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 13 May, on the 809th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2137
Fake
691
Manipulation
648
Message
436
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Message There is no point in changing the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as Ukraine seems to be losing the war anyway

Pro-Kremlin media write that the Ukrainian army seems to be unable to defeat Russia even after a change in military leadership. In asserting this, they refer to Oleh Soskin, a former adviser to the second President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.

Today, the Defense Forces continue to hold the front and repel attacks by Russian occupiers. To strengthen the Ukrainian army, new approaches and strategies are needed; this is precisely why the top leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been updated. This is written about in the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. It is too early to draw conclusions about the activities of the new military leadership and argue, in particular, that personnel changes in the army do not make sense, because the “reset team” has only just begun to fulfill its tasks.

Such statements by political scientists and other experts or pseudo-experts only nourish  panic among Ukrainians and play along with Russian narratives. Previously, we refuted the information that Germany allegedly created graffiti in which Zelenskyi is holding the bloody head of Zaluzhnyi in his hand.

Fake French farmers allegedly flooded the Ukrainian Embassy with feces

This information is disseminated by pro-Russian resources. They say this happened after the Ukrainian Embassy in France allegedly wrote an official letter of appeal to French farmers calling on them to stop the protests. The letter allegedly said that “the people of Ukraine regret that French farmers, faced with the first economic difficulties, turned their backs on the French government and the Ukrainian people”. Ukrainian diplomats also called on the French to follow the example of the Ukrainians and unite for the sake of their own Motherland. This appeal allegedly angered French farmers, and they resorted to corresponding provocation. To confirm this information, propagandists refer to the “story” of the EuroNews TV channel on this topic.

In fact, this information is not true. The Ukrainian Embassy in France did not write a letter to French farmers, and EuroNews never published such a story. The latter is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that the corresponding video was not published on any of the channel’s official resources. In addition, the “news” about French farmers has already been refuted by BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

It should be noted that the Russian-language version of Euronews is known for its anti-Ukrainian editorial policy and the dissemination of Kremlin propaganda, but even there they did not publish the corresponding fake story.

On behalf of leading news resources, Russians are distributing fake videos online to discredit Ukraine. This video is the last of a series of similar ones. It is noteworthy that propagandists disseminated this disinformation story against the backdrop of France and Ukraine approaching the finalization of a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for the latter.

Fake The “civil war” between Russians continues in Ukraine

This statement was made by Putin during an interview with pro-Russian journalist Tucker Carlson on February 6, 2024. Like, “Ukrainians still feel like Russians, and in this sense, what is happening is to a certain extent an element of civil war”.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security denied this information. In fact, the Russian-Ukrainian war is by no means “civil”, because its participants have been citizens of different states for many years.

Yes, Russians really live in Ukraine and some of them are defenders of the Ukrainian state. However, this fact alone destroys the propaganda narrative about the alleged “persecution of Russians” or that ethnic Russians in Ukraine are “waiting for their liberation” by Russia.

Russian propaganda continues to deliberately nourish the narrative of “civil war” and “protection of the rights of Russian speakers”, starting with the occupation of Crimea and the Russian war in Donbas in 2014. The Kremlin sees this as an element of justification for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Fake Zelenskyi's father allegedly fought at the front against the Nazis

On February 6, 2024, during an interview with pro-Russian journalist Tucker Carlson, Russian dictator Putin said that the father of the current President of Ukraine Oleksandr Zelenskyi was a front-line soldier and fought against fascism.

This information is not true. This is written about in the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Oleksandr Zelenskyi was born after the end of World War II - in 1947. Therefore, he could not possibly participate in the “fight against fascism”.

The dominance of neo-Nazism in Ukraine is the same fiction, while in fact its signs: the worship of symbols, the militarization of youth, the restriction of rights and freedoms, the seizure of foreign territories, are found precisely in Russia.

• Read also: Zelenskyi allegedly wore a sweater with Nazi symbols to a meeting with the Pope.

Manipulation Ukraine seems to have to mobilize women and children

Pro-Russian resources write that Ukraine needs to mobilize women and children. In asserting this, they refer to the head of the Special Staff of Ukraine in the Bundeswehr, General Christian Freuding, who allegedly made a corresponding statement. They say this can be explained by the large losses at the front on the Ukrainian side.

In fact, this information is distorted. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. In an interview with the German broadcaster RND, General Freuding did talk about the need to mobilize more conscripts to replenish the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but he did not say anything about “mobilizing women and children”.

In addition, during a press conference on December 19, 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that he would not sign the law on the mobilization of women.

Russian propaganda is once again speculating on the topic of mobilization, which is sensitive for Ukrainians. It should be noted that this spread of misinformation occurred against the backdrop of public discussions on the mobilization bill. More materials on this topic can be found here.

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.