Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that the Poles allegedly no longer want to see Ukrainians in their country and therefore began to massively support anti-Ukrainian parties. Like, CNN even writes about this, talking about large-scale demonstrations in Polish cities such as Lublin. However, this is manipulation.

This case was brought to the attention of specialists from the StopFake project and the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. They analyzed the publication’s original article, which is called “Poland’s goodwill towards Ukraine is weakening. The far right party is seizing the opportunity”. In fact, it only covers one of the pre-election rallies of the anti-Ukrainian and Eurosceptic Confederation party in Lublin. This explains the rhetoric against Ukrainian refugees among the event participants. At the same time, CNN journalists' interlocutors are confident in Ukraine's victory and the need to continue to support it despite all problems. There are indeed no statements in the article that the Poles “no longer want to see Ukrainians in their country”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to create a quarrel between Ukrainians and Poles, as well as influence their internal politics, causing a hostile attitude towards Ukrainian refugees. Detector Media has already written about how Russian propaganda manipulated the topics of internal Polish politics before and after the recent parliamentary elections.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that a rally of Ukrainian refugees took place in Spain, allegedly holding signs saying “Hands off military aid to Ukraine” and “F*ck Israel”. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They checked the photo distributed by the propagandists through an online image search tool and found out that the real photo was taken at the Israeli Friends of Ukraine rally in support of Ukraine, which took place in the summer of 2022. In the original version, the protest participant holds a poster with the inscription “Russia is a terrorist country”, but there is no poster with the inscription about Israel at all.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukrainian refugees abroad and create artificial competition for receiving military assistance from the West. Detector Media wrote how Russian propaganda is also manipulating the topic of Israel’s war against Hamas.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that problems with Swedish Westinghouse brand fuel have begun at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. They say that there is a risk that one of the power units will be completely shut down, and the station workers are panicking and don’t know what to do. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. They found out that the general director of the Rivne NPP, Pavlo Kovtoniuk, noted on October 4 that the station was operating in a steady state, and after messages from propagandists on the NPP page they reported a normal and stable radiation background. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine also denied Russian statements about problems with Swedish fuel.

By spreading such fakes, according to project analysts, propagandists want to take revenge for the fact that Ukraine refused to use Russian fuel for its nuclear power plants. In particular, on September 10, non-Russian nuclear fuel was loaded into the VVER-440 reactor of the Rivne NPP for the first time, which led to a wave of disinformation messages about the plant. Detector Media has already refuted fakes about the shortcomings of Swedish assistance to Ukraine. By resorting to them, Russia wants to create distrust in its Western partners.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that the UN is accusing the “Kyiv regime” of pronouncing sentences on innocent people. They say they mean almost six thousand criminal proceedings for cooperation with Russia. This statement was made by UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif during her speech at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on October 9. Propagandists also refer to statements by the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tetiana Moskalkova, where she accused the Ukrainian special services of keeping teachers in custody in the Kherson region. According to her, Ukraine reproaches teachers in prison only because they “did not violate their professional duty and continued to teach children”. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that although the topic was indeed discussed at the meeting, Al-Nashif did not accuse Ukraine of “declaring the verdicts of innocent people”. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights only expressed concern that “many of those arrested and even convicted suffered because of their actions, which, in principle, the occupying state could force them to do”. In this context, they are observing with “deep concern” the policy of mass granting of Russian citizenship to local residents in the territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.

In addition, Russian media ignored part of the report in which the Office drew attention to numerous human rights violations by Russia. In particular, Al-Nashif said victims described “cruelty that is difficult to imagine”, such as electric shocks, sexual assault and severe beatings, in some cases resulting in broken bones and knocked out teeth. She also criticized the conditions of the prisoners, in particular the lack of access to food and medicine, as well as sleep deprivation. The UN also drew attention to the fact that Russia has not taken any measures to hold accountable for violations and crimes committed by its security forces.

