Propagandists in the Russian media spread information that the population of Ukraine has decreased to 20 million people. They refer to a statement by former adviser to the US Secretary of Defense Douglas McGregor on May 18. It's fake.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to it. They watched the relevant McGregor interview in its entirety and noticed that he actually made such a statement: “Yesterday I received evidence that less than 20 million people remained in Ukraine”. However, it is not known on the basis of what data the man made the following conclusions.

They also found out that the data is not true. According to the calculations of the UN Population Fund, 36.7 million people now live in Ukraine, taking into account the temporarily occupied territories. According to Ella Libanova, director of the MV Ptukh Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the population of Ukraine currently ranges from 28 to 34 million people, excluding the temporarily occupied territories. A more accurate number is currently impossible to establish due to inaccurate data regarding Ukrainians who crossed the border in western Ukraine.

Thus, propagandists want to artificially increase the scale of the problem and demoralize the Ukrainian population. Like, everything is so bad that it's time to end it all. However, the population of Ukraine is declining precisely because of the actions of the Russian army.

The canonical church in the understanding of Russian propaganda is exclusively the Russian Orthodox Church or the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Like, others are non-canonical, that is, false. Allegedly, Moscow is the only center of Orthodoxy.

To confirm the non-canonicity of other churches, in particular Ukrainian ones, Russian propagandists claim that Ukraine is a pagan state, and that in general the Ukrainian leadership is ready to destroy all shrines, because Zelenskyi is a stubborn Satanist. According to Russian propaganda, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine does not meet religious canons, because the primates allegedly dream of canonizing Stepan Bandera and even Joe Biden. And peaceful Ukrainians allegedly do not respect other religions and wish death to all dissident believers.

Moscow resorts to conspiracy theories to show how Ukrainians are “sinning” if they refuse to visit the UOC-MP. For example, the authors said that the OCU “sows confusion” by expelling the UOC-MP from the territory of Ukraine. Allegedly, on one of the main temples of Ukraine, “crosses turned black” due to the blasphemous actions of Ukrainians. Even the animals pointed to the blasphemy of humans. It was rumored that flocks of dark birds circled over Kyiv precisely because of the sinful actions of the Ukrainians. And the propagandists called the recent spring flood in Kyiv the punishment of God, although this is a characteristic natural phenomenon for cities located on the banks of rivers.

Thus, propaganda is trying to convince its consumers that Ukraine's actions are contrary to religious canons, and therefore it is worth mobilizing and saving the “canonical Orthodox Church” with weapons. This is one of the messages by which Russia justifies its invasion. However, there is no “canonical” or “non-canonical” church. Ukrainians choose the church they like. The OCU is an independent church recognized by 4 out of 13 local churches, in particular Constantinople, Oleksandria, Cyprus and Greece.

Propagandists on Russian telegram channels spread information that they allegedly organized the “export” of human organs in Ukraine with the help of transplant doctors from the United States. They also claim that the center where all the seized organs are taken is Lviv, and the Ukrainian military was wounded as the “source” of donor organs. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They analyzed the reports in the Russian media about the transplant doctor Robert Montgomery and found out that in fact the doctor comes to help the Ukrainians. For example, on April 18 of this year, the press service of the First Medical Association of Lviv reported that Montgomery had transplanted a kidney from his father to his son, who had been on dialysis for the last 13 years.

The propagandists made their material by distorting the Voice of America report on Montgomery. He is not involved in the export of donor organs abroad.

VoxCheck experts note that since 2019 in Ukraine there is an opportunity to be a posthumous donor, but only with the personal consent of an adult capable person. In addition, according to paragraph 4 of Article 17 of the Law of Ukraine “On the use of transplantation of anatomical materials in humans”, military personnel cannot be posthumous donors.

Analysts note that Lviv is not the only transplantation center in Ukraine where anatomical materials are transferred for donation. A large number of operations are also taking place in Kyiv, and 32 such centers operate throughout Ukraine.

Thus, propagandists want to shift the responsibility for the war against Ukraine to third parties. Like, the US is waging war for money, to sell organs for nothing. However, it is Russia that has attacked Ukraine and is conducting attacks against the civilian population, while the United States is helping to defend Ukraine.

