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 19 May, on the 815th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2151
Fake
693
Manipulation
649
Message
441
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Message Zelenskyi wants to use Europeans as a "human shield" at critical infrastructure facilities

Russian media write about this with reference to the words of Dmytro Medvediev. Like, Zelenskyi is less sorry for the Europeans, so he is ready to use them at infrastructure facilities as "cannon fodder" instead of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Center for Countering Disinformation drew attention to the spread of the message. Such a reaction was caused by Volodymyr Zelenskyi's appeal to the European Union with a proposal to send special missions of international control to Ukrainian critical energy infrastructure facilities. Such statements, according to the Center, indicate that international control will make impossible the Russian tactics of massive shelling of Ukraine's critical infrastructure.

Russian propaganda uses the tactics of information support of massive missile strikes to further pressure and intimidate Ukrainians. They say that massive rocket attacks are revenge for the explosions in the Russian rear, for Kherson, for the drone attack in the Sevastopol Bay, etc. Also, the Russians shift the responsibility for their crimes to the Ukrainian authorities, saying that the Office of the President exaggerates the effectiveness of air defense and “invents” missile attacks.

Message "Points of invincibility" kill people

Users of telegram channels and social networks write about this, commenting on fake information about the fire allegedly in one of the “Points of invincibility” in Kyiv on December 12.

The Kyiv police denied the information about the fire at the "Points of invincibility". The video circulating on social media was actually filmed in Russia. The police say that the purpose of distributing such content is probably to whip up worrying moods among Ukrainians.

Message The transfer of churches from the Moscow Patriarchate Church to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a “struggle for influence on people’s minds”

Anonymous telegram channels write that all the finds of the Security service in Ukraine (SSU) allegedly have unambiguous signs of "staging". Like, it remains only to "find the cartridges". It seems that in fact all this is not a “cleansing” of pro-Russian elements and ideology, but a “struggle for influence on the minds of people”. Also, the alleged goal of the Ukrainian authorities is the redistribution of church property and an attempt to “lock up” all donations to the OCU (Orthodox Church in Ukraine).

Thus, propagandists are trying to shift the emphasis on protecting national sovereignty to the corruption of the Ukrainian authorities. In fact, using the phrase about “the struggle for influence on people’s minds”, the propaganda indirectly confirms that the Moscow Patriarchate Church influenced the parishioners. Russians use aggressive rhetoric to defend the Moscow Patriarchate church after searches.

Message The war in Ukraine will continue “for a very long time”, Zelenskyi needs it to stay in power

Pro-Russian anonymous telegram channels write about this. Allegedly, Zelenskyi said that he would remain the president of Ukraine until victory in the war, and he was not yet ready to talk about future plans. Like, this indicates that Zelenskyi wants to use the war to stay in power as long as possible.

In fact, propagandists are manipulating a quote from an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the Netflix project. They used a quote taken out of context to promote the narrative that the Ukrainian authorities benefit from the war in Ukraine.

In fact, according to Ukrainian law, elections are not held during martial law. That is, according to the law, Zelenskyi will remain the president of Ukraine until the end of the war. In turn, Russian propaganda adds its own unsubstantiated interpretation of the "motives" of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Thus, propaganda also “heats up” internal emotional discussions among Ukrainians regarding the assessment of the actions of Volodymyr Zelenskyi as president, further destabilizes the situation and shifts responsibility for the war from the Russian president to the Ukrainian one.

Message The authorities ask Ukrainians to follow the "rules of propriety" and not to chop wood in apartments

Anonymous telegram channels distribute supposedly photo messages with a request not to “chop wood in apartments and stairwells” and “not to destroy living quarters”. Like, Ukrainians are asked to observe the rules of propriety. The text of the "message" is written in Russian in the style of Soviet propaganda posters.

In fact, this picture has nothing to do with Ukraine. This is the content of Russian entertainment and humorous sites, distributed since 2016. Propagandists are dragging Russian content into the Ukrainian space that ridicules Russian problems, and using it to subconsciously reinforce the thesis in the readers of telegram channels that the situation in Ukraine is as difficult as possible.

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.