Russian propaganda spread information that a national collection of microorganisms was taken out of Ukraine - and once again linked it to the work of the "military biological laboratories of the Pentagon," which supposedly exist in Ukraine. In fact, the collection has not been taken anywhere - it is stored in Kyiv. It has nothing to do with the laboratories that were actually reconstructed with the help of US funds as part of the biological threat reduction program.

StopFake received confirmation of the location of the collection in Ukraine by talking to the curator of the National Collection of Microorganisms of Ukraine, a senior researcher at the Institute of Microbiology and Virology named after D.K. Zabolotnyy NASU, candidate of biological sciences Taisiya Nohina.

"The collection is located in Ukraine. Moreover, she continues her work," Nohina said. Now the collection includes more than 5,600 cultures of microorganisms, represented by more than 1,000 species and 300 genera. It stores microbes found in the soil, water, certain plants, human intestines, and the organisms of various animals. The depository provides samples free of charge to educational institutions for training and, on a commercial basis, to pharmaceutical companies that use them for drug testing. The collection is neither secret nor dangerous - it is needed for scientific activity, and such collections exist in any developed country. It is also in Russia.

The Center for Combating Disinformation has updated the list of Telegram channels that spread Russian disinformation under the guise of Ukrainian ones. In July, six channels were added to the list, including "Ukrainian Format" and "Ukraine Novosti."

Russian propaganda media spread information that the EU is preparing to strengthen the fight against "arms smuggling and drug trafficking" from Ukraine. There were similar, and sometimes even more manipulative, headlines in articles in European and American publications. It is a manipulation in which the narrative about the alleged sale of weapons provided by the West of Ukraine to other countries is once again spreading. "We have some data, but experience suggests that weapons often move during or after wars. We know how many weapons there are in Ukraine now and, of course, not all weapons are always in the right hands," Russian media quoted the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson as saying on July 11 during an informal meeting of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of Moldova, Ukraine and the EU in Prague.

However, there are no such words in the official press release posted on the website of the European Commission. At the same time, the release mentions Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and the joint work of Ukraine, Moldova, and the EU to prevent drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, and illegal circulation of firearms.

There are always risks of an increase in such crimes during the war, but it is about coordinating the work to prevent such crimes - Ukraine, like Moldova, is the partner of the EU in such a fight and not an accused party. Ukraine also denied such manipulation: "The information that Ukraine is becoming the main center of arms smuggling is not true," said the advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Yuriy Sak. He suggested those who make such statements "may be part of Russia's information war to prevent international partners from providing Ukraine with the weapons necessary for our victory."

Read more about this manipulation in the StopFake material.

The Russian mass media spread the fake of the Ministry of Defense of Russia that allegedly, "in the laboratories of the Pentagon" in Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers were subjected to "experiments on the assessment of the transfer of infectious diseases." The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that "every third of the recently captured Ukrainian servicemen has hepatitis A, and a fifth has West Nile fever." It indicates that "servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine volunteered for experiments" at the Pentagon.

This fake is another in a series of fictions of Russian propaganda about non-existent laboratories for developing biological weapons in Ukraine. Earlier, they stated about "insects and birds" that supposedly had to infect Russians (still impossible, since there is no difference between Russians and non-Russians for bacteria and viruses). Moreover, they wrote about medical experiments in the same defunct laboratories on people with mental illnesses. Now they spread a fake about experiments on the military.

In fact, there is no single refutation of these fictions - there are too many of them. For example, it is unknown why experiment with the hepatitis A virus since this disease is well studied. There is a vaccine against it; it is well treated and cannot be used for military purposes. It is transmitted only through contaminated water or, in some cases, sexual intercourse. Even if a soldier gets hepatitis A, he will not be able to infect the enemy with it. Moreover, West Nile fever is not transmitted from person to person at all - insects spread the pathogen, although a disease from which almost 5% of those who get sick die.

Finally, it follows from the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation that the Russians test every Ukrainian prisoner of war for dozens of diseases, including those rarely recorded in Ukraine, such as West Nile fever. On the other hand, it is known that Ukrainian prisoners do not receive the necessary medical care, not to mention elaborate complex tests.

The Russian mass media is spreading the fake news that during the military operations in Donbas, the Ukrainian military uses homemade mines with construction debris, which cause gangrene when wounded. This fake was spread by RIA Novosti, MK, Gazeta.ru, Vzglyad, Lenta.ru, Tsargrad, and others, referring to a representative of the LPR terrorist group, who spoke about the "socks" in which construction waste was placed, including pieces of concrete and glass, as well as TNT shrapnel and a charge to "infect a person with gangrene."

In fact, many self-made devices can cause gangrene in a person whom doctors did not help after an injury because gangrene is the death of tissues due to either a bacterial infection or a violation of blood circulation in an organ. There is also no evidence that the Ukrainian military uses improvised explosive devices.

Russian Telegram channels spread information that Russian rockets "hit a military unit" in the town of Haysyn, Vinnytsia Region. In fact, today, the Russians hit the residential quarters of Vinnytsia, where the shopping center, the Officers' House, and residential buildings are located. Serhiy Borzov, the head of Vinnytsia RMA, announced this. At 12 o'clock, the State Emergency Service confirmed the death of 12 people, including a small child, and another 25 people were injured. The final number of victims is currently unknown.

In the video distributed by propaganda channels, including Volodymyr Solovyov's channel, a monument in Vinnytsia in honor of the Air Force of Ukraine, located near the Officers' House, is clearly visible. Other Telegram channels, already after refuting the fake, began to write that they hit the Officers' House as a military object. In fact, it is a cultural center where concerts are held.

It is reported that three Russian rockets hit the office center, nearby residential buildings were also damaged, and the fire spread to the parking lot, where rescuers are currently working.

Russian propaganda media, referring to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, reported that they destroyed two new HIMARS surface-to-air missiles, which were provided to Ukraine by the United States. It is another fake, which was refuted by both Ukrainian state authorities and American partners.

"It is a Russian fake. Perhaps the information we have HIMARS has led to panic and increased fear in Russian society. Therefore, they were advised to provide such information. This is work for their internal information market," said Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Malyar.

The United Forces of Ukraine also called Russian reports about the "destruction" of HIMARS a fake that does not correspond to reality. On July 8, representatives of the Pentagon separately emphasized that the United States sees the use of each of the installations provided to Ukraine, and all complexes are taken into account. The Pentagon confirmed that Russian reports about the destruction of HIMARS are false.

Read more about the refutation of the Russian fake about HIMARS here.