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 26 November, on the 1006th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2547
Fake
762
Manipulation
742
Message
536
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Fake Ukrainian refugees destroyed a hostel in the German city of Bamberg

It was reported on the News of Russia telegram channel. A video is attached to the post with a comment that illustrates "how Ukrainian refugees live and what they do." Allegedly, the Ukrainians destroyed the dormitory where they were sheltered and stole household appliances and food products. But it is not so.

The video shows a refugee hostel in Bamberg, Germany. However, Ukrainians did not live there. Moreover, neither the managers of the institution nor the local police knows about cases of vandalism or theft related to Ukrainian refugees. According to German fact-checkers, two people are speaking in Russian on the one-minute video and filming the condition of the mutilated apartment. However, the video does not mention that Ukrainian refugees staged the pogrom. Russian propaganda spreads such messages to turn citizens of other countries against Ukrainians, such as it is not worth helping Ukrainian refugees; they are ungrateful.

Fake Most residents of the Zaporizhzhia region "dream" of joining Russia

The Russian media report it regarding the self-proclaimed "head" of the occupation administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yevhen Balytskyi. According to reports, more than 60% of Zaporizhzhia region residents see the region's territories as part of Russia in the status of a separate entity. It is not true.

According to the Industrialka publication, the occupiers scheduled a vote for September 11. Still, Balytsky already claims that "the liberated part of the Zaporizhzhia region will become part of Russia through a referendum," and 60% of residents will allegedly support such a decision. The Melitopol partisans reacted to Balytskyi's statements, warning the collaborator in leaflets that "Ukrainian night is near" and punishment is inevitable.

The results of actual sociological research conducted in Ukraine refute the fakes of Russian propagandists. The majority (89%) of those surveyed support the recognition of the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people. 76% favor banning the Z and V symbols used on Russian military equipment, and 74% favor banning the St. George ribbon in Ukraine (5 years ago, it was only 45%).

Recently, pro-Russian propaganda spread fakes that the authorities and residents of the Kharkiv region "want to join Russia." The actions of the occupiers on the territory of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are the same as in 2014 in the temporarily occupied Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions - an illegal referendum, the results of which are known in advance.

Manipulation Great Britain and Turkey plan to buy Ukrainian grain and doom to starvation

The Russian media spread such messages regarding the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain, Liz Truss. However, it is not true.

Russian propaganda used the comments of social network users for "news." As VoxCheck writes, the network cites a statement by Liz Truss dated June 23, 2022, that Britain and Turkey are cooperating on the issue of grain export from Ukraine. From this, social media users conclude that the partners are planning to buy Ukrainian grain much lower than the market price, thereby dooming Ukraine to famine. Commentators are also convinced that Russia "provides humanitarian aid to Ukrainians." At the same time, the West, on the contrary, "delays the end of the war by providing Ukraine with weapons and economic support."

Turkey and Great Britain really buy Ukrainian grain. However, this export will not lead to starvation. In May 2022, the Minister of Agrarian Policy said that 20 million tons of grain from last year's harvest remained in Ukraine, which is not needed for domestic consumption and is intended for export. Because of the war, the cultivated area in Ukraine has decreased by about 25%, but even under such conditions, Ukraine will fully provide for its domestic needs. Russia blocked Ukraine's seaports, through which 90% of grain was exported before the invasion. Great Britain and Turkey are interested in lifting the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports and resuming grain exports, as this will prevent or at least alleviate a world food crisis. The food crisis is closely related to the economic crisis, which affects all countries, including Turkey and Great Britain. There is also no reason to believe that in exchange for the help of these countries in lifting the blockade, Ukraine will agree to sell them food at a reduced price.

Fake NATO has been preparing for war with Russia for 8 years

Russian media are spreading reports that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has "spoken" that the Alliance was "purposefully" preparing for war.

It is not true.

The Russian media took Stoltenberg's quote out of context and added it at their discretion. Jens Stoltenberg reflected on the foundations of European security, which Russia undermined in 2014 due to its occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. "In fact, we have long been preparing for such a possibility [a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine]. It's not like NATO suddenly woke up on February 24 and realized that Russia is dangerous... That's why we've been working on a new Force Structure [NATO's defense capability] for some time," Stoltenberg said. He also once again refuted the propaganda thesis about the planned "attack" of the Alliance on Russia and emphasized that NATO is not a party to the conflict in the Russian war against Ukraine, but will continue to support Ukraine in its struggle.

