Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the shelling of Ukraine on September 25, 2023, the Russians allegedly entered the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in the Odesa region. According to propagandists, the headquarters was created in one of the Odesa hotels. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers processed this case and explained that it was Russia that attacked Odesa on September 25, 2023 with nineteen Shahed-type drones. According to the investigation, damage was caused to port infrastructure facilities, granaries, and warehouses of a private enterprise. The Odesa sea terminal and the hotel nearby were significantly damaged. At the same time, the propagandists did not provide any evidence to defend their thesis about the presence of the Ukrainian leadership in civilian infrastructure facilities. Here they usually use rhetoric about “NATO headquarters/Ukrainian military leadership” to simply whiten themselves.

That is, they are trying to deny their own shelling and hits on civilian infrastructure. They distort reality and convince people of their “truth”. And they claim: wherever they went, there were definitely military men there. However, the authors do not provide any facts. They just reject any reproaches in their direction.

But documented cases of Russian terror tell a different story. By the way, one can read the chronology of Russian shelling of residential and civilian targets here.

Also, check out the fakes on similar topics, in which Russian propaganda denied shelling of civilian infrastructure, justifying it with “NATO headquarters”:

For example, when the Russians allegedly fired at a meeting of Lithuanian and Polish NATO officers in Chernihiv, but in fact the occupiers hit the local drama theater. Or a case where propagandists tended to believe that the terrorist shelling of Odesa in July was a shelling of weapons production sites. And not according to the cultural sites of Ukraine included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, as it actually is. Or, let’s say, how the invaders “destroyed” an ammunition warehouse in Uman. We found out that the Russians got into an industrial facility and a car wash. And finally, how a propaganda shelling of the residences of “NATO instructors” in Kramatorsk turned out to be a terrorist attack on a local cafe - read here.

Anti-colonialism is a term used to describe various resistance movements against colonialism and imperialism. This is opposition to the policy of conquest of one country by another, its territory and peoples, political, economic and cultural enslavement. To become the leader of the Global South and anti-colonialism, Russia discredits Ukraine, although it itself is essentially the first among isolated dictatorships.

Russia instrumentalizes positive memories of the Soviet Union and its support for African wars of independence against Western colonialists. It uses positive memories of the past to enhance its influence now. On December 2, 2022, on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, the official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in South Africa stated the following text: “Russia was one of the few world states that did not have colonies in Africa or other places and did not participate in the slave trade throughout its entire history. Russia did its best to help the peoples of the African continent gain freedom and sovereignty”. However, they are silent about information about the conquest of the peoples of Asia and Eastern Europe, because this contradicts the agenda of Russia, which positions itself as a fight against colonialism. Not to mention the war of aggression in Ukraine. Moreover, Russian propaganda does not mention the significant presence of Wagner group on the African continent, representing the interests of Russia and defending the Kremlin’s plans.

After Germany announced its readiness to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Putin said that Russia was forced to “repel the aggression of the collective West”. This term appeared in Putin’s rhetoric in 2021, but in the public space back in the early 2000s. By contrasting itself with the event, Russian propaganda puts pressure on the painful past of African countries that were at one time enslaved by European empires. Russian propaganda was able to present Russia’s war in Ukraine not as an aggressive one, but as a defensive one, in response to Western aggression. Allegedly, the Russian people have a special task to save the Ukrainians, because they oppose them and are waging an anti-imperial struggle against “Western oppression” - the same as the countries of Africa are waging.

At the end of January 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov arrived in Angola on a working visit. Then he made a statement to the media in which he compared the war in Ukraine with the war in Angola. During a meeting with Angolan Foreign Minister Tete  Antonio, Lavrov emphasized that “Russian-speaking Ukrainians” need Moscow’s protection, because Kyiv is biased against them.

On August 3, 2023, the speaker of the Russian State Duma, Viacheslav Volodin, wrote in his Telegram channel that “the USA, Great Britain and France must compensate African states for the damage caused” and this issue should be considered by the UN. He also accuses the United States and a number of Western countries of the fact that “colonial interests have not disappeared anywhere. Only the methods change”. Russian propaganda uses reflection tactics to make the same accusations against the West that they make against Russia itself, and to divert attention from the subject matter, which is the war in Ukraine and Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territories and enslavement of the Ukrainian people.

It is worth mentioning the grain. Russia not only allegedly “protects” Ukraine, but also devalues it as a partner. For African republics, Russian propaganda spreads narratives that Ukrainian grain, which is supposed to save them from famine, does not reach countries in need, but ends up in Europe as animal feed. Such statements were promoted, in particular, during the Second Russia-Africa Summit, held on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg. Thus, Russian propaganda discredits Ukraine and the Black Sea Grain Agreement and seeks to worsen its relations with Africa.

