Russian propagandists are spreading information that the heart of a 31-year-old German mercenary who served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was killed by Russians is allegedly being sold on the darknet. The price of such an organ is 70 thousand dollars. The propagandists add that the organ is in good condition and is sold exclusively to Germans. A screenshot of the ad from the darknet is added as “proof”.

In fact, this information is not true - the photo with the ad was faked. This is reported by the VoxCheck project. ​​The photo is not of a heart, but of the powerful drug opium.  Earlier some sites published the original ad for its sale in an article about illegal things posted on the darknet.

In this fake, the Russians combined two narratives at once - about “black transplantologists” and so-called mercenaries. Thus, they wanted to claim that foreign soldiers in Ukraine are treated as “cannon fodder”, and then “sold” for organs. The goal is to undermine foreigners' trust in Ukraine and reduce their support.

Pro-Russian sources are distributing a photo of an announcement in Ukrainian, which states that the National Police headquarters in Kharkiv Oblast is looking for Carlos Maria Mallarino and Héctor Santiago Trujillo. Russian propagandists are commenting on the photo of the announcement, claiming that two “Colombian mercenaries” have deserted from the Ukrainian army.

In fact, this information is not true. The Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kharkiv region did not put these two people on the wanted list - there is no such information on their official website or on their social media pages. The ad also contains punctuation errors. And the photo of the ad is distributed mainly in the pro-Russian segment of the network. Considering the listed facts, it can be argued that the ads were presumably forged by propagandists.

This fake feeds the Russian narrative about the presence of “foreign mercenaries” in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, by spreading such disinformation, the Russians speculate on the topic of desertion in the Ukrainian army.

Earlier, we analyzed the Russian propaganda that a group of foreign mercenaries of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was allegedly “liquidated” in the Briansk region.

Information is being spread online that more than 60% of foreigners who fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly received serious injuries during military operations between August 6 and October 1. As “proof”, propagandists are adding infographics with the Statista logo, which show data on the share of “foreign mercenaries” who allegedly received disabilities, broken down by country. The data chronologically coincides with the Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in the Kursk region. Finally, under the infographic, it is written that the source of the data is the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), an American think tank specializing in the study of modern armed conflicts, in particular, Russian aggression against Ukraine.

However, in reality, this infographic was most likely fabricated. This is reported by the StopFake project. First of all, Statista is a German online platform specializing in collecting and visualizing data. Although they do track events in Ukraine, Statista has never published this infographic. StopFake journalists were unable to find any information about “foreign mercenaries” in Ukraine on their website or in their social networks.

StopFake also contacted the ISW think tank to find out whether it had published data on the number of foreigners who had suffered while fighting for Ukraine. Evan Moore, ISW's deputy director for international relations, responded to StopFake's request by saying that the statistics distributed online were not prepared by ISW and do not reflect its assessments and views. All ISW materials are available on official resources.

“We are aware of graphics created by third parties that purport to reference the Institute for the Study of War to promote information and/or assessments that ISW did not produce”, a spokesman for the think tank said.

Russian propaganda regularly spreads disinformation about so-called foreign mercenaries in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Yes, we previously analyzed fake information about bonuses for Russian soldiers for the elimination of “foreign mercenaries” in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Russian resources are distributing a video story on behalf of Euronews about a tragic story that allegedly happened in Poland. Thus, the video says that on October 2, 2024, a Polish soldier from the International Legion allegedly killed his wife and her “Ukrainian lover”, and then set fire to his own apartment and committed suicide.

However, this information is not true. This is reported in the StopFake project. Propagandists have faked a Euronews video on this topic. After all, there is no such video on the website or in any of the publication's social networks. Also, information about this incident could not be found in any of the Polish publications or in the local group of the village of Chochłów, where the retaliatory events allegedly took place. Only 1,200 people live in this small tourist town, so the double murder and arson of a home could not go unnoticed. However, the lack of discussion of this event in a fairly active local group further indicates that this news is completely made up.

After all, the “news” about a domestic murder amid jealousy in Poland does not fit the usual editorial content on Euronews, which usually only reports on events that are significant for Europe and the world.

