Propaganda resources, after Russian rocket attacks on the sorting depot and the Nova Poshta office in Odesa on May 1, 2024, began to promote the version that in fact there was a warehouse with ammunition produced by NATO countries.

However, this information is fake. This is reported in Nova Poshta itself. The company's press service claims that the depot and department together had 904 items worth almost 3 million UAH. “And according to the enemy, weapons were stored here”, Nova Poshta adds. The company also promised to fully compensate customers for the cost of their parcels.

We are dealing with yet another Russian justification for a strike on the city’s civilian infrastructure, as a result of which 14 people were injured. It seems that it was in the parcels of the Ukrainians that the Russian military saw an unprovoked threat. We previously wrote about how the Russians justified the attack on Sloviansk on April 15, 2024.

Russian telegram channels and media are disseminating a post by entrepreneur David Sachs, who stated that the United States seems to no longer be able to supply air defense systems to Ukraine. He says the reason is that they simply ran out.

VoxCheck analysts have analyzed this case and explained that an American entrepreneur cannot be fully aware of the number of existing air defense systems in the US reserve. Moreover, the transfer of any weapons depends on Congress. That is, such information is not true; David Sachs himself did not provide any evidence regarding the small number of reserves.

And entrepreneur and investor David Sachs has repeatedly spread pro-Russian narratives. For example, he reposted a video allegedly indicating a connection between Ukraine and ISIS. In it, a Ukrainian military man allegedly wears a chevron of a terrorist organization, although in fact it is a trophy obtained by Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters in the assault on the positions of the Russian Wagner groups.

Propagandists in the media and social networks began to spread manipulative information that a Russian missile allegedly destroyed 32 D-20 howitzers in the Sumy region of Ukraine. In such “news” they add a video that shows a missile strike on howitzers arranged in several rows. Some publications indicated the exact coordinates of the hit site. “Well, a very successful hit!”, users write.

After disseminating such information, StopFake decided to check whether Russia really managed to hit 32 howitzers of the Ukrainian army with one blow. They found out that this information is manipulative.

First, StopFake verified the authenticity of the distributed frames. Propagandists claimed that the video was from Okhtyrka, Sumy region. Some users even shared suitable coordinates. Fact-checkers found out that this was indeed the site of the “destruction” of howitzers. By comparing the satellite image on Google Maps and the propaganda video, one can see identical trees along the road, identical buildings and their location. A propaganda video circulated shows the howitzers strategically placed. This raises certain doubts, since the border with Russia that struck was only 40 kilometers along the shortest route. Keeping such a number of howitzer guns open in such close proximity to the enemy is, at first glance, at least illogical from a military point of view.

However, it turned out that there was a logical explanation for such placement of howitzers on the Ukrainian side. Having discovered the location of the impact on Google Maps, StopFake noticed that satellite images showed approximately the same number of guns with a similar arrangement. At first they assumed that this could be a recent image that accidentally captured the D-20 cluster. But with the help of archival photos of the same place, it was possible to establish that the “destroyed” howitzers had been standing there for more than one year. The Google Earth Pro program, which allows one to select the year the image was taken, recorded their placement starting in 2017. Since then, only a few howitzers have been removed.

Russia appears to have struck a storage site for faulty weapons that had been out in the open long before the full-scale invasion and is still there during active hostilities. Russian propaganda decided to hush up this fact, passing off the news as a successful strike on the “central weapons storage base and the destruction of 32 howitzers”. The fact that the howitzers were not used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces was also written by the user Tatarigami, who is engaged in OSINT analytics, on the social network X.com.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to create a belief among the local population that Ukrainian weapons are ineffective or are wasted.

Russian resources are disseminating information that the President of Ukraine promised the West that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will use long-range weapons provided by partner countries only against targets in territories that Ukraine considers its own. However, according to a recent presidential decree, the list of “ours” now allegedly also includes one area (krai) and five regions of Russia, propagandists say.

In fact, this information is distorted, as reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Zelenskyi’s decree on the territories of Russia historically inhabited by Ukrainians concerns exclusively the protection of the national rights of Russian citizens of Ukrainian ethnic origin, but propagandists pass it off as a demonstration of “territorial claims”.

The weapons transferred by partners are used exclusively to defeat Russian targets in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. The Defense Forces are destroying objects on Russian territory by Ukrainian-made weapons.

By manipulating information, in this case, Russian propaganda seeks to mobilize Russians for war against Ukraine and the “collective West”, resorting to demonization. Propagandists also want to intimidate Ukraine’s Western partners with “escalation” from Russia in order to disrupt further assistance. Previously, we denied information that NATO countries would try to capture “six Russian regions”.

As the US Congress considers military aid to Ukraine, European leaders are expressing concern about how the withdrawal of US financial support in the fight against Russian aggression could affect Ukraine. An Instagram post on February 25 claimed that Poland's foreign minister called the US a “dysfunctional and unreliable” state due to delays in the process. In particular, propagandists disseminated such messages on social networks like Instagram. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Politifact project drew attention to it. They found that while Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsky did express concern about a possible end to U.S. military aid to Ukraine in an interview with Bloomberg News on February 22, he called for a democratic process in resolving the issue and urged the Speaker of the House of Representatives to put forward a bill on the aid package to Ukraine to vote.

In his interview, Sikorsky highlighted the potential consequences if the United States does not provide expected assistance to its allies, warning of negative developments for American alliances around the world.

There is no evidence to support that Poland's foreign minister called the US “dysfunctional and unreliable” in his interview with Bloomberg News or elsewhere. Therefore, we evaluate this statement as erroneous.

Russian propagandists take such statements out of context in order to antagonize Western states and cause skepticism about helping Ukraine. Detector Media has already written about how Russian propaganda is trying to influence the policies of the United States and for what purposes.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that NATO has decided to move on to terrorist attacks and sabotage in the Russian rear using long-range Taurus cruise missiles. In asserting this, the propaganda media refers to the Russian “expert” Ivannikov.

In fact, this information is distorted. This is written about in the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Germany is not transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine due to fears that it will use them to attack Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained that in order to prevent missiles from hitting the wrong targets, it was necessary to involve German specialists in programming the missiles. “A Taurus with a range of 500 kilometers, if used incorrectly, can reach a specific target somewhere in Moscow. I initially clearly said: there will be no German or NATO soldiers in Ukraine... And my position remains unchanged”, Scholz said.

With such rhetoric, Russia seeks to create an image of a victim, saying that “the provoking West is to blame for everything”, so it is forced to “defend itself”. Previously, we analyzed information that Germany allegedly transferred 1,000 laptops to Ukraine instead of long-range Taurus missiles.

Propagandists broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has stated that if assistance is refused, he will no longer consider the United States a strategic partner. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that Zelenskyi really didn’t say that. An excerpt from his speech was disfigured.

During the Munich Security Conference, Volodymyr Zelenskyi and US Vice President Kamala Harris held a joint briefing. When asked about “Plan B” if the US Congress does not support the bill on additional funding for Ukraine, the President of Ukraine noted that no alternatives are being considered.

He expressed hope for a positive decision by Congress, pointing out that Ukraine views the United States as a strategic partner, and therefore hopes for its further support. Zelenskyi stressed that an alternative position would mean instability in relations. These words have been twisted and used to create a manipulative “quote” that is being circulated online without proper context.

Kamala Harris also supported Zelenskyi, expressing confidence that the bill will be passed and called for a focus on “Plan A” - providing Ukraine with the necessary resources. She stressed the importance of avoiding politicization of the issue and the need to remain steadfast in supporting allies. The President of Ukraine also expressed his faith in the positive decision of Congress and said that he does not consider the adoption of the bill a treacherous position, because, in his opinion, the strategic partner will not leave Ukraine without support.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to undermine bilateral relations between the United States and Ukraine and stop US support. They say Zelenskyi is provoking America, which means we won’t see the money. Detector Media also refuted other manipulations regarding Ukraine’s relations with the United States.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread the allegation that weapons are allegedly being stolen and resold on the black market in Ukraine. As evidence, the authors of the fake referred to a report from the US Department of Defense: it seemed to say how “during the inspection, specialists did not count 40 thousand weapons”.

“I think everyone understands where and for what purposes it was redirected... The likelihood of terrorist attacks in Europe is only growing”, propagandists commented on the situation.

However, the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case and found that in a special report, “enhanced monitoring of the end use of defense goods supplied to Ukraine”, they noted that arms supplies to Ukraine were not properly controlled. This is explained by the fact that the presence of US representatives in Ukraine is limited. At the same time, the report does not accuse or express the thesis that weapons “end up on the black market”.

They also gave a positive assessment to Ukraine’s attempts to monitor the supply of weapons and equipment. It is indicated that in some cases, Ukrainian officials conducted inventories more thoroughly than their American counterparts.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that Western intelligence agencies have allegedly recognized the “effectiveness” of Russia’s massive air attacks on Ukraine. They refer to the “words” of the head of the intelligence center of the Estonian Armed Forces, Ants Kiviselg, who stated that “strikes by Russian long-range aviation and Kalibr missiles cause significant damage to military facilities in Ukraine, despite the fact that Kyiv denies this”. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that on January 12, during a press conference, Ants Kiviselg commented on the massive shelling of Russia, which increased during the New Year holidays. According to Kiviselg, the strikes on holidays are a deliberate act by the Russians, apparently to undermine the will of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves. Also, the head of the intelligence center of the Estonian Armed Forces indicated that Russia still has many different types of missiles and attack drones, which are simultaneously attacking the territory of Ukraine in different directions. According to Estonian intelligence services, the wave of attacks on December 29 and January 2 indicates Russia's fear of the entry of American F-16 fighters into Ukrainian arsenal. That is why, Kiviselg noted, the occupiers intensified shelling of Ukrainian infrastructure facilities.

It is important to note that the head of Estonian intelligence did not make statements about the “effectiveness” of such attacks or the “successful” defeat of Ukrainian targets - this is an invention of Russian propaganda. Propagandists not only took Kiviselg’s statements about Russia’s fear of Ukraine receiving F-16s out of context, but also removed any reference to the fact of the psychological impact on the civilian population of attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities can be considered war crimes under international law that have no statute of limitations.

Users of social networks are again spreading information that the ex-husband of singer Kamaliya, Pakistani Mohammad Zahoor, bought fighter jets for Ukraine. However, this is a fake.

Specialists of the NotaYenota project drew attention to it. They found out that Zahur did not actually buy fighter jets for Ukraine. Kamaliya personally denied this information. This story begins with an interview with Kamaliya in 2022, where the singer stated that she received permission from Zahur to talk about the fact of providing two fighter jets to Ukraine, but without specific details. As it turned out, the singer was referring to military assistance from Pakistan. However, the quote is defaced on a number of websites and social networks, attributing to the Kamaliya man the acquisition of aircraft.

Project specialists drew attention to this situation due to the peculiarities of its reappearance in the Ukrainian media space. They found out that the fake was spread again in early January through one of the Facebook pages, which has more than 440 thousand subscribers. The comments to the message provide a link to the main article, and the domain name of the site distributing this fake is located in the .su zone - the national top-level domain for the former Soviet Union. Even after the Union ceases to exist, the SU domain remains Russian. They note that since 1993, the administrator of this domain has been the Russian Institute for the Development of Public Networks (RosNIRSM), located in Moscow. Since 2009, technical maintenance of this domain has been carried out by the Internet Technical Center, also in Moscow.

The most interesting thing is that the page distributing this stuff through .SU is administered by three persons located in Ukraine. Taking this into account, according to NotaYenota, through pages publishing “good news” about “support for Ukraine” from famous people, fakes can be launched, which test the audience for their reaction to various types of influence.

Russian telegram channels report that as a result of Russian missile attacks on the western regions of Ukraine on January 13, 2024, they managed to destroy a batch of missiles for the Patriot air defense system and warehouses with Storm Shadow missiles at the airfield in Kolomyia.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes that this information is false. According to a message from the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on January 13, 2024, “Russian missiles are getting worse and are flying to God knows where”. On that day, air defense forces managed to shoot down eight missiles, and more than 20 more did not reach their targets as a result of active countermeasures by electronic warfare.

This disinformation campaign seeks to reassure everyone that Russian “high-precision weapons” cause damage and destruction exclusively to “legitimate targets”, such as missile trains. Russian propaganda systematically spread fake news about the destruction of Patriot air defense systems, Leopard tanks, or even F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine in order to exaggerate Russia’s successes in the war.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the United States allowed Ukraine to use HIMARS for “strikes” against Russia. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the US Embassy in Ukraine, Bridget Brink, who allegedly made a corresponding statement.

In fact, this information is fake. Brink did not make such a statement - it was invented by propagandists of one of the Russian media, who subsequently published a refutation. This was reported by checkers from the StopFake project. To create the fake, they used a quote from Brink from June 2022 - then the United States provided Ukraine with a package of military aid, which included, in particular, ammunition for HIMARS: “This will help Ukrainian forces aim more accurately, as well as have a greater range. What range will the Ukrainian forces determine?” However, those ammunition could hit targets at a distance of up to 70 km, and not 300 km, that is, there was no talk of any strikes on Russian territory.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda seeks to create the image that “the United States and Ukraine are aggressors because they are going to attack Russia”, so Russia is supposedly a victim of the confrontation and is forced to defend itself. Thus, Russia “demonizes” Ukraine and its allies. Previously, we refuted information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could allegedly use any NATO weapons on Russian territory.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels disseminate information that NATO member countries, including the United States, are not against the Armed Forces of Ukraine “hitting”  Russia with all available weapons, that is, foreign ones, and not just Ukrainian ones. Based on the results of an emergency telephone conversation between representatives of the United States, NATO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which followed another massive Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities on January 2, 2024, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin allegedly promised to satisfactorily respond to Ukraine’s requests regarding medium- and long-range missiles. In arguing this, propagandists cite an article by The New York Times. However, this is a fake.