StopFake writes that Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2014 became the impetus for revising NATO's collective security standards. After February 24, 2022, the Alliance changed its Strategic Concept and recognized Russia as the "biggest direct threat" to European security. A separate clause was written by NATO stating that "NATO does not seek confrontation and does not pose a threat to Russia" to fight against Russian propaganda. However, Russian media continue to try to justify Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine with messages about "anti-Russian Western aggression."

Manipulation Poland received the right to give passports to citizens of Ukraine

Russian propaganda spread such disinformation. They said that Kyiv granted Poland the request to provide Ukrainian passports to citizens of Ukraine. It does not.

The statement contradicts the norms of Ukrainian legislation, which clearly defines the list of state institutions that have the right to issue documents. In fact, it is a pilot project, thanks to which foreign divisions of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMS) can give documents to citizens of Ukraine outside the country. The first branch of the Dokument state enterprise was indeed opened in Warsaw. From August, Ukrainians can issue an ID card and a foreign passport. SMS reports that the Polish government has nothing to do with the new foreign project. In addition, they plan to open such centers in other countries; the list is agreed upon with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

It is not the first time that Russian propaganda has spread information that Poland threatens the subjectivity of Ukraine or plans to occupy part of Ukrainian territories. This way, propagandists try to discredit the Polish government and the Polish. More details.

Fake The Americans bred ticks in Ukraine to increase the incidence of borreliosis in the border regions of Russia

The Russian mass media report it concerning the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Allegedly, scientists from the University of Texas studied ticks in the territory of Ukraine, and the study coincided with a sharp increase in the number of ticks in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine and an increase in the number of cases of borreliosis (Lyme disease). It is a fake. Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russians have repeatedly claimed that the United States has created laboratories for the development of biological weapons. This topic became the most common in Russian propaganda. As the Polish publication Wiadomosti writes, the study of Lyme disease was published in the journal BMJ Global Health. For the publication, scientists analyzed the results of 137 studies conducted until 2021 with the participation of almost 160,000 people. The researchers obtained statistics on immunity against Lyme bacteria in Eastern Europe, Eastern Asia, Western Europe, and the Caribbean. The research was conducted in many countries, but only the Russians claimed they were trying to harm them. Russia is again manipulating information to confirm fabricated theses about American biolaboratories in Ukraine, which allegedly became one of the reasons for the invasion of Ukraine.

Manipulation Ukrainians mowed down the swastika on a field in Germany

Similar messages are spreading on social networks that allegedly Ukrainian refugees created a massive swastika on an area in the suburbs of Brandenburg. The reports refer to German journalist Julian Röpcke and Bild newspaper. But it is manipulation. According to the German newspaper Bild, their reporter Julian Röpcke noticed a swastika with an area of ​​about 360 square meters during a flight over Brandenburg and reported it to the local police. The police suspect a resident who, according to neighbors, has repeatedly hung the Reich flag in the window of his house to create the prohibited symbol. The German law enforcement officers do not have any information that Ukrainians were involved in creating the swastika. As StopFake writes, the message about the involvement of Ukrainians in this situation is deliberately spread by Russian propaganda to discredit Ukrainian refugees in Germany. Previously, fakes were spread that Ukrainian refugees, trying to burn the Russian flag, caused a fire in the house of a German family that sheltered them.

Manipulation The USA and Europe can no longer actively support Ukraine.

The Russian propaganda media spread such messages concerning The New York Times materials. They said that the capacity of the USA and Europe to provide Ukraine with weapons is already running out. But it is not so.

Experts whose opinions are given in The New York Times talk about the need to consolidate the West's efforts to help Ukraine and speed up the pace of providing heavy weapons as part of military aid. In particular, it is said that the US defense industry is currently working for the needs of Ukraine, and President Joe Biden is negotiating with the countries of the Middle East to provide Ukraine with stocks of Soviet-made weapons. According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, Russian media reports about the lack of weapons among Ukraine's allies are aimed at destabilizing the situation inside our country. Russian propaganda systematically uses out-of-context or distorted quotes from Western media to convince Ukrainians that the world has left Ukraine to fend for itself and that without Western aid, Ukraine will not be able to withstand such a "strong adversary."

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.