With such propaganda, Russian propagandists are trying to humiliate Ukrainian refugees abroad and worsen Polish-Ukrainian relations.

This is not the first time that propagandists have spread fabricated stories on behalf of Euronews. We have previously documented similar leaks:

– Ukrainian artist allegedly amputated his leg “in solidarity” with the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Euronews story)

- Territorial center of recruitment and social support workers allegedly beat up an ethnic Hungarian in western Ukraine, Euronews story

- Euronews allegedly reported on a Ukrainian fraudster in Poland who opened a beauty salon with fat-sucking mosquitoes

- The French President is allegedly being forced to escalate the Russian-Ukrainian war by blackmail (Euronews story)

- Euronews allegedly showed a story about how the statement of the Ukrainian Embassy in France angered French farmers

The propaganda telegram channels are spreading information that Russian soldiers are paid bonuses for the elimination of “foreign mercenaries” fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They say that for the elimination of a “foreign mercenary” who is a US citizen, they give 5 thousand dollars, and for a citizen of Poland - 1.5 thousand dollars, etc. In reporting this, the propagandists refer to the British tabloid Daily Express, which allegedly provided the relevant data.

However, in reality, this information is not true. The Daily Express did not publish the relevant data either on its website or in its social networks. Using Google's reverse image search function, it was possible to find out that the original source of the dissemination of the data on the “bonus for the elimination of “foreign mercenaries”” is a pro-Russian social network user X. Therefore, it is likely that the above infographics were created by the propagandists themselves, distributing it on behalf of an authoritative publication. And the fact that this information was disseminated exclusively in the Russian segment of the network is an additional argument in favor of its falsity.

By spreading such disinformation, the Russians are trying to feed the narrative about the alleged presence of “foreign mercenaries” in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Yes, Russia is allegedly fighting not only with Ukraine, but with the entire “collective West”.

Earlier, we analyzed the fake news that a “foreign mercenary” – a US Air Force serviceman – was killed as a result of a Russian missile strike on an airfield in the Khmelnytskyi region.

Russian propaganda is spreading information in the Balkan segment of Facebook that the army of North Macedonia should prepare to participate in the war in Ukraine. They say that this will happen because of the future involvement of NATO. In spreading this information, they refer to the words of the President of Croatia, who allegedly criticized the NATO mission NSATU (Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine), claiming that this means the Alliance's intervention in the war in Ukraine. However, this is fake.

This was brought to the attention of fact-checkers from the Macedonian Truthmeter project. They claim that the NSATU mission is designed to train Ukrainian forces and coordinate aid, but does not involve NATO in combat. In fact, the Croatian president expressed concern about the potential risks of such a mission, but this is not a common opinion in his country. His comments were criticized by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

The purpose of this fake is to spread fear and disinformation in order to provoke anti-NATO sentiments among the population of North Macedonia and other countries supporting Ukraine. The propaganda attempts to discredit NATO and sow doubts about its mission, as well as to create the illusion of the inevitable involvement of the Alliance member states in the war. In addition, such a message seeks to provoke antagonism and push for protests against NATO and support for Ukraine. Such manipulations are aimed at distracting attention from the real problems and crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

Russian propagandists write that “the Ukrainian Armed Forces are recruiting unstable and dangerous people” and “supporting Ukraine is for psychos”. In making this claim, the Russians cite an article in The Washington Post. In this context, they are talking about a 58-year-old American who attempted to assassinate US presidential candidate Donald Trump. As it turns out, Ryan Rout was a supporter of Ukraine for some time, tried to join the International Legion and even launched his own drone production. However, a few months later, he became disillusioned with volunteering, returned to the US and wrote a book, The War That Cannot Be Won. In it, Rout accused Ukraine of stealing international aid and escalating the war.

