This fake was spread by Russian media and telegram channels referring to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. This is not the first time Russia has claimed that it is fighting in Ukraine against third parties. Earlier, for example, Russian propaganda convinced that it was fighting NATO in Ukraine. Also, the Kremlin media already spread a fake that the U.S. would send former Afghan National Army soldiers to Ukraine. In particular, in this way Russia is trying to justify its defeats in Ukraine, saying that mercenaries have better training, so it is more difficult to fight them - here plays the psychological factor that there is no shame in losing to conditionally stronger mercenaries. Or vice versa, to report on the "destruction of a group" that does not actually exist.

In fact, the U.S. is not going to send American troops to Ukraine at all, as President Joe Biden has repeatedly pointed out. Throughout Russia's war against Ukraine, the U.S. has been providing various kinds of military and medical aid to Ukraine. At the same time, it is Russia that has copied ISIS' methods and tactics for introducing war. Read more about this in the article "European Truth".

The cover of the German magazine Stern with an image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly titled "König der Lügen", translated as "King of Lies", circulated in social networks. According to Logically.ai, Zelensky was indeed on the front page of the magazine, but it was published under the title "Held der Freiheit", which translates as "Hero of Freedom".

The Russian Defense Ministry and pro-Kremlin telegram channels spread a fake that a CNN video of Russian soldiers killing two civilian men in Kyiv region was allegedly staged. Russian propaganda compared the video to the events in Bucha; they also wrote that the video allegedly included Ukrainian soldiers or "inconsistencies" in the footage (shadow positions, markings on the car, etc.). StopFake fact-checkers took apart all the propagandists' statements in detail:

1. "It's the Ukrainian military" - a lie. Project Important Stories identified one of the military in the video. He turned out to be Dmitry Lapshakov, a 29-year-old resident of the Peschanka settlement in Chita, serving in the military unit 21250-B of the Russian Armed Forces as a mechanic and tank driver. First Deputy Interior Minister Yevgeny Yenin also said that law enforcement officials had already identified the Russian military who killed the two civilians in the video.

2. "Significantly different shadows in the episodes where the Russian military checks documents and shoots men" - manipulation. The two episodes were filmed on different cameras, located in different places, and consequently captured the event from different angles.

3. "The video does not show the second soldier at the time of the shooting" - a lie. The second soldier can be seen in the footage from both surveillance cameras. In the video from the video camera filming the car dealership courtyard, you can see the silhouette of the military man behind the post and his shadow is clearly visible.

4. "The interior of the security station is different in different fragments of the video" - false. The appearance of the room is the same in different fragments of the video.

5. "Inconsistency in military outfit indicates that the video does not show Russian soldiers" - manipulation. The Russian media themselves wrote in May 2022 that the 6B23 body armor "is most commonly seen in the Russian army."

6. "The Russian army does not have a unit called 'Tank Special Forces RUS V,' as written on the minivan." This is true, although the car is not actually military. Factcheckers say that the inscription on the car was made with paint, probably to mark the civilian car as "theirs."

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Russian media spread a fake from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that allegedly three million Ukrainians "want to flee" to Russia. This is not the first time that Russian propaganda has spread the manipulative thesis that Ukrainians want to "flee to the Russian Federation from the arbitrariness" of Ukraine. Data from the Ukrainian government and international organizations show that Russia has forcibly removed 1.2 million people from Ukrainian territories and forced them to pass through filtration camps. There have also been numerous cases of deported Ukrainians escaping from Russia to EU countries. "A huge part of the Ukrainians recorded in Russia are people who were illegally deported to Russian territory by the Kafirs. The Kremlin, while promoting the narrative of "peaceful Russians" toward Ukraine, deliberately substitutes the concept of "voluntary refugees" and "forced deportation. The illegal removal of Ukrainian citizens from the seized territories is not an evacuation of refugees, but the forced relocation of Ukrainian citizens to the territory of the aggressor country," writes StopFake.

According to a sociological survey by the "Rating" group, 93% of Ukrainians believe in Ukraine's victory in the war with Russia, and 89% support the recognition of the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine as "genocide of the Ukrainian people." "This is why the Kremlin's narrative about 'Ukrainians dreaming of fleeing from arbitrariness to Russia' is based on speculation rather than facts," the fact checkers added.

