On Saturday, January 14, during another massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine, one of the enemy missiles hit a multi-storey building in Dnipro. After the hit, the whole entrance collapsed. According to the latest data, the bodies of 40 dead, including three children, were found at the site of the explosion, as reported by the press service of the State emergency service.

Molfar OSINT community analysts and Our Money.Lviv jointly conducted an investigation to identify all those involved in the terrorist crime.

They published all those involved in the rocket attacks, including those who refueled the planes and rockets before launch. Additionally, persons directly associated with this aviation regiment, but not belonging to its personnel, were identified.

Experts cite a telegram post by Hennadii Korban, the head of the territorial defense in Dnipro, who said that the 52nd Guards heavy bomber aviation regiment based in the city of Shaikivka committed the crime. At the same time, analysts made an effort to identify every person from the regiment.

In addition, fact-checkers add that it was this regiment that was previously involved in the terrorist shelling of the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchuk on June 27, 2022.

Former deputy of the pro-Russian OPZZh (Opposition platform — for life) party Viktor Medvedchuk, whom Ukraine accuses of high treason and deprived of citizenship, published an article in the Russian media Izvestiia (News), which calls the war in Ukraine a “Ukrainian issue”, about the alleged “anatomy” of the modern military confrontation between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the role of the West in this war. In his work, he promotes a lot of disinformation messages that reproduce the position of Russian propaganda. Detector Media has prepared a selection of them.

The European Union has the ambitions of a colonizer

In his article, Viktor Medvedchuk expresses his opinion about the EU's attempts to create colonies. According to the article, after winning the Cold War, Europe is trying to “absorb” its opponent, that is, Russia and the post-Soviet countries. He uses the wars in Georgia and Syria as an argument. Like, the European Union is trying to split the state and absorb them.

In fact, the wars in Georgia and Syria took place with the direct participation and even at the initiative of Russia, so one can talk about the ambitions of the colonialist, but they are shown not by the EU countries, but by Russia. It is Russia that is the aggressor in the case of Ukraine, because it was it who started the war in Ukraine back in 2014 - with the seizure of Crimea and the fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Ukraine gained independence without a national liberation struggle

The article says that Ukraine gained independence due to an agreement with Moscow, which even pushed our state to this decision, because it was beneficial to Russia in economic terms. In fact, Ukraine fought for its independence.

In particular, on December 1, 1991, a referendum was held on the need to declare independence. Then the turnout at the polling stations was unprecedented - 31,891,742 people. At that time, this amounted to 84% of the total population. At that time, 90% of the people voted for independence, only 7% were against it, and another 2% of the ballots were declared invalid.

Before the referendum, the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada addressed the people with the words that “not supporting independence means supporting dependence”, but there is no such country that Ukraine would aspire to become dependent on. The message about the so-called gifted independence is not new to Russian propaganda. Russia has been trying for years to create the appearance that Ukraine became independent only thanks to it, and, in general, Russian propaganda is trying to promote the opinion that Ukraine would not exist at all if it were not for Russia.

Ukraine began to promote anti-Russian propaganda and this led to the creation of “two Ukraines”

According to Medvedchuk, after the first Maidan, that is, after the Orange Revolution, Ukraine began to promote anti-Russian propaganda. That is what he calls taking a course towards joining the European Union and NATO, as well as restoring certain pages in the history of Ukraine. In particular, such anti-Russian propaganda was allegedly Yushchenko's policy towards the Holodomor. In particular, the recognition of his genocide of the Ukrainian people.

In fact, even after the proclamation of the European course, the policy on Russia in Ukraine has not changed. The only exception was the orientation towards European values, which, according to Medvedchuk in his article, Russia also tried to instill in its people. However, in Ukraine, legislative norms were introduced that worked for the spread of the Ukrainian language, etc. Such a policy to protect the state language, according to the Russian narrative, is also anti-Russian. No one banned the Russian language in Ukraine, moreover, they still do not.

The increase in the amount of anti-Russian propaganda in the information flow, Medvedchuk argues, has led to the emergence of “two Ukraines”: one of them is pro-Russian and the other is anti-Russian. This approach suggests the idea of the disunity of Ukraine and the ethnicity of the pro-Russian, that is, the southeastern part to the aggressor country. The existence of “two Ukraines” is a common message promoted by Russian propaganda, including Medvedchuk. It is really intended to divide Ukrainian society, to turn people against each other.

Ukraine is connected with Russia culturally and mentally

The kinship of the cultures of the Ukrainian and Russian people is another message that is very often used by hostile media. They write that by abandoning Russian culture, we are losing a significant part of our own. The Russian media are actively manipulating opinions about a common cultural space and history for the sake of emotional pressure. Medvedchuk also mentioned this message in his article.

Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire, and then in the USSR for a total of 300 years, and all this time the pro-Russian authorities of these states pursued a rather cruel policy on the Ukrainian language, culture and economy. The most famous bans on the Ukrainian language are the Valuiev circular and Emsk decree, but Ukrainian was banned 134 times in total. Therefore, cultural products created by Ukrainians were also often written in Russian. In particular, books or operas, and Moscow assigns everything written in Russian.

It is impossible to talk about the kinship of our peoples, because the Ukrainians were held by force and repeatedly suppressed the liberation struggle. For example, this happened after the Ukrainian central council proclaimed the fourth universal (bill) about the independence of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

To end the war, Europe must take into account the interests of Russia

In his article, Medvedchuk expresses the opinion that the end of the war is possible only if Moscow's interests are taken into account. They also consist in the preservation of the occupied territories as part of Russia.

The aggressor state is trying to persuade Ukraine to negotiate in order to end the war on favorable terms, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has repeatedly noted that peace is possible only if all territories are de-occupied in accordance with the 1991 borders. Promoting an opinion about “Moscow's interests” means nothing more than another ultimatum.

The Ukrainian political elite does not need peace

According to Medvedchuk, the Ukrainian authorities are not interested in peace. It seems that they continue to wage war in order to get more money and weapons. In general, Russia does not stop trying to discredit Ukrainian politicians.

In fact, such a statement is not true, because at the beginning of the war, Zelenskyi turned to Putin and asked for personal negotiations, but he refused. Now Ukraine has withdrawn from the negotiation process due to the unfavorable conditions offered by Russia.

Ukraine needs peace, but not “some”, but with the preservation of statehood, sovereignty and security guarantees. It is Russia that does not want to end the war, because its military is still on the territory of Ukraine and continues to kill Ukrainians, destroy Ukrainian cities, villages and infrastructure.

This is not the first time Russia has been spreading messages and manipulations to resume negotiations with Ukraine. For example, recently Russian propaganda also talked about “their interests” in the negotiation process with Ukraine. The supply of weapons to Ukraine, which the Russian propaganda media called a theatrical performance, was not ignored either.

The messages expressed by Viktor Medvedchuk repeat the theses of Russian propaganda and their dissemination has the same goal: to justify Russia's aggression in Ukraine, to explain it with so-called historical justice, to create the appearance that Ukraine is not complete without Russia and its culture, to devalue the struggle of the Ukrainian people for their statehood.

A photo of graffiti allegedly taken in New York is being circulated on social networks. It depicts locusts, which allegedly symbolizes the President of Ukraine, who “feeds” at the expense of the American budget. It's fake.

In fact, there is no such graffiti. According to MythDetector, the photo was created using special programs. Eyewitnesses confirmed the absence of such graffiti as well. According to experts in 3D-drawing, even after erasing such graffiti, traces remain on the surface that are not in the place where the graffiti should be. Thus, Russian media and propaganda telegram channels are trying to discredit the Ukrainian president. Like, in the world he is considered a clown and is not taken seriously.

Previously, Russian propaganda spread fakes to associate Volodymyr Zelenskyi with Hitler. In addition, propagandists systematically spread messages about fake graffiti and covers of satarian magazines that make fun of Zelenskyi.

This is the message propagandists use on social networks and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. It says that the Office of the President made Oleksii Arestovych a scapegoat. They say that the entire leadership already knew the truth about the fall of a Ukrainian missile from air defense on a residential area in Dnipro, and a freelance adviser to the Office only told the truth. Consequently, the information space is overflowing with footage of a destroyed house in Dnipro. The report notes that officials did this on purpose in order to shift the focus in the information space and hide the real situation in the Bakhmut direction, in particular in Soledar.

The Ministry of Defense in the latest report reported that the occupier really does not leave attempts to capture the Donbas, Soledar itself and Bakhmut. Tough battles are going on. Ukrainian soldiers successfully repel attacks “both day and night”.

The explosion of a residential building in Dnipro, which occurred through the fault of Russia on January 14, is indeed a tragedy. However, information about it got into the information space not to shift the focus or hide something, but precisely because Russia launched a rocket that killed Ukrainian civilians destroying their home. The Command of the Air Defense Forces emphasized that it was the Russian missile that hit the building.

By spreading such messages, Russia is trying to justify itself and shift the responsibility to Ukraine for the terrorist act that was committed by the Russian army against the Ukrainians. At the same time, the enemies allegedly give specific examples of why it was not the Russian army who did this. Let's say Russia had no reason to attack civilians, but let's look at Ukraine, which successfully used this situation to hide its defeats. Also, such messages help Russia to shift informational accents. Allegedly, it is better to talk and write about the important: the situation in Bakhmut and Soledar, and not about Dnipro.

