Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that the Vatican and the Pope personally are upset by the position of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi regarding the war against Ukraine. The Italian media seems to be writing about this. In addition, propagandists appeal to the fact that they called Zelenskyi's Peace Formula a “provocation”. This is manipulation.

The Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published its findings on the recent visit of the President of Ukraine to the Vatican. Journalists of the publication believe that the Pope is personally upset by Zelenskyi's position as “everything is at stake” because of the counteroffensive. In addition, according to their version, Ukraine tried to provoke the Vatican by offering its own vision of the world, which includes military assistance to Ukraine.

Such conclusions can be considered speculation, since there are no confirmed statements in the publication. In addition, given the special (apolitical) status of the Vatican as a state, Pope Francis's calls for peace do not mean disappointment in Ukraine or disagreement with its policies. In their official statements, Vatican officials consistently recognize Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression and call for an end to Russia's fighting. Moreover, Il Fatto Quotidiano is not very popular in Italy itself and from time to time publishes pro-Russian narratives, covering them up with “personal opinion”.

Referring to this material, the propagandists want to impose the opinion that Ukraine wants an escalation and is asking for support for it even from the clergy. However, Ukraine is defending itself from Russian aggression, and the supply of weapons is an effective way to deter and counter this aggression.

The Russian media disseminated information that forty fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were poisoned to death by dumplings received from volunteers. It's fake.

Analysts of The Insider project drew attention to it. They note that propagandists began to spread it after a voice message with this story appeared in chats on Signal and WhatsApp. It was sent to these chats by a user with the nickname marjankopuk. This nickname can be found on the Internet only once in an ad on the OLX website for the sale of a children's bed and a malfunctioning microwave. According to it, “Marjan” is a Lviv resident. Also, the project specialists found a publication in 2014, according to which in the Luhansk region, indeed, “Ukrainian soldiers were poisoned with dumplings”, but no one died.

Propagandists talk about “deadly dumplings” because they want to undermine Ukrainians’ trust in volunteers and cause public panic. They say that even volunteers feed Ukrainian soldiers with trash, and what can be said about food from the state. However, Ukrainians are unlikely to be demoralized by dumplings.

According to Russian propaganda, riots are a crime against the public and its security, which consists in organizing rallies against the government and its decisions. That is, a peaceful rally turns into a “mess” if the Russian authorities do not like the topic of protest raised.

Propagandists use the term “riots” to keep the Russians associating that a rally is something undesirable, and it’s generally uncharacteristic to express one’s opinion, because it can harm the “general order” in society. That is, order “needs to be restored” and to get rid of any dissent. This term exists at the national level. The Criminal Code of Russia provides for liability for the so-called creation of riots. In Ukraine and in the rest of the civilized world, the term “mass riots” is used, which directly alludes to hostile (sometimes armed) actions against people and authorities.

“Riots” concerns not only Russia, but the whole world. In pro-Russian and Russian media, for example, news about recent protests in Georgia or France is tagged with the tag “riots in the world”. Moreover, the search engine has more answers if you search for information specifically on the keyword “riots”.

Thus, Russian propaganda instills in Russians indifference to public opinion, deprives them of the opportunity to be heard and understood. This is beneficial for Moscow, which is afraid of public condemnation of its actions, and therefore is trying in every possible way to settle these processes and avoid protests.

On the telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric, one can find information that epidemics of measles, mumps, whooping cough and diphtheria allegedly will begin soon in the Kharkiv region, since children in Ukraine are not vaccinated at a sufficient level. In addition, propagandists note that outbreaks will arise due to the fact that imported medicines are not brought to Ukraine to replace Russian ones. In addition, they claim that Ukrainians have to pay about $1,000 for a full vaccination of a child in the first year of birth. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They note that only six cases of measles infection have been recorded in Ukraine at the moment, among which there is not a single one in the Kharkiv region. In addition, even though measles vaccination statistics have indeed decreased, experts in the field of immunoprophylaxis attribute this to the fact that many families have gone abroad. Moreover, there is no need to pay for vaccination, since the state purchases vaccines. In addition, project analysts note that the Center for Public Health points to the well-established supply of necessary medicines from India, Canada, France and Bulgaria.

Propagandists are constantly trying to exaggerate the scale of the problems in Ukraine in order to show the inability of the Ukrainian authorities to cope with a number of crises. Thus, propagandists want to cause panic among Ukrainians and destabilize the situation. Like, the “Kyiv regime” thinks only about the war, and not about real problems. However, if there are minor problems with the above processes, they are the result of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

In anonymous telegram channels, where pro-Russian rhetoric is circulating, messages have appeared where you can find a photo taken in Kharkiv. It depicts a queue for free lunches. Propagandists claim that Kharkiv is mired in hunger, and there is not enough food for everyone.

Although the situation is not as good as in times of peace, such reports deliberately dramatize it. Moreover, even if there are people suffering from the problem of hunger, it was Russia's aggression that caused it.

