Such information was disseminated in the social networks of the Ukrainian segment. Reports say that in the Ivano-Frankivsk region on June 13, 2023, the hospitalization of men aged 18 to 59 was allegedly temporarily stopped without the consent of the Territorial recruitment and social support center. The authors add to the publications a photo of an Extract about the decision of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration to ban hospitalization. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up this case and found out that the regional council did not make such a decision. This was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration Vitalii Ilchyshyn. However, such a decision was actually considered the day before at the initiative of the Regional territorial center of recruitment and social support. They explained that those liable for military service, whom the military medical commission recognized as fit for service, may try to get to the hospital, declaring a “sudden” deterioration in their condition.

The chairman of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration noted that in this way people can avoid mobilization. The Extract itself, the photo of which was distributed on social networks, was not found by fact-checkers. They wrote that there were no relevant instructions on the official website of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration. The photo of the Extract was previously distributed by telegram channels and media of the Ukrainian segment, although it is not on the official pages.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that Russians should be “killed” as a nation. The authors refer to an interview with Zaluzhnyi edition of The Economist. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up this case and found out that Valerii  Zaluzhnyi did not say this. It's just a propagandist's invention. In an interview, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about the destruction of the Russian military stationed on the territory of Ukraine. He has been talking about the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. But he stressed that in a war, Russians and any other enemies need to be killed, and the Ukrainian army should not be afraid to do this. That is, Valerii Zaluzhnyi meant Russian occupiers, not civilians.

By spreading this fake, the propagandists are trying to expose the Ukrainians and the leadership as aggressors. Allegedly, the Ukrainian army is capable of killing civilians. This is how the authors whitewash themselves by hiding their true actions.

Russian propagandists are positioning the USSR as a “golden day” to which everyone should return. This historical period remains important for Russian propaganda, as about 63% of Russians still miss the Soviet Union. Russian propaganda presents the collapse of the USSR as a catastrophe and speaks extremely negatively about those people who allegedly “destroyed the Union”, such as Mykhailo Horbachov, Borys Yeltsyn and Leonid Kravchuk. And any significant dates, such as May 9, when Russia celebrates Victory Day over Nazi Germany, are greeted with euphoria.

When one nevertheless has to recall the repressions and famines caused by the Soviet Union, they are presented as a forced victim of all the peoples of the USSR. And they condemn only the leaders of the state, and they do not pay attention to the performers. Movies are used to confirm that the Soviet Union was a great state. True or fictional stories from the life of Soviet people about their alleged heroism and self-sacrifice play a role similar to movie characters in the “heroization” propaganda tactic. After the occupation of the Ukrainian territories, the Russians bring back their Soviet heroes associated with these places. For example, Vasyl Marhelov and Pavlo Sudoplatov. Heroes mean little without images of enemies. Their role is most often played by the opponents of the USSR in the German-Soviet and Cold War; residents of countries that emerged after the collapse of the USSR; opponents of the power of modern Russia, etc. These enemies, as a rule, have only negative traits and play the role of a “standard of evil”, and their actions and ideas, according to propaganda, are always wrong and criminal.

Propaganda often uses the image of Joseph Stalin for its own purposes. Russian propaganda does not glorify the “leader” and does not even deny some of his atrocities, which they find justification for. Stalin is portrayed as “a strong leader who saved the country at a critical moment”, and his image resonates with the current image of Volodymyr Putin. Also, in the name of Stalin, Russian propagandists justify repressions in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Russian propaganda speaks positively about the Soviet technology used by the occupying forces during the war against Ukraine. The same is with the objects that were built during the Soviet era. For example, if a bridge was damaged due to hostilities, Russian disinformers will write that the bridge survived because it was built in the USSR. So Russian propaganda uses the sentiment of the people and the feeling of nostalgia for something bright and ideal. Russia personifies the USSR, a state in which everything seemed to be fine, and is ready to bring this feeling to people again. This tactic is aimed primarily at Russians and residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that an American magazine recently ran a cover featuring Zelenskyi and journalists called him an “evil boy”. And against the background of the President, TV screens are shown, where they broadcast news about the sunken bathyscaphe. The authors of the publications add that Zelenskyi is allegedly evil, because all attention is not focused on his figure. It is not true.