Moskalkova’s statements do not correspond to reality. According to Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, criminal liability is provided not for teaching under occupation, but for “propaganda carried out by a citizen of Ukraine in educational institutions”, as well as for the implementation of the standards of the aggressor state in the educational process. Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Valeriia Kolomiets, in a commentary for Radio Svoboda (Liberty), emphasized that the fact of living in temporarily occupied territories does not automatically define a person as a collaborator. The official also stated cases when Ukrainian teachers under occupation were forced to work under pressure, worrying about the lives of themselves and their families. Accordingly, the pre-trial investigation and the court must take into account all the circumstances of this category of cases.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and avoid responsibility for Russian crimes. In addition, in this way they justify the disdainful attitude towards the residents of the temporarily occupied territories. Detector Media has already written about what harmful messages Russia creates and disseminates against residents of temporarily occupied territories.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that with the expansion of the BRICS bloc to include six new members (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia), it will be able to control 80%.

The message was noticed by specialists from the VoxCheck project. They found out that according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of 2022, the BRICS bloc accounted for about 19% of global oil production (in the original composition with Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Russia). New data from the organization indicates that after expanding production of crude oil products, BRICS will increase to about 41% of global production. Data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as of 2022 indicate that after the accession of new members, the BRICS share will be about 47% of global production of crude oil products. The Energy Institute (UK) estimates that the expanded group will account for 43.1% of global oil production.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to show the “weakness” of Ukraine’s allies and cause concern among Ukrainians about whether they should continue to respond to Russian aggression. Detector Media has already written about how Russian propaganda artificially praises BRICS and presents the bloc as a geopolitical victory for Russia, using the example of materials about the bloc’s summit.

On October 10, 2022, Russia began a massive shelling campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. It lasted until March 9, 2023, and then individual cases of such attacks could be observed. As a result, Russian terrorist attacks caused serious damage to the Ukrainian energy system.

After the first large-scale attacks, Russian propagandists tried to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and promoted messages that the “obsolescence” of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure is one of the main reasons for power outages. Other factors behind the problematic power supply in Ukrainian homes were alleged government inaction and inadequate maintenance of power grid facilities. They say that the Ukrainian leadership, led by Volodymyr Zelenskyi, is deliberately tormenting the population of Ukraine with cold and darkness. Russians speculate on the famine (Holodomor), a tragic event in Ukrainian history, and describe this alleged infantilism and indifference of Kyiv as the “coldness” (Kholodomor) of ordinary citizens.

On March 16, 2022, Ukraine officially joined the common energy system of the European Union. This decision was intended to help our country maintain a stable electricity supply system. European electricity began to be supplied to Ukraine, and Ukrainian electricity to the EU. However, on October 11, 2022, the day after the first large-scale Russian missile attack on energy infrastructure, Ukraine suspended electricity exports. This was due to Russian shelling and, as a consequence, the need to cover Ukraine’s internal consumption needs throughout the day, as well as to provide reserves for the evening, when demand is maximum. Already on April 7, 2023, electricity exports were resumed.

If it weren’t for the massive Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, there would not have been widespread power outages. This is confirmed by the fact that there were no problems with electricity generation and heating seasons in the country until the fall of 2022.

Russian plans to completely cut off power to Ukraine failed thanks to the titanic work of Ukrainian energy workers, the support of international partners and balanced decisions of the Ukrainian authorities in the context of the energy crisis. After each attack, power engineers went to facilities that were damaged and, risking their own lives, repaired the stations.

As of June 2023, the Kyiv School of Economics preliminary estimates the damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure at $8.8 billion. It is Russia, by firing missiles at the Ukrainian energy system, that is responsible for putting it out of action. Already in August 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that five nuclear power units had been repaired in Ukraine, and four more were under repair at that time. Ukraine has been fruitfully preparing for this winter, also purchasing, for example, 100 spare high-voltage transformers, which will be stored abroad for safety purposes in case the need for them arises.