different. No country, for security reasons, can give Ukraine all its ammunition. That is why Eastern Europe and the United States have been increasing the production of ammunition since 2022. Eastern European businesses are now turning out weapons, artillery shells and other military equipment at a rate not seen since the Cold War to help Ukraine fight Russia.

By spreading the message that other countries are running out of weapons, that Ukraine does not want to supply weapons, new supplies will escalate, or that low-quality or obsolete weapons are being transferred to Ukraine, Russian propaganda is trying to devalue Western aid and demoralize Ukrainians.

Such a message is distributed in anonymous telegram channels. They say that many Ukrainians who were forced to move abroad fleeing away from the war do not want to return home and plan to stay forever in the EU countries. Propagandists cite various data as “evidence”. For example, allegedly Ukrainian migrants in Poland, primarily those who do not live in state aid centers for refugees, are guaranteed to receive a payment equal to 200 euros. That is why, according to propagandists, Ukrainian refugees will not want to return to Ukraine, where the economy is already teetering on the brink.

The authors of such reports deliberately miss the root cause of Ukrainian migration, namely Russian aggression, without naming it. In addition, the provision of payments for Ukrainian refugees in Poland does not depend on whether the person lives at the state aid center. Although the practice of guaranteed issuance of social benefits for Ukrainian refugees is widespread in Poland, these payments do not reach the level of 200 euros and are one-time.  

Moreover, practice shows that Ukrainians, despite all the difficulties, are ready to return home and see their future in Ukraine. According to a survey by the Rating sociological group, 85% of Ukrainians have such intentions.

Russian propaganda spread such messages to demoralize Ukrainians and cause panic, as well as to create the illusion that Ukrainians really left only for a better life. Read more about the messages of Russian disinformation related to Ukrainian refugees in the Detector Media investigation.