Specialists of the Center for Countering Disinformation investigated this case and found that such a cover does not exist. The fact checkers explained that this magazine is a two-week edition and the last available issue went on sale on June 26, 2023. The next issue will be released on the 3rd. Actually, on the fake cover, the date of the issue is June 26 - May 3, 2023. For this date there is a completely different, real cover.

Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Volodymyr Zelenskyi is worthless and incompetent) is also repeated in the West. So, readers may get the impression that the whole world is opposed to Ukraine.

This was recorded by the experts of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation. They say that unknown people send SMS messages to Ukrainians on behalf of the Ministry of Health, allegedly about the outbreak of cholera in certain regions. However, this information is not true. The department of the Ministry of Health also stated that the information about the outbreak of cholera is a fake.

According to this, no messages from the Ministry of Health could be sent. Representatives of the Ministry of Health also added that currently in Ukraine, on the territory of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, not a single confirmed case of cholera has been registered.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian authorities recently said that the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant is 93% out of order. They say that the relevant services do not care about the safety of the hydroelectric power plant, which can lead to flooding of certain territories. As proof, the authors cite a map of Kyiv, on which there are conditional marks about the likely flooded areas of the capital. For example, in the publications they write that the Obolonskyi district will be flooded in 3 minutes, Troieshchyna - in 2 minutes, Podil - in 10 minutes, etc. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project analyzed the case and found out that there were no official statements from the authorities. That is, the thesis about the “emergency state of the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant” is a propaganda stuffing. And with the help of a reverse Google search, fact-checkers found a photo of the map, which shows another flooding of Kyiv districts in the event of a dam break. Such a map does exist. In 2012, the Ukrainian media published an article where they raised the topic of the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant. Journalists, with the help of experts not named in the material, compiled this map. That is, it may not be entirely accurate. One of the experts named in this material, environmentalist Volodymyr Boreiko, stated that ice floes frozen in the Kyiv Sea could lead to holes in the dam. There was no other information about the breach of the dam or the flooding of certain territories. Despite the fact that such a map exists, there was no statement about the emergency state of the Kyiv HPP.

The propagandists simply used the old journalistic material and took advantageous data from it including the “flood” map.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Russians are successfully destroying Ukrainian hardware. They say that the technique of the Russians is of better quality and nothing will interfere with it. As an example, the authors write that on June 9, in the Donetsk region, a Russian army drone destroyed a Ukrainian tank without any problems. Video evidence is added to the publications. 

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case, explaining that on June 9, the Russians fired on a dummy tank. It was not a real tank, but a bait for the invaders. The officer of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Afanasiev posted a video of the consequences of the hit on his social media page. In the video, he said that until the last moment he did not believe that the Russian military would “fall for” the bait prepared by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The military can use such decoys to get the opponent to use a weapon for nothing. This is what the Ukrainian military wanted. In the end, it is impossible to say that the Russians do not destroy Ukrainian equipment on the battlefield, because this is more than possible during the course of the war.

However, propagandists deliberately exaggerate the importance of the “destroyed” equipment on the battlefield, thus hinting at the supposedly low combat capability of the Ukrainian army. Analysts of Detector Media have repeatedly explained cases in which propagandists allegedly claimed that the Russian army destroyed a certain amount of weapons. However, this turned out to be a lie.

Thus, the authors try to hide their own failures by masquerading as “effective destruction of weapons”. For example, we refuted a fake claiming that Russia “destroyed” five Patriot launchers.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Russians are successfully destroying Ukrainian ammunition depots. Like, Ukraine loses its combat capability and loses the war. As evidence, the authors cite as an example a video of an allegedly “destroyed” ammunition depot in Uman. The authors add that this happened on June 8, 2023 during rocket attacks.

The case was noticed by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project who found that on June 8, 2023, the Russians actually hit at an industrial facility and a car wash, and not at an ammunition depot. In addition, the Russians hit the supermarket. As a result, there are casualties. That is, propagandists use the rhetoric about the destruction of military objects  to cover up their war crimes because the invaders are shelling civilian infrastructure, public places where people can be. For example, on June 27, 2023, the Russians shelled the center of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, hitting the nearby cafes and shops. This is not a rare case.

Thus, propagandists seek to whitewash themselves, as if they do not kill civilians and do not commit genocide. At the same time, they are trying to convince that they are shelling military targets (which also does not justify their aggression), when in fact the Russian army is destroying civilian infrastructure, killing people.