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 20 April, on the 786th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2090
Fake
687
Manipulation
642
Message
427
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Manipulation Chicken “rejected” from Poland was brought to Ukraine to poison Ukrainians

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Poles are trying to poison the Ukrainians. Allegedly, chicken with salmonellosis was brought from Poland to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

The experts of the VoxCheck project investigated the case and found out that the State Consumer Service did receive reports of the export of hazardous products from other countries, in particular Poland. Products were exported from Egypt through Poland to Ukraine. So, the Polish company acted only as an intermediary between companies from Egypt and Ukraine. However, as fact-checkers explain, there is no question of a deliberate attempt at poisoning since, in general, the Egyptian producer supplied meat not only to Ukraine, but also to Latvia, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and the Comoros. All recipient countries received a notification asking them to withdraw the received product from the market.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow panic among Ukrainians and discredit the export of goods and products to Ukraine. They say that Ukrainians are treated with disdain, and therefore they supply low-quality goods.

We recall that earlier Detector Media analyzed a manipulation that Kharkiv residents were being poisoned with foreign cookies, and explained a case about the importation of “rejected” rice from Italy.

Fake The military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine burned the Koran

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian military mocks the Islamic religion: they cut bacon on the Koran, and then kindle a fire over it. The authors of the messages add a video to the publication where this can be seen. It is not true.

The Center for Strategic Communications investigated this case and determined that the video was staged. As experts explain, it contains errors in pronunciation and an “unhidden Russian accent”. Experts quoted the phrase of one of the heroes of the video, which sounds like this: “Guys, you can’t set the fire”. The Center for Strategic Communications is sure that the Russian military independently filmed a video, tearing up the Koran and passing it off as the actions of the Ukrainian military.

Newspeak How Russia blurs reality with the help of a newspeak: “evacuation”

“It’s safer in Russia”, “protect your life and your children” – such theses are promoted by Russian propaganda in the temporarily occupied territories in order to facilitate the deportation of women and children taken to Russia or to the annexed Crimea. To hide the fact of the crime, propagandists use the term “evacuation”.

By the term “evacuation” propagandists mean the removal of people from the war zone and the provision of a “safe” place to live. Like, Kherson region, Donetsk region, Luhansk region, Kharkiv region are unsuitable for life and people from there need to leave for a safer place. Usually, Russian propaganda attracts adult Ukrainians with a variety of “profitable offers”: provision of housing, registration of a special quota, etc. However, it is not known for certain whether such a category of persons really received the “privileges” declared by Russia. As for other categories of people, namely children, Russian propaganda actively promoted messages about “health camps”, “recreation centers” and stated that Ukrainian children “need to be saved”.

In fact, this is not an “evacuation”, but a deportation of the Ukrainian people. That is, Russia substitutes the concept and calls the forced deportation “salvation”. People do not come back, and even can go missing, in particular, children. For example, the investigation of one of these trips to the camp was described by the American publication NYT, which published the story of a resident of the Kharkiv region, whose child went to Russia in August to a free children's camp, supposedly safe from constant shelling. As of November 23, when the NYT story came out, the child had not returned to his mother yet. And in general it is impossible to establish what percentage of people go to Russia voluntarily and in general if  such people exist.

At least 2 million 800 thousand Ukrainians were forced to leave or were deported to Russian territory. And this is by no means the fault of the eight-year shelling of Donbas by Ukraine (already nine years), but the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine, the destruction of villages, cities and towns, the occupation of territories. A terrorist country kidnaps people, brings them into the depths of Russia, so that it would be as difficult as possible for them to return home, to their homeland. All deported people are deprived of their means of communication, their documents are taken away and they are intimidated, and children are tried to be adopted illegally.

Disclosure Ukrainian military fake accounts are created on social networks by Russian propaganda

Radio “Svoboda” (Liberty) journalists came to this conclusion in their study of Russian disinformation on social networks. In particular, during the study, media workers discovered fake accounts disguised as profiles of the Ukrainian military.

One of the tiktok accounts masqueraded as the personal page of a sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who actually keeps his war diary. The clone page had over 19,000 subscribers, with some videos reaching millions of views. The account, which was a clone of the profile of a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, contained real videos shot by real soldiers, but the messages superimposed on them were not at all the messages that the author of the real tiktok account had in mind. According to journalists, these messages inspired despair and mistrust. For example, such messages were promoted: “Bakhmut cannot be kept”, “We leave Soledar”, “Military are tired”, etc. Later, a real sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was found, who confirmed that his video was used by Russian propagandists.

The journalists also investigated the fake telegram channel of the 46th airmobile brigade, created back in September. The propagandists have gathered a fairly large audience on this channel, up to 15,000 subscribers. That is, it allows the dissemination of various manipulative or fake news from there that are beneficial to Russian propaganda. It was also a clone of the real telegram channel of the 46th brigade. The official authors stated that there was nothing to do with the creation of the clone page.

Message The West “made” the Serbia leadership sign an agreement with Kosovo

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the “collective West” forced the Serbian leadership to sign an agreement to normalize relations with Kosovo. Allegedly, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that Serbia “undertook a lot of pressure during the negotiations”.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated the case and found out that the European Union presented both sides with a proposal to normalize relations, with which the leaders of the countries agreed. Kosovo and Serbia agreed to be guided by the purposes and principles set out in the UN Charter, especially the principles of the sovereign equality of all states, respect for their independence, autonomy and territorial integrity, the right to self-determination, the protection of human rights and non-discrimination. At the same time, they promise to resolve any disputes among themselves exclusively by peaceful means and refrain from the threat or use of force. According to analysts, all the proposals of the Serbian and Kosovo sides were considered. So, there was no “coercion” at all.