The truth is that The New York Times never published such a story, and their reporter at the Paris bureau of Constant Méheut, the supposed author of the fictitious article, did not actually write the story. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. The Western countries arming Kyiv demanded that Ukraine use only its own weapons to attack Russian territory. In addition, neither on the NATO website nor on the official Pentagon channels there is any mention of the supply of missiles to Ukraine without range restrictions. This information is also not available on the website and communication channels of the US Embassy in Ukraine.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda seeks to demonize NATO, including the United States, saying that they are starting to openly fight against Russia and are even ready to destroy the civilian population of Russia. Thus, the propagandists also want to justify the bloody war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and, according to them, against the entire West and NATO, which allegedly want to destroy Russia. Previously, Detector Media analyzed the Russian manipulation that NATO would allegedly invade Russia “after the war in Ukraine”.

Pro-Kremlin resources write that the transfer of Polish weapons to Ukraine falls under the definition of treason, since the supposed consequence of such a policy is that Poland remains disarmed. In asserting this, Russian media refer to a report by Przemysław Piasta in the newspaper Myśl Polska.

Journalists of the No Lies project examined this information. As it turns out, the online publication Myśl Polska often publishes Kremlin propaganda, so Przemysław Piasta’s text fits completely into the pro-Russian policy of this media. In reality, Poland is transferring to Ukraine the equipment it replaced with new ones, and is also fulfilling old contracts. That is, the country is actively strengthening its own army and helping Ukrainians.

Russian propaganda is once again trying to weaken military support for Ukraine by Western countries. In addition, by promoting such a message, propagandists seek to cultivate the negative attitude of Poles towards Ukraine and their leadership. Previously, we analyzed the propaganda message that Kyiv is allegedly “preparing a military provocation against Poland” in the event of a critical decline in support from Western countries.

Russian media responded to the launch of the new Black Sea coalition with disinformation messages that “Britain and Norway are escalating the situation in the Black Sea”. They argue that the international community's intention to protect civilian shipping in the Black Sea from attacks by the Russian army is a “new stage of aggression” against Russia.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to the message. They found that the work of the new coalition, which includes Great Britain and Norway, is aimed at long-term cooperation and aims to strengthen Ukraine's naval defense, as well as improve its ability to operate along its own coast. However, the main task of the allied countries is to provide assistance to Ukraine in opening trade routes and ensuring free passage of civilian ships in the Black Sea. From the new coalition, Ukraine will receive long-term support, including training, equipment and infrastructure to improve security in the Black Sea. In particular, on December 11, it became known that the British Royal Navy transferred two minesweepers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to search for Russian mines, and Norway also announced the transfer of two more ships to Ukraine for demining the water area. StopFake analysts recall that the agreement on the transfer of two Royal Navy minesweepers to the Ukrainian Navy was signed back in 2021, before the full-scale Russian invasion, and in the summer of 2023 a ceremony for their commissioning took place.

Russia began growing the conflict zone in the Black and Azov Seas back in 2014, trying to limit Ukraine’s legal right to use its internal waters. Russian actions violate international law, and due to their systematic disregard for them, Russia was expelled from the Council of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) in December 2023.

Russian media are deliberately misinterpreting these steps as an “escalation of the situation”, trying to separate them from their context and interpret them favorably in their favor. All this is done to present Russia as a victim.

According to information distributed by propagandists, Forbes allegedly published an article that Ukraine has created a tank brigade that has limited combat readiness and practically no tanks. However, this is manipulation.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that we are talking about the article Ukraine Has Formed a New Tank Brigade by David Ax, published on December 3 in Forbes. In it, the author writes about the 5th separate tank brigade (STBr).

He does not indicate the low combat readiness of the brigade or the absence of tanks in it. David Ax discusses the position of the 5th Tank Brigade, which was formed in 2016. He notes that the unit existed largely only on paper, but has recently begun to recruit and train, as evidenced by photographs published on December 2, 2023.

In his article, Ax also points out that Western partners provided Ukraine with different tanks, but in the photographs published on social networks they are not visible in brigades. However, he does not claim that the unit has no tanks at all, but only points out the lack of information about what tanks are used. The journalist also considers possible options for equipment that the brigade could be equipped with, such as the T-72, Leopard 1 or Abrams.

It is important to note that Ax does not use the term “incapacitated” to describe the brigade. On the contrary, in his material he draws attention to changes in the tactics of using tanks in general, pointing to their use as short-range artillery due to the presence of minefields and the use of drones. This modification of the use of tanks is associated with more complex combat conditions and the use of other technologies.

The 5th Brigade is part of the Reserve Corps. In 2018, the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Serhii Popko, announced that the 5th Separate Tank Brigade of the Reserve Corps was fully equipped with T-72 tanks. However, after a certain period, the brigade was demobilized, and only in February 2022 it was resumed. However, due to losses in other armored and mechanized brigades, tanks and personnel of the 5th Tank Brigade were used to replenish other units. Today it is known that in March 2023 the unit was restored again, it is equipped with equipment, and personnel are undergoing training.

By manipulating the texts of foreign media, propagandists want to strengthen the myth about the incapacity of the Ukrainian army, as well as the theft of Western weapons. This is not their first fiction concerning the Ukrainian Armed Forces — Detector Media has repeatedly refuted others.

Propagandists are disseminating information with reference to a publication in the British tabloid Daily Mail, allegedly Ukraine has the components to create a “dirty bomb”. They say that the UK began to view Ukraine as a potential threat to Europe due to the fact that Kyiv allegedly “sells weapons indiscriminately to whom and where” and as a result of which terrorists can illegally transport nuclear materials through Europe to the UK.

The story in question is a Daily Mail report titled “Radioactive substances could be smuggled out of Ukraine during invasion unrest and end up used in “dirty bombs” on UK streets unless border controls are tightened in NATO countries, warns nuclear energy expert” dated December 12, 2023. However, this is manipulation.

The StopFake specialists drew attention to it. They found that this time propagandists are manipulating Rachel Bunyan's Daily Mail article to once again portray Ukraine as a danger to the world. In fact, nowhere in the Daily Mail publication is it written that the Ukrainian authorities are somehow illegally selling components for “dirty bombs” to terrorists. On the contrary, the author points out that the danger is precisely the unlawful Russian attacks on Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Dr. Ghiassi, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Fellowship think tank, noted in a commentary for the Daily Mail that Russia's takeover of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world, has resulted in regular shelling and power outages making it impossible to safely use the plant. According to the expert, the situation becomes even more dangerous due to the fact that more than 3,000 nuclear fuel cells containing highly radioactive substances and plutonium stored in metal containers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are vulnerable to air attacks.

Dr Ghiassi, in a commentary for the Daily Mail, noted that air attacks on the nuclear plant and the damage they caused could “facilitate terrorists or proxy groups acting on behalf of hostile states to illegally obtain radioactive substances to create nuclear dirty bombs”. The expert believes that the insecurity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant poses “serious threats to the security of Ukraine and countries beyond its borders, including the UK”. He calls on countries to strengthen controls at land and sea borders, in particular, to increase the number of radiation detectors at checkpoints.

Moreover, the publication reminds its readers that initially the full-scale invasion, Russia, without providing evidence, accused Ukraine of Kyiv possibly planning to use a “dirty bomb” in the war. Citing experts interviewed, the Daily Mail writes that “dirty bombs” are relatively primitive and inaccurate weapons that terrorists use “more as a psychological weapon” to intimidate people.

Russia's false claims about a “Ukrainian dirty bomb” and a “Ukrainian nuclear provocation” were refuted not only by the Ukrainian government, but also by international organizations, including the UN. In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following the results of an unscheduled inspection conducted at the request of Ukraine in November 2022, did not identify any signs of illegal activities at nuclear facilities controlled by Ukraine. The Kremlin propaganda has more than once used the topic of “dirty bombs” to discredit Ukraine in front of its Western partners.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say Ukraine is ready to give up Western weapons “due to supply difficulties”. The messages refer to material from The Wall Street Journal. This is manipulation.

Analysts from the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the WSJ material did not claim that Ukraine abandoned Western weapons precisely because of “supply difficulties”. This is an invention of Russian propaganda, because the leading theme of the material is how Ukraine, with the help of Western partners, intends to establish its own weapons production. Actually, the point is that Ukraine wants to start producing more of its own weapons. “Restoring Ukraine’s arms industry could help ensure the country’s long-term security and stimulate its economy, officials say”, the author adds.

That is, the material discussed the prospects for the development of our own weapons production and what caused this. At the same time, propagandists distorted the theses in their own way.

Using quotes from public figures, journalists, military officers, politicians and allegedly quoting Western publications, Russian propaganda is trying to convince consumers of disinformation of the authenticity of such an expression. Like, if a journalist from a foreign publication said this himself, he can be trusted, because he is an authoritative source although the authors do not explain how reliable the information presented in the manipulative publication is. This is how propagandists use the tactic of appealing to authority.

Information began to spread online that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, during his visit to Kyiv on November 20, offered Ukraine to exchange American Abrams tanks for German Leopards in a ratio of 1 to 4. That is, for seven American tanks, Ukraine was allegedly promised 28 German ones. This statement is explained by the fact that the supposedly low efficiency of the Abrams could cause “serious reputational damage to these tanks around the world”, something the Americans would like to avoid. It's fake.

In fact, Lloyd Austin did not offer Ukraine to exchange American Abrams tanks for Leopards during his visit. This is not mentioned in any leading world media, and the information itself was disseminated mainly in Russian or pro-Russian media. At the same time, Lloyd Austin stated at the time that “the United States, along with its allies and partners, will continue to support Ukraine’s immediate battlefield and long-term defense needs”. During the visit, the Pentagon chief also announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth $100 million, but there were no concerns about the loss of image of Abrams tanks as a result of the unsuccessful performance of Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield.

By spreading disinformation, as in this case, Russian propaganda aims to discredit international support for Ukraine’s partners in the war against Russia. In addition, propagandists aim to convince everyone around them that the Russian military has an advantage on the battlefield, and the defeat of Ukraine is a matter of time.

Earlier, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that Ukrainian defenders are very effectively using Western weapons, and in response to this, Russia is increasing its aggression against civilians.

This information was recorded by specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. They explained that pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information about the defeat of the Grim-2 OTRK launcher. Video evidence is added to the messages.

However, in fact, the primary source of such “news” was a satirical telegram channel, the description of which clearly states that all messages are only humorous in nature. But in fact, the video depicts the defeat of Russian equipment. On December 6, 2023, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko published a video of the defeat of the Russian operational-tactical missile system on his telegram channel. It is most likely that the authors of the satirical channel used this particular video to create the news. And then the Kremlin resources replicated this.

Still, it is impossible to say that the Russians did not destroy Ukrainian equipment on the battlefield, because this is more than possible during the war. But propagandists deliberately exaggerate the significance of “destroyed” equipment on the battlefield, hinting at the supposedly low combat capability of the Ukrainian army. And they use supposedly reliable information to support such a thesis.

The head of the Main Directorate of Missile Forces and Artillery and Unmanned Systems of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhii Baranov, in an interview with the military radio station Army FM, when asked whether the Grim-2 installation was at the development stage, replied that the installation was “being improved so let the Russians experience its effects on themselves”.

Read here on how Russian propaganda devalues the weapons that serve Ukraine.

This thesis was spread by pro-Kremlin media. Reports say that Ukraine seems to be using prohibited methods of warfare, in particular using prohibited weapons. They say this is stated in the Landmine Monitor 2023 report, compiled by independent experts from different countries, which was presented to the UN on November 14, 2023.

The case was studied by StopFake project specialists and explained: the analysts who worked on the report reported that Ukraine began an investigation into the case of how the Ukrainian Armed Forces “used anti-personnel mines in the city of Izium and its environs in 2022, when the city was under Russian control”. The report emphasized that Ukraine then used mines against Russian military targets, but as a result, “civilians suffered”. This case in relation to Ukraine is isolated, and international experts have recorded hundreds of facts of widespread use of prohibited weapons in Ukraine by Russian occupiers.

Among other things, the document wrote that Russia, probably with the help of neighboring Belarus, is actively using anti-personnel mines in Ukraine. According to the data presented in the report, in Ukraine in 2022 there was a tenfold increase in the number of victims of anti-personnel mines compared to the year before the full-scale Russian invasion.

Russia tries to ignore cases of the use of prohibited weapons and pays attention only to Ukrainian actions - although the case of the use of an anti-personnel mine is isolated, and it was primarily used to replace a Russian military facility.

The online media of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, ArmyInform, explains that the Ottawa Convention of 1997 provides for a complete cessation of the use of non-directional anti-personnel mines, a cessation of their production and accumulation. Ukraine signed the mine ban agreement on February 24, 1999 in New York and ratified it on December 27, 2005, becoming a state party on June 1, 2006. Russia is not a party to the Convention, so it has been using them since the beginning of the war back in 2014.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that on November 9, 2023, a fire broke out in Vinnytsia, allegedly at “NATO weapons” warehouses. The authors add to the messages that Zelenskyi allegedly did not turn on the air raid sirens in the Vinnytsia region, and the air defense did not work. It is not true.

In Vinnytsia on the evening of November 9, a large-scale fire broke out in warehouses where laminate flooring was stored. This was reported by the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of the Vinnytsia region. At 22:40 the fire was localized.

This is how the authors try to dispel the thesis about their “irresistible technology”, which is ready to destroy everyone, and as confirmation of this they give an example of “shelling” an object with ammunition. Although it was a fire, experts localized it.

In our Newspeak section we described the Russian phenomenon of “irresistible technology”. In short, this is how the Russians try to convince the domestic audience of constant victories.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, allegedly manipulates the topic of shelling of critical infrastructure. He declares that Ukraine is preparing for the “worst winter in history”, plays on the feelings of partners and thus seeks to increase aid. And Russia actually carried out “light strikes” on the heating and energy infrastructure in the fall and winter of 2022-2023. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. Dmytro Kuleba gave an interview to Die Welt, where he said that Russia may start shelling critical infrastructure again. After all, Russian attacks are not fabrications or blackmail. On October 10, 2022, Russia launched massive missile strikes allegedly “in response to a Ukrainian attack” on an illegally built bridge across the Kerch Strait.