On June 10-11, an international summit For Peace in Ukraine is scheduled to be held in Vienna. It will be attended by representatives of “Russia, Ukraine and various NATO countries that support the goals of peace” in order to “put an end to the war and prepare for negotiations”. However, the “summit” will be the responsibility of an organization whose leadership, in their statements, spreads the messages of Russian propaganda, like most of the people on the list of participants. The goal of the summit is to prepare an appeal “Vienna Call for Peace”, which is planned to be submitted to the Embassies of Russia, Ukraine and NATO countries, as well as international organizations for further work on a “peaceful settlement of the war”.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the event. They analyzed the official program of the summit and found many repetitions of Russian propaganda in it. For example, the organizers note that they “condemn Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine”, but then they write that NATO is responsible for it. Like, NATO provoked Russia to attack. The program of the event does not include meetings on the return of temporarily occupied territories to Ukraine, reparations or punishment of war criminals - these topics are simply ignored.

The event is organized by a number of public organizations, including the International Peace Bureau and the Alliance for Peace, Neutrality and Non-Violence. Former International Peace Bureau Executive Director Rainer Braun is spreading Russian propaganda, VoxCheck analysts have found. In particular, he said that the expansion of NATO is the reason for the invasion of Russia, and sanctions against it will make the Europeans suffer. Despite being fired from the organization in 2019, it continues to invite him to its events. In addition, the Bureau itself publishes statements that Ukraine allegedly “violates the right to refuse military service”, although it does not mention forced mobilization in Russia and the occupied territories. The Action Alliance promotes the ideas of “neutrality”. using for this purpose the statements of persons accused of treason, in particular Ruslan Kotsaba, who has now joined the new project of Viktor Medvedchuk Another Ukraine. The event will also be financed by organizations spreading Russian rhetoric.

Among the speakers, one can find the theoretical linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky from the United States, who promotes the messages of Russian propaganda in his speeches. In particular, he believes that NATO provoked Russia into a war against Ukraine. Member of the US House of Representatives Dennis Kucinich is also represented at the plenary session of the summit. Since 2014, he has been condemning US sanctions against Russia, and has also been spreading messages about “Ukrainian Nazis” and a “coup d'état”. Last year, Kucinich accused Joe Biden of starting World War III, and this year he organized a rally against aid to Ukraine. Speakers include Jeffrey Sachs, an American economist, Yurii Sheliazhenko, executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, and others spreading Russian rhetoric.

In fact, holding this event will help Russian propagandists to further spread their disinformation and strengthen its anti-Ukrainian messages. Like, the whole world is behind Russia. However, the military and political support of NATO countries is larger than such events.

Russian propagandists spread information online that during the attacks on Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi on May 13-14, warehouses with depleted uranium ammunition exploded. Like, that's why people are panicking: there is already an iodine deficiency in pharmacies, and residents are leaving the cities en masse. In addition, Russian experts say that materials for making a “dirty bomb” may also have exploded, since both beta and gamma radiation were allegedly recorded after the explosion. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the local authorities denied the information about the explosions of ammunition. They also refuted the increased levels of radiation hazard. In addition, according to the Ternopil Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the level of background radiation in the Ternopil region on May 14 was within the normal range. Propagandists add screenshots from the SaveEcoBot portal, which allegedly shows a “sharp increase in radiation levels” just after the explosion, but in fact on the site you can see that after the explosions, the radiation level even decreased in the respective cities.

Moreover, there is no iodine deficiency in the pharmacies of Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil. According to information on Tabletki.ua, both an alcoholic solution of iodine and potassium iodide (in tablets) are available for sale in most pharmacies in these cities. Experts explain that potassium iodide is used when there is a threat of a radiation release in order to reduce the risk of thyroid diseases. However, these pills should be taken only after official notification and once, since it blocks the functioning of the thyroid gland. The use of an alcoholic solution of iodine or Lugol's solution is generally considered ineffective and may be harmful to health.

Thus, the propagandists want to cause panic among the local population and justify Russian attacks on the civilian population. Like, they only hit military warehouses, and now they have broken NATO ammunition. However, in reality, the Russians caused damage precisely to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and schools, which are a war crime.