Users of the Russian segment of Facebook and TikTok are spreading a video in which a man in a shiny suit dances a belly dance and claims that this is Volodymyr Zelenskyi. One user put an emoji with the flag of Ukraine and wrote: “Every time you need more money… you should put on a good show for them!”, alluding to Western partners. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Reuters media drew attention to the case. In fact, it is not Volodymyr Zelenskyi who is dancing in this video, but belly dancer Pablo Acosta. The dancer posted similar videos on his Instagram on July 1.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to humiliate and laugh at Volodymyr Zelenskyi, saying that the President of Ukraine has to go even to such extremes in order to get weapons from Western partners. Earlier, we wrote that the Spanish magazine El jueves published a cover on which the Ukrainian military allegedly abandoned the counteroffensive and refuted the fake that the official Twitter account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine wrote that Zelenskyi was a “naked clown”.

Facebook and Twitter users broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric circulated a video of traffic jams in Ukraine on July 17. On it, the inhabitants of Kyiv are allegedly fleeing the city out of fear that Russia will retaliate for the explosions on the Crimean bridge. The Ukrainians decided to flee as if after Volodymyr Putin announced that his defense ministry was preparing proposals for a response. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Reuters media drew attention to the case. The video shared on July 17, 2023 showing the traffic jam was actually filmed last year. It was reposted by Instagram user lyudaoshomok. According to her, the video was filmed on August 21, 2022, and it shows vehicles heading to Kyiv.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to intimidate Ukrainians and sow panic. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the head of the GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, thanked the patriots for the special operation in Crimea. We also talked about what pro-Kremlin telegram channels wrote about explosions on the Crimean bridge.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are spreading information that the Pope allegedly called on the Ukrainian authorities to release the vicar of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid (Pasha Mercedes). Pope Francis allegedly made such a statement during a personal conversation with the representative of the World Union of Old Believers Leonid Sevastianov. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. There is no information that Pope Francis called on the Ukrainian authorities to release Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid on any of the official resources of the Vatican and Pope Francis. Moreover, the Vatican website does not even contain information that he had a meeting with the head of the World Union of Old Believers, Leonid Sevastianov, in 2023. Some Russian media indicate that Pope Francis made such a statement during a personal meeting with Leonid Sevastianov. However, the head of the Union of Old Believers repeatedly made loud statements that did not correspond to reality. And that is why the Russian propaganda resources themselves are distrustful of his words.

We recall that on April 1, the SBU handed a suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code to the Lavra’s abbot and Metropolitan of the UOC-MP Pavlo Lebid: incitement of inter-religious hatred (article 161 of the Criminal Code) and dissemination of materials justifying Russian aggression (article 436-2). Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Pope Francis and the Ukrainian authorities, who allegedly detained the innocent Metropolitan of the UOC-MP.

Russian propagandists are trying to split Ukrainian society along religious lines. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the tactics of how Russian propaganda instrumentalizes religious issues for its own purposes.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric and in the Russian segment of Facebook, disseminate information that the Kharkiv police will allegedly transmit information about Ukrainian citizens who fled from the mobilization to the countries of the European Union. This statement was made by Serhii Bolvinov, head of the investigative department of the National Police of the Kharkiv region. This is manipulation.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated the case. On July 14, Serhii Bolvinov did write on Facebook about cooperation with Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization). However, this cooperation is not because of the Ukrainians in the EU countries, as Russian propaganda claims. Bolvinov said that Ukrainian law enforcement officers would contact the organization because they want to bring to justice the collaborators who fled Ukraine and settled in the EU. Russian propaganda took the phrase out of context.

By manipulating the facts of mobilization, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and sow panic in society. Previously, we refuted the manipulation that in Ukraine a military uniform was created for pregnant women in order to send them to the front.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, spread the information that Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in an interview with ABC News, allegedly stated that “the United States was in charge of the Ukrainian aggression” and allegedly added that “the United States could end the conflict in Ukraine at any second, since they [the Americans] unleashed it”. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has not made any statements that the United States has unleashed a war in Ukraine. He confirmed that Ukraine itself decides on the occupation of its territories. Zelenskyi commented on Donald Trump's words that he could end the war in 24 hours. The President of Ukraine said that Trump already had his 24 hours, but then he had other priorities. He also added that the option of ending the war with Russia through trade in its own territories is unacceptable for Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propagandists are once again trying to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and worsen relations with Western partners, hoping that they will reduce military assistance to Ukraine. Earlier, we refuted the manipulation that Jens Stoltenberg refused to shake hands with Zelenskyi.

Russian propagandists are constantly trying to present Ukrainians as terrorists, and the Ukrainian government as a “junta” that “seized power” in the state. Propagandists use the wording UDIL (Ukrainian State of Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv). This wording is most often found as an abbreviation. It is synonymous with the phrase “Kyiv regime”. We talked about the use of the phrase “Kyiv regime” earlier.

With wordings about UDIL and the “Kyiv regime” the Russians are trying to present Ukraine as a terrorist group. The wording UDIL shows the ignorance of propagandists in the intricacies of geopolitical processes in the Middle East. They tried to parody the acronym of the terrorist group IDIL (ISIL), which stands for “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”. This wording is not well suited for transfer to the Ukrainian context. ISIL did not have a government as such, but was led by militants without a centralized political and administrative structure. The militants significantly restricted the rights of people and introduced a religious cult and engaged in terrorist attacks, kidnappings, murders and executions.

Using such phrases, propagandists want to devalue Ukrainian statehood and shift the responsibility for the actions of the Russians to the victim of their aggression. Detector Media has previously written about the tactics of whataboutism, where such formulations are used. In response to accusations of terrorism, propagandists claim that Ukrainians live in the UDIL and call the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi the head of a terrorist group. In fact, in this way, they deviate from the essence of the issue and want to avoid responsibility.