Russia plays the role of the poor heir to the former USSR empire. It has never recognized that the territories it has captured are colonies, and always justifies its actions by “voluntary annexation”, for example in the case of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Kherson regions temporarily occupied by Russia, or by the spread of the so-called “progressive Russian culture”, the fight against Nazism, etc. However, no matter what words Russian propaganda chooses, in fact, Moscow’s policy is the genocide of Ukrainians, the destruction of Ukrainian culture and the seizure of territories.

Russia now acts as a champion of justice and defender of enslaved peoples and victims of colonialism due to the fact that it is still not perceived as a colonial empire, and falsely pretends to be a friend of the African continent. Russian propaganda spreads anti-colonial messages that are pleasant to hear for African leaders and residents, and therefore gain adherence and can manipulate their opinions.

This thesis was spread by pro-Kremlin media. Reports say that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, allegedly admitted that Abrams tanks on the front line “won’t last long”. He also said that the long-range ATACMS missiles that the United States can provide to Ukraine “will not change the situation at the front”. The publications refer to an interview with an official of The War Zone portal. This is manipulation.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and found out that in fact, in an interview, Budanov stated that, in his opinion, ATACMS missiles will not radically change the situation at the front, at least hundreds of them are needed. That is, it is about the fact that the official outlined a certain number of missiles and explained that for a better result, even more of this type of weapon is needed. But propagandists distorted the context and presented it as if Ukraine would “lose” anyway and did not need weapons, which supposedly would not bring any results. In the end, Budanov explained that the Ukrainian Armed Forces need longer-range artillery installations in order to hit Russian command posts and logistics trains.

Russia systematically deals with the distortion of quotes. This helps it promote its own theses, and if they are “consonant” with the statement of authority, the information acquires legitimacy in the eyes of users of anonymous telegram channels. Read the latest cases:

- how the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces admitted that Ukrainian air defense hits residential buildings;

- when Zelensky “called” the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive a failure;

- how the Ukrainian Parliament decided to legalize medical cannabis so that people “endure pain, stress and injury”. 

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian refugees in Europe have begun to demonstrate their Nazi tendencies. They claim that this is a direct threat to the territorial integrity of the EU. In support of this thesis, evidence is provided that a Ukrainian barista offers Europeans coffee with a swastika on it. All this, they say, is happening in a German town. Video evidence is added to publications. It's a lie.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project analyzed the case and determined that the video is an advertisement for online late art courses in Bolivia, and there is no mention of Ukrainians in it. The video has an Instagram page tagged, so the fact-checkers decided to check it out. The page is actually active and posts are posted there.The fact-checkers came across the original video used by propagandists. There is no mention of Ukraine there either. And it is impossible to say for sure that it was the swastika that was depicted on the coffee. That is, the authors of the online courses did not add any context to the Instagram message, so there may be different interpretations. Although the video received more than 384 thousand likes with 4,800 subscribers, in the comments, users mock and hint at the theme of Nazism. The fact-checkers claim that the video could have been used to attract attention.

With all that, neither the Instagram page nor the video have anything to do with Ukrainians. Propagandists explained the video modifications in a context that was favorable to them. It’s as if a Ukrainian refugee in Germany is selling coffee with a swastika design. Thus, the authors seek to demonize Ukrainian refugees and show that Europe does not support Ukraine and Ukrainians in general. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU - in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own research.

This information was disseminated by pro-Kremlin media. The reports say that, according to a study by “Chinese scientists”, they found microdoses of psychoactive substances in Ukrainian products. They explain that the research was allegedly carried out in the Tsinghua laboratory in Beijing. The publications refer to material from the Chinese publication Global Times. And a screenshot is added to publications. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case and determined that the Global Times media workers did not produce such material. Instead, there is material in which the date and time of publication, as well as the author, completely coincide with the propaganda screenshot. In the original text, the author Hu Yuwei writes about espionage activities in China, not about Ukrainian food products. That is, the authors of the false publication distorted the context of the material and, moreover, resorted to compiling it using photo editors.

As for conducting possible research, there is no mention of research on Ukrainian food products on the official website of the institute affiliated with the laboratory. It conducts research and development in the fields of energy, environment, natural resources and nuclear science.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the German satirical magazine Eulenspiegel recently published a cover featuring Zelenskyi outraged by the Polish president. At the same time, Andrzej Duda says on the cover: “it is obvious that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is a failure”. It is not true.

The fact-checkers from the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found out that the German magazine did not publish an issue with such a cover. The fake cover of the magazine states that this is the eighth issue, although the magazine of the eighth issue looks completely different - and this can be checked on the official website of the publication.

We have repeatedly debunked fake news regarding fake graffiti or covers on foreign magazines/newspapers or advertisements. Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Zelenskyi is hated by the whole world) is also repeated in the West. So it may seem to readers that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine. And especially when the authors use elements of popular culture, hinting that people are laughing at the situation in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian agenda for Europe is a reason to laugh.