A video is being circulated online, purporting to be from UNESCO. It claims that Ukraine has destroyed more monuments than the Taliban in Afghanistan - 5,400 monuments to cultural figures and cultural heritage sites over two years. The Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, Mechtilda Rössler, allegedly stated in this regard: “Such an attitude towards monuments and history is typical of terrorist regimes, but not of European civilization”.

However, UNESCO did not publish such a video on its official resources. Mechtilda Rössler is no longer the director of UNESCO and did not make such a statement. The video was created from photos from open sources, not related to each other. And besides, Mechtilda Rössler is no longer the director of the World Heritage Center.

Using reverse search, it was possible to find out that propagandists used photos from open sources for the fake video. In particular, photos with Taliban militants were published on the official website of the AFP publication in August 2024.

The Taliban is a political and military group whose goal is to liberate Afghanistan from foreign military presence. The movement is made up of many different tribes and peoples inhabiting the country, with different views, including religious ones.

The movement's ideology was based on the religious movement of Islam, Ash'arism, which is part of the Sunni tradition. The Taliban's political program was based on calls to organize life in Afghanistan on the basis of the norms of Islamic law - Sharia - in its radically traditional interpretations. According to the Taliban, anyone who contradicts the ideology of Ash'arism is subject to persecution.

Their rule was characterized by religious intolerance towards non-believers and cruelty - for example, thieves had their hands cut off.

Russian sources are distributing a video in which journalist Yurii Butusov said at a rally that he was going to win a court case against Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Another protester, leader of the Democratic Axe party, Yurii Hudymenko, read out the protesters' demands, including Zelenskyi's resignation.

But this is manipulation. The video was distributed without specifying that the action took place in December 2021. Therefore, it could have been given the impression that the video was filmed in 2024. Since it was the Defend Ukraine — Stop the Coup action of December 1, 2021. The same shooting angle, Butusov’s identical clothes, the  Channel 5 logo at the top right — all this coincides in the original video and the excerpt that was taken out of context.

Butusov also stated in the video that he was going to file a lawsuit against the President of Ukraine “to refute those words that contain factual untruths”. The incident was about the incident when, on October 26, 2021, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a Russian D-30 howitzer with a drone in the uncontrolled part of Donbas.

Social media is spreading information that Ukraine's delegation at NATO membership talks consists of bloggers. As proof, the posts include photos of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte interacting with Ukrainian influencers.

But the photo was taken during a one-time visit by Ukrainian influencers, dedicated to the thousand days since the start of the full-scale invasion. The negotiations with NATO are being conducted by government officials.

The alliance's official website states that the guests were invited to highlight NATO's continued support for Ukraine. In addition, the content creators presented a digital painting created in collaboration with artist Andrii Babenko. It reflected the importance of the partnership between Ukraine and NATO, as well as the courage and determination of the Ukrainian people.

Actually, on an ongoing basis, official negotiations between Ukraine and NATO are conducted by state officials, in particular the president, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc. Within the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is a permanent representation of Ukraine in the organization - the Mission of Ukraine to NATO.

In addition, in 2023, the Ukraine-NATO Council (UNC) was established - a body within the framework of which meetings are held to promote political dialogue and Ukraine's accession to NATO. The meetings are attended by heads of state and government of the alliance member states and Ukraine. Meetings are also held at the level of working committees: on innovation and countering hybrid threats, on strategic communications, on political issues, on security and defense sector issues, and the military committee. In addition, a number of working groups are subordinate to these committees. Thus, Ukraine's cooperation with NATO takes place within the framework of permanent and already established mechanisms, and it is not delegated to bloggers.

Information is circulating online that the Odesa City Council has unanimously decided to demolish the Pushkin monument, which is under UNESCO protection. It was allegedly built 135 years ago with funds donated by local residents.

“Of course, they can't build anything themselves, and there's no one to erect monuments to... but if they have to destroy and demolish something, it's a nice gesture”, Russian propagandists comment.

But UNESCO rules do not prohibit the demolition of the Pushkin monument, it was installed with the funds of the Russian propaganda union with the support of the local governor-general. And on December 4, 2024, the Odesa City Council did support the decision to allocate funds for the dismantling of a number of monuments with imperial symbols, including the bust of the Russian poet Oleksandr Pushkin on Prymorskyi Boulevard and his sculpture on Italiiska Street.

The deputies acted in accordance with the law On the Condemnation and Prohibition of the Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and the Decolonization of Toponymy. This law prohibits the honoring of figures who supported, glorified, or justified Russian imperial policy in monuments. Pushkin falls under the law, as he is part of the colonial legacy imposed on Ukrainians. In his works, he described Russian culture and people as superior to others, approved the aggressive policy of the Russian empire, and justified genocides.

The thesis that the bust was erected at the expense of Odesans is false. In fact, the collection for the monument was organized by the Slavic Charity Society, which was engaged in the propaganda of Russian imperialism and culture. A significant part of the collection was closed by the society itself with the support of the local governor-general. Ordinary Odesans did not show enthusiasm for the opening of the monument.

A so-called excerpt from a Euronews story about Volodymyr Zelenskyi's visit to Paris is being circulated online. It allegedly broadcast mocking photos of the Ukrainian president, posted on Twitter with the hashtag #MerryChristmasEuronews2024.

But this is a fake video. Presumably, the fakers edited the video using the official Euronews video. There is also no publication on Twitter under the hashtag #MerryChristmasEuronews2024. Indeed, the publication published news about Volodymyr Zelenskyi's visit to Paris. And the publication contains the video used in the fake. Thus, the frames and captions (except for the Twitter feed) in the real video coincide with those in the fake video.

Euronews does indeed have a Twitter feed during live broadcasts. However, the channel does not broadcast posts from anonymous users. Instead, there are posts from Euronews itself, journalists, politicians, organizations, etc. In addition, there is no post on Twitter with the hashtag #MerryChristmasEuronews2024. Euronews also did not report anything about such a campaign on its official resources.

Let us remind you that in Paris on December 7, 2024, Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with Donald Trump. This was their first meeting after Trump's victory in the US presidential election on November 4. French President Emmanuel Macron also participated in the meeting, which lasted 35 minutes. He invited the politicians to the opening of the restored Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.

According to Reuters, during the half-hour conversation, Zelenskyi explained to Trump Ukraine's need for security guarantees to end a full-scale war with Russia. But the conversation did not include specific details about any vision for peace.

Read more: Propagandists about the meetings between Zelenskyi, Trump, and Orban.