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 26 November, on the 1006th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2547
Fake
761
Manipulation
739
Message
536
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Manipulation The deception that 16-year-olds are asked to sign a consent form for military service when registering at the Territorial recruitment and social support center

Propaganda Telegram channels are spreading information that when registering for military service at the Territorial recruitment and social support center, young men aged 16-17 allegedly sign an agreement to serve in the military after coming of age.

However, this information is not true. At the request of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation, the Kyiv City Territorial recruitment and social support center provided an explanation:

“All information received from young men when registering for military service is used by the Territorial recruitment and social support center to identify citizens who are potentially ready to receive an education in military educational institutions or for military service in the future”.

In turn, the mobilization of citizens for military service can only be carried out after they reach the age of 25.

Earlier we wrote that propagandists created a fake animated video about the Territorial recruitment and social support center workers.

Fake The lie that dozens of mobile morgues were installed in Sumy

Russian sources are spreading information that, as part of a collaboration between Coca-Cola and the International Committee of the Red Cross, dozens of mobile morgues in the standard Coca-Cola red and white colors and the coloring of the “favorite Ukrainian embroidered shirt, so that it would be pleasant to lie there” were delivered to the city of Sumy. As proof of this, the propagandists add a photo showing mobile containers with what appears to be the English inscription “Mobile Morgue”.

However, this is another fake of Russian propaganda, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports. The mobile containers that the propagandists write about are mobile boiler houses that the Ukrainian Red Cross, in cooperation with the Coca-Cola company, delivers to local communities to support the population of Ukraine. Thus, in 45 mobile boiler houses that were provided to local communities last year, another 60 will be delivered during the 2024 heating season.

In addition, there is no sign “Mobile Morgue” on the boiler houses – it was superimposed on the photo by propagandists, replacing the original sign “Mobile boiler house”.

Earlier, we recorded a fake from the Russians that mobile crematoriums were being created in Ukrainian TRO brigades.

Fake Russians are lying that the cause of the tragedy in Sumy is the work of Ukrainian air defense

On the evening of November 17, 2024, Russians launched a missile attack on a nine-story building in Sumy. At 08:47 on the morning of November 18, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that as of that time, 89 people were known to have been injured (including 11 children) and 11 people were killed (including 2 children) as a result of the attack. In turn, Russian propagandists write that the cause of the tragedy was not a Russian missile, but allegedly the unsuccessful work of the Ukrainian air defense.

However, this information is not true. This was reported by the Center for Counteracting Disinformation, citing the Sumy Region Prosecutor's Office. According to them, on November 17, using methods of warfare prohibited by international law, the Russians launched a missile strike on a densely populated residential area in Sumy. This, and not the work of the Ukrainian air defense, was the cause of the tragedy.

With this fake, Russian propagandists are trying to justify yet another war crime by the Russian army – the murder of civilians.

November 18-19 in Sumy have been declared days of mourning for those killed as a result of Russia's strike on the city. This was reported by the acting mayor of Sumy, Artem Kobzar.

Fake Deepfake allegedly shows Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights criticizing “language patrols” in Ukraine

Russian sources are spreading information that the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty allegedly criticized the “language patrols” in Ukraine. As “proof” of this, propagandists publish a video in which O'Flaherty allegedly says that such patrols violate the rights of national minorities in Ukraine. 

However, the video distributed by the propagandists is fabricated - it was created using deepfake technology based on artificial intelligence. This is reported in the Stopfake project. At the 46th second of the distributed video, one can see how the man's “double chin” appears for a second and then immediately disappears. Also, the man in the video hardly blinks, and his speech does not match his facial expressions. In addition to this, the real Michael O'Flaherty has more active facial expressions when he speaks. One  can see this by watching any speech of the commissioner.

StopFake journalists also analyzed the propagandists’ videos using Attestiv, a tool for identifying fake videos created by artificial intelligence. The analysis showed that the video was “highly likely” to be fake.

This is not the first time that Russian propaganda has spread disinformation about “language patrols” in Ukraine, responding to the initiative of the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk to create such patrols in the city to popularize the Ukrainian language. At the same time, the “language inspectors” do not have any special powers; this is a volunteer initiative.

Earlier, we recorded disinformation that the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv opened recruitment for a team of “language inspectors”.

Fake Disinformation that Ukrainian military began to surrender more often after Trump's victory in the US elections

Pro-Russian Telegram channels are distributing a video report allegedly created by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The report claims that after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, Ukrainian soldiers began surrendering eight times more often than before. In turn, Euronews editor-in-chief Klaus Strunz allegedly called this a “completely natural” development. They say that now it has become clear to everyone that Ukraine is doomed, so the military is thinking about how to save their own lives.

However, this video is fabricated, writes the StopFake project. ISW did not publish such a video or similar statistics on its website or on its social media pages. There are no similar reports in any reliable Western media, including Euronews. The editor-in-chief of this broadcaster, Strunz, did express support for Trump on his social media pages, but did not comment on the potential consequences for Ukraine after the newly elected US president takes office, nor on reports of mass surrender of Ukrainian troops. After all, this “news” is false.

Therefore, there is no independent and verified data on how many Ukrainian soldiers actually surrender, since such statistics are only available from the Russian side, which does not inspire confidence.

With this fake, propagandists are trying to assert that with Trump coming to power in the United States, Ukraine will not receive any critical financial and military support from this state and, in general, a “complete catastrophe” awaits Ukrainians.

Earlier, the Russians had already distributed a fabricated video on behalf of ISW. Thus, earlier we recorded a fake video about how two out of ten Ukrainians died during meetings with representatives of the Territorial recruitment and social support centers.

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.