This thesis was spread in social networks, in particular in telegram channels and in propaganda media. Newly elected Czech President Petr Pavel said that Ukraine “will have to cede territory to Russia”, reports say. Like, he said this in an interview with the Suspilne (Public). This is manipulation.

In fact, the authors of the messages distorted the context of Petr Pavel's answer to the question about Ukraine's victory. In the original version of the interview, the Czech president says that the West should not push Ukraine to make concessions while there is still a real chance of winning. Therefore, Petr Pavel calls to support Ukraine by all means. At the same time, Petr Pavel says that the right to start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia should be left to Ukrainians and Ukrainian officials. That is, to negotiate or not is the business of Ukraine, no one will encourage it to do so.

He also says that the West will do everything for Ukraine to win in 2023. However, he warns of the result of the victory, which could turn into a “long war”. Some scenarios for unleashing war, according to the official, could be that Ukraine - not only the people, but also the political leadership - is aware that a high price will have to be paid for the return of territories. However, the President of the Czech Republic did not say that Ukraine would have to cede the territories, but only predicted different scenarios for the war.

Earlier, within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, Petr Pavel announced various scenarios for the development of the war in Ukraine. For example, if Russia falls apart into different “states”, each of them will have its own ambitions, according to Peter Pavel, this may add complexity in the future. That is why the President of the Czech Republic calls for a discussion of the various results of the war in Ukraine and the foresight  of each aspect.

Specialists of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National security and defense council have published a report on the Russian disinformation campaign aimed at the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. They analyzed the foreign and Russian segments of social networks and came to the conclusion that disinformation was spread from Russia. Some fakes originated in the Russian segment of social networks, and then they were picked up by an international audience.

In general, experts identified in the report three fakes directed against Olena Zelenska and their further distribution in social networks:

Allegedly, the first lady spent 40 thousand euros on shopping in Paris. The authors of the reports referred in their publications to the material of the French edition of La Dépêche, although this was not discussed in the material;

On the misuse of funds for the Olena Zelenska Foundation. The authors claimed that Poland was providing financial assistance to Ukraine, and the first lady was embezzling public funds. Analysts denied this information, because, as they explain, Poland does not provide a fixed amount of assistance;

About humanitarian aid, which was given to Ukrainians allegedly in bundles from Louis Vuitton Paris. The authors claimed that after a successful shopping trip, Olena Zelenska was handing over “the cheapest packaged pasta from a global brand” to those in need. Analysts denied this information, because the video was first published in the Russian segment of social networks.

Specialists of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation are convinced that such a disinformation campaign is designed to discredit Olena Zelenska, and at the same time deprive Ukraine of international assistance. In addition, they also published a report on Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

We recall that earlier Detector Media also refuted the fake, which claimed that the first lady of Ukraine spends tens of thousands of euros on accessories.

Scaring (appealing to fear) is a propaganda tactic in which propagandists use fear or persistent prejudice to obtain a desired result. If you don't do / support what is being proposed, it will only get worse.

After the liberation of Ukrainian territories from invaders, the whole world learned about numerous war crimes by the Russian army, including crimes against children. After the liberation of Kyiv region in the spring of 2022, the atrocities of the Russians in Bucha became known. At the time, propagandists wrote that the photos and videos from Bucha were a provocation by Ukraine to get Western help and discredit the Russian army. At the same time, the Russian propaganda started spreading fakes about “punishing” Ukrainians who were under occupation for receiving Russian humanitarian aid. During the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive in Kharkiv region, propagandists began to work ahead of the curve, assuring that Ukraine would allegedly run the message that the Russians tortured civilians in occupied Kharkiv region. The Russians also claimed that the Security service of Ukraine (SBU) was preparing a punitive operation against citizens loyal to Russia in Kharkiv; they wrote that Ukraine would allegedly send “punishers” who would mock civilians and kill anyone who did not support Ukrainian nationalism. In other words, Ukrainians were being intimidated into believing that they would be worse off after liberation than they were during the occupation. The Russians used the same tactics during the liberation of Kherson: first they spread messages that Ukraine was preparing a “new Bucha” in Kherson, and then they began writing that “hell for civilians” was beginning in Kherson. They said that after liberation, the Ukrainian military began repressions against civilians. They also wrote that Kherson residents complained about the deterioration of life after the arrival of Ukrainian troops, saying that they did not want to live “in Russia”, and now they suffer in Ukraine. In other words, the Russians not only keep Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories in constant fear, but also convince them that after liberation their lives will be even worse. They say that Ukraine will consider everyone to be traitors and collaborators, so we must “put up with it” and support Russia.

Also, Russian propaganda uses scare tactics during massive missile attacks on Ukraine. Repeatedly during the air raid alert, they spread the message that allegedly the Ukrainian air defense system cannot cope with the massive shelling, allegedly the Ukrainian air defense system shoots down only ten percent of Russian missiles. They say that the Ukrainian authorities lie about the number of missiles and forbid showing the results of their hits in order to hide the real state of affairs. Allegedly, the presidential office exaggerates the effectiveness of the air defense system and “invents” missile attacks. After reports from the General Staff about the real effectiveness (over 64%) of the air defense system, propagandists manipulate that if the Ukrainian air defense system works as effectively as possible, the West no longer needs to supply Ukraine with weapons. The purpose of these messages is psychological pressure on Ukrainians at a time of emotional vulnerability, to increase panic and fear caused by shelling, and to discredit the Ukrainian army and government.