According to the UN, 42 out of 94 (45%) key high-voltage transformers in Ukraine were damaged or destroyed as a result of Russian missile attacks. In the fall and winter of 2022-2023, there will be almost no whole thermal and hydroelectric power plants left in Ukraine.

That is why Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview: “I bought dozens of candles. My father bought a truck full of firewood. We are preparing for the worst winter in history. Therefore, we will turn a blind eye if we do not get Taurus , but we do get air defense systems. We try to protect our power plants as best we can. But the Russians are learning. They will once again test our endurance with their missiles”.

In this way, Russian propagandists are trying to legitimize attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and devalue the problems of our country. They are also trying to discredit Dmytro Kuleba, hoping that this will reduce Western support. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that there may be blackouts in Ukraine in November even without shelling.

Anonymous Telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that “the supply of Ukrainian weapons to the Hamas group has tripled over the past month”.  Russian propaganda refers to an article published by The Washington Post, in which they allegedly wrote that Hamas currently has no problems with providing weapons thanks to Ukraine. This is a fake.

According to fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation, The Washington Post did not actually publish such an article. And the screenshot used by Russian propaganda was first published by the Ministry of Defense of Russia in 2022.

In this way, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Ukraine and reduce aid from the West, including the supply of weapons. Previously, we refuted the fake that the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris thanked Ukraine for weapons for Hamas.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that representatives of the Hamas group allegedly recorded a video thanking Volodymyr Zelenskyi for the transferred weapons, which help resist Israel. It's fake.

Fact-checkers at the Center for Countering Disinformation analyzed the video and determined that it was fake. It is this video that is being distributed by Russian propaganda resources and fake foreign accounts, the time and place of filming are unknown. Moreover, the video cannot be verified because Hamas representatives have their faces covered.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and reduce the assistance of Western partners. This is a continuation of the disinformation campaign about Ukrainian weapons in the hands of Hamas. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake that Ukraine sells weapons to Hamas and debunked the fake that Hamas militants use weapons from Mukachevo.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly said that “if Ukraine loses the war, it will be because of the Jews”. This is a fake.

Analysts of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security Council of Ukraine and the Georgian MythDetector project drew attention to it. They found out that the circulated quote is a fake, because it cannot be found either on the official pages of the President, or in Ukrainian or Western mass media. On the contrary, Zelenskyi condemned the actions of Hamas and drew parallels between the current events in Israel and the Russian-Ukrainian war. He condemned terrorism and emphasized Israel's right to self-defense.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to convince Ukrainians that after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Western countries will redirect the aid intended for Ukraine to Israel and Ukraine will not have the support of the international community.  Detector Media explained how propagandists still manipulate the topic of events in Israel.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that Ukrainians will allegedly use ATACMS weapons systems transferred from the United States against civilians. “The vile hand of the United States always promotes death, because we know that these weapons in the hands of Ukrainian Nazis will be used against civilian targets”, the message said. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the EUvsDiSiNFO project. There is no evidence to support that these weapons will be used against civilian targets. There is also no evidence that Ukrainians attack civilians, unlike Russia, whose crimes have been documented by human rights organizations and the UN.

Moreover, in September 2023, the United States introduced the so-called Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, the purpose of which is to track and prevent civilian deaths from weapons supplied by the United States, including to Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to promote the narrative that Russians are fighting Nazism in Ukraine, as well as demonizing the Ukrainian military, saying that they don’t care about the Ukrainian people. Previously, we talked about the message that Ukrainian refugees in Europe are demonstrating their “Nazi tendencies”.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the German concern (an association of several enterprises, in this case in the field of defense) Rheinmetall is canceling the construction of a tank factory in Ukraine through Russia. We are talking about constant shelling of infrastructure, so German representatives are supposedly afraid of the power of the occupying army. The authors refer to news from the Reuters news agency. This is manipulation.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and came to the conclusion that the news indicated: Germany did approve the creation of a joint venture between the main German Rheinmetall and the Ukrainian Ukroboronprom. Further, the journalists wrote that Rheinmetall will be involved in technical maintenance of the equipment. But on the official website of the German defense concern it is indicated that its specialists will be engaged in the maintenance and repair of combat vehicles, and in the future they will produce equipment together with Ukraine.

Actually, the fact-checkers write that this format of work was assumed from the very beginning of the conclusion of the strategic partnership agreement in May 2023. According to the agreement, the enterprise was supposed to begin its work in July, but the project implementation deadlines were delayed. In mid-August, the general director of Rheinmetall explained that tanks within the united concern would begin to be repaired “before the end of the month”.

That is, we are not talking about any canceled construction projects or agreements. According to Reuters, the German defense company, on the contrary, approved the decision to create a joint organization. During the implementation of the construction plan, there were no reports of cancellation of such a plan. Propagandists distorted the context of the material and wrote that even the NATO representative country allegedly fears Russia and curtails any companies on the territory of Ukraine.

This is how the authors try to dispel the thesis about their “irresistible technology”, which is ready to destroy everyone, and as confirmation of this they give the example of the “cancellation” of construction.

In our Newspeak section we described the Russian phenomenon of “irresistible technology”. In short, this is how the Russians try to convince the domestic audience of constant victories.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris allegedly thanked Ukraine for weapons for Hamas to attack Israel. An article allegedly appeared about this in the French publication RFI, Russian propaganda refers to it and seems to cite screenshots from it. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. There is no article with similar content on the resources of the French publication RFI. Ukraine does not resell weapons from Western partners to Hamas militants.

Russian propaganda systematically promotes the narrative that Ukraine resells the weapons provided to it by the West. Thus, Russian propagandists seek to discredit Ukraine and reduce the support of Western partners. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake news that Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social media claim that Ukraine has used the Black Sea Grain Initiative to smuggle weapons. In particular, Western weapons allegedly reached Hamas through the “grain corridor”. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found that the statement was not true. The Black Sea Grain Initiative (Initiative for the Safe Transport of Grains and Food Products from Ukrainian Ports) consists of two agreements that constitute one “grain agreement” - between Ukraine, the UN and Turkey and between Russia, the UN and Turkey. According to it, under the auspices of the UN, a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) was created in Istanbul (Turkey), which had representatives of all parties to the agreement. A team of inspectors, including representatives of Russia, on behalf of the SCC inspected each vessel “for inappropriate cargo and crew on the way to and from Ukrainian ports”. During the entire period of its work, the JCC never reported that Ukraine was allegedly using the Black Sea Grain Initiative to smuggle weapons to the Middle East or other territories.

Also, to date, there is no confirmation that Hamas militants are allegedly using weapons transferred to Ukraine as military aid from Western countries. The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine draws attention to the fact that Russian intelligence services have already handed over to Hamas representatives “captured weapons manufactured in the USA and EU countries”, that is, acquired in battle. The department emphasizes that it can be used against Ukraine, accusing it of selling Western weapons.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukraine and reduce the scale of military assistance from its partners. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted other Russian fakes and manipulations regarding Western weapons.

Propagandists claim that American porn actress of Lebanese origin Mia Khalifa expressed gratitude to Ukraine for helping the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas. In such “news”, users refer to some kind of recorded conversation with Khalifa, allegedly published by the American publication USA Today. This is fake.

The fact-checkers from the StopFake project investigated this case. Neither Russian media nor social media users provided a direct link to the American media. After checking the information with the fact-checkers of the publications related to military operations in Israel, it turned out that such a conversation was not published either on the website or in the official accounts of this media on social networks. The media only mentioned Mia Khalifa in the context of her support for the Hamas attack on Israel, as well as Playboy magazine's decision to terminate her contract.

Propagandists are trying to support the narrative that Ukraine is supplying weapons to the Hamas group. We recently denied information that Hamas militants are using weapons from Mukachevo.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Volodymyr Zelenskyi, while on a visit to Romania, allegedly boasted about the large amount of money that Ukraine “received from Western leaders”. The authors refer to the president’s interview with Romanian journalists. It's a lie.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found out that Zelenskyi did not say this in an interview. At the very least, there are no phrases that would hint at “bragging about Western money”. The fact-checkers add that during the president’s conversation with journalists, they discussed the war in Israel and how this could affect the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president responded, in particular, that one cannot compare one war with another, and whoever starts these wars is “crazy”. In addition, he gave answers about the Russian-Ukrainian war itself. He said that Ukraine has enough fears about money and weapons, but, in his opinion, the war is now in its last and most difficult phase.

The fact-checkers suggest that Russian media misinterpreted a quote from the Ukrainian president, where he noted that there are fears about money and weapons. At the same time, Russian propaganda passed it off as “bragging”.

Pro-Kremlin media are disseminating information that the West may reduce aid to Ukraine due to the war in Israel. Russian propaganda referred to Russian “experts”. It is not true.

As fact-checkers at the Center for Strategic Communications note, Western partners assured Volodymyr Zelenskyi that the difficult situation in Israel would not prevent them from helping Ukraine. The President of Ukraine also noted that he discussed this issue with his partners, they “assure that Ukraine will still receive help, no one will abandon Ukraine”.

Moreover, on October 11, the United States announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth $200 million, and Belgium will provide assistance worth €1.7 billion.

Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Western partners, saying that it is more important for them to help Israel than Ukraine. All this should undermine the spirit of Ukrainians and despair of victory. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that in Ukraine they want to abolish a disability status in order to send more people to the front.

On October 10, information spread on pro-Kremlin telegram channels that Hamas terrorists had acquired weapons from Ukraine, provided by Western partners. It seems that even before the Black Sea grain agreement, merchant ships took some of the weapons from Ukraine through Lebanon to Palestine. They say, “after the publication of information in the Western media about the Ukrainian trace of Palestinian weapons, mass purges began in Mukachevo”. Russian propaganda notes that officials, military personnel and diplomats were detained and a diplomatic scandal is brewing. It's fake.

The case was studied by the fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. A search was indeed carried out in the Mukachevo City Council, but it was related to the transfer of part of the city’s central sports complex to private ownership. This was officially confirmed by the SBU and NABU. The searches are not related to the transfer of Western weapons to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Moreover, the “Western media” to which Russian propaganda refers did not write about the “Mukachevo trace of Palestinian weapons”. And the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) said that all this was “fabrication and lies”.

Russian propagandists are trying to use the war between Israel and Hamas to discredit Ukraine. They say that Ukrainians resell weapons provided by Western partners on the black market, and they fall into the hands of terrorists. Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to reduce Western assistance. Previously, we refuted the fake that Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, including the Georgian segment of Facebook. The authors publish the video and claim that it depicts the process of transferring Western weapons to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The authors add that the transfer of weapons was allegedly initiated by the Ukrainians. In the video, a man in Arabic “thanks the Ukrainian authorities for the supply of weapons”. It's a lie.

The analysts from the Myth Detector project took on the case and found out that the speaker is not visible in the video, and the location and time of filming cannot be determined, because the video itself consists of several frames where the weapon lies on the floor. Moreover, the fact- checkers emphasize that this video is actively disseminated in the Russian segment of social networks. Neither Israeli nor international media come out with news about the transfer of weapons to Hamas. Most likely the video is compiled.

Experts also refer to a statement by the Institute for the Study of War on October 7, which states that the Kremlin is actively using the Hamas attack on Israel for information operations aimed at weakening US and Western support for Ukraine. This includes promoting the thesis of a “black market for the sale of weapons”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists once again want to show Ukrainians as ungrateful provocateurs who want to destabilize the situation in the world and incite armed conflicts. They say that Ukrainians resell weapons on the black market and they fall into the hands of criminals. Thus, the authors undermine the authority of the Ukrainian authorities and try to disrupt future supplies of armed assistance from NATO countries. After all, such fakes previously target Western audiences and leaders in order to inspire despondency towards Ukraine’s actions.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that an American auditor who was investigating possible thefts in the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine was allegedly killed in Kyiv. The publications refer to an alleged press release from the Kyiv police. It's a lie.

Analysts from the StopFake project took up this case and found out that the Kyiv police did not report such an incident and did not publish a single press release about the murder of the auditor - which means this is simply an invention of Russian propaganda. The fact-checkers also contacted the US Embassy in Ukraine with a request to confirm or deny the death of an American auditor in Kyiv. The embassy told them that the “news” disseminated by Russian propaganda was fake.

Russian propaganda is trying to portray Ukraine as a cradle of corruption in order to devalue and neutralize Ukrainian intentions to combat corruption and further European integration measures. Allegedly, Ukrainian officials are ready to kill and get rid of Western auditors, just so as not to record the “theft” of Western weapons. In addition, the fight against corruption is one of the requirements of European integration. By spreading such fakes, propagandists are trying to show that corruption in Ukraine allegedly cannot be corrected, so it will not be accepted into the EU or NATO.

In the Russian and Georgian segment of the social network Facebook, as well as in pro-Kremlin media, information is being spread that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin allegedly advised the Russian military not to hunt Abrams tanks, so as not to repeat the situation with Leopard tanks. It seems that he said: “A repetition of the situation with the German “Leopards”, when they were hunted, is unacceptable, I saw these calls. Play by the rules!”. It's fake.

As fact-checkers of the MythDetector project note, this news is fake, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not say such a phrase. Using search engines, experts determined that before getting onto Facebook, this phrase, allegedly belonging to Austin, first spread on September 25 on the social network X (formerly Twitter). However, its original source is not indicated.

