Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, spread information that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly have serious fears that Russia will once again launch an offensive against Kyiv. This was announced by the commander of the combined forces of the Ukrainian troops, Lieutenant-General Serhii Naiev. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. In fact, Serhii Naiev did not speak of “fear” about such a development. On the contrary, in his interview with RBC-Ukraine, which was published on August 14, 2023, he noted that at the moment in this direction “there are no signs that the enemy is preparing for a ground offensive operation”. He also added that the likelihood of a second attack on Kyiv “now is not supported by the forces and means” of the enemy.

By spreading a fake about fears of a second offensive by the Russian military on Kyiv, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the top military leadership of Ukraine and sow panic and discouragement among Ukrainians. Earlier, we refuted the fake that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that “the publicized counteroffensive does not bring the expected results”.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the Ukrainian military had allegedly looted a pharmacy in Chasiv Yar and set it on fire. It seems to be a typical tactic of the Ukrainian army. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the VoxCheck fact-checker. The house depicted in the photo distributed by Russian propaganda was damaged as a result of Russian shelling. Through a reverse Google image search, they determined that the photo was first published by the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

On July 26, civilian objects were damaged by enemy shelling, including 2 houses in the Chasiv Yar community. Kyrylenko did not give the address, but the photo posted on the telegram channel shows exactly this pharmacy, which is being distributed by propagandists.

Russian propaganda is using reflection tactics to divert the world's attention from Russia's crimes and blame Ukraine for them. Earlier, we refuted the fake that the Ukrainian military is equipping dungeons for children.

On the Russian segment of Facebook, on a YouTube page and in media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, a video was circulated stating that Norway had sold Russia a strategically important facility, the Olavsvern submarine base, for $4.4 million. It is also noted that Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway, agreed to the sale. This base was bought by Gunnar Wilhelmsen, who later allegedly sold it to Russia. The Norwegians turned their attention to the base when two Russian ships stopped there. They employ Russian scientists who provide detailed analysis to the Russian military on NATO infrastructure. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case. Norway did not sell a military base to Russia. In 2013, the Olavsvern military base was decommissioned, after which it was bought by a Norwegian private investment group. And in 2014–2015, Russian ships used the port of this base. However, Olavsvern itself has never belonged to either the Russian authorities themselves or Russian companies. This information was confirmed by the new owners of the base, WilNor Governmental Services AS, which bought it in 2020.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Norwegian authorities, sow discouragement among Ukrainians and quarrel Ukraine with Western partners. Earlier, we refuted the fake that a billboard appeared in Japan with the inscription: “Stop Zelenskyi, stop the war”.

Anonymous telegrams broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, as well as a number of Ukrainian mass media, spread the information that Russian President Volodymyr Putin had allegedly decided to blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and determined the dates of the terrorist attack. This is not true.

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine stated: “As for the possible provocation of the Russians at the ZNPP, there is no danger now. The Russian IPSO is actively working, they are trying to sow panic and scare Ukrainians. Of course, in the event of an increase in the probability of provocations, the Main Directorate of Intelligence, the President and other special services will always warn. But now there's no need to worry”.

Later, the manager of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Yurii Malashko, also denied this information in the Telegram channel. “Currently, the information that is being circulated in the mass media about any planned terrorist attack by the Russian occupiers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is not confirmed. It does not correspond to reality”, Malashko noted.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to create chaos and sow panic among the Ukrainian population. They systematically spread fakes about ZNPP for these purposes. Earlier, we refuted the fake that all potassium iodide was bought up in Kyiv after Zelenskyi's statement about the mining of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

This assumption was made by the Head of the Office of NATO Secretary General Stian Jensen. He stated that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance in exchange for giving up part of its territory.

Such a thesis is unfounded and does not express the opinion of the entire Alliance. At the NATO summit in Vilnius, a representative of the Alliance, in a commentary to the Public, emphasized: “We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, and we are committed to achieving a just and lasting peace”. This is a response to Jensen's statement. The interlocutor also noted that Ukraine itself must decide when and under what conditions to achieve peace.

The case was also studied by the fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. They note that the issues of accelerating Ukraine's victory were discussed at the summit. They also pay attention to the fact that both Ukraine and NATO do not trade their territories and citizens. Russia is an aggressor country that deserves punishment, not encouragement of new territories. This could be a bad example for potential invaders in the world.

The message, voiced by Stian Jensen, plays into the hands of Russia. Russian propaganda can use it to promote narratives around the world at any cost and distract from Russian crimes. Earlier we talked about the manipulation that Western countries refused to provide Ukraine with a security guarantee.

Russian propagandists and media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Vadym Huttsait said that Ukraine is ready to go to the Olympic Games together with Russians and Belarusians. It's fake.

The case was studied by the fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. In fact, Vadym Huttsait, in an interview with the Japanese news agency KYODO NEWS, said that after the International Olympic Committee did not invite Russia and Belarus to the Olympics, Ukraine decided to compete for licenses for the Olympics in all international competitions where there are no Russian and Belarusian flags. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC) has a clear position that “peace in Ukraine is non-negotiable”, and the Olympic Games “should not be a platform for whitewashing or legitimizing actions that are completely contrary to these values”. Also, there is still no final decision on the participation of Ukraine in the Olympics in the event that Russians are admitted to them.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and sow discouragement among Ukrainians. We have previously talked about the tactics of how Russian propaganda uses sports to spread anti-Ukrainian narratives.