This is the message propagandists use on social networks and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. It says the war provided an opportunity for the US and Ukraine's other allies to study how their weapons system performs under heavy use. They say that Ukraine is used as a testing ground and in fact the partner countries are only worried about their own benefit. The authors of the messages add, as evidence of the publication, a likely material from CNN, which allegedly talks about this. However, this is manipulation.

In fact, the propagandists changed the title of the article using a graphical editor. Here is the original title of the material “How Ukraine became a testbed for Western Weapons and battlefield innovation”, but the propagandists distorted the title and called it a “laboratory”. However, the material does say that Ukraine is testing the latest weapons and many countries can determine its effectiveness. In contrast, the authors of the article describe how the inventive Ukrainian army maintains and repairs weapons. That is, the enemies distorted the context of the entire material and singled out theses that are beneficial to propaganda.

Propagandists are spreading this manipulation to undermine the confidence of Ukrainians in Western countries that help Ukraine in the war with Russia. Allegedly, their goal is not to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but only to test their weapons for their own benefit. Enemies want to distort reality and show that everyone seems to be indifferent to the fate of Ukraine.

Russian propaganda media disseminate information that supposedly the Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, in an interview with Newsweek, acknowledged the “colossal losses” of the Ukrainian army and noted that people were dying “in the interests of the West”.

In fact, the enemy media refer to a quote taken out of context. The diplomat said that people are dying from Russian shelling and rocket attacks. There were no words of military losses “in the interests of the West” at all.

According to StopFake analysts, the quote, manipulated by the Russian media, was about the destruction and deaths from a full-scale invasion that has been going on for almost a year. In addition, he meant not only the military, but also civilians suffering from Russian occupation. Russian propaganda writes about the “interests of the West”, although in fact the diplomat did not mention them. This is a manipulation aimed at blaming Ukraine's allies for its losses.

Russian media often write about the West and its involvement in the war in Ukraine. In particular, they manipulate the topics of arms supply and call Volodymyr Zelenskyi a “puppet” in the West's war against Russia. Recently, the media of the enemy also wrote that allegedly Kyiv is not allowed to negotiate and stop the war, although Russia is trying to put ultimatums on the terms of the negotiation process.

Such a message is distributed to the propagandist by social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that Ukraine is waiting for massive famine. Like, the data of the Ukrainian Club of agricultural business show that in 2023 the harvest will decrease so much that farmers will not be able to cover the resources for food security. The propagandists add that the map published by the farmers includes the territories highlighted in gray, namely the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. According to them, this may indicate that Ukraine is no longer interested in the territories seized by Russia. However, this is manipulation.

As the fact-checkers of the Voxcheck project found out, in 2023 the harvest will indeed decrease, but Ukraine will have enough stocks for food security. The Ukrainian Club of agricultural business (UCAB) released its forecast on 16 December. Social networks provided correct data on the reduction of sown area and harvest in 2023. Representatives of the Ukrainian grain association suggest that the harvest will fall by 50%.

However, the authors of the UCAB forecast did not conclude that the Ukrainians would not have enough food. On the contrary, from their analysis it follows that the harvest will be enough for both export and domestic consumption. Consequently, farmers will be able to cover all food needs.

As for the map, the members of the agricultural club did not explain why the temporarily occupied territories are grayed out. Analysts have suggested that this is all because of the fighting, which makes it impossible to collect data. 

Propagandists spread this message to intimidate Ukrainians and cause them to distrust their own state. It seems that Ukraine cannot provide its people with food, electricity or gas. Enemies are trying to create the appearance that Ukrainians live unbearably, and the state does not care about them, and supposedly forgets them.

Russian propaganda media disseminate information about the recent sharp drop in the combat capability of the Ukrainian army. Allegedly, such a statement was made by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar. The authors of the messages add that the Ukrainian army is already exhausted and most people cannot go through the military realities. That is why, according to propagandists, the Ukrainian army is no longer combat-ready. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts of the Voxcheck project investigated this case and found that on January 8, Hanna Maliar published a message in her telegram channel, where she talked about the difficult situation in Soledar, Donetsk region, and how the Ukrainian army is resisting the invaders. However, she did not say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were sharply losing their combat capability. On the contrary, she stressed that in some areas of Donbas, the military is successfully breaking through.

However, she said that Ukrainians need to understand how civilians go through difficult moral and physical ordeal during the war. Enemies distorted the context of the official's quote.

Propagandists spread this message to destabilize the situation in Ukrainian society. Against the backdrop of heavy fighting in the Bakhmut direction, pro-Kremlin telegram channels and media resort to various manipulations and fakes to make Ukrainians despair of the Ukrainian army. Propagandists seek to create the appearance of losing Ukraine, because its army can no longer withstand the fight against the enemy.

We recall that earlier Detector Media wrote about the manipulation of propagandists, that the Ukrainian leadership allegedly forced the Armed Forces of Ukraine to leave the territory of Bakhmut due to the inability of the military to fight.