Propagandists are constantly trying to exaggerate the scale of the problems in Ukraine in order to show the inability of the Ukrainian authorities to cope with the crisis. Thus, the propagandists want to shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of the aggression and persuade it to make concessions. Like, the Ukrainians understand that the “Kyiv regime” can’t do anything, so they need to stop their suffering and end the war on Russian terms. However, problems with food supplies, rising inflation, lower crops - all these are the consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine, and it is Russia that should be held responsible for this.

Anonymous telegram channels, where pro-Russian rhetoric is circulating, spread messages  showing a photo allegedly taken in Kamianets-Podilskyi, in which, at the entrance to the bike workshop, it is written that “parishioners of the UOC-MP” are not served there. Along with this image, the propagandists add a photo that shows a sticker on a telephone booth in Munich during the Third Reich, which forbade Jews from using the phone. Propagandists claim that this is yet another proof that Ukrainians have become neo-Nazis.

When trying to search for an image allegedly from Kamianets-Podilskyi published in such messages, it can only be found in pro-Russian Twitter accounts and Reddit threads. It's impossible to find it on social media. Accordingly, its reliability is doubtful, and the original source is incomprehensible.

This message is not used for the first time. Thus, the propagandists want to justify the crimes of the Russians and the aggression against Ukraine in general. Like, that's why they talk about denazification. The identification of the “oppression” of supporters of the UOC-MP with the genocide of Jews also devalues the scale of the tragedy of the Second World War.

Propagandists are constantly spreading information about the UOC-MP, inventing various fakes. In particular, Detector Media wrote about “blackened crosses” in the church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra because of the “blasphemy of Ukrainians”.

Anonymous telegram channels, where pro-Russian rhetoric is spread, say that in Poland Ukrainians are allegedly divided into “types”. They say that the first two “privileged” groups are Ukrainians who lived in Poland before the start of a full-scale invasion or who came to stay with relatives already living in Poland. And the third “type” is Ukrainians who had no previous contacts with the Poles. Allegedly, such a division is also taken into account during employment, so residents of Western Ukraine are given priority. It's fake.

In such reports, the propagandists refer to a comment by the Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Warsaw, Professor Maciej Duszczyk. However, his comment had a very different meaning. In particular, he commented on the results of a survey recently commissioned by two major Polish media - the radio station RMF FM and the newspaper Dziennik Prawny. The topic of the survey is assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainians. In particular, Professor Duszczyk mentioned to the aforementioned radio station that at the moment, according to the results of the survey, the two most popular types of assistance among Poles to Ukrainians are humanitarian and military. None of the original (Polish-language) publications on the subject and Duszczyk's comments mention any of the divisions that the propagandists talk about.

Thus, propagandists want to create the illusion that Poland despises Ukrainians, and does not help them. Like, the Poles mock the Ukrainians, so they can't be our friends. In addition, for the use of such fakes, propaganda wants to increase the fear of an “attack” by Poland or the gradual “polonization” of Ukraine, which Detector Media has already written about.

We, analysts of Detector Media, repeatedly noticed this thesis while monitoring social networks, in particular, on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Again, the message appeared in the information space as a reaction to the interview of the President of Ukraine for the American edition of The Washington Post, in which he stated: “if there is martial law in effect, we will not be able to hold elections. The constitution forbids holding any elections during martial law”.

Russian propaganda is not in vain raising the topic of elections in Ukraine, because in Russia itself they are now feverishly trying to find a way to hold elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories - ORDLO, Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, where, according to Russia, martial law has been in effect since October 2022.

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine are to be held on October 29, 2023. However, after the declaration of martial law and in accordance with Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On the legal regime of martial law", elections of the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and local governments are prohibited. To hold elections, one must either declare the end of martial law, or make appropriate changes to Ukrainian legislation and obtain the consent of the Constitutional Court on the legality of holding elections under martial law.

Active hostilities and constant attacks by Russians against peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine make it impossible for an act of will to be expressed - polling stations can become easy prey for Russian missiles or drones. In addition, part of the territorial communities are under occupation, so the potential elections would not take into account the votes of local residents. Millions of Ukrainians are out of the country, and if the problem of lack of polling stations near the foreign constituency arose before, now the voting process would be simply impossible. There is also a question about the current voter lists due to the increase in the number of IDPs. A separate issue is the Ukrainian voters who ended up on the territory of Russia. For security reasons, Ukraine liquidated all of its polling stations in Russia back in 2018. Whether this category of citizens will be able to get into the embassies in Georgia, Kazakhstan or Finland to vote is an open question. In addition, it is unlikely that a sufficient number of international observers will be able to come to a warring country. Moreover, elections are billions spent from the state treasury, of which, in the current realities, almost half goes to war. Finally, during martial law, freedom of speech and information may be significantly more restricted than during times of peace. The Russians are well aware of these arguments, but still resort to the tactics of substitution of concepts. Like, elections are impossible not because of Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, but because of Zelenskyi's personal whim. Allegedly, he deliberately slows down various processes, impedes the holding of elections in order to stay in power. However, it is Russia that really contributes to the postponement of elections in Ukraine, which continues to conduct active hostilities against Ukraine.