Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks are publishing an article by the author of the British publication The Telegraph, Lewis Page, claiming that he allegedly writes about the misuse of Western equipment by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) during the counteroffensive. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that such an article by The Telegraph really exists, and its author actually writes about the difficulties of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but does not claim that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are using Western equipment incorrectly. The article notes that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is a difficult task. The author rather criticizes Western experts who say that “properly used” Western tanks will help quickly end the war.

The article also reveals some facts about the supply of tanks to Ukraine, noting that as of August 2023, only a limited number of tanks had been transferred. The journalist adds that criticism of the use of Western equipment by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is unfair, since the West has limited the use of equipment for attacks on Russian territory and delayed the supply of tanks to Ukraine. The article notes the success of the Ukrainian army in conditions of limited access to Western equipment and reveals the essence of the circumstances that determined the development of the situation at the front.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to create a myth that Western media consider the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be insufficiently competent compared to the Russian army. They say that this is why the peoples of Western countries must resist military aid for Ukraine. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted fakes and manipulations of Russian propaganda directed against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.