Another example of the intimidation Russia resorts to not only in Ukraine but also abroad is the use of nuclear weapons. These messages have been broadcast by propagandists both to Russian audiences and to foreign audiences since the start of the full-scale invasion. Also, the Russian army is constantly conducting “training” of strategic deterrence forces with launches of ballistic and cruise missiles codenamed “Hrim” (Thunder). The need for such “training” is justified by the fact that allegedly Ukraine, the US or NATO want / could launch a nuclear strike on Russia, so one should be ready for a “retaliatory strike”. Russian propaganda also periodically spreads fakes that allegedly Ukraine wants to use a “dirty bomb” and blame it on Russia. At the same time, Russia has begun to expand the “list of situations” in which a “preventive” nuclear strike is allegedly possible.

In this way, Russia resorts to nuclear blackmail and tries to induce Ukraine and other democratic states to negotiate on its own terms.

The telegram channels of the Russian segment spread the information that the US consulate in Milan published on Twitter a photo with Ukrainian and Nazi flags, signing the publication “we all know the truth”. The authors of the messages add that the publication is not deleted, and therefore this is the official position of the United States regarding Ukraine.

In fact, the account of the US Consulate in Milan was broken and an unauthorized post was published allegedly on behalf of the consulate. After some time, the consulate representative commented on the situation and noted that the Twitter account had indeed suffered from a hacker attack by unknown persons, and the published post does not at all indicate the official position of the United States. The consulate also noted that they are working to establish the causes and bring to justice those responsible for the attack.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that during the visit of the President of the United States of America Joe Biden to Kyiv, he met with Zelenskyi's “double”. Like, the real president is hiding from possible Russian missile attacks. The authors of the messages add to the publication a photo from the meeting of Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Olena Zelenska and Joe Biden near the Mariinskyi Palace. According to the authors, one of the photographs shows how the “real” Zelenskyi is hiding in the premises of the Mariinskyi Palace during the air raid alert. At the same time, the “double” along with the first lady greets Joe Biden. It is not true.

Analysts from the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National security and defense council investigated this case and found that this statement is unfounded, because the photos show Zelenskyi’s bodyguard who is following the course of events during the meeting. Analysts are sure that this is another stuffing and conspiracy theory from Russian propaganda.

By spreading such a fake, propagandists want to discredit Zelenskyi, who allegedly creates doubles for himself. Previously, propagandists spread messages about fake graffiti with Zelenskyi in public places, fake magazine covers, etc.

Such a document was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The document says that the Ukrainian leadership sends fighters to the cities of Ukraine bordering Moldova. Before the publication of the so-called document, the authors add that the Armed Forces of Ukraine “intend to carry out an armed provocation in Transnistria”. 

Analysts from the Center for strategic communications and information security investigated this case and found that the document was fake. As analysts explain, the “document” includes a number of inaccuracies, in particular:

The fake document does not conform to the standard format used by the Ukrainian military command;The wording used in the “document” is not typical of official business language;

The authors of the “document” made grammatical and spelling errors.

Transnistria is a self-proclaimed unrecognized state located between Ukraine and Moldova. According to the legislation of Moldova, Transnistria has the status of an Autonomous Territorial Unit with a special legal status. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognizes the territory of Transnistria as occupied by Russia. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that Russia plans to carry out a coup d'état in the country. At the same time, against this background, Russian propaganda was spreading messages that it was Ukraine who wanted to make provocations on the territory of Moldova.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, including telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that the Russian military on the battlefield has already destroyed the first Leopard tank with the help of Russian equipment. The authors attach to the publication the testimonies of the so-called “foreign mercenaries” who were allowed to drive the tank. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council explains that this statement is not true, since not a single Leopard is even on the battlefield yet. Accordingly, the testimonies of “foreign mercenaries” are also false.

By spreading this fake, propagandists want to distort reality and show that Ukraine is constantly losing and even powerful equipment does not help, because the Russians are successfully destroying it. In addition, Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. Thus, propaganda wants to create an appearance that is actually at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called collective West.

We recall that earlier Detector Media refuted the fake about the destruction of the American M1 Abrams tank near Soledar and explained the message in which they claimed that only the foreign legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses foreign equipment on the field of battle.

Information is being disseminated on social networks that due to the difficult energy situation in the country, the so-called “state fuel subsidy” is provided for Ukrainians with the assistance of the national network of WOG gas stations. To receive a subsidy, they say, you need to follow the link and take a short survey, followed by the opportunity to choose a prize, and then share the results with friends.

Fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Liar) project checked the information and found that it was a scam. By clicking on the link, the fact of the checkers was transferred to a fake site that has nothing to do with the official WOG site. Subsequently, they offered to take a survey and choose a winning bundle, which contains a “state fuel subsidy” in the form of seven thousand hryvnias. Then you need to share with 20 friends to “receive” the reward.

The WOG official website also denied such information and published a warning about scammers who distribute fake pranks in instant messengers. At the same time, company employees note that the purpose of such actions is mainly to steal personal user data from social networks.