Kremlin Telegram channels and social media accounts are actively spreading fake information claiming that U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukraine a “destitute country” and expressed regret over the aid provided to it. As “proof”, they cite an edited video of Trump in which his words are allegedly translated into Russian.

Analysts from the StopFake project drew attention to this manipulation.

In the fake translation, Trump is allegedly quoted as saying: “It would have been a much more correct position not to give billions of dollars to this destitute country. Look at what will happen now… This is my own analysis, and you, like me, will be able to see it very soon. Ukraine will lose this war, Putin will gain enormous influence over Europe and other processes in the world. From the very beginning, we supported the wrong side, the wrong position. We are now on the same side as those who lost”.

This content is being actively circulated on Instagram and Telegram.

In reality, the video published by propagandists is a clip from Trump’s meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki at the White House on September 3, 2025, during which the U.S. leader spoke with the press. In the fake video, only the beginning of Trump’s sentence can be heard: “We are in a much better position”. After that, the recording cuts off and a fabricated Russian “translation” begins. Fact-checkers from StopFake analyzed the full Associated Press broadcast and found that Trump’s original words were completely different.

In fact, Trump was answering journalists’ questions about imposing tariffs on imports from various countries and the consideration of this issue by the U.S. Supreme Court. His actual words were: “We are in a much better position. Trillions of dollars are coming into our country. If there were no tariffs, we would be a very poor country, and everyone else in the world – both friends and enemies – would be taking advantage of us. We’re not going to let that happen. And we have a very, very serious case in the Supreme Court”.

There were no mentions of Ukraine or any criticism of aid to it either in this segment or in other parts of the meeting with Nawrocki or the press conference. The Russian propaganda machine simply invented these words to discredit Ukraine and undermine trust in international support. Notably, the same fake video was actively circulating in the Georgian segment of Facebook, as noted by fact-checkers from Myth Detector.

Fakes claiming that Trump (as a key political figure in the United States) supposedly regrets the “billions of dollars” given to a “destitute” Ukraine are aimed at persuading American audiences – particularly conservatives and Trump supporters – that such assistance is pointless or harmful. This is part of a broader Kremlin campaign that intensified after Trump’s victory in 2024, seeking to cut Ukraine off from weapons and funding and thereby facilitate Russian advances. Russian disinformation is designed to erode support for Ukraine following Trump’s return to the White House, using fake videos and narratives about corruption or “neo-Nazis” in Ukraine.

Since early September 2025, Kremlin propaganda has once again revived the old, mothballed narrative about alleged “U.S. biolaboratories in Ukraine”, which it claims are a source of global biological threats. Analysts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security drew attention to this renewed disinformation campaign.

Recently, fact-checkers debunked a claim by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova that as many as 36 such laboratories supposedly exist in Ukraine.

However, the Russian information machine did not stop and continued its offensive: a segment by host Dmitry Kiselyov – the same figure who once threatened the United States with “nuclear ash” – aired on the Russia 1 TV channel. The report used excerpts from an interview by the controversial American journalist Tucker Carlson with Cornell University professor Dave Collum.

According to Kiselyov, this conversation supposedly “revealed” Ukraine’s involvement in the spread of the coronavirus and the millions of deaths caused by the pandemic. Why this is pure fake and manipulation will be explained below.

As we have repeatedly demonstrated in previous materials, and as Ukrainian and international fact-checkers have confirmed, the narrative about “U.S. biolaboratories in Ukraine” is a fabrication of Russian propaganda. This is a key point for understanding the context.

Further: yes, Tucker Carlson’s interview with Professor Dave Collum did indeed take place on August 20, 2025, on Carlson’s channel (https://surl.li/zwszjp). However, Russian propagandists “unearthed” this material only two weeks later, which points to a coordinated effort aimed at reviving and amplifying this topic.

For the sake of completeness, it is worth noting that Dave Collum, despite his status as a professor at Cornell University, is known for his eccentric views. He is an active anti-vaxxer who, in public appearances, promotes conspiracy theories about a “world government”, shadowy puppet masters behind the scenes of power (even behind U.S. President Donald Trump), and other conspiratorial narratives. Collum often refers to another prominent anti-vaccine activist, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Similar statements can be found in his numerous interviews and publications.

Third, in the original interview, Collum does not link Ukraine in any way to the spread of COVID-19, nor does he claim that the virus was allegedly “transported” from the United States (in particular, from North Carolina) to Wuhan, China. The professor uses phrases such as “I think”, which clearly indicate a subjective opinion or speculation rather than fact. Moreover, he provides no evidence whatsoever involving Ukraine. Instead, he refers to a book by Kennedy that allegedly “exposes a conspiracy” about testing COVID-19 vaccines on children from shelters.

However, Kiselyov presents these words as an indisputable truth. Moreover, he inflates the claim by suggesting that if Ukraine was supposedly “involved” in the spread of the virus, then it is also responsible for the millions of deaths caused by the pandemic. This is complete nonsense and a classic manipulation that has no connection to reality.

Furthermore, Collum’s version is baseless, conspiratorial, and anti-scientific nonsense.

Fourth, to dispel any remaining doubts, it is worth recalling the official COVID-19 timeline. The first confirmed case of infection in Ukraine was recorded on March 3, 2020 – long after the pandemic had begun in China and spread worldwide. There were no “biolaboratories” or “transportation” of the virus from Ukraine involved in this at all.

The Kremlin uses fakes about “biological weapons” to justify its invasion as a form of “defense against a threat”. Claims about laboratories allegedly developing viruses against Russians (including “ethnic weapons” or COVID-19) create a narrative portraying Russia as acting preemptively.

These fakes are also aimed at undermining trust in U.S. assistance by depicting it as a form of “military-biological expansion” against Russia and the world. Propaganda links these laboratories to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola, or avian influenza in order to convince audiences that the West is “creating viruses” to cause global chaos.

A video has appeared on a propagandist Telegram channel linked to the occupying forces, allegedly showing the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration (RMA), Oleksandr Prokudin, agreeing to the “liberation” of the right-bank part of the region – in reality, its occupation by Russian forces. The information attack was reported by Kavun.City.

An analysis by Kavun.City shows that this is a typical hostile provocation and that the video was created using artificial intelligence.

Anonymous pro-Russian resources circulated a supposed “leak” – a written description and a video attributed to “sources” within the Kherson RMA. In the fake, Prokudin is made to say phrases about the “evacuation” of civilians, the “withdrawal” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and “agreements” from Kyiv on the “peaceful surrender” of the right bank of the Dnipro River. Such channels have repeatedly attempted to discredit the Kherson leadership by spreading false information about the region.

In addition, Kavun.City had previously uncovered links between this channel and Kostiantyn Shulha, a native of Kherson who is suspected of collaborationism. He is currently hiding in Russia or in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson Oblast. This “operation” is another element of the information war aimed at sowing chaos among Ukrainians.

Such information injections are used to create a “picture of success” in Russian media – suggesting that “Ukraine is surrendering”. This helps sustain the morale of the occupiers and justify losses and mobilization.

Fakes about “peace agreements” or “evacuation” may also influence Western audiences by creating the impression that Ukraine “cannot hold on” and needs “negotiations”. This, in turn, weakens support in the form of weapons and sanctions.

A fake video about the “evacuation” or “withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” from the right bank of Kherson Oblast could provoke mass panic, prompting people to flee and causing traffic jams, resource overloads, and disorganization. This weakens defenses and makes it easier for the enemy to advance.