During the 15th meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine, held in Germany, Lloyd Austin spoke about assistance to Ukraine, but did not utter phrases regarding the content of the hunt for Abrams tanks. This quote does not appear in any official source or reliable media.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Western partners and show that the US Secretary of Defense is making strange calls to take care of the equipment of the Ukrainian military. Propagandists are trying to create the illusion that the Russian military with its weapons is invincible and is destroying the weapons provided to Ukraine by its partners. Recently, Detector Media refuted the fake that Sweden confirmed the loss of all its tanks provided to Ukraine.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Sweden has allegedly confirmed the loss of all Leopard 2A5 tanks with the Swedish modification of Strv 122, which were provided to Ukraine as part of military aid. However, this is a fake.

The Reuters fact-checkers drew attention to the case. In response to their request for comment from a spokesperson for the Swedish Armed Forces, they received information that no such official statements had been made. Experts also could not find any reliable materials on the Internet that all 10 Swedish tanks were destroyed. In the press release of the Armed Forces of Sweden for September 21 on the topic of Swedish tanks, there is no mention of their loss. For example, in the article for September 23, the Forbes publication claims only two Swedish tanks were destroyed by a Russian air attack.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian military and Western partners. For example, either Ukrainian soldiers do not know how to use Western weapons, or the weapons themselves are of poor quality compared to Russian ones. Detector Media has already refuted a number of other fakes aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces.

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 information is disseminated by users of the Russian segment of Facebook. Reports say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces appear to be stockpiling kamikaze UAVs and depleted uranium shells at the Khmelnytsk and Rivne nuclear power plants. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed this information. They managed to find out that on September 22, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) distributed a report in which experts claim that there are no violations on the part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, temporarily occupied by the Russians, experts still noticed weapons.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians and divert attention from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Detector Media has already refuted the Russian fake that the West is carried away by Russia’s effectiveness on the battlefield.

Russian propagandists on anonymous telegram channels and in the media claim that the weapons transferred from Western partners to Ukraine ended up in the hands of European terrorists. Referring to the American ultra-right conspiracy portal Breitbart, they report that the police in Northern Ireland allegedly confiscated these weapons from two radicals of the New Irish Republican Army. This is manipulation.

Analysts from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found that on September 9, during a preventive counter-terrorism operation, the police actually confiscated several grenades and explosives from several members of the organization. The New IRA has been recognized as terrorist in the UK and the USA, and its members advocate continuing the armed struggle for the unification of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) into one state. However, the weapons that were confiscated from them are not Western-style weapons transferred to Ukraine as part of military assistance. The radicals were found to have a new type of grenade, which is used exclusively by the Russian army. StopFake analysts note that although the investigation does not exclude the possibility that these weapons fell into the hands of radicals from the front line in Ukraine, it is currently unknown how exactly this happened.

Using this manipulation, Russia wants to undermine its partners’ trust in Ukraine. They say that the weapons provided by Western states are sold by Ukraine as smugglers, so there is no need to provide them. Russian propagandists have repeatedly manipulated the topic of the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, as Media Detector has already written about.

After yet another Russian shelling of Ukrainian territories, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a message on its official telegram channel with an image of a missile launch and the inscription: “Exactly on target!”. This happened on April 28, 2023, when one of the Russian missiles hit a high-rise building in Uman and killed 23 people, including 6 children. That is, Moscow showed how its high-precision weapons actually work.

Such rhetoric ingrains in the minds of Russians the idea that the weapons of their army are incapable of missing and are used in war as accurately as possible. When the Russian Ministry of Defense says that they attacked some object in Ukraine, they can use the phrase “high-precision weapons” to glorify their achievements. Gigantomania is reflected here too: Russians consider Russia to be the standard of statehood, and its defense-industrial complex to be one of the most powerful in the world, because such weapons are a limited resource.

In addition, in the event of a Russian missile hitting a high-rise building in Uman and other similar situations, Russian propaganda uses deflection tactics and shifts the blame to Ukraine. They say that tragedies occur as a result of inept development of the Ukrainian air defense system. Russian missiles seem to be unable to hit a civilian home. So the Russians are confident in the correctness of their actions - they are opposing the “Ukronazis”.

According to the encyclopedia of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the so-called high-precision weapons are capable of providing the impression of an object with a probability of 50%. Accordingly, the Russians themselves claim that, in theory, every second ammunition does not reach its “exact” target.

To maintain trust on the part of the Russian civilian population and justify the bloody aggression against Ukraine, Russian propaganda resorts to all possible methods. It turns out that “high-precision weapons” are killing civilian Ukrainians, and not getting to the planned geographical coordinates. Moreover, with high accuracy, this weapon is capable of convincing the average Russian that everything is under control in the Russian army in the war against Ukraine.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels and Volodymyr Putin’s press secretary Dmytro Pieskov are disseminating information that the depleted uranium shells that the United States will bring to Ukraine will lead to “environmental consequences” and “an increase in the number of patients with oncology and other diseases” in Ukraine, as well as this is “a clear sign of inhumanity”. It is not true.

The US Department of Defense announced a new aid package to Ukraine, the cost of which is estimated at $175 million. The package will include tank ammunition with depleted uranium. Deputy US Department of Defense spokeswoman Sabrina Singh refuted the propaganda claim about the health effects of the shells: “The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that there is no evidence that depleted uranium shells cause cancer. The World Health Organization reports that there has been no increase in cases of leukemia or other cancers following any exposure to uranium or depleted uranium”. The IAEA states that depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment “do not pose a radiological hazard to the public”.

Moreover, Russia itself used depleted uranium shells during a full-scale war.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians and slow down the transfer of necessary shells to Ukraine that can counter Russian tanks. Previously, we refuted the fake news that uranium ammunition exploded in the Ternopil region.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that “most likely, the strike was carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in order to beg for more weapons”. Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly decided to “put pressure on Blinken”. They also call Kostiantynivka a “large village”. It's fake.

The case was studied by fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. On September 6, 2023, the Russian military shelled the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region. As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, as a result of a missile attack by Russians on a market in Kostiantynivka, 16 people were killed and 33 were injured.

During a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Matte Frederiksen in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyi emphasized: “This is yet another deliberate terrorist attack by the Russian Federation”. He also commented on Russian statements about an allegedly Ukrainian plane that “got to the wrong place”: “This is an absolute lie. We understand what is happening there and what types (of weapons) they hit us with”.

Russian propaganda is trying to shift responsibility for the actions of the Russians onto the Ukrainians, saying that it was Ukraine itself that launched a missile strike on Kostiantynivka, in order to intimidate the citizens of our state. Also, in this way, Russian propagandists intend to encourage Ukrainians to put pressure on the authorities to stop the counter-offensive or demand peace negotiations. Earlier we wrote that the Russians disseminated information that the missile attack on Kostiantynivka was allegedly carried out by the Ukrainian military.

Mary Wareham, advocacy director of the arms department of the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch, allegedly admitted that Ukraine is killing civilians with cluster shells. On September 5, Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels began to disseminate such information. Russians and propagandists refer to the Cluster Munition Monitor 2023 report. The analytical team of Detector Media has looked into the primary sources and tells what human rights activists wrote and what the propagandists thought up.

On September 3, the Human Rights Watch website published Mary Warham's column on the use of cluster munitions in Ukraine. In the text, she refers to Russia's “widespread use of cluster munitions” that has resulted in “civilian deaths and injuries, damage to civilian infrastructure, and contamination of agricultural land”. The human rights activist points out that Ukraine also uses cluster munitions, which “cause civilian casualties, but on a much smaller scale than the Russian army”.

In his blog, Wareham refers to the Cluster Munition Monitor 2023 report. This report mentions that the Ukrainian Armed Forces “used cluster munitions in attacks on Izium in the Kharkiv region between March and September 2022, when it was controlled by the Russian army”. The authors of the report note that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine denied the accusations of using cluster munitions. The list of sources of the document contains a link to a letter from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. And the letter from the Ministry of Defense states that although Ukraine is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions of May 30, 2008, “The Armed Forces of Ukraine strictly comply with the norms of international humanitarian law when planning and conducting military operations”. Human Rights Watch condemned the use of cluster munitions, but primarily blamed Russia, not Ukraine, for their use on the battlefield. The authors of the report cited the discussion about the transfer of cluster munitions by the United States to Ukraine as an example of how “stigmatized” the use of these munitions on the battlefield is. But they were reminded of the threats to their civilians even after the end of the war due to the fact that they may not explode immediately. Propagandists claimed that the human rights organization criticized only Ukraine and admitted that it violates international humanitarian law, and ignored the criticism of Russia by human rights activists.

This is not the first time propagandists and Russians have turned to the topic of cluster munitions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which allegedly kill civilians. In July, Detector Media refuted a claim about the death of a Russian propagandist who was allegedly killed by Ukrainians with American cluster shells. With messages about the use of cluster munitions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, propagandists are trying to plant several ideas on the audience. Firstly, that the Ukrainian military seems to be killing civilians, and this symbolically equates the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the war crimes of the Russians. Secondly, they try to shift the responsibility for the suffering of civilians from the aggressor to the victim of the aggression. And for this, they use the tactics of “third party” propaganda — they put into the mouths of representatives of non-Russian public organizations and media theses that are consonant with the messages of Russian propaganda.

Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu said that “Russia, for humanitarian reasons, does not use cluster munitions, but may reconsider this decision”. It's fake.

Russia has repeatedly shelled the territory of Ukraine with cluster munitions. On February 25, 2022, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported that the attack on the hospital in Vuhledar was carried out by a Russian ballistic missile 9M79 fired by the Tochka-U complex. At the end of March 2022, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachalet, stated that Russia had used cluster munitions 24 times at that time. On April 8, 2022, the Russians attacked the Kramatorsk station with Tochka-U. Then 58 civilians were killed and about 100 people were injured.

Russian propaganda is trying to shift the responsibility for the crimes of Russians to Ukraine. Like, Ukraine is provoking Russia, and it is forced to give an answer. Earlier, we refuted a similar fake that Putin said that Russia did not shell Ukraine with cluster munitions.

The Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the weapons transferred by the Americans to Ukraine appear in the Mexican cartels. The United States allegedly fears that the Mexicans will begin to use weapons on the border against American security forces. This information is distributed with a link to an English-language site. It is not true.

The case was studied by the fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. On the site referred to by the propaganda, in the About Us section, they posted people whose photos are found on other dubious sites related to conspiracy theories and fakes. And the story about the cartels is based on an article from The New York Times, where Ukraine is not mentioned at all. There is also no evidence that the partners' weapons they provide to Ukraine have been seen in other countries.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and spread the opinion that Ukrainians resell weapons of partners on the black market and they fall into the hands of criminals. Earlier we talked about the manipulation that Mexican drug cartels allegedly receive weapons provided to Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the July protests in France, protesters used Ukrainian weapons that the West handed over to Ukraine. The reason for the riots was the likely deliberate murder of a 17-year-old teenager by a policeman in the suburbs of Paris. The publications hint that in Ukraine they are engaged in the illegal sale of weapons and “inciting” people to violence. The authors refer to the material of one of the French publications and add a screenshot.

The German fact-checker group Correctiv investigated that they did not find a single material on the sale of Ukrainian weapons for protests in France. They explain that this is just a stuffing, because with the help of a reverse search on Google, specialists managed to study a possible “screenshot” of the material. It turned out that the fakerobes overlaid text on the photo of the weapon and passed it off as material. However, this is a random image from the network and has nothing to do with either the material of the French edition or Ukrainian weapons.

By publishing such fakes, propagandists once again want to show Ukrainians as ungrateful provocateurs who want to destabilize the situation in Europe. Like, Ukrainians resell it on the black market and it falls into the hands of criminals. Thus, the authors undermine the authority of the Ukrainian authorities and try to disrupt future deliveries of armed assistance from NATO countries. After all, such fakes are targeted at the Western audience and leaders in order to inspire despondency towards the actions of Ukraine.

We recently debunked a fake about the so-called “illegal sale” of weapons to Africa.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, spread the information that Putin said that Russia still does not use cluster munitions in Ukraine. “If they are used against us, we reserve the right to mirror actions”, the Russian president said. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of The Insider media drew attention to the case. On February 25, 2022, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported on the strike of a Russian ballistic missile 9M79 fired by the Tochka-U complex on a hospital in Vuhledar. It was equipped with a warhead filled with 9N123K cluster munitions. As a result, 4 people died.

On February 28, 2022, investigative journalists from Bellingcat tracked the use of cluster munitions by Russia in Ukraine. And already at the end of March 2022, the chairman of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, said that Russia had used cluster munitions 24 times at that time. The attack on the Kramatorsk railway station on April 8, 2022, which killed 58 civilians and wounded about 100, was also carried out by Tochka-U.

Russia discredits Ukraine and tries to make it guilty of the war. They say that it is the Ukrainians who are the aggressors, and Russia was forced to enter the war and use cluster munitions. Earlier, we refuted the fake that Ukraine does not have the right to use cluster munitions because it signed the convention in 2008.

Anonymous telegram channels and media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the Joseph Biden administration decided to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions banned by the convention in 2008. Russian propaganda notes that Ukraine signed this document, however, despite this, the Ukrainian military will use them to attack Russian cities. And this type of weapon is dangerous for civilians after the war, if the ammunition does not explode. It's fake.

The case drew the attention of specialists from the VoxCheck project. US presidential adviser Jake Sullivan said that since the beginning of a full-scale invasion, Russia has been using cluster shells, which in 30-40% of cases do not explode. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was created in 2008 and has been signed by 123 countries. However, Ukraine, the US and Russia are not signatories. Joseph Biden also explained that this type of weapons will be transferred to Ukraine due to the lack of other ammunition. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov noted that the Ukrainian military will not use cluster munitions on the territory of Russian settlements and will keep a strict record of use and localization, so that these territories can be cleared later.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army and government, noting that it is in Ukraine that the terrorists are and they want to destroy the Russians. Russia is trying to portray itself as a victim, but it is it who commits the crimes. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that if the United States provides Ukraine with cluster munitions, Russia will have no choice but to use them in response on the territory of Ukraine.

