Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that Western intelligence agencies have allegedly recognized the “effectiveness” of Russia’s massive air attacks on Ukraine. They refer to the “words” of the head of the intelligence center of the Estonian Armed Forces, Ants Kiviselg, who stated that “strikes by Russian long-range aviation and Kalibr missiles cause significant damage to military facilities in Ukraine, despite the fact that Kyiv denies this”. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that on January 12, during a press conference, Ants Kiviselg commented on the massive shelling of Russia, which increased during the New Year holidays. According to Kiviselg, the strikes on holidays are a deliberate act by the Russians, apparently to undermine the will of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves. Also, the head of the intelligence center of the Estonian Armed Forces indicated that Russia still has many different types of missiles and attack drones, which are simultaneously attacking the territory of Ukraine in different directions. According to Estonian intelligence services, the wave of attacks on December 29 and January 2 indicates Russia's fear of the entry of American F-16 fighters into Ukrainian arsenal. That is why, Kiviselg noted, the occupiers intensified shelling of Ukrainian infrastructure facilities.

It is important to note that the head of Estonian intelligence did not make statements about the “effectiveness” of such attacks or the “successful” defeat of Ukrainian targets - this is an invention of Russian propaganda. Propagandists not only took Kiviselg’s statements about Russia’s fear of Ukraine receiving F-16s out of context, but also removed any reference to the fact of the psychological impact on the civilian population of attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities can be considered war crimes under international law that have no statute of limitations.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric through anonymous telegram channels are allegedly distributing a video recording of a live CPR Denver News radio broadcast in which Denver Mayor Michael Johnston allegedly calls a Ukrainian an “animal” for exclaiming “Glory to Ukraine”. However, this is fake.

The specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found that the screenshot showed an audio conference interface on the X network (formerly Twitter) and an identical photo of Johnston. However, on his official accounts and the X network as a whole, there is not a single recording of his conversation with other speakers.

Moreover, the video contains the incorrect name of the publication – CPR Denver News. This publication is actually called CPR News, or Colorado Public Radio. It is a public radio station that covers the entire state of Colorado, rather than operating solely in the capital. There is also no information about the “scandalous audio” on the official pages of the radio station.

The website and social networks of another publication, Denver7, a screenshot of which is distributed by the Russians, also do not contain reports of such statements by Johnston. At the request of StopFake, Denver7 confirmed the fake nature of the screenshot and the editing of the headlines in the screenshot.

After checking the audio with the AI Speech Classifier tool, which determines whether the audio was created by artificial intelligence on the ElevenLabs website, it became known that the probability of the audio being created using artificial intelligence is 98%.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the United States in the eyes of Ukrainians. They say they only help when they need it. Detector Media also refuted other fakes regarding the United States.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks are distributing a video allegedly made by a team from the British broadcaster BBC. It claims that Bellingcat investigators have obtained documents linking US President Joe Biden's son Gunter Biden to the production of church supplies in Ukraine. According to these data, Gunter Biden, with the help of his assistant, collaborating with a Ukrainian manufacturer of church supplies, monopolized their sales in 2020. However, this is fake.

The VoxCheck fact-checker drew attention to it. They found that Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins responded to the video by calling it another Russian fake. In addition, there is no information about this on the official Bellingcat website or the official BBC YouTube channel. The fake video was released on January 6, 2024, but the design of the British media looks completely different. For example, the original BBC videos have black text on a white background, surrounded by a red frame.

The video also mentions the Ros-Vinnytsia enterprise, which is associated with Gunther Biden and is called a monopolist in the church supplies market, but on the Internet you can find many advertisements for the sale of church utensils from companies that are not its subsidiaries. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Biden’s son or his representatives are not among the owners of Ros-Vinnytsia.

Propagandists are spreading this fake news to support their narrative about the Bidens' corruption in Ukraine. It is especially relevant in the context of the election campaign before the US presidential elections in 2024. Detector Media wrote about a conspiracy theory in this regard.

Propagandists broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks and the media are distributing a video that allegedly depicts the murder of a Ukrainian recruiting officer while delivering a draft notice. They say that this footage was “shared by the National Police of Ukraine”. They add that this can be considered “the beginning of the civil war in Ukraine”. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the video being distributed did not indicate where this incident occurred, which the territorial center of recruitment and social support was being referred to, or when it happened. Such propaganda methods are used specifically to make it more difficult to identify the video and verify its authenticity. Also, the video itself is of very low quality, trimmed (consisting of 2 seconds) - this method is also often used to make it impossible to prove the falsity of the message.

The StopFake specialists also checked the official communication channels of the National Police in recent days and found neither the publication of this video nor information about the murder of a territorial center of recruitment and social support representative. This also indicates that the information being disseminated is fake.

Shortly after the appearance of this dubious video, the National Police published a refutation explaining what exactly it indicated forgery: “the published fragment of the video does not reflect signs characteristic of a shot from a firearm; the inscriptions on the vest of the person in the video are illegible, probably written in foreign letters, and employees of the territorial center of recruitment and social support, while on duty, wear camouflage clothing and without reflective vests; The “watermark” on the video is a fake of the Ukraine National Police mark and does not correspond to how the official video is marked. In addition, the National Police noted that they had not received any reports of the murder or injury of a territorial center of recruitment and social support employee.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to show that public outrage in Ukraine supposedly goes beyond limits. Russian propaganda often uses the topic of mobilization in Ukraine to create fakes and manipulations. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted them.

Users of social networks broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric are distributing videos where supposedly Ukrainian soldiers demonstrate underground fortifications recaptured from the Russians. Like, there are hundreds of meters of branched underground tunnels, a high level of engineering equipment. Commentators ask to see Ukrainian fortifications hinting that they allegedly do not exist. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that in fact the video is not of the Ukrainian military demonstrating their recaptured positions, but of the Russians showing their underground bunkers. However, it is unknown where these fortifications are located: on the front line, deep in the rear in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or on Russian territory.

The author of the two-minute video initially introduces himself as “Borman from the 3rd battalion”. However, at 01:26 from the video, it is noticeable that he has a patch with the Russian tricolor on his left hand. It should also be noted that inside the bunkers there are no traces of combat or dirt, typical of military conditions in the fall and winter. Therefore, it is more difficult to determine the date and location of the video shooting.

Despite the fact that the Russian defense line does pose a big obstacle to the Ukrainian army moving forward and liberating the occupied territories, the Russian military also complains to the propaganda media about Ukrainian drones and tunnels.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to incite despair and mistrust among Ukrainians, especially in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, in this way they are also trying to show that Russia is supposedly constantly winning on the battlefield, in particular thanks to its “amazing fortifications”.