An eight-second video is being circulated on social networks in the Russian segment, allegedly showing a prayer for Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU being read in a Ukrainian church. “God, don’t send us to Heaven, but send us to NATO and the EU”, is allegedly written in the text of such a “prayer”. Anonymous telegram channels began to claim that the OCU was engaged in blasphemy and discrediting Orthodox believers. It is not true.

The StopFake analysts studied the case and found out that the video is not real, because there is no information that is located in Ukrainian churches about reading such a “prayer”. Moreover, information is disseminated only in pro-Kremlin media or anonymous telegram channels.

As experts explained, according to church rules, the texts of new prayers are approved by the Holy Synod of the OCU - this is the governing body of the OCU. All their decisions, including the texts of newly approved prayers, are published on the official website of the OCU. However, StopFake analysts did not find among the decisions of the Synod the statement of “prayer for Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU”.

They also contacted the press service of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The department told them that this was an obvious fake, and they did not approve such a prayer.

This thesis was spread by pro-Kremlin media. Reports say that Ukraine seems to be using prohibited methods of warfare, in particular using prohibited weapons. They say this is stated in the Landmine Monitor 2023 report, compiled by independent experts from different countries, which was presented to the UN on November 14, 2023.

The case was studied by StopFake project specialists and explained: the analysts who worked on the report reported that Ukraine began an investigation into the case of how the Ukrainian Armed Forces “used anti-personnel mines in the city of Izium and its environs in 2022, when the city was under Russian control”. The report emphasized that Ukraine then used mines against Russian military targets, but as a result, “civilians suffered”. This case in relation to Ukraine is isolated, and international experts have recorded hundreds of facts of widespread use of prohibited weapons in Ukraine by Russian occupiers.

Among other things, the document wrote that Russia, probably with the help of neighboring Belarus, is actively using anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. According to the data presented in the report, in Ukraine in 2022 there was a tenfold increase in the number of victims of anti-personnel mines compared to the year before the full-scale Russian invasion.

Russia tries to ignore cases of the use of prohibited weapons and pays attention only to Ukrainian actions - although the case of the use of an anti-personnel mine is isolated, and it was primarily used to replace a Russian military facility.

The online media of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, ArmyInform, explains that the Ottawa Convention of 1997 provides for a complete cessation of the use of non-directional anti-personnel mines, a cessation of their production and accumulation. Ukraine signed the mine ban agreement on February 24, 1999 in New York and ratified it on December 27, 2005, becoming a state party on June 1, 2006. Russia is not a party to the Convention, so it has been using them since the beginning of the war back in 2014.

In the Russian segment of social networks, information is being disseminated that a quarantine has allegedly been declared in seven regions of Ukraine due to the spread of scarlet fever. Screenshots of the alleged TSN story about the introduction of quarantine are added to the publications. It's a lie.

The analysts of the VoxCheck project examined this case and determined that as of November 21, 2023, quarantine was not introduced in any region of Ukraine due to scarlet fever. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that the spread of the disease is not an emergency; scarlet fever is a seasonal disease, so infection is registered in Ukraine every year. For example, over 10 months of 2023, 375 cases of scarlet fever were registered in the capital, most of them among preschoolers and students.

As for the photographs of the news story, they are compiled. This is indicated by several elements: for example, the design of the text block and the font differ from the original one, which is used by TSN media workers to design news materials; and with the help of a reverse search on Google, it was possible to establish that the footage of the fake story actually belongs to a series of information materials about the introduction of quarantine in 2018 due to the flu outbreak and in 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Propagandists have long been speculating on the topic of health care, in particular lying about “disease outbreaks” in order to provoke panic and distrust of the authorities. It seems that the Ukrainian leadership is not able to cope with the provision of decent treatment or prevention of diseases.

By the way, the Ministry of Health explained that scarlet fever is an acute infectious disease, manifested by damage to the tonsils, an empty mouth and a characteristic rash. In most cases, scarlet fever begins suddenly. You can find out more detailed information and what to do if you  suspect scarlet fever here.

Read also: a series of epidemics will begin in Ukraine “due to cuts in medical funding”.

Such information was disseminated on social networks in the Russian segment, commenting on the meeting of the presidents (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic) of the Visegrad Group, who discussed issues of international politics, including the Russian-Ukrainian war. The authors claimed that Czech President Petr Pavel allegedly explained during the summit of heads of state that the Visegrad Group was “ready to engage in aggression against Russia”,  and NATO would allegedly attack Russia “after the war in Ukraine”. This is manipulation.

The StopFake analysts investigated the case and found that there were no statements about NATO’s readiness to launch an invasion of Russia at the Visegrad Four summit - this is an invention of the propaganda media. The meeting of leaders was devoted to European security issues in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The parties stated that Russia must bear responsibility for human lives and damage, and the four countries must “resolutely continue to fully support Ukraine and its citizens”.

Among other things, Peter Pavel said during the meeting that Russia is the main threat to the security of Europe and, accordingly, the defense Alliance. That is, the manipulators distorted the entire context of the officials’ statements and simply came up with profitable Kremlin theses.

Using quotes from public figures, military officers, politicians and other public figures, Russian propaganda is trying to convince consumers of disinformation of the authenticity of such expressions. Like, if the European leader himself said this, then he can be trusted, because he is an authoritative source although the authors do not explain how reliable the information presented in the manipulative publication is. This is how propagandists use the tactic of appealing to authority.

The Visegrad Group was founded on February 15, 1991 in the Hungarian city of Visegrad by the presidents of Central European countries - Poland, Hungary, and then Czechoslovakia with the goal of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. After the collapse of Czechoslovakia, the official name of the group was the “Visegrad Four”, or V4, consisting of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. It was possible to achieve the European and Euro-Atlantic goal in 2004 - the four countries joined NATO, and on May 1 of the same year V4 joined the European Union. Currently, countries also cooperate in the fields of culture, education, science and data exchange.

On social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, photos of campaign leaflets calling for “voting” for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi and against Volodymyr Zelenskyi are being distributed. The authors add that such leaflets are distributed in Zhytomyr. It's a lie.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated this case and explained that these leaflets are not real, because not a single local or national media has received such news. At the same time, information about the campaigns was disseminated only on social networks in the Russian segment. Moreover, there can be no official campaign under martial law. The fact-checkers add that according to the law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” it is prohibited to hold elections. And on November 6, Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that there was “no time” to hold elections.

But the absence of an official propaganda campaign does not indicate that anyone, including the Kremlin’s minions, is ready to create such a leaflet using graphic editors and then create news about the “distribution” of propaganda. Analysts have not determined the authenticity of the photo itself.

We recently analyzed the message of Russian propaganda, where they claimed that the West is allegedly preparing a coup against Zelenskyi: and they want to put Valerii Zaluzhnyi in his place, who is supposedly more favorable to Western leaders. Such stories are generally intended to convince consumers of disinformation that there is a split in the military-political leadership of Ukraine.