Russian media, as well as anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric, referring to an article by The New York Times, disseminated information that since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukraine has lost up to 20% of all armored vehicles that were transferred to it by Western partners (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers). However, this is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They argue that the New York Times publication actually only mentions that up to 20% of the heavy weapons, including Western ones, used in the counteroffensive during the first two weeks of June, could be destroyed or damaged by the enemy. The authors of the article report that in the following weeks, the level of Ukrainian losses of armored vehicles dropped to 10%, as Ukraine changed its offensive tactics.

By manipulating foreign publications, propagandists want to create the erroneous impression of Ukraine's failure on the battlefield and show the ineffectiveness of Western weapons. However, in this situation, even in this article it is indicated that a number of Western weapons are not used in the counteroffensive, and the losses of Western equipment are exaggerated.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric report that Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu said in an interview that “if the United States supplies Ukraine with cluster munitions, the Armed Forces of Russian Federation will be forced to use similar weapons”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications investigated this case. In May 2022, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch published a report stating that the Russians use at least 6 types of cluster munitions in Ukraine. Russia bombarded Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and other cities with them. On April 8, 2022, the Russians used a Tochka-U ballistic missile with a cluster warhead and struck it at the Kramatorsk railway station. Then 54 adults and 7 children died.

Thus, Russian propagandists transfer responsibility for Russia's crimes to Ukraine and expose themselves as a constant victim of “aggression”. Like, Ukraine attacks first, so Russia will have to use cluster munitions in return. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is making fake attacks on nuclear facilities in order to discredit Russian troops.

Anonymous telegram channels and Bulgarian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that during a visit to Sofia, Volodymyr Zelenskyi “rose claims” against  Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. As a result, Radev allegedly refused to supply weapons to Ukraine. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. The meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine and Bulgaria was held on July 6. During the meeting, Radev expressed his opinion that “this conflict has no military solution” and Volodymyr Zelenskyi replied that Ukraine is defending itself.

According to the Bulgarian Constitution, the Bulgarian President does not determine foreign policy - this is the responsibility of the Cabinet of Ministers. Bulgaria promised additional military supplies, assistance in strengthening Ukraine's energy system, and support for joining NATO.

Earlier in December 2022, the People's Assembly (Bulgarian Parliament) voted to provide military and military-technical support to Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propagandists promote the narrative that the West is tired of the war and does not believe in the victory of Ukraine, and also discredit the authorities in Bulgaria. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that in Finland they want to deprive Ukrainian refugees of social assistance.

This thesis was circulated in social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the United States is ready to provide Ukraine with the Israeli Iron Dome system, just to protect its weapons. In particular, the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. The authors refer to the material of the international television news channel PressTV.

The fact checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found out that, first of all, such information was not indicated in the material. The United States itself considered the Iron Dome program to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses. This was explained by the fact that the Patriot can shoot down ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft, but is less effective in intercepting low-flying small drones. And the Iron Dome can handle such drones. And the material just said that US officials were considering providing Ukraine with a dome system, taking into account a number of features of its use.

The authors use the rhetoric of “protecting their own weapons” to hint at the low combat capability of the Ukrainian army. Allegedly, the United States wants to protect their weapons, and not Ukraine and Ukrainians. Thus, the authors expose the Ukrainian military as incompetent.

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.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine is using munitions unsuitable for combat. They say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are sorely lacking weapons, so the military is using old weapons. The authors add that in this way the equipment will break down quickly, and nothing will resist Russian technology. They add to the publication a photograph allegedly from the Ukrainian composition of weapons.

The case was noticed by StopFake fact-checkers who found out that the thesis about the use of damaged weapons is unfounded. The propagandists did not provide evidence, since in fact the image is a warehouse of Russian weapons, which was recently found by the State Special Transport Service in the Kharkiv region. Suitable shells were given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the damaged ones were disposed of. That is, the photo showed Russian weapons and the shells were indeed damaged. However, this does not apply to the Ukrainian army and their combat stock.

The propagandists reflected the situation and passed off Russian equipment as Ukrainian. The authors use the rhetoric about the use of damaged ammunition or equipment to convince the lack of decent combat capability in the Ukrainian army. Thus, it is propagandists’ wishful thinking, they say that Ukraine allegedly constantly loses.

Propagandists claim that the EU allegedly thoughtlessly blames Russia for any problem, as well as for blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, but in fact it was destroyed by the “Kyiv regime” with Western weapons.

This message was brought to the attention of the EUvsDisinfo project specialists. They found out that he was an unsubstantiated accusation and a combination of other messages. Allegedly, military support from the West continues the war and continues the suffering of civilians.

Propagandists spread such information in order to once again justify Russia's aggression. However, in reality, it is Russia that causes significant damage to the Ukrainian economy and kills thousands of people. It is Russia that is trying to destroy Ukraine, its people and culture, project experts say. NATO member countries independently decide on the provision of assistance to Ukraine and it is not illegal, since Ukraine uses it for self-defense, provided for by the UN Charter.

In addition, Russia wants to shift responsibility to Ukraine for a number of provocations, artificially creating for it the image of a “terrorist regime”. Propagandists equate the explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant with fakes about “dirty bombs”, devaluing the scale of the disaster. However, Russia blew up the dam. In particular, this is evidenced by the data on seismic activity in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, recorded by the Norwegian seismic station in Romania. Detector Media has already written about what propagandists said about the bombing on the day it happened.

The thesis that the West is violating international law by supplying weapons to Ukraine was promoted by Putin at meetings with war correspondents. He also stated: “We have a lot of depleted uranium ammunition, we will use it in response”. Such a thesis is unfounded.

By annexing part of Ukrainian territory, launching a massive offensive, and committing war crimes since the invasion, Russia is violating international law and a number of international security agreements and the rule of law. In particular, it ignores treaties that guarantee the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states, as well as the rules of law governing the basic principles of warfare. In May, Russia initiated a meeting of the UN Security Council on the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine. Then the representative of Japan to the UN said that Ukraine is defending itself from aggression, and the international community is providing assistance “so that peace and security reign in the world”. And the representative of France to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, noted that Western partners supply weapons to Ukraine legally whereas Russia buys weapons - illegally - to replenish its stocks. “Russia buys drones from Iran, and missiles and ammunition from North Korea. By these actions, Russia violates the UN resolution”, Nicolas de Riviere said.

By spreading this message, Russia is trying to discredit its Western partners and portray them as violators of international law. Thus, propagandists are trying to divert international attention from Russian war crimes, violations of rights and treaties and shift responsibility for what has been committed to others. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is a tool of the West to undermine Russian statehood.

Propagandists are spreading a video on social networks in which the Ukrainian military, together with NATO soldiers, allegedly drowned a Piranha 3C armored personnel carrier during their training. It's fake.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the video had nothing to do with the training of the Ukrainian military abroad, or with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in general. The event in the video took place on June 3 during the international NATO training Saber Guardian. Then the armored personnel carrier sank while trying to cross the Borcha River. The press service of the Romanian Ministry of Defense (since the equipment is in service with this country), according to StopFake experts, reported that the armored car sank due to water penetration inside. It has already been lifted from the bottom and started to repair. In addition, Switzerland, as a manufacturer of this type of armored vehicles, blocked the provision of them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Denmark announced the idea. Therefore, there was no need to learn how to manage them. Thus, propagandists want to accuse Ukrainians of damaging foreign weapons and the inability of the Ukrainian army to quickly master the methods of controlling equipment. 

All this is another attempt to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is also evidenced by the fact that the propagandists began to distribute the video after it was published on one of the TikTalk accounts of the Wagner terrorist organization.

Propagandists are distributing a video on social networks, in which a report by the Mexican TV channel Milenio allegedly mentions that Mexican drug cartels are receiving weapons transferred to Ukraine as military aid. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the AP Fact Check project drew attention to the video. They found out that the propagandists deliberately mistranslated the comment from him. In fact, it says that members of the Golf Cartel “own javelins”. The host of this news program only recalls that this is the type of weapon used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but does not say that the drug cartel received it with the participation of Ukrainians or that the specific weapon from the video should be in service with the Ukrainian army. In addition, the journalists of the TV channel incorrectly identified the weapon in the report - in fact, it does not show the Javelin, but the AT4, another type of anti-tank weapon.

Thus, propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and disrupt the supply of armed aid from NATO countries. Like, Ukrainians resell it on the black market, and it falls into the hands of criminals. However, military experts, at the request of AP Fact Check specialists, replied that the drug traffickers probably bought the weapons in a way not related to Ukraine.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell has allegedly offered to stop arms supplies to Ukraine in order to stop the war. The authors of the messages refer to the El Intermedio interview. This is manipulation.

The VoxCheck project drew attention to the case and determined that Josep Borrell did not say this in an interview. He explained that there are several scenarios for the end of the war, and in all possible scenarios the EU will help Ukraine. He also explained that “immediately” the war can be stopped if, for example, the EU does not supply weapons, and Russia seizes Ukraine. He further explains that this is not the end of the war, and such a scenario does not amount to a single victory for both the EU and Ukraine. That is, according to him, it is clear that such an option of ending the war is impossible. And the propagandists distorted the context of what was said and reported that supposedly the EU would not help Ukraine.

Thus, the propagandists are trying to show that everyone is already tired of constant assistance to Ukraine. Allegedly, the West is ready to stop the war and allow Russia to seize Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Official protests were held in Athens on May 7 against the war in Ukraine, including against the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian army. The authors of the messages add that this rally in support of Russia was initiated by NATO itself. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and they found that anti-war rallies were indeed held in Athens, consisting of several dozen people and during which the participants chanted pro-Kremlin slogans. However, this rally was not held with the participation of the current authorities of Greece and, accordingly, it does not reflect the official position of Greece regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. As the fact-checkers explained, the rally was initiated by Russian forces, Greek communists and left-wing parties that do not have political weight in their own country. At the same time, the Greek authorities support Ukraine in confronting Russian aggression, even the country's defense minister noted that Greece “will provide military assistance to Ukraine as much as necessary”.

By spreading such manipulation, the propagandists are trying to convince everyone that Ukraine should allegedly not be supplied with weapons, because, first of all, the Europeans are against it. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to reduce military aid to Ukraine.

Similar theses were heard on the air of Russian propaganda TV channels. They say that the Ukrainian authorities demonstrated to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Ukrainian weapons disguised as Russian. With these weapons, Ukraine allegedly fired at the civilian population of Donbas, Belgorod, Briansk and Kursk regions. “It has been proven that the rocket fired at the railway station [in Kramatorsk] was Ukrainian. The same “Tochka U” missile that we [Russia] have long since withdrawn from service”. It's fake.

According to EUvsDiDiNFo analysts, there is strong evidence that Russian troops attacked the Kramatorsk railway station on April 8, 2022 with a Tochka-U missile. Contrary to propaganda claims, the Soviet Tochka-U missile system is still in use by the Russian army. This is evidenced by video recordings of transportation through Belarus in March 2022, which were posted on the Belarusian Haiun telegram channel.

Also, according to military experts from the Conflict Intelligence Team, an analysis of the Tochka-U flight path proves that the missile was fired at Kramatorsk from the southwestern region, where the Russian army and illegal armed formations of the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions are located.

Thus, Kremlin propagandists are trying to hide their shelling of civilians and civilian objects in Ukraine. They call it another provocation by Ukraine to discredit the Russian troops. Earlier, Detector Media told how the Russians boasted on social networks about the shelling of the station in Kramatorsk, and then deleted their messages.

Such information is disseminated by the Russian media, referring to the words of Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasyl Nebenzia. He stated it on March 10 during a meeting of the UN Security Council. They write that Western weapons supplied to Ukraine “have already begun to appear in the states of Europe and Africa, replenishing the arsenals of organized crime”. And in this way, “assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and Western-made man-portable missile systems fall into the hands of bandits and radical regimes”. It is not true.

The StopFake fact-checkers drew attention to the case. In 2022, an Interim special commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was established in Ukraine to monitor the receipt and use of international logistical assistance during martial law. The government of Ukraine has pledged to ensure proper storage and accounting of the transferred defense equipment, said US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood. He was supported by representatives of Great Britain, Albania, Japan, Poland, France.

Such fakes are necessary for Russia in order to discredit Ukraine and weaken international support. Detector Media has already investigated the emergence of disinformation in the Financial Times about “arms smuggling from Ukraine”.

This thesis was spread in social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the awakening of the volcano in Kamchatka in Russia is the work of the United States, creating a climate weapon against Russia, so the volcano is “just the beginning” of US dashing actions. The authors add that the White House and the US Congress have adopted a five-year “climate intervention” plan, which involves the creation of climate control technologies. One of the goals is to fight the “new dominance of Russia”.

The fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated the case and found that the existence of a “climate weapon” that they want to use against Russia is another Moscow conspiracy theory. The document referred to by propagandists as a “climate intervention plan” is actually a “White House request for contributions to a five-year plan for climate intervention research”, and there is no indication in the document that the US is “managing the climate” to fight Russia.

A climate weapon is a hypothetical physical weapon capable of controlling the climatic conditions of the world. In particular, in the context of this message, climate weapons are capable of awakening volcanoes and accumulating magma in order to kill people later.

On the night of April 11, a powerful eruption of the Shyveluch volcano occurred on the Kamchatka peninsula. After the volcanic eruption - the northern active volcano of Kamchatka - the strongest ash in the last 60 years was recorded on the peninsula. Then a cloud of ash rose into the sky to a height of 15 to 20 kilometers.

In anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric, including in Polish language, propagandists are outraged by the visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to Canada. They don't like the fact that on the plane that Shmyhal flew in, one can find stickers in the form of an emoji of an airplane and hands drawn up in prayer. According to propagandists’ conclusions, in this way the Ukrainians are approaching the aborigines. They say Ukrainians do not have enough words, because it is a shame to humiliate themselves for the sake of weapons.