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This manipulative thesis is spread by anonymous telegram channels administered by the Russian special services, referring to the video with Ukrainian captives, which was filmed by the Russian state propaganda channel RT. Thus, the Office of the President attempts to accuse them of lying and "anti-Russian propaganda. In fact, it is obvious that the RT propaganda channel, known for its manipulative stories in support of the Russian authorities, will not air any violations by the Russian military. At the same time, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmila Denisova has already repeatedly reported on violations of the rights of prisoners of war on the part of Russia. For example, the Ukrainian fighters are kept in the general regime colonies, without having made the conversion of prisons into camps for prisoners of war. Also, the Russian State Duma suggested forcing Ukrainian POWs to donate blood for wounded Kafirs, which is also a violation of their rights. In addition, Ukrainians on their return from Russian captivity recount humiliations and inhumane conditions of detention: in particular, defenders were dressed in prisoners' uniforms, had their hair cut, were tortured, forced to learn patriotic Russian songs and perform them for their wardens, etc.

A video of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg with Russian voiceover is circulating in social networks, in which he allegedly says Facebook is closing down and leaving Russia. This video, in particular, was published by the Facebook page of Mytworld. Factcheckers from Mythdetector reported that they used a video from Zuckerberg's interview with American writer Tim Ferris for the fake. In it, the Meta founder talked about the company's long-term strategy, technical challenges, operating principles, etc. So the Russian-language voice-over is fake.

In fact, Roskomnadzor blocked Facebook and Instagram in March, and declared Meta "extremist. Despite the fact that it was Russia that decided to block the social networks, Russian bloggers demanded a billion dollars in "compensation" from Meta for blocking instagram, because they "lost their main source of income. So this video could be part of a narrative about alleged "Russophobia" in the world. The U.S. State Department has previously said that claims of "Russophobia" are seen in a number of topics and are used whenever the Russian government wants to portray itself as a victim while it is the aggressor.

A video of a Polish police car with a sticker - a blue "Z" sign - is spreading in social networks. In such messages they write that Poland is supposedly tired of Ukrainian refugees, so it started supporting Russia. The message of fatigue or dislike for Ukrainians who left the country has been promoted since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit Ukraine's allies and provoke conflict within Ukrainian society.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate accused the fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine of Russia's attack on Ukraine - allegedly receiving the Tomos on autocephaly and the creation of the PCU became one of the reasons for the military invasion of Ukraine. Recall that Ukraine received Tomos on January 6, 2019, while Russia invaded Ukraine and occupied Crimea and parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions back in 2014.

At the same time, the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SSF) reacted to the statement of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, noting that it contains statements that can be regarded as inciting religious hatred, insulting the feelings of believers and justifying the war of Russia against Ukraine. They recalled that the PCU is an officially registered religious association that responds to the request of millions of Ukrainian Orthodox believers to belong to such an Orthodox Church, which has no affiliation with a religious association in Russia. The PCU, in turn, accused the UOC MP of spreading the ideology of the "Russian world" in society: "For decades, its representatives have consistently promoted, spread, supported and propagandized both among their faithful and in Ukrainian society the ideology of the "Russian world" - and the key justification for Russian aggression against our state It is this fascist-type ideology that now dominates in Russia, one of the main creators, inspirers and propagandists of which is the head of the Moscow Patriarchate Kirill Gundyaev, was and remains the basis for justifying the Russian war against Ukraine, occupying our land, killing our people, destruction of our cities and villages, attempts to destroy our statehood and the very identity of the Ukrainian people.

 This information was disseminated by the Russian propaganda media. In particular, it was voiced on the air of the First Russian Channel. There was a story about the Ukrainian hostages, which claimed that they were in very good condition, had three meals a day and the possibility of personal hygiene and medical care. At the end of the story the journalist said that the Ukrainian authorities are not interested in the fate of the captives at all and do not negotiate with Russia. The My Thdetector project factchecker paid attention to the story. However, none of this is true. Specifically, as of May 6, Russia and Ukraine had exchanged hostages ten times, resulting in the release of at least 331 Ukrainian citizens (including military and civilians). The last time Ukraine and Russia exchanged hostages was on May 6, this exchange resulted in the return of 41 people to Ukraine - 28 military and 13 civilians.