On 9 September, the 80th session of the UN General Assembly began, focusing on issues of peace, development, and human rights. At the same time, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine claimed to support these ideals while undermining them in practice. The lies and manipulations promoted by Russia were systematized by EUvsDisinfo.

One of the key Russian talking points was supposed “calls for peace”. Russian media portray Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “hungry for war” and the West as the main obstacle to peace. In reality, the Kremlin once again puts forward ultimatums aimed at Ukraine’s complete capitulation. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has shown no genuine interest in real negotiations.

Another persistent fake concerns sanctions. Russia claims that economic restrictions harm the European Union more than Russia itself. However, real data show the opposite: civilian sectors in Russia are declining, the budget deficit is growing, and more than 40% of expenditures are directed toward defense.

The Kremlin also tries to present itself as a “defender of the Global South” and an ally of BRICS. In fact, Russia has spent years destabilizing regions of Africa and Latin America, supporting coups and waging war against its own neighbors. In reality, BRICS remains an informal association without clear mechanisms, while the Kremlin only imagines it as a tool for its own purposes.

A separate block of disinformation concerns chemical weapons. Russia accuses Ukraine of using them, even though it is Russian forces that have repeatedly employed banned chemical agents on the battlefield, as confirmed by international organizations.

Particularly cynical is the Kremlin narrative about Ukrainian children. Despite evidence of the deportation of more than 20,000 minors to Russia – where they are illegally adopted, subjected to forced Russification, and even military training – Moscow denies the crime and calls it an “evacuation”. The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and his so-called “children’s rights commissioner”, Maria Lvova-Belova.

Russian propaganda on the international stage follows a familiar pattern: projection, denial, and distraction. Its goal is to justify aggression, conceal war crimes, and undermine trust in Ukraine and its partners.

A fabrication is being spread online claiming that Prince Harry arrived in Kyiv for a “coronation” and that constitutional amendments are already being prepared to proclaim him the “King of Ukraine”. This theory is circulated by propaganda and conspiracy-oriented outlets, citing anonymous “coronation planners” and “sources in Kyiv”. The fake was debunked by StopFake.

In reality, no coronation took place and none could have taken place. Prince Harry came to Ukraine on an unannounced visit at the invitation of the government. The purpose of his trip was to present new initiatives as part of the work of the Invictus Games charitable foundation, aimed at supporting the rehabilitation of wounded service members and civilians. He visited the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, where he spoke with veterans, and also met with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. That same evening, the prince returned by train, as evidenced by a post from chef Yevhen Klopotenko, who showed how he saw Harry off and presented him with a jar of borshch.

Claims about “constitutional amendments” also do not stand up to scrutiny: under martial law, any radical changes to the political system are prohibited.

According to StopFake, the fake was first spread on a Telegram channel by blogger Anton Hura, who has nearly 250,000 subscribers. He previously gained notoriety during the COVID-19 pandemic for posting provocative videos about “infected passengers from Milan”. Since then, he has regularly spread disinformation – from vaccine-related fakes to conspiracy theories about an “artificial sun” allegedly launched by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His content is largely pro-Russian, which is why Hura is also popular among Russian audiences.

Manipulative messages are being spread online claiming that a residential house in the village of Wyryki-Wola in Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship was damaged not by a Russian drone, but by a storm that allegedly occurred two months before the attack. This fake was debunked by StopFake.

In reality, the strike by a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle was confirmed by the homeowners themselves. According to them, on the night of 10 September they were watching news about a massive flight of Russian drones when one of them crashed into the roof of their house. The explosion caused a light fixture in the living room to fall, and the blast was also heard by other residents of the village.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that 19 Russian drones were detected in the country’s airspace that night, a significant number of which entered from the territory of Belarus. One of them damaged a residential building in Wyryki-Wola; fortunately, no one was injured.

As reported by the Polish media outlet RMF FM, firefighters and other emergency services were working at the scene. The mayor of the Wyryki gmina, Bernard Błaszczuk, confirmed that classes in two schools were canceled, with plans to resume them the following day. According to him, he also heard the sound of aircraft early in the morning.

Poland has adopted an official decision to investigate the incident: it is being handled by the military division of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin. Overall, fragments of Russian drones were found in 17 localities across five voivodeships, with the largest number in the Lublin region.

False claims are being spread on social media in Southern Europe that the People’s Republic of China defeated Japan in the Second World War. In reality, the PRC was proclaimed only in 1949, after the war had already ended, so it could not have taken part in the fighting, let alone achieved victory. Fakes and exaggerations about the role of the Chinese Communists in past events were exposed by fact-checkers from the Balkan project “Vistinomer”.

During the Second World War, a different state existed – the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang party. It was this army, together with its allies, that fought large-scale battles against the Japanese occupiers. The Chinese Communist forces under Mao Zedong also took part in the resistance, but their role was significantly smaller. In 1945, Japan capitulated to the United States, the USSR, Britain, France, other Allied countries, and the Republic of China. The communist People’s Republic of China did not yet exist at that time.

The act of capitulation was formalized on 2 September 1945 aboard the American ship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. General Douglas MacArthur signed the document on behalf of the Allied forces, and a representative of the Kuomintang signed on behalf of China. The Chinese Communist Party was not present at the ceremony.

Despite this, during a parade in Beijing on 3 September, the current communist authorities of the PRC presented history as if the decisive role in the victory had been played by the Communists. At the same time, the Republic of China was mentioned only in passing, and foreign allies were thanked without naming specific countries.

Thus, the manipulative statements spread by certain politicians and social media users ignore the real course of events and replace historical facts with propagandistic narratives.