Although the idea with stickers is somewhat non-standard, this is not a reason to draw such conclusions based on it. In addition, such remarks are humiliating for both Ukrainians and aborigines, who are considered a special ethnic group in a number of countries as part of their indigenous peoples.

Thus, propagandists want to ridicule Ukraine and show that no one supposedly perceives it anymore. Like, Ukraine is again begging and begging to give everything to it. However, they are deliberately silent about the fact that Ukraine would not have had to do this if Russia had not attacked it. In addition, the supply of weapons to Ukraine is not decreasing, which indicates the continued interest of foreign countries in helping Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in the Russian Ministry of Defense. Reports say that Russia managed to intercept the first American guided missile GLSDB. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council explains that Ukraine did not officially receive such a missile from its partners, which means that Russia could not intercept it. The GLSDB missiles are not even in service in the United States yet, since the American leadership is ordering these weapons for Ukraine.

The United States military aid package for Ukraine was announced on February 3, 2023, and according to Western analysts, the first batch of GLSDB missiles can be produced in nine months.

By spreading this fake, propagandists want to distort reality and show that Ukraine is constantly losing and even powerful equipment does not help, because the Russians “successfully” destroy it.

We recall that earlier Detector Media refuted the fake about the destruction of the American M1 Abrams tank near Soledar and the “hitting” out of the Leopard2A5 tank near Vuhledar.

Propagandists write that the European Union does not adhere to its own principles. Like, it encourages the UK to supply weapons with depleted uranium to Ukraine, but condemns Belarus for placing Russian tactical weapons on its territory. It seems to be the same, but the EU is only playing to substitute concepts. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the EU vs DisInfo project drew attention to it. They argue that propagandist material creates the false impression that depleted uranium weapons and nuclear weapons have the same effect. As a conclusion, the deployment of tactical weapons in Belarus is a completely different case. On March 21, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense stated that although Russia is trying to equate the status of weapons with depleted uranium with the status of nuclear weapons, this is not true due to the fact that weapons with depleted uranium are not prohibited.

Propagandists want to distract the world community from Russia's actions in this way. In particular, it is Russian troops who in Ukraine use weapons with characteristics prohibited by international law.

Such information appeared in the Russian propaganda media. They say that the use of shells provided to Ukraine by the UK is a crime against humanity and the planet. The reports add that the use of such projectiles is unacceptable and immoral.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case. According to them, such a message is part of the Kremlin's disinformation campaign against the supply of depleted uranium to Ukraine.

However, the depleted uranium shells that the UK sends to Ukraine are not prohibited by any international agreement. Also, crimes against humanity are traditionally defined and prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, mass systematic rape and sexual enslavement during war, etc.). The use of depleted uranium projectiles cannot be considered one of the crimes against humanity. In 2007, the UN General Assembly began research to find out the impact of depleted uranium weapons on human health. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) found that the effects of depleted uranium did not cause significant poisoning.

With the help of such messages, Russian propaganda seeks to portray Ukraine as the aggressor. They say that it is Ukraine that violates the rules of war, uses prohibited weapons that can cause a catastrophe, and the countries of the West, in particular, Great Britain, only help him.

This thesis was spread on social networks and in the propaganda media. The reports say that Estonia is a follower of “Nazi Germany” because the country's leadership has banned “certain ethnic groups” from carrying weapons. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the “Beyond the News” project drew attention to the case, who investigated that the basis for creating this manipulation was amendments to the law on weapons, according to which, from March 15, 2023, permits for the issuance of weapons will be invalid for citizens of countries outside the EU and NATO. The changes will affect not only ethnic Russians or Belarusians living in Estonia. However, these categories will also cease to issue new permits. Innovations will affect about 1,300 residents of the country, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia notes.

Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Lauri Läänemets does not hide the fact that the restriction is a direct consequence of unprovoked Russian aggression in Ukraine and, in general, the policy pursued by Russia against countries that do not support the so-called “special operation”. In the appeal from the ministry, they do not hide the fact that there are indeed quite a few Russians or Belarusians among the 1,300 people. However, the restrictions will apply to these people not because they are Russians or Belarusians, but because of the countries' aggressive policies towards Ukraine.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists feed the narrative about the existence of so-called “russophobia” – hatred towards Russians and everything Russian. Allegedly, xenophobic sentiments are professed in countries that do not support the aggressive policy of Russia. However, the so-called russophobia is a response to the actions of the Russian army, leadership and people, because the Russians are collectively responsible for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported with appropriate statements or silence.

This thesis was spread on social networks and in the propaganda media. The reports say that the West did not provide the Armed Forces with the necessary amount of equipment to create full-fledged units. Like, the Ukrainian military has no weapons. The authors of the messages refer to the material of “Forbes”. This is a manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to this case, investigating that propagandists distorted the context of the material. As the fact-checkers explain, the Forbes article says that the lack of heavy equipment in some units is not a problem at all and is a “temporary state of affairs”. A military journalist explained in his material that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have enough other weapons. He gives the example that while heavy tanks have not arrived on the battlefield, the Ukrainian army already has “a bunch of other weapons, including lightly armored tanks”. That is, the military journalist did not say that there were “not enough weapons” in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but on the contrary, he talked about the presence of “a bunch of other weapons”, at the same time he called the absence of heavy tanks a matter of time.

Propagandists systematically spread manipulations designed to discredit the West and allegedly show that the Western countries allegedly do not care about Ukraine, which will not be sent the promised weapons and so on. Thus, the authors of the messages discredit Western partners and undermine Ukrainians' confidence in the West.

Detector Media has repeatedly refuted fakes about Western weapons, for example, about the destruction of an American M1 Abrams tank near Soledar, which had not yet been handed over to Ukraine. He also denied the fake creation of Leopard 2 tanks with so-called “nuclear warheads” and explained the message that the West came up with a new deadly weapon called “tectonic weapons” to punish Turkey with an earthquake.

Propagandists are spreading information that Ukraine is building a nuclear weapon, namely a “dirty bomb”. They say that it is used in a provocation against Transnistria, and for its manufacture, radioactive materials have already been brought to Ukraine from the West, namely California-252. It's fake.

StopFake analysts drew attention to it. They found that Californium-252 is an extremely rare and expensive radioactive metal. It does not occur in nature, and its production is made exclusively in the laboratory and lasts an average of two years. Only two countries in the world produce California-252: the USA and Russia. Due to the specifics of production, the price per gram of this metal can reach $ 27 million, so it is not stored in large quantities in warehouses, as the Russians say. In addition, its use is closely monitored by a number of US and international agencies. The speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolaienko has already called the inventions of propagandists “fake”.

Thus, propagandists try to justify the actions of the aggressor again and shift the responsibility for them to the victim of aggression. Like, Russia is fighting against a disenfranchised Ukraine that wants to destroy Europe. Detector Media has already written about disinformation about the alleged creation of nuclear weapons by Ukraine, which the IAEA once denied.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that in Europe, in particular in Spain, they are afraid of “possible nuclear threats from Ukraine”. That is why, according to the authors, the leadership of Spain is introducing a campaign to fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction in order to protect itself from “provocations of Ukraine”.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to this case and found that this is another conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda that has no evidence. Probably, as analysts explain, the basis of this conspiracy thesis was the Spanish national security meeting held in February. The meeting adopted a draft national strategy to fight the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Both the meeting and the draft document had nothing to do with Ukraine, since only national security measures were discussed. Moreover, there were no statements from Spanish officials regarding the so-called “protection from Ukraine”.

By spreading this message, propagandists want to convince that Ukraine is an aggressor and that it carries out so-called provocations and terrorizes Europeans. Thus, the authors of messages use the tactics of reflection, attributing their actions to opponents. Because intimidation and “nuclear blackmail” is one of the ways Russian propaganda achieves its goals.

We recall that earlier Detector Media also denied a fake, which claimed that radioactive substances were allegedly brought to Ukraine to prepare provocations against Russia.

In social networks and telegram channels, messages are spreading allegedly about large-scale protests in Copenhagen. Users claim that they are allegedly protesting against the provision of weapons to Ukraine. It's fake.

There were indeed protests in Denmark, but they have nothing to do with the supply of weapons to Ukraine. According to VoxCheck, these are rallies against the abolition of the state holiday, which took place on February 6. The Danish government has proposed abolishing the public holiday on the Day of Great Prayer on 5 May. According to officials, this will help to quickly increase the country's defense budget. In response, the unions protested. There was no talk of the need to increase the defense budget through military assistance to Ukraine. The protesters also did not demand to stop helping Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to distort information about the level of support for Ukraine abroad. They say that citizens of Western countries are holding rallies demanding to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Previously, propaganda spread fake news about protests in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova, Belgium, etc.

Videos of alleged mass protests in the Netherlands are being circulated online. Users claim that people allegedly protest against the provision of weapons to Ukraine and demand the restoration of farms that went bankrupt as a result of sanctions against Russia. This is manipulation.

There were indeed protests in the Netherlands, but they have nothing to do with the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The demonstrators opposed the government's initiative to introduce a central bank digital currency. VoxCheck fact checkers found that the protests took place in Amsterdam on February 5, 2023. The organizer of the demonstration and the protesters believe that the government is trying to limit the freedom of citizens to spend money anonymously and at their discretion, and technology can be used to control the society of the Netherlands. The demands of the demonstrators were neither about the provision of weapons to Ukraine, nor about the restoration of farms.

Russian propaganda is trying to create the appearance that the level of support for Ukraine in European countries is falling. Propagandists have previously spread fake messages about protests against arms supplies to France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova, Belgium, etc.

Russian and foreign media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric use the recent statement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against Ukraine. Like, the chancellor is against NATO supplying weapons to Ukraine, because it weakens the Alliance. As a result, according to the authors of the messages, Germany will no longer supply Ukraine with armed assistance.

Analysts of the EUvsDisInfo project found out that in fact, in his statement, Scholz did not criticize the supply of weapons to Ukraine, but that the members of the Alliance turned this process into a “public competition”. This, according to the Chancellor, is what weakens NATO, threatening its unity. Scholz said that unity helped Ukraine in the early days of the war and countries should not argue about arms supplies to Ukraine.

Propagandists are trying in every possible way to condemn Western countries for providing military assistance to Ukraine, using various methods for this. They either call it “foul play” or direct intervention in the war. Very often this is combined with manipulations on the topic of the attitude of society in NATO member countries to the provision of weapons to Ukraine.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. It says the US is unlikely to hand over the Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of their difficult process of maintaining combat capability. The authors of the report add that the Ukrainian army is not capable of repairing tanks, so they will definitely not be sent. As evidence, they refer to the material of the Financial Times, where supposedly experts talked about this. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found out that neither the author of the article nor the experts interviewed stated that the United States was not ready to transfer the tanks. On the contrary, the publication says that after long discussions and requests from Germany and Ukraine, America nevertheless decided to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which is equivalent to one Ukrainian tank battalion. The fact-checkers note that the reporters only cited experts interviewed by the Financial Times who expressed concern about whether Ukraine could actually handle the maintenance of the tank. That is, the context of the article was distorted and the authors used convenient propaganda theses to justify “the unwillingness of the United States to transfer tanks”.

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists are trying to convince that the Ukrainian military is not capable of using Western weapons, they say, they don’t even know how to repair them. Thus, they also want to promote the narrative about the combat-ready Russian technology, which has no equal in the world. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake story about the alleged destruction of the Abrams tank by the Russian army, which had not yet arrived in Ukraine.

Such a fake was spread on social networks and in the propaganda media. The reports say that Ukraine is “throwing weapons to the left”, that is, it is engaged in various frauds, including smuggling. The authors of the messages refer to an interview with the Financial Times, in which the prime minister mentioned this. It is not true.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that there is no mention of this in the interview itself. In an interview, the prime minister only says that because of the war in Ukraine, the risks of arms smuggling have increased significantly, but there is no mention of possible evidence in the material. That is, the prime minister did not give any specifics and did not try to prove anything. In the Financial Times, she talked about the risks for the world community caused by Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Propagandists have repeatedly manipulated the topic of arms delivery. Thus, they want to convince that allegedly Ukraine uses weapons for other purposes, therefore Ukraine is far from being a loyal partner who can be trusted.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that the number of artillery shells that Ukraine allegedly uses per day would be enough for a small European country per year in peacetime. They say that the production of ammunition can be increased, but this will take several years. Allegedly, Europe now cannot but satisfy the “appetite” of Ukraine, since there is a crisis with ammunition.

These messages are manipulative. Any country in peacetime spends much less ammunition than in time of war. The intensity of hostilities, and hence the consumption of ammunition, can also be different. No country, for security reasons, can give Ukraine all its ammunition. That is why Eastern Europe and the United States have been increasing the production of ammunition since 2022. Eastern European businesses are now turning out weapons, artillery shells and other military equipment at a rate not seen since the Cold War to help Ukraine fight Russia.

By spreading the message that other countries are running out of weapons, that Ukraine does not want to supply weapons, new supplies will escalate, or that low-quality or obsolete weapons are being transferred to Ukraine, Russian propaganda is trying to devalue Western aid and demoralize Ukrainians.

This message was circulated on social networks and in the Kremlin media. It states that Leopard 2 tanks are capable of transporting and delivering cannons containing so-called “dirty bombs” or nuclear warheads. However, this is a lie.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated this case and found that it was a fake and a conspiracy theory of the pro-Kremlin media. German-made Leopard 2 tanks do not use depleted uranium shells. Yes, pure uranium is a radioactive element, but not depleted. Some countries are armed with tanks with depleted uranium shells.

To put it simply, the projectile “does not emit” radiation and only threatens Russian tankers. The Scientific committee on health and environmental risks of the EU Commission has come to the general conclusion that the impact of depleted uranium radiation is not significant.

According to international agreements, munitions containing this isotope are not considered either nuclear or chemical weapons.

By spreading this message, propagandists are once again trying to promote the message that Western weapons being handed over to Ukraine only exacerbate the situation, and Ukraine is just a testing ground for Western weapons.

