Russian media spread information that Ukraine allegedly blamed China and the TikTok social network for the failure of the counteroffensive. They say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine “prevented the attack of Chinese hackers” and social networks. However, this is a fake.

Specialists of the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that Ukraine did not make any statements about the “failure of the counteroffensive” and accused China. The fake was created on the basis of a long interview with Ukrainian cybersecurity expert Vitalii  Yakushev on the My — Ukraine channel. In particular, he did not make a statement about a counteroffensive, but spoke only about security in the digital world. Yakushev noted that the TikTok application has access to all information on the smartphones of both ordinary users and military personnel. Representatives of Western security services and governments of Western countries have repeatedly noted that the Chinese company ByteDance, which is the owner of the social network, is subject to a number of Chinese laws in the field of national security, obliging businesses to cooperate with state intelligence.

By creating and spreading fakes about the counteroffensive, propagandists want to create a false impression that the Ukrainians are losing on the battlefield. Detector Media has repeatedly written about how Russian propaganda lies about the Ukrainian military and the situation at the front, including the fact that Ukraine allegedly killed a Russian journalist with American cluster shells.

Social networks and Russian media disseminate information that the outbreak of a dangerous legionellosis disease in the Polish city of Rzeszow is allegedly associated with Ukrainian refugees living in a local aid center. However, this is fake.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that this statement is unfounded, since it is not yet known what exactly became the source of the infection. The World Health Organization reports that there have been no cases of direct human-to-human transmission as of now. Poland's Internal Security Agency is investigating whether the outbreak could have been a sabotage. Since mid-August, an outbreak of legionellosis has been detected in Rzeszow, 100 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, which has killed 8 people and infected more than 100. Its causative agent, legionella, infects lung tissue and leads to the development of a severe form of pneumonia.

By creating and spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukrainian refugees. Like, they are only the cause of problems in European countries. Detector Media has repeatedly written about how Russian propaganda humiliates them, in particular, as in a fake that Ukrainian refugees in Germany allegedly beat a Slovene because they confused the Slovenian flag with the Russian one.

Information is spreading on social networks that Ukrainian refugees in Germany allegedly beat a Slovene because he was holding the flag of Slovenia, which they confused with the Russian one. There is also another version of the event, according to which a German of Slovenian origin hung the flag of Slovenia near his house. A video with him got on the Internet, after which the Ukrainians allegedly beat him. At the same time, propagandists use a video that shows the logo of the European edition of Euronews. However, this is fake.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They could not find a single fact confirming that this event actually happened. In addition, there is not a single mention of such an incident in open sources and German media, as well as on Euronews itself. StopFake notes that this story was only spread by foreign propaganda resources and telegram channels.

By creating and spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukrainian refugees. Like, they are uneducated and ungrateful, because they attack everyone with flags that resemble the colors of a Russian. Detector Media has repeatedly written about how Russian propaganda humiliates Ukrainian refugees, in particular, as a manipulation that a Ukrainian refugee allegedly destroyed a monument to the Polish military.

A video is circulating on social networks in which the author claims that the government of Ukraine has obliged the population to install meters on wells in order to collect water fees from citizens. Like, now Ukrainians need to install meters and pay for water. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that although on July 11 the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding changes in the Procedure for the State Register of Artesian Wells was issued, the statement that the new changes would allegedly affect all those who have wells and boreholes is not true. The well register, water use fees, and the duty to obtain permits apply only to businesses. At the same time, Ukrainians who use well water for their own needs do not need to install meters and pay for it. Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, announced this on the air of the telethon.

By creating and spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to cause panic among the population and discredit the Ukrainian authorities. Like, in addition to the war, it still wants to rip off money from people for water.

The Russian propaganda machine constantly promotes theses about the alleged historical belonging of some Ukrainian territories to Russia. They say that Lenin came up with Ukraine when he created the USSR, and Khrushchov “gave” it foreign territories. At least since 2021, Russian politicians have supported this thesis. With the outbreak of a full-scale war, a few hours before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin called Ukraine “a country named after Volodymyr Illich Lenin”. Accordingly, the seizure of Ukrainian territories is “the restoration of historical justice”.

Russian propaganda began to broadcast this thesis more systematically already in the conditions of the great war. At the same time, the propagandists found an excuse for the barbarian invasion. And they explained that Russia, as the successor of the Soviet Union, allegedly claims the lands of Ukraine. It seems that these are primordial Russian territories, and Ukraine “captured” them after the collapse of the Union. According to propagandists, Crimea, Donetsk region, Luhansk region or even Kharkiv region and Kherson region have always been Russian, and Russians live on these lands. Thus, the authors hide their real actions - the occupation of Ukraine - and call it a call for justice.

“At the end of September, people from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia made their choice - to reunite with Russia and restore historical justice in the region”, propagandists commented on the holding of pseudo-referendums in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. However, Ukraine's fictitious referendums are not the will of the Ukrainians, but only an attempt to give legitimacy to Russia's attempts to seize part of another state.

Russia disguises its hostile actions as “good goals” for people, but in reality it seizes land, destroys cities and villages, and hinders peaceful life.

Accordingly, the rhetoric about the protection of “Russian territories” is beneficial to propagandists, in particular, so that they instill the erroneous impression that all Russia’s actions are correct and even more good. This is how Russian politicians achieve loyalty and public resistance. Because the Kremlin allegedly protects the Russians from the Ukrainians (liberates the Russians from the yoke of Ukraine), and does not wage a bloody war.

As a result, Moscow simply legitimizes its actions in the eyes of the Russians: the seizure of Ukrainian territories, their annexation, the holding of false referendums, and so on. And he distorts it in such a way that Russia does not capture someone else's, but returns what was lost. However, the term “restoration of historical justice” hides another and real one – the occupation of Ukrainian territories and the search for justifications for a bloody war.