Propagandists in Russian media claim that Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called for the murder of “the largest number” of Russians, which allegedly testifies to the “inhumane” nature of the Ukrainian state. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists of The Insider project drew attention to it. They noticed a strong reaction to Podoliak's statement in the Russian media space and found out that the quote was taken out of context. In its full version from the air of the United News marathon, it is clear that he  was not talking about all Russians, but about the soldiers of the occupying army.

Putting it in this light, the propagandists want to justify their aggression against Ukraine by fighting the “monsters”. Allegedly, the Ukrainians are so cruel that they call for the destruction of an entire nation. However, it is the Russians who commit genocide against Ukrainians.

Propagandists claim that the EU allegedly thoughtlessly blames Russia for any problem, as well as for blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, but in fact it was destroyed by the “Kyiv regime” with Western weapons.

This message was brought to the attention of the EUvsDisinfo project specialists. They found out that he was an unsubstantiated accusation and a combination of other messages. Allegedly, military support from the West continues the war and continues the suffering of civilians.

Propagandists spread such information in order to once again justify Russia's aggression. However, in reality, it is Russia that causes significant damage to the Ukrainian economy and kills thousands of people. It is Russia that is trying to destroy Ukraine, its people and culture, project experts say. NATO member countries independently decide on the provision of assistance to Ukraine and it is not illegal, since Ukraine uses it for self-defense, provided for by the UN Charter.

In addition, Russia wants to shift responsibility to Ukraine for a number of provocations, artificially creating for it the image of a “terrorist regime”. Propagandists equate the explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant with fakes about “dirty bombs”, devaluing the scale of the disaster. However, Russia blew up the dam. In particular, this is evidenced by the data on seismic activity in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, recorded by the Norwegian seismic station in Romania. Detector Media has already written about what propagandists said about the bombing on the day it happened.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council reports that Ukrainians are receiving SMS messages urging them to send information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine in exchange for a monetary reward.

The CPI recalls that any cooperation with the enemy can be equated with treason and punished under martial law with imprisonment for up to 15 years or life imprisonment.

By sending out such messages, the Russians want to get important information and use it against the Ukrainian army. In addition, by offering money for this, they feed their message of “Ukraine's extreme poverty”. Like, Ukrainians are ready for anything for the sake of money. However, if Ukrainians have become poorer (although this problem is exaggerated), the reason for this is solely Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Propagandists are spreading a fake, allegedly the chairman of the GUR, Kyryl Budanov, was wounded and instead of him, a double was sent to meet with Japanese Ambassador Matsuda Kuninori. It's fake. 

The authors of such messages note that the “double” can be exposed thanks to a new hairstyle, a clean-shaven chin and an “unnatural fold” of the right hand. However, all these are rather signs of a slight change in the image of one person.

By concocting such excuses, the Russians want to nourish the fake about Budanov's severe injury, even if it has already been debunked. In addition, by spreading reports about the injury or death of Ukrainian top military/political figures, the Russians want to cause panic among Ukrainians and create the illusion of defeat. However, the leaders who appeared in these fakes repeatedly debunked them on their own.

Propagandists create and distribute publications that Ukraine has imprisoned journalists from abroad for publishing “inconvenient truths” about Russian aggression. They say that such “Western values” are supported by the Ukrainian government, hiding behind the silence of the West.

As the main example, the authors of such publications use the situation with a citizen of the United States and Chile, journalist Gonzalo Lira. Allegedly, he was imprisoned only for what he said: “facts recognized by Kyiv.”

However, in reality, the journalist was arrested for spreading openly anti-Ukrainian aggressive rhetoric and Russian disinformation. For example, Lira called Ukrainian President Zelenskyi a “thug”, EU leaders “incompetent” (supporting the words of Russian Prime Minister Medvediev), and also accused the US and Poland of intentions to “divide Ukraine”. The journalist justified Russia's actions by saying that it needed the entire territory of Ukraine so that there would be no worse problems. In addition, he called on the International Criminal Court to arrest the ex-president of Ukraine Poroshenko for allegedly “killing children in the Donbas”.

All these and other statements by Lira were once drawn to the attention of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council. By spreading this message, Russia wants to shift the responsibility for its actions to other forces and divert attention from its own systemic problems with freedom of speech.

Propaganda anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that Ukraine is on the verge of a food crisis due to problems with the dairy industry. Like, Ukrainians do not buy their own milk, because there is no money to buy it, and the export of dairy products from Ukraine fails for some reason.

Although the authors of such reports recall that the number of cattle has decreased due to the war, they do not point to Russian aggression as the root cause of these problems. Everyone is again pushed to the West, which supposedly helps only with rhetoric. They also transfer responsibility for this to the countries of Central Asia and Moldova. As a result, according to propagandists, Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy and a food crisis.

However, its main reason was the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, since the fighting restricts both the cultivation of livestock and feed, and the sale of dairy products. In addition, plant-based milk alternatives such as almond, soy, oat, coconut milk, etc are becoming more popular due to ethical consumer concerns or intolerance to the lactose found in cow's milk. With this in mind, dairy consumption is declining globally.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to artificially increase the scale of the problem and cause panic among Ukrainians. In addition, in this way, they traditionally want to shift the responsibility for Russia's actions to third parties.

With the help of various definitions or linguistic features, Russian propaganda tries to portray Ukraine in the eyes of Russians in the most profitable way. For example, they say “on the Ukraine”, hinting at the colonial past and dependence on Russia, or  “outskirts”, allegedly located on the edge of “one great state”.

Propagandists seek to deny the existence of Ukraine in any way and use the term “country 404” or even simply “404”. First of all, they draw a parallel with the well-known, understandable symbol “Error 404” - an error loading a web page. This error is thrown when the page doesn't actually exist. That is, the authors transferred the attribute of one object to another. With the help of an understandable majority of images, propaganda shows that Ukraine is a country that allegedly does not exist, it literally does not exist. This meaning is given a negative connotation when propagandists maliciously describe Ukraine's successes or want to accuse it of certain actions. Like, how can this “country 404” achieve anything? Thus, one of the propaganda channels described the events of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station by the Russians, shifting the responsibility to Ukraine: “It is obvious that the destruction of the hydroelectric power station was beneficial - earlier they announced such plans there”. That is, they emphasize the criminality of Ukraine, they assure that such a country “should not exist". All this cherishes hatred and rage towards Ukraine among Russians.

In general, such rhetoric is part of the conspiracy theory that Ukraine is a fictitious state. Thus, the authors seek to deny the existence of the country and blur the eyes of Russians and others who will not perceive Ukraine as another, sovereign state. Such messages will encourage stereotypes that Ukraine is part of Russia or that there never was a Ukrainian state.