Anonymous telegram channels spread the words of the press secretary of the Russian president Dmytro Pieskov. Like, the Russian business offered a reward for every burned Western tank. It seems to be a good incentive for Russian military personnel to destroy Western equipment.

In fact, in spreading this message, Russian propaganda resorts to intimidation tactics. The message that Western tanks will not help Ukraine has been spread before. They tried to scare not only Ukrainians, but also Germany. Like, Russia will consider Germany a “party to the conflict” if there is permission to supply tanks to Ukraine. Also, propaganda systematically spreads fakes about the “achievement” in the destruction of Western technology. Recently, the Russians said that they destroyed four American Bradley armored vehicles and an M1 Abrams tank, despite the fact that Ukraine does not yet have these weapons.

In the German-language segment of Facebook and Twitter, users are spreading a video showing a train with German Leopard tanks. The inscription of the video claims that it was made before January 24, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz officially announced that Germany would provide tanks to Ukraine. But this is not true.

As Correctiv points out, the video was made in April 2022, and it shows the process of returning German equipment to its places of permanent deployment after military exercises. Users misleading the inscription that the video was made before the federal authorities decided to supply tanks to Ukraine write in the comments that Scholz is a liar and that he does not solve anything, since Germany is led by the United States.

The purpose of spreading such fake videos may be to influence the German society in order to convince it that Germany is losing independence in decision-making and sow distrust in the authorities. The audience of such fakes can be Euroskeptics and East Germans, who traditionally advocate rapprochement with Russia.

Russian propaganda is constantly trying to use social conflicts or tensions in different countries to sow chaos, discord or bring right-wing populists backed by the Kremlin to power. Germany is one of the most important countries for the Kremlin, on whose loyalty Russia has relied for decades. After the start of a full-scale invasion, German politicians admitted that their policies of “reconciliation” with Russia, attempts to reduce sanctions after the annexation of Crimea and increasing dependence on Russian gas supplies were a mistake. Also, the German society took the side of Ukraine. But Russian propaganda continues to work intensively in Germany, thanks to social networks as well. And their efforts are bearing fruit: according to a study by the German Center for monitoring, analysis and strategy CeMAS, since the beginning of the war in Germany, the number of people who believe Russian propaganda narratives has increased significantly.

This manipulation was spread on social networks and pro-Kremlin telegram channels. The report says that tanks supplied by the West are ineffective. They say that the invaders are able to destroy all Western equipment with their own, domestic alternative. As proof, propagandists refer to the material of the Danish Defense Academy, where this is allegedly discussed. However, this is manipulation.

According to StopFake project analysts, the cited material does not actually say that Western tanks will be ineffective in the fight against Russia and there are no statements about how all of them will be smashed by Russia. One of the experts in the material only says that their importance should not be overestimated and that they can really play their role during the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Propagandists spread such manipulation to convince everyone of the effectiveness of Russian technology. It seems that it has no equal, and all Western equipment can be easily destroyed. Detector Media talked about a fake in which Russia allegedly destroyed a tank that had not even been handed over to Ukraine yet, as well as how certain European countries, in particular Denmark, regret that they provide weapons to Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in telegram channels and pro-Kremlin media. The report says that such an opinion is allegedly shared by the speaker of the head of the UN, Stéphane Dujarric. The authors of the messages refer to his statement in which he allegedly said this and add that the West is supplying more and more weapons to Ukraine. According to them, this could “lead to even worse development”. However, this is manipulation.

As the analysts of the StopFake project explain, the propagandists distorted the official's quote. Asked by a journalist about the prospects for the end of Russia's war against Ukraine and the use of Western weapons, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the current processes do not indicate that “a just peace in accordance with the UN Charter and international law” will be achieved soon. That is, it is assumed that Russia, a terrorist country, does not at all profess a policy of peace, diplomacy and democracy. On the contrary, it brings war and destruction, which just denies the key values of the UN, which the spokesman mentioned.

Based on the context of this statement, analysts are sure that Dujarric implies the concept of war as a phenomenon and possible escalating threats from a terrorist country, but this does not apply to the issue of arms supply, because the spokesman noted that in general the war continues and this is already bad . However, the UN will do everything to bring peace to Ukraine.

At the same time, the Russian media omitted a part of the quotation with “….in accordance with international law”, which primarily indicates a compilation and an attempt to manipulate the opinion of readers. This concept implies the withdrawal of Russian troops from all the territory of Ukraine within its recognized borders as of 1991.

Propagandists have repeatedly manipulated the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine. Thus, they want to convince people that the countries of Europe do not give up their weapons of their own free will and allegedly regret this. Also, this manipulation is intended to nourish the narrative that the supply of Western weapons continues the war in Ukraine.

We recall that earlier Russia has already spread disinformation that certain European countries, in particular Denmark, regret that they provide weapons to Ukraine.

Kremlin media are spreading a photo of a sign purporting to be in a Berlin zoo asking them not to feed the leopards with “Zelensky’s empty chatter because the animals might vomit”.  This information was also shared on social media. Some users are convinced that the zoo is protesting against the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. In the picture distributed by the propaganda media, there is a man with a signboard with the corresponding inscription behind him. However, this is fake.

StopFake analysts conducted an investigation and found that the photo was actually edited. Due to a search using the hashtag #berlinzoo, it was possible to find the original image. There really is a sign there, but it only has the name and logo of the zoo.

Recently, the West agreed on a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, so Russia reacted to it by new falsifications. Prior to this, the Kremlin media called arms supplies to Ukraine a “theatrical performance” and insisted that the West was actually sending scrap metal to the battlefield. By spreading such fakes, propagandists seek to create the appearance that the level of support for Ukraine in the world is declining. Allegedly, everyone is against new arms supplies to Ukraine.

Such information appeared in Russian propaganda media and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly threatening to cancel Ukraine's bid for EU membership unless Germany hands over Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Like, Zelenskyi is blackmailing the European community. However, this is not true.

According to the VoxCheck fact-checkers who investigated this case, this news has been made up. It was published by satirical telegram channels. At the same time, the propagandists referred to this news as real. The fact-checkers found the original source, and the telegram channel published by the text actually says that their materials are “a parody, a satire on political reality, only verified fakes”. Fact checkers add that Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not make such statements in order to get tanks.

By spreading this fake, propagandists are trying to prove that Ukraine is trying to get what it wants by various methods, blackmailing included. Thus, Russian propaganda also seeks to discredit President Zelenskyi and show that the level of support for Ukraine in the world is waning, so the authorities have to use blackmail to achieve their goal.

This information is spread by Russian propaganda media. It also appeared on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say mass rallies were held in Paris against arms supplies to Ukraine. Like, the protesters called for the dismissal of the incumbent President Macron, and also demanded that the authorities would withdraw from NATO. However, this is all fake. 

The fact checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. According to fact-checkers, to confirm their words, the propagandists published a video of the rally, in which you can see the logo of the Russian state news agency RT, the broadcast of which has been banned in the European Union since March 2022. In the RT story, you can see the comment of Florian Filippo, the leader of the far-right Party of patriots, who criticizes France's policy towards Ukraine. This politician also often organizes anti-vaccination protests, pro-Kremlin and anti-Ukrainian rallies. However, the video of the protest published by the propaganda has nothing to do with Ukraine. In the RT story, it is clear that the protesters in the video are carrying banners with inscriptions about the retirement age, and not about military assistance to Ukraine. However, propagandists use such fakes on purpose in order to create the appearance that the level of support for Ukraine in European countries is gradually falling. They say that in many countries, in particular France, people are against the supply of weapons.

The news was spread by Russian media and picked up by pro-Russian TV channels. Like, the decision to supply Western tanks Abrams and Leopard 2 to Kyiv will not only lead to a military escalation, but also pose a threat to the health of civilians. Allegedly, tanks are dangerous due to the fact that they use shells with depleted uranium. Allegedly, due to the use of shells, the area is polluted and outbreaks of oncological diseases occur. Also, allegedly, Russia can consider the use of these shells as the use of a dirty bomb. This is manipulation.

International organizations, in particular the IAEA, the UN Environment Agency, the Scientific Committee on Risks to Health and the Environment of the EU Commission, have come to the general conclusion that the impact of radioactive radiation from depleted uranium is insignificant. Radiation exposure from depleted uranium is very low compared to natural radiation. According to the results of medical examinations of military personnel who used such projectiles during hostilities, they did not find the effect of depleted uranium on their health.

Russian propaganda is conducting an information campaign to discredit German and American tanks that are being planned to transfer to Ukraine. They had previously argued that these tanks would not change the situation at the front. Like, American Abrams tanks are unsuitable for use in Ukraine in winter. It was also argued that Russia would consider Germany a “party to the conflict” if there was permission to supply tanks to Ukraine. More details.

During the air raid on January 26, pro-Russian telegram channels wrote that the Ukrainian air defense system could not cope with massive rocket attacks. They say it shoots down only ten percent of the missiles, the rest allegedly hit the target.

Russian propaganda constantly accompanies massive missile strikes with information attacks, in particular, on the operation of the air defense system. They say that the Ukrainian authorities lie about the number of missiles and forbid showing their hit results in order to hide the real state of affairs. Allegedly, the president's office exaggerates the effectiveness of air defense and “invents” missile attacks. Or they manipulate the fact that if the Ukrainian air defense works as efficiently as possible, the West no longer needs to supply weapons to Ukraine.

The purpose of such information attacks is psychological pressure on Ukrainians in a period of emotional vulnerability. The Russians are trying to intimidate the Ukrainians even more, level out the trust in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and force them to surrender.

Russian propaganda spreads messages to foreign audiences that countries are reducing aid to Ukraine because of corruption. Like, CIA director William Burns admitted this during his visit to Kyiv.

According to EU vs Disinfo analysts, Burns did say that it would be more difficult for Ukraine to get help from the United States. However, this is due to changes in US domestic politics, but not to corruption in Ukraine. Russian propaganda once again distorted the Western official's quote to advance their interests. Support for Ukraine abroad is not decreasing. Moreover, a number of countries, including the United States, announced a decision to provide Ukraine with regular aid packages and military equipment, including tanks.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading messages to discredit Western aid to Ukraine. Allegedly, Ukraine is being supplied with “scrap”, and it will never receive the desired weapons.

Propaganda media and pro-Russian telegram channels spread the information that the US is not handing over the heavy Abrams tank to the Ukrainian Armed Forces because it cannot move in the snow. This is evidenced by the video, which shows how the Abrams tank unsuccessfully tries to climb a snowy hill. This is manipulation.

The video used by the propagandists does not give grounds to draw general conclusions about the possibility of using tanks in Ukraine. As the fact-checkers of The Insider project note, there are videos of winter exercises involving Abrams tanks in social networks, in particular in 2016 in Norway. The video shows how Abrams tanks move without problems in deep snow and icy roads, and when quickly descending from a snowy hill, one of them demonstrates an extreme driving technique - a controlled skid.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at a briefing that so far, Abrams tanks have not been handed over to Ukraine because they are demanding to be maintained and need aviation fuel.

Thus, the propagandists are trying to convince the audience that any supply of Western weapons will in no way affect the military course of events. Propagandists are also trying to disrupt the supply of German Leopard tanks.

Russian media are spreading reports that supposedly Russian intelligence has received confirmation that the Armed Forces of Ukraine store weapons and ammunition that have departed from the West at nuclear power plants. In particular, this allegedly concerns the HIMARS MLRS and large-caliber artillery shells. Like, Russia will not strike at nuclear facilities, and if the weapons are detonated, this can be blamed on Moscow. It is not true.

According to EU vs Disinfo analysts, Russia has not provided any evidence to support such reports. According to analysts, the purpose of such messages is to divert attention from the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which was captured by the Russian military.

Russian propaganda messages were also denied by the IAEA. The head of the agency, Rafael Grossi, said that the IAEA has established a permanent presence at all Ukrainian nuclear facilities. Also, on January 24, IAEA experts conducted an inspection at Ukrainian nuclear power plants and did not find a single military equipment.

Earlier, propagandists spread fakes that the head of the IAEA was “against” the demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and Ukraine plans to protect the nuclear power plant from itself. The propagandists also wrote that the alleged IAEA resolution allows Ukraine to fire at the ZNPP.

Russian propagandists are spreading messages that Germany will become a “direct participant in the hostilities” and “a legitimate target of Russia” if it allows the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Thus, propagandists are trying to intimidate the Germans and prevent the supply of necessary weapons to Ukraine. Despite the fact that on social networks, at the initiative of German activists, “Viche” launched a flash mob to protest against the German government’s delay in supplying Leopard tanks to Ukraine, propagandists spread fakes that the Germans did not support the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Russian propaganda used similar tactics of intimidation and emotional pressure earlier in relation to France. Propagandists spread messages that France was an “accomplice in genocide” in the East of Ukraine, as Ukraine was shelling Donbas from the French Caesar self-propelled guns. Allegedly, the use of French weapons makes France an accomplice in “crimes” against the civilian population.

Since the beginning of the great war, Russian propaganda has been spreading messages that: “Western weapons only continue the war and increase the number of victims”; “actually” in Ukraine “Russia is at war with NATO”; “The West supplies Ukraine with obsolete and low-quality weapons”. Read more in the Detector Media investigation.

Some Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading the photo allegedly from Stuttgart Airport in Germany. Reports say that posters appeared at the airport calling on the authorities not to transfer tanks to Ukraine. The posters allegedly say: “Let the leopards stay in Germany! Stop the robbery of the Bundeswehr!”. It is not true.

Poster images have been edited in photo editors. StopFake journalists received confirmation from the press service of Stuttgart airport. They said the monitor seen in the photo only broadcasts commercials or occasional messages to passengers about security checks or other operational changes.

Thus, Russian propaganda nourishes the narrative that foreign citizens do not support Ukraine. Propagandists are also trying to influence the situation with the supply of Leopard tanks, in respect of which Germany must make a decision in the near future. Earlier, Russian propaganda wrote that the transfer of Leopard tanks by Poland was a “theatrical performance” that would not affect anything. This allegedly seems to have even been recognized by Zelenskyi.

