Spilnota Detector Media
Detector Media collects and documents real-time chronicles of the Kremlin disinformation about the Russian invasion. Ukraine for decades has been suffering from Kremlin disinformation. Here we document all narratives, messages, and tactics, which Russia is using from February 17th, 2022. Reminder: the increasing of shelling and fighting by militants happened on the 17th of February 2022 on the territory of Ukraine. Russian propaganda blames Ukraine for these actions.

On 22 December, on the 1032th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2602
Fake
774
Manipulation
753
Message
541
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Message NATO "forces" Russia to destroy Ukraine

Pro-Russian anonymous telegram channels write about this, manipulating the words of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Like, if Ukraine can join NATO after the end of the war, Russia has no choice but either to carry out "fighting forever" or destroy Ukraine as a state.

In fact, Stoltenberg stressed that everyone is paying the price for Russia's war against Ukraine. However, if the world pays with money, the price for Ukrainians is measured in blood. He also noted that supporting Ukraine is a long-term NATO security interest.

Message Ukrainian officials "ask" Russia to deliver a new blow to the Ukrainian energy system

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this. Like, in recent days, Ukrainian officials and opinion leaders have been so actively discussing possible missile strikes and “frightening” Ukrainians with their consequences that “there can be only two explanations for this.” Either they are trying to “repel” the desire of the Russians to strike, or, which is supposedly “most likely”, they are deliberately “provoking and asking for it”. Allegedly, this is how the Ukrainian authorities plan to hide their own mistakes and shift the blame to the Russians.

Russian missile strikes actually have worse consequences every time, because Russia deliberately hits the Ukrainian energy system with massive rocket attacks. In particular, those objects, the repair of which is long-term and requires significant financial costs. Naturally, officials and experts are trying to explain the consequences of the strikes already inflicted and analyze possible options for the further development of the situation. Understanding the real realities is necessary in order to prevent unnecessary panic and irrational actions of Ukrainians.

Message "There is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us"

Russian propaganda began to actively speculate in the domestic information space with one of the key slogans of World War II. Like, they have already "surrendered" Russian "Kherson", and what's next? Moreover, under such slogans, an alleged "protest" of the inhabitants of St. Petersburg took place. This message entered the Ukrainian information space through telegram channels, but it should not be taken literally.

In Russian discourse, the expression "There is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us" is generally used in the sense of "decisive battle", "fight to the death" or "last line of defense". However, it is clear that there is no physical danger for Moscow. Actually, Ukraine has never expressed its intention to attack Russian territories (except for the destruction of legitimate military targets) and has not encroached on the state sovereignty of Russia. The Ukrainian army protects and de-occupies exclusively Ukrainian territories, within the limits determined by Ukrainian and international legislation.

Manipulation Ukraine supplied Azerbaijan with phosphorus munitions

The network is spreading a message that Ukraine allegedly supplied Azerbaijan with banned white phosphorus ammunition during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the fall of 2020. Robert Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, said this. This is not true.

Speaking at the hearings on the consideration of US policy in the Caucasus, Robert Menendez really accused Azerbaijan of violating humanitarian law during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the fall of 2020, in particular, in the use of ammunition containing white phosphorus. He also said that these munitions were supplied by Ukraine. Mendez neither specified what kind of a "report" he was referring to, nor did he provide any other evidence that Ukraine did indeed transfer banned weapons to Azerbaijan. He added that in the fall of 2020, this information was "widely covered" in the media. Philip Reeker, senior adviser for Caucasus negotiations at the US State Department, denied the existence of such reports.

According to StopFake, in early November 2020, Russian media, citing the Russian film director of Armenian origin Sarik Andreasian, spread information that Ukraine allegedly supplies Azerbaijan with phosphorus bombs, which they use to bombard Nahirnyi-Karabakh. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine did not provide any military assistance to Azerbaijan during the war, although it supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Disclosure A fake letter about preparations for a referendum on the accession of the Ukrainian western regions to Poland is being distributed on the network

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation reports that another fake letter is being distributed on Twitter, allegedly on behalf of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine. The letter refers to the holding of events "aimed at studying the public opinion of the residents of the Lviv and Volyn regions of Ukraine", which "they propose to implement according to the previously established plan".

A photo of the fake letter is being circulated with comments that allegedly Polish diplomats are trying to seize the Western regions and are preparing to hold a referendum.

The representative of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Lukasz Jasina, denied the existence of such a letter and noted that the message about preparations for a referendum on the accession of the western regions of Ukraine to Poland is disinformation and another attempt to foment disunity between Poland and Ukraine.

Manipulation Ukraine “changed its mind” about returning Crimea

Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels write about this. Like, Zelenskyi got scared and abandoned plans for the military de-occupation of Crimea. Allegedly, Zelenskyi was convinced that the Russian army would not leave Crimea just like that, and therefore "they should not waste time on forceful methods". Allegedly, Crimea should be de-occupied through diplomacy. Like, the "collective West" advised Ukraine to "more realistically" look at the de-occupation of Crimea. This is not true.

In fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in an interview with the Financial Times, did not say anything about his intentions to refuse to return Crimea. Moreover, he noted that Ukraine will return all its territories. As long as the occupation of Ukrainian territories continues, there will be no peace in Ukraine. The president also noted that Russia is trying to force the Ukrainian authorities to make concessions due to systematic attacks on critical infrastructure and the energy system.

According to StopFake, the propagandists took out of context Zelenskyi's phrase that he would support the non-military de-occupation of Crimea, if any. Crimea, according to the President, should be de-occupied, and everything else is a waste of time.

Orest Slyvenko, Artur Koldomasov, Vitalii Mykhailiv, Oleksandra Kotenko, Oleksandr Siedin, Kostiantyn Zadyraka, and Oleksiy Pivtorak are collaborating on this chronicle. Lesia Bidochko serves as the project coordinator, while Ksenia Ilyuk is the author of the project.