Kremlin propaganda telegram channels are spreading the word that the US is handing over Abrams tanks to Ukraine without depleted uranium to keep it out of the Russians. Russian propaganda refers to a USA Today article, according to which Western partners allegedly believe that the Ukrainian military is unprofessional, therefore they remove secret equipment because they fear that the tanks will fall into the hands of the Russians. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Vox Check project drew attention to the case. The US is indeed removing secret equipment in case the Russians seize one of the vehicles and use it for reconnaissance. The transfer of equipment to Ukraine without unique armor made of uranium is no exception. Egypt, Thailand, Saudi Arabia or Iraq have already received such tanks. And with armor they were delivered to Poland and Australia. However, the USA Today article did not talk about the low assessment of the training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In this way, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Western partners who give weapons to Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian military who are allegedly poorly fighting. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Ukrainian military is massively complaining about equipment supplied by the United States.

This thesis was spread on telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Allegedly, Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi was seriously injured and had an operation. Telegram channels write that no one except the Office of the President sees him, and “one can be skeptical about this information, but publicly Zaluzhnyi has not appeared in public for a long time, which only reinforces the rumors that everything is not all right with him”. It's fake.

Information about the serious injury of Valerii Zaluzhnyi has no evidence, because this is a conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. The “death” of the Commander-in-Chief has been repeatedly refuted by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar. Also, on May 24, 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, after which he noted in his telegram that “the Commander-in-Chief, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the commanders of the Khortytsia and Tavria United strategic grouping of troops reported on operational information”. The presence of Zaluzhnyi at Headquarters was also confirmed by NSDC Secretary Oleksii Danilov, he wrote about it on Twitter.

On May 25, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, blogger and journalist Anatolii Shtefan “Stirlitz” published a video with Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In the video, Shtefan says: “Finally, on May 25, I want an open terrible secret, a very terrible secret about the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, and then the camera is moved to the side where Valerii Zaluzhnyi is sitting at the table. The Commander-in-Chief thanked all Ukrainians and said: “Together we will definitely win and not only today”.

By spreading the narrative about the elimination of Ukrainian commanders, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among the Ukrainian population. Allegedly, no one will protect the Ukrainians without the military leadership. Also, these narratives should demoralize the Ukrainian military and encourage the Russian occupiers. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii  Zaluzhnyi was allegedly killed, and the commander of the territorial defense units, Ihor Tantsiura, was allegedly killed in Bakhmut.

This thesis was circulated in telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) decided on May 24 to switch to the New Julian calendar. According to it, Christmas will be celebrated in December. “How does this relate to the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy? This is the CC (Catholic Church) already”, the propagandists wrote. Also, the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmytro Pieskov, called the decision of the “schismatic OCU” to celebrate Christmas on December 25 “madness and bacchanalia”. He suggested waiting until Ukraine “announces that there is no longer a Ukrainian language, but an American language”.

However, such conclusions are unfounded. On December 25, Christmas is celebrated not only by Catholics, but by Orthodox, Catholics, as well as Greek Catholics. However, no one knows the real date of the birth of Jesus Christ, this date is arbitrary. In the West, Christmas is celebrated mainly according to the Gregorian calendar (i.e. December 25), while in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, a large number of believers follow the Julian calendar (January 7), which is not very accurate. During the revolution, the Ukrainian People's Republic switched to the new Gregorian calendar, and with them the Bolsheviks. However, the church remained on the Julian calendar. Because of this, there are discrepancies in dates.

Dmytro Pieskov's statement about a “schismatic OCU” continues the propaganda narrative that only the Russian Orthodox Church or the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is canonical. And the statement about the American language continues the narrative about Ukraine's dependence on the West.

By spreading this message, Russian propagandists are trying to convince Ukrainians and the world that Ukraine's actions are contrary to religious canons. Also in this way, Russian propaganda justifies Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting the need to save the “canonical Orthodox Church”. Earlier, Detector Media told that there is no “canonical” or “non-canonical” church and why there is no “Catholic Christmas”.

Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous telegrams are spreading the word that Ukraine is not expected to join NATO. This was allegedly stated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an interview with Welt. This is manipulation.

In fact, Olaf Scholz said that after the war, Ukraine will be equipped with Western-made weapons and then it will be necessary to discuss the security guarantees that can be provided in the post-war situation. But we're not there yet. Now let's focus on what's in store for us”, Scholz added. He did not say that Ukraine was not expected by NATO.

When asked by a journalist, “Would you theoretically support Ukraine’s membership in NATO after the end of the war?” Scholz replied that NATO made decisions in Bucharest in 2008 that set out a long-term vision. “It is clear to everyone that this will not happen in the foreseeable future. Also because there are a number of conditions in the NATO criteria that Ukraine cannot yet fulfill”, Scholz said.

Russian propaganda systematically disseminates information that the West does not want to help Ukraine in the war, and tries to show that Western partners do not consider Ukraine and do not want to see it in NATO. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Germans were “against Ukraine's entry into NATO”.

Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous telegram channels are circulating a video of Valerii Zorkin, head of Russia's Constitutional Court, showing Putin a copy of a 17th-century French map that doesn't seem to show Ukraine. The Russian dictator said that Ukraine is a quasi-state created by the Soviet authorities. But he added: “Well, we know that these lands were simply part of Rzeczpospolita, and then they asked to be part of the Moscow kingdom”. This is manipulation.

Experts from the Viorstka (Layout) media drew attention to the fake. They found a map by cartographer Guillaume Sanson, a copy of which was shown to Putin. There is Ukraine on the map, it is signed as Vkraine ou Pays des Cosaques (Ukraine or Country of Cossacks). Among the maps of Ukraine is his famous work, created in 1674. This map can be found on the website of the digital library of the National Library of France and its Gallica partners. Moreover, Crimea on the map is not part of Russia, and the peninsula is circled as a separate state. In the 17th century, the Crimean Khanate was located there.

Russian propaganda continues to promote the key propaganda theses that Ukraine did not exist, it was created by Lenin. The Russian president himself speaks of this in order to justify a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media wrote that the occupiers had prepared a pseudo-historical training manual for teaching Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories.

Propagandists regularly call all Russians who speak out against the war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine as traitors. Like, such people are worth nothing, they sold themselves to the collective West. Sometimes a picture, poster, movement, word, color of clothing or even a dream is enough to be recognized as a traitor. For example, a resident of Chita was arrested for dreaming about Zelenskyi, whom he asked for a common selfie. And Z-patriots are calling for a ban on clothing in the colors of the US and UK flags after a wave of denunciations of people wearing blue and yellow clothing passed through Russia.

It is important for representatives of Russian propaganda to maintain a homogeneous information field, since with the slightest criticism of the authorities, the entire power vertical can slowly crumble. Therefore, traitors are opposed to Z-patriots who do nothing but praise Russia and its regime. Very often, the activities of “foreign agents” and “unwanted organizations” are simplified to the concept of “treason”, since they go against the systemic narrative, namely, they oppose war. However, if the concepts of “foreign agents” or “unwanted organizations” are relatively new, “treason” is somewhat familiar to Russians. That is why propagandists so often resort to this term.

By using this term, Russia wants to increase public pressure to humiliate those who tell the truth and prevent anyone else from doing so. For example, everyone who publicly opposes the war in Ukraine, condemns the Russian government, or says that the President of Ukraine is good, as in the case of one of the Russian pensioners. Thus, Russia also wants to divert attention from its crimes and justify its failure on the battlefield. Like, the Russians are losing because there are so many traitors among them, and everyone who is against the war are real enemies.