Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating information that they allegedly decided to start arming Ukrainian soldiers with shovels in case they run out of ammunition. According to propagandists, such a plan was allegedly shared by the commander of the 59th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a commentary for the Associated Press (AP). This is manipulation.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reviewed this information. They found out that the commander of the 59th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces actually stated that if there was a shortage of bullets, Ukrainian soldiers would kill the invaders with shovels. However, it was not said that the military leadership would give soldiers shovels instead of weapons, but about how motivated the Defense Forces are to go to victory: “Probably everyone is tired of the war physically and mentally. But imagine if we stop, what happens next? - the commander summed up. Ukrainians do not intend to stop fighting for their own state, no matter what the situation at the front.

Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the military leadership of Ukraine, saying that it doesn’t care about soldiers, so they will soon be sent into battle even with shovels, as long as they hold the defense. That is, in this case, propagandists are speculating on the expression “war to the last Ukrainian”, since it is obvious that it is impossible to resist with shovels against modern weapons. In addition, Russian propaganda creates the picture that no one needs Ukraine anymore, so international military assistance is becoming weaker. Previously, we analyzed the propaganda manipulation that Ukraine allegedly wants to refuse supplies of Western weapons.

Pro-Russian resources are spreading information that Kyiv is using naval drones to be able to negotiate with Moscow at the end of 2024 or already in 2025. This is what American journalist Andrew Kramer thinks, according to propaganda media. However, this is fake.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security analyzed this case. In fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted during his press conference on December 19 that the issue of negotiations with Russia is currently irrelevant. The Ukrainian president considers the “peace formula” to be the only working platform. Among its points are the restoration of the security and territorial integrity of Ukraine, security guarantees from other countries and fair punishment of Russia for all war crimes committed. Zelenskyi also noted that it is impossible to compromise with the liar that Putin is.

Andrew Kramer is a pro-Russian journalist who called the Azov battalion “neo-Nazi” and the war in Donbas “separatist”. Ukraine's preparation for negotiations is Cramer's invention. Thus, he and the propaganda resources are trying to convince everyone that Ukraine is doomed to defeat, and negotiations with Russia are the only real way out of the situation.

This information is disseminated by pro-Kremlin resources. It’s as if on the cover of one of the issues of the German magazine Titanic, instead of socks for gifts, the severed legs of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are depicted. It's fake.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council investigated this case. They found out that in fact there is no issue with such a cover, as evidenced by the pages of the German edition on social networks. The latest, December issue of the magazine was published under number A 4352 and has a different cover.

By spreading disinformation, in this case, propagandists are trying to discredit Ukraine and its armed forces. We have repeatedly refuted such fakes, when Russian propaganda creates false covers of the world's leading publications for its own purposes. Here, for example, is an analysis of misinformation about the already mentioned German magazine, which allegedly published a cover with a caricature of Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

The media are disseminating information that members of the family of Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umierov are US citizens. This thesis is based on the fact that in his declaration Umierov noted the registration of his three children in the United States. This became known from the Unified State Register of Declarations. However, information about the American citizenship of the children of the Secretary of Defense is fake.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine explained that the minister’s children (a son aged 10 and daughters aged 8 and 2) are citizens only of Ukraine. Members of Umierov’s family do not have citizenship of other countries. In 2016, the family of the current Minister of Defense of Ukraine was forced to go abroad due to assassination attempts and threats as a result of the systematic activities of Rustem Umierov regarding the de-occupation of the temporarily occupied Crimea.

They received Ukrainian passports, issued to children after the expiration of the previous ones, at the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States. That is why in the declaration referred to by the media, the place of issue of documents was indicated in the United States.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the Zhytomyr city council handed over two quadcopters to the 30th separate mechanized brigade, allegedly spending 530 million hryvnia on the purchase of them. Propagandists say this indicates that much of the funds were stolen by local officials. It's fake.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council worked on this case. As it turned out, in fact, 530 thousand hryvnia were spent on the purchase of two “birds”. The Zhytomyr City Council reported this on its telegram channel.

It is common for Russian propagandists to distort information by adding zeros to numbers or replacing one or more words in a sentence to convey the desired as real. Previously, we analyzed information that 200-500 thousand Ukrainians allegedly lost limbs due to the war, although in the original it was about 20-50 thousand military personnel.