Russian propagandists are spreading false information that Ukrainian sniper Yevheniia Emerald, who actively encouraged citizens to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), allegedly fled to Austria. According to their narrative, this was due to her supposed ‘realization’ of Ukraine's inevitable collapse and the complete elimination of all Ukrainian soldiers. To ‘support’ their claims, Russian propagandists cite posts from Yevheniia's social media where she allegedly writes in Russian and talks about her life abroad, including ‘romantic relationships’. There are also rumors about her and her husband, a Ukrainian soldier, supposedly having a son, initially intended to be named Banderiatko (from Bandera and baby words), but later changing their mind.

In reality, this information is a fake. It is true that Yevheniia, who is currently on maternity leave, posted a photo from Vienna on Instagram. However, she never claimed that she left the country due to fear or disbelief in Ukraine's future. On the contrary, the photo, taken at a Ukrainian community event in Austria, shows her solidarity with Ukraine. Additionally, her Instagram page continues to serve as a platform for communication with followers and addressing important social issues, such as domestic violence. It is crucial to highlight that all of Yevheniia's posts are written exclusively in Ukrainian. Moreover, the information about her having a child is also falsified. In reality, on April 14, 2023, Yevheniia gave birth to a daughter named Athena.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads such fakes with the aim of demoralizing Ukrainian society, undermining trust in the military, and creating the illusion of a mass ‘escape’ of Ukraine's defenders. By using manipulations and outright lies, the propaganda tries to sow doubts among Ukrainians, devalue their struggle, and impose the idea of the state's inevitable collapse.

Russian sources are spreading information that Ukrainian legislation has introduced a ban on criticizing the government, specifically in comments on social media and online platforms. However, this claim is false, as reported by the StopFake project. On January 14, 2025, the Ukrainian Parliament did indeed pass the draft law No 11321 in the second reading, which amends legislation to strengthen media, journalists' activities, and citizens' right to access information. However, the new law does not introduce censorship but rather clarifies existing rules regarding content moderation while protecting the media from liability for users' actions.

The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, emphasized on his Telegram channel: “We are strengthening the protection of reputable media, not limiting either the media or users. No one is requiring media outlets to delete critical comments without legal grounds”.

He also explained the mechanism for regulating comments under the new legislation: if a legal case is initiated and a reasoned decision is made regarding material that violates the Law on Media, the editorial office has three days to decide on the fate of the respective comment. It can either delete it without legal consequences or leave it and defend its position in court.

“Currently, media outlets can genuinely face lawsuits if they paraphrase a person's words rather than quote them directly, even if the meaning remains unchanged. Instead, we are proposing a way to make it easier for media outlets to convey information so that they can paraphrase a public figure's statement and be protected from lawsuits in such cases”, Yurchyshyn stressed.

Russian propaganda spreads this fake to undermine citizens' trust in the government, sow internal tension, and promote the narrative of alleged “authoritarian” tendencies in Ukraine. At the same time, these informational manipulations target a Western audience, aiming to create a false impression of Ukraine's departure from democratic values, which could be used to undermine international support.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels are spreading the false claim that panic allegedly erupted in Kyiv because Trump did not mention Ukraine in his inaugural speech on January 20. However, this is a manipulation, as pointed out by experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. The absence of any mention of Ukraine in the speech does not indicate Trump's ‘indifference’ - the 47th president of the United States clearly focused on issues directly related to the United States.

Former Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin emphasized in an interview with Radio NV that there is no need to create panic over the fact that Ukraine was not mentioned in Trump's speech. The speech was centered around the Make America Great Again  concept, and Trump primarily spoke about the United States.

Moreover, during discussions with journalists, Trump confirmed his willingness to engage in talks with both Zelenskyi and Putin to achieve peace and end the war. “We are in touch with Zelenskyi, and we will soon speak with President Putin. We'll see how things unfold”, said the U.S. president.

Additionally, Trump's appointment of retired General Keith Kellogg as Special Representative for Ukraine indicates that the new administration will pay attention to this issue. In early January, Kellogg stated that he intended to find a solution to end the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine within 100 days from the inauguration.

This manipulative information is being spread by Russian propaganda to create a sense of Ukraine's isolation and to give the impression that the U.S. is indifferent or dismissive toward Ukraine. Such narratives are aimed at sowing doubts in the public regarding Western partners' support for Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are spreading information claiming that 62% of Britons allegedly view the 100-year partnership agreement between the United Kingdom and Ukraine as a ‘threat’ to London's interests. To support this assertion, the propagandists refer to a supposedly conducted ‘survey’ by a company called GLPOR.

In reality, this information is false, according to experts from Ukrinform. GLPOR is not an existing sociological firm; its website was created solely for the purpose of spreading fake surveys that are used in Russian disinformation campaigns.

The GLPOR website claims that it is a British company specializing in international market and political research, allegedly collaborating with Oxford University and working for the British government. However, despite these claims, the GLPOR website cannot be found on any search engine, and reputable international media have never published any ‘research’ from this company, unlike Russian propaganda resources.

The domain of the website was registered only in 2023, and since then, content has been retroactively added to create the illusion of a long-established company.

This is not the first time that propagandists have attempted to use the fake company GLPOR to spread manipulations. Earlier, we analyzed a fake claim about 88% of Ukrainians allegedly not supporting ‘Zelenskyi's decision to cancel the presidential elections’.

Russian propaganda uses fake surveys and invented companies like GLPOR to manipulate public opinion and create the impression of negative attitudes in Western countries toward cooperation with Ukraine. This is part of a disinformation strategy aimed at weakening international support for Ukraine and undermining its position on the global stage.

Pro-Russian sources have been spreading information claiming that in Slovakia, locals are allegedly vandalizing or removing license plates from the cars of Ukrainian refugees. According to these reports, this forces Ukrainians to return home to replace their plates, where they are supposedly detained by military recruitment officers for mobilization at the border. The supposed reason for this behavior is that Slovaks are ‘tired’ of Ukrainians.

However, fact-checkers from the StopFake resource have debunked this information. The first such reports appeared in Slovak on the Facebook page named Klub Priateľov Štefana Harabina — Dôstojnosť pre Slovensko (Club of Friends of Štefan Harabin — Dignity for Slovakia).

Štefan Harabin is a former justice minister and ex-president of the Supreme Court of Slovakia, who has openly propagated pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian views during his election campaigns. He denied the fact of Russian aggression against Ukraine and called for a complete cessation of any support for Kyiv, including financial and humanitarian aid.

Moreover, early in the full-scale invasion, Harabin stated that “if he were in Putin's place, he would have done the same”. Given this, it is clear that the page named after him regularly spreads pro-Russian narratives, rejoices in Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, and praises the policies of the Kremlin. The post about the supposed mass vandalism of Ukrainian license plates in Slovakia provides no evidence or sources. Notably, no reputable Slovak media outlet has reported such incidents, further proving the fabricated nature of this ‘news’.

Propaganda is spreading such fakes to scare Ukrainian refugees and create a sense of danger abroad. At the same time, propagandists aim to discredit countries that support Ukraine by promoting narratives of hostility from local populations. This aligns with the overall Kremlin strategy to destabilize European societies and undermine international support for Ukraine.

Earlier, we analyzed a report claiming that a Ukrainian schoolgirl in New York allegedly complained about her Black classmates and believed that her education should be funded by American taxpayers.