Russian media, as well as social media users, are spreading information that President Zelenskyi allegedly admitted that the supply of Western tanks will not be able to change the situation at the front and turn the tide of the war. This is manipulation.

As StopFake writes, in an interview with the ARD TV channel, Zelenskyi said that Germany still cannot decide on the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. He also said that the decision of an individual country to transfer or not to transfer a dozen tanks cannot significantly affect the course of the war:

“When they (the Russians) have a thousand tanks, not a single country that can give us 10 tanks, 20 tanks, 50 tanks, solves the problem. But they do one very important thing: they motivate our warriors to fight for their values, because they show that the whole world is with you”.

That is, it was about the decision of one country, specifically Germany, to provide or not provide tanks to Ukraine, and Zelenskyi's words are essentially a response to Olaf Scholz's frequent statements that Germany cannot provide Ukraine with heavy weapons because it is afraid to become a “party to the conflict”. Thus, Zelenskyi responded precisely to Scholz's words that Germany's decision would indeed not significantly affect the course of the war,  but the course of the war is influenced by the decisions of dozens of Ukraine's allied countries, and it is collective efforts (including providing tanks to Ukraine) that will help Ukraine win the war.

And it is even known exactly how many tanks Ukraine needs to return the territories occupied after February 24: in an interview with The Economist, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that this requires 300 tanks, about 700 infantry fighting vehicles and 500 howitzers.

By manipulating Zelenskyi's words, Russian propaganda is trying to convince the audience that Ukraine will not be able to win the war, despite any help from Western partners, and thereby influence public sentiment in Ukraine.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels after the meeting in the Ramstein format. Like, if earlier the President of Ukraine spoke about the liberation of the territories occupied by Russia, now he asks for weapons in order to “at least stop Russia”.

In fact, the rhetoric of the Ukrainian president has not changed. Russian propaganda manipulates Volodymyr Zelenskyi's quote from Ramstein speech. The propagandists took out of context a part of the speech with a call to “start a principled supply that will stop the Russian evil”. However, Zelenskyi's calls to guarantee the kind of artillery and air defense that would break terror and ensure victory were ignored. “So, let your decisions hit exactly! Just like our heroes are on the front line”, the President of Ukraine said.

Propagandists are systematically trying to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi both in Ukraine and abroad. Previously, they claimed that Zelenskyi signed the act of surrender during a visit to the United States. Allegedly, Zelenskyi could stop the war, but the West did not let him do it.

Such a message is being shared by propagandists in their telegram channels and in the Kremlin media. The report says that during his speech in Davos, Zelenskyi allegedly “revealed Ukraine's weakest point” and assured that it was the air defense system. However, this is manipulation.

In fact, StopFake's fact-checkers examined the case and found that propaganda resources omitted the context in which it was said and reduced Zelenskyi's response to just this phrase.

The propagandists distorted the president's quote. In fact, it was an answer to the question of how Ukraine defends itself from the destruction of civilian infrastructure by Russia. This is what the actual quote looks like:

“Defend our weak points. Defend places with partners where the enemy hits. Air defense system. This is our weak point. Maybe this is not a weak point in Ukraine compared to other states,”. That is, we are talking about the fact that, in general, our air defense is quite powerful, however, unfortunately, there is a hit on civilian infrastructure. Therefore, it does not cope with all enemy missiles or drones.

In addition, earlier Volodymyr Zelenskyi repeatedly said that the air defense in Ukraine is strong enough, and in 2023 it will become even more powerful.

By spreading this manipulation, the enemy is trying to prove that the means of Ukrainian defense or, for example, weapons are meaningless and can be quickly destroyed. Allegedly, not a single Western technique can be compared with the domestic Russian one.

This is the message propagandists use on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. It says that Denmark deeply regretted the transfer of its howitzers to Ukraine. Like, Denmark was left with nothing now, because it was waiting for a very long time for howitzers, which in the future would form the defense basis of the country. The authors of the message refer to the words of a military analyst who allegedly said it. This is manipulation.

The StopFake project specialists explained what the comment to the Danish publication Berlingske actually says: military analyst Christian Christensen expressed concern that replacements for the 19 Caesar howitzers would not be easy to find due to the realities of the modern arms market. However, the expert did not say that the decision of the Danish government to transfer weapons to Ukraine was a mistake and that Denmark “regretted” this step. That is, there was no such official position of the country, although the expert noted that howitzers are an important element in the country's defense capability.

Propagandists are spreading this manipulation to nourish the narrative that by handing weapons to Ukraine, other countries are left light and weak. Thus, propagandists want to encourage Western states not to send weapons to Ukraine.

This message is being spread by propagandists on social networks and telegram channels. The report says that the Russian military near Soledar destroyed the first American M1 Abrams tank from the RPG-18 Mukha. It is not true.

As experts from the Center for countering disinformation explain, the occupiers used an old photo that was not even taken in Ukraine. Moreover, the US has not yet handed over a single such tank to Ukraine, which makes it impossible to destroy it.

Propagandists are spreading this fake in order to distort reality and show that Ukraine is constantly losing and even powerful American equipment does not help, because the Russians are successfully destroying it. Against the background of previously initiated military assistance from the United States, Russian propaganda is trying to convince people that all weapons are ineffective and can be easily destroyed.

Photos from the exhibition of “captured” weapons in Moscow's Patriot park, including allegedly banned Italian-made mines, are being circulated on social networks. Propagandists say that they were neutralized by Russian sappers in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The original source of the photos is the Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in Italy. It's fake.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto denies any allegations by Italy of supplying banned weapons to Ukraine. According to Stop Fake, the Italian Ministry of Defense reported that the objects in the photo are not of Italian origin. This is indicated by the corresponding marking. The production of such mines in Italy was stopped 28 years ago, after a moratorium was introduced in accordance with the Ottawa Convention. The signatories are obliged to get rid of stockpiles of these weapons, it is forbidden to transfer anti-personnel mines to third parties. Ukraine ratified the Ottawa Convention in 2005, unlike Russia.

Russia systematically accuses Ukraine of using prohibited weapons. Earlier propagandists wrote that Turkey supplies Ukraine with cluster munitions; they wrote that Ukraine used chemical weapons against the Russian military in the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian propaganda also said that allegedly Russia does not have banned chemical weapons.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels as a reaction to the statements of Ukrainian partners in the supply of weapons to Ukraine. In particular, the reaction was caused by the speech of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the Davos form. He stressed that Ukraine needs a significant increase in arms supplies at a key moment in the war.

In this way, Russian propaganda nourishes narratives that Western military aid “really” only prolongs the war and increases the number of casualties.

The purpose of these messages is to influence the emotional state of Ukrainians, to intimidate and force them to surrender. Previously, propagandists spread a similar message that the desire for peace and the desire to further stuff Ukraine with weapons are mutually negative actions.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading information that Germany will never hand over Tornado fighter jets to Ukraine. The messages are based on a quote from the German politician Gauke Schulz. It seems that he said that these fighters protect Germany and should not cause a war with Russia. He also allegedly said that fighter jets in Ukraine would be used inappropriately. This is manipulation.

According to StopFake, Gauke Schulz is a representative of the pro-Russian German party Die Linke. He does not have a mandate, he does not stand for federal state, federation or EU bodies. Moreover, Schultz has nothing to do with making decisions on arms supplies to Ukraine.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine with weapons, relying on non-authoritative sources of information or distorted quotes. Thus, Russia is trying to undermine the authority of Ukraine at the international level, to show the weakness of the Ukrainian government.

Earlier, Russian propaganda spread messages that NATO was supplying “scrap” instead of weapons. The propagandists argued that the supply of weapons to Ukraine would increase the number of victims and prolong the “conflict”. They also wrote that allegedly 30-40% of the weapons supplied to Ukraine reach the front, or that the weapons provided by the United States do not reach Ukraine.

Russian media are spreading the news that the United States seems to be in for a “gloomy future” due to the “catastrophically devastated military depots” of the American army after military assistance to Ukraine. Propagandists write that the US “will not be able to restore its stocks for at least five years”. This is manipulation.

Russian propaganda refers to an analytical publication by the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The author analyzes the number of shells and weapons systems that the Americans have already supplied to Ukraine and makes predictions about how and with what the US will have to replace them. And in some cases, indeed, according to analyst Mark Kanchian, it will take years. But there are conclusions in the article that clearly explain: “Most inventories are okay. These six systems do not represent the full spectrum of U.S. inventories. Most items provided to Ukraine have been in small numbers, or from areas that have large inventories or production capacities. For most categories of weapons and munitions, the United States can provide support indefinitely”. The only thing that confuses the analyst is the lack of transparency of data that can be used to evaluate stocks of weapons and the insufficient speed with which the US Department of Defense purchases aid to Ukraine outside the United States. That is, there are no “threats to national security” due to a decrease in the number of weapons or a crisis in the supply of weapons to Ukraine in the article - these are all inventions of Russian propaganda who for almost a year have been trying to destroy or weaken Western support for Ukraine through disinformation. Propaganda spreads several messages on this topic: Ukraine sells weapons to other countries; Western weapons are not enough for Ukraine to win the war; Western weapons are scrap metal that cannot be used to fight. At the same time, propaganda calls Ukraine a testing ground for the latest weapons. Despite these efforts, Western partners are supplying more and more needed modern weapons to Ukraine.

This is the message propagandists use on social networks and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. It says the war provided an opportunity for the US and Ukraine's other allies to study how their weapons system performs under heavy use. They say that Ukraine is used as a testing ground and in fact the partner countries are only worried about their own benefit. The authors of the messages add, as evidence of the publication, a likely material from CNN, which allegedly talks about this. However, this is manipulation.

In fact, the propagandists changed the title of the article using a graphical editor. Here is the original title of the material “How Ukraine became a testbed for Western Weapons and battlefield innovation”, but the propagandists distorted the title and called it a “laboratory”. However, the material does say that Ukraine is testing the latest weapons and many countries can determine its effectiveness. In contrast, the authors of the article describe how the inventive Ukrainian army maintains and repairs weapons. That is, the enemies distorted the context of the entire material and singled out theses that are beneficial to propaganda.

Propagandists are spreading this manipulation to undermine the confidence of Ukrainians in Western countries that help Ukraine in the war with Russia. Allegedly, their goal is not to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but only to test their weapons for their own benefit. Enemies want to distort reality and show that everyone seems to be indifferent to the fate of Ukraine.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Allegedly, the Pentagon has reservations regarding the transfer of weapons to Ukraine. The reports claim that the samples received by Ukraine always work under the control of American instructors, since there is a threat of disclosure of technology. There is also allegedly a risk that the weapon will fall into the hands of a third party or in the hands of Russia.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine with weapons. In fact, the United States has been transferring weapons to Ukraine since the beginning of the great war, just like other states. The lendlease mechanism has not yet started working, but this depends not only on the “desire” of the United States, but also on the financial capabilities of Ukraine.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads rumors that Western weapons are resold on the black market, but so far there is no evidence of this. The United States really controls how the weapons provided to Ukraine are used, for this they created an Interim special commission.

Previously, propagandists argued that the supply of weapons to Ukraine increases the number of victims and prolongs the “conflict”.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading messages that Europe will get tired of supporting Ukraine if the Ukrainian army fails to demonstrate new successes on the battlefield. Allegedly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi understands that prolonging the conflict will entail criticism and therefore signals to the West that in 2023 he will be “ready for peace talks”. Like, that's why Zelenskyi initiated the convening of a special peace formula summit this winter.

To spread such messages to an international audience, the propagandists used the words of the former national security adviser to former US President George W. Bush, Michael Allen, who has repeatedly spoken out in support of Russia.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources write about this. Like, in the Pentagon, a weapons check was carried out, provided to Ukraine as military assistance. Allegedly, only 10% were able to confirm the presence in Ukraine, the location of the remaining 90% is unknown. It is not true.

Russian propaganda is based on the words of Brian Dean Wright, who worked at the Pentagon until 2015 and now opposes the provision of assistance to Ukraine. Officially, the US Department of Defense has not made any statements about the weapons provided to Ukraine. According to official information, the Pentagon is checking the stocks of delivered military equipment in Ukraine and there is no evidence of the “redirection” of American aid.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading messages that military aid provided to Ukraine is being stolen or resold on the black market. Thus, they are trying to discredit Ukraine and level out international support. 

Such information was disseminated by pro-Russian telegram channels. Allegedly, in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, people went to a rally against the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and the police dispersed them with NATO water cannons. As proof, propagandists published a video that actually turned out to be a story about an action during the coronavirus pandemic two years ago.

The only true thing here is that the video is really from Bratislava.

A reverse Google image search and Google Streets can be used to determine that the events are taking place under the office on Freedom Square.

A Google search for the keywords "protest", "Bratislava", "water cannon" gives messages about an anti-government rally in Bratislava in October 2020 due to dissatisfaction with the measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic.

Advanced search on the Twitter social network for the phrase Bratislava protest, as well as for the dates from October 16 to October 19, 2020, shows several messages about the protest.

In a screenshot from the video posted by a ZNeveri user, one can see the same man with a phone in front of a water cannon, who appears in the video of the alleged protest in December 2022 against the supply of weapons by Slovakia to Ukraine.

In addition, according to the same search on the social network Twitter, there is also a link to Youtube, although the video has already been deleted. But it can be viewed using the Wayback machine online archive. It shows the same man with a telephone in front of a water cannon, and an operator in the background. It appears that the propagandist's footage was filmed on his camera.

This video is also dated October 17, 2020, when an anti-government action using a water cannon took place in Bratislava, and not a protest against arms supplies to Ukraine in December 2022.

And the weather is far from winter. In the video, you can see trees that are full of green and some purple leaves. In reality, the picture is different as the online camera from Bratislava shows almost bare trees.