By spreading this message, propagandists want to discredit Western leaders who allegedly resort to blackmail and open threats. At the same time, they nourish the narrative about the existence of the so-called “Collective West”, which has united against many countries, for example Serbia.

We recall that earlier Detector Media analyzed a manipulation in which it was claimed that the President of Serbia said that the West was “threatening and blackmailing” forcing him to join the sanctions against Russia.

Manipulation Estonia bans Russians and Belarusians from using weapons on its territory

This thesis was spread on social networks and in the propaganda media. The reports say that Estonia is a follower of “Nazi Germany” because the country's leadership has banned “certain ethnic groups” from carrying weapons. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the “Beyond the News” project drew attention to the case, who investigated that the basis for creating this manipulation was amendments to the law on weapons, according to which, from March 15, 2023, permits for the issuance of weapons will be invalid for citizens of countries outside the EU and NATO. The changes will affect not only ethnic Russians or Belarusians living in Estonia. However, these categories will also cease to issue new permits. Innovations will affect about 1,300 residents of the country, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia notes.

Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Lauri Läänemets does not hide the fact that the restriction is a direct consequence of unprovoked Russian aggression in Ukraine and, in general, the policy pursued by Russia against countries that do not support the so-called “special operation”. In the appeal from the ministry, they do not hide the fact that there are indeed quite a few Russians or Belarusians among the 1,300 people. However, the restrictions will apply to these people not because they are Russians or Belarusians, but because of the countries' aggressive policies towards Ukraine.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists feed the narrative about the existence of so-called “russophobia” – hatred towards Russians and everything Russian. Allegedly, xenophobic sentiments are professed in countries that do not support the aggressive policy of Russia. However, the so-called russophobia is a response to the actions of the Russian army, leadership and people, because the Russians are collectively responsible for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported with appropriate statements or silence.

Fake On the temple of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, crosses got black due to “Ukrainian blasphemy”

This message was circulated on social networks and in the propaganda media. The reports say that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine “sows confusion”, kicking out the UOC (MP) from the territory of Ukraine. Allegedly, even “crosses got black” on one of the main temples of Ukraine, because of the blasphemous actions of Ukrainians. As the authors of the messages add, the crosses turned black after Metropolitan Epiphanii conducted the divine liturgy during Christmas. A photograph is also added to the publication with an alleged image of the church “before and after”. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Liar) project investigated this case and found that no crosses “blackened” and this is not a sign “from above”, as the propagandists are trying to convince. As they further explain, the photo actually shows the crosses of the Refectory cathedral. At the same time, Metropolitan Epiphanii did not hold divine services either in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or in the Refectory cathedral on Christmas Day. By that time he served in the Uspenskyi (Assumption) Cathedral.

Regarding the “black crosses” at the Refectory cathedral, this is a consequence of the appropriate shooting angle. Fact-checkers managed to find several photos with the so-called black crosses from at least three angles of the Refectory cathedral. Photos are dated from 2009 to the present. Fact-checkers say that the crosses on the cathedral are dull by themselves, and if they are removed against the light, they will really appear black.

Propagandists systematically expand manipulations on the topic of religion in Ukraine. Especially when the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received the right to autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Russian propaganda began to call Ukrainians schismatics. Like, this church is not real and illegal, all the believers visiting it are not real Orthodox. In particular, propagandists said that paganism is being promoted in Ukraine, and Orthodox shrines are being destroyed. Thus, propagandists incite religious discord and try to nourish the narrative about the existence of the so-called “one and inseparable people”. At the same time, those who do not recognize the Moscow patriarchate are called sinners and schismatics by the Russian propaganda.

We recall that Detector Media previously also refuted the fake, in which they claimed that because of the blasphemy of Kyiv, flocks of crows are circling the city, and also explained the message about the “desantanization” and “deshaitanization” of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

Message Soon an “army of Ukrainians with a high level of russophobia” will get bigger in Ukraine

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian military is freezing male seeds using a cryopreservation method. As the authors of the messages explain, this is all planned to “breed the army of Ukrainians with a high level of russophobia”.

Analysts of the VoxCheck investigated this case, who found out that since 2014, cryopreservation has become popular among Ukrainian military personnel. After the start of a large-scale invasion, the number of applicants increased. Some clinics offer free cryopreservation for the military. However, there is no confirmed data, due to which it is possible to “breed” a whole “army” of Ukrainians with an increased level of russophobia. This is a conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda, since the cryopreservation method does not bring out a “special type of people”, but freezes male spermatozoa in liquid nitrogen for further artificial insemination “in vitro”.

The storage of frozen spermatozoa is not limited in time. For the most part, the freezing of male sperm is associated with the “in vitro” fertilization procedure. This is a specific method of treating infertility, that is, in vitro fertilization. However, cryopreservation is advised to be carried out before chemotherapy and operations that can affect the reproductive function of a person. Cryopreservation can be performed not only for men, but also for women (egg freezing).

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.