In fact, the propagandists manipulated the material published on the Washington Post website, StopFake reports. Its title is “OPINION: Ukraine has been a magnet for unstable characters like Ryan Routh”. That is, it is a column, and its author is Malcolm Nance, a former American military man who joined the ranks of the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in March 2022. The man writes that in the first months of the war, many foreign “volunteers” came to Ukraine, who did not provide any real assistance, and sometimes even harmed the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The author explains this by the fact that, unlike other areas of active hostilities, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, ordinary life continues in Ukraine, cafes and establishments are open. Accordingly, unscrupulous foreigners feel comfortable in the country, imitating volunteer activities. Sometimes these are people with a suspicious or even criminal past. Malcolm Nuns admits that despite meticulous checks, the International Legion discovered an American wanted for double murder and an Australian financial fraudster. However, in both cases, these individuals were immediately fired and sent home. That is, there is no talk of any deliberate recruitment of “dangerous and mentally unstable people”, but on the contrary, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to prevent such incidents.

At the same time, Ryan Routt, accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, came to Ukraine with the real goal of helping, but had no competence. The man tried to independently recruit foreigners to the International Legion (which he had no right to do), and also wanted to open his own drone production.

Malcolm Nuns continues to support Ukraine, condemn Russian aggression and run a charitable foundation that strengthens the activities of the International Legion within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The military man is convinced that Ukraine will win if its allies provide all the necessary weapons, and also believes that after the war, Ukrainian soldiers will train their Western colleagues.

Earlier we wrote about how propagandists manipulated an article in The Times newspaper, claiming that wounded Ukrainian soldiers were being transported to Europe “as biomaterial for experiments”.

Propagandists are spreading information on anonymous Telegram channels that a Ukrainian special forces unit consisting of “mercenaries”, including thousands of fighters from the American private military company Forward and hundreds of units of equipment. However, this is a fake.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security draws attention to this. Its experts have found out that this story is yet another fictitious Russian fake, which is part of a long-term information campaign trying to promote the image of “NATO mercenaries” allegedly participating in military actions on the side of Ukraine. Russian propaganda has been actively using these fabrications since 2014 to create a myth that Ukraine is under the external control of NATO and Western countries.

In reality, Forward Observations Group is a tactical gear and medical supplies company founded by American veteran Derrick Bales. This company has nothing to do with military operations in Ukraine. It is called a “private military company” only by Russian disinformation agents.

The Kremlin uses such fakes to impose the idea that the war in Ukraine is not simply Russian aggression, but a confrontation with the entire West, in particular NATO. This helps mobilize support among the Russian population, making them believe that Russia is defending itself from foreign anger. The spread of fakes about “Western mercenaries” helps Russian propaganda explain its military failures. The successes of the Ukrainian army are often portrayed as the result of help from “all-powerful” Western forces, rather than as achievements of the Ukrainian military. The Kremlin also constantly tries to portray Ukraine as a state that is unable to independently resist Russia and needs “mercenaries” for support. This is part of the narrative about the weakness of the Ukrainian army and the alleged “external control” of the country.

On August 26, 2024, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the Aurora Hotel in Kryvyi Rih, killing four people and wounding five more. After that, anonymous Telegram channels began to claim that this was not a civilian facility, but a deployment site for soldiers from the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. As proof, the propagandists added a screenshot of a Facebook message from Polish volunteer Aneta Rabushko-Borkowska, who allegedly spoke about the “destruction of Polish soldiers”.

However, there is no such publication on the Polish volunteer's Facebook page. Propagandists compiled this screenshot and invented the content of the publication. In a comment to Ukrinform, Anet denied writing a post about the “destruction of Polish soldiers” in the Kryvyi Rih hotel. All the information was simply made up.

Russia is trying to hide its criminal actions against peaceful Ukrainians and finds an excuse that shelling military facilities is the norm for war. However, Ukrainian cities are suffering from Russian missiles and drones. That is, the authors are trying to deny their own shelling and hits on civilian infrastructure. They distort reality and convince in their “truth”. And they claim: wherever they hit, there were definitely soldiers there. However, the authors do not provide any facts.

At the same time, Russian propaganda substitutes the concept and calls the foreign legion mercenaries. The foreign legion is legally part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the exact number of its participants is not reported, as are all other fighters. Accordingly, Russian propaganda wants to downplay the importance of the Ukrainian army, contrasting it with the so-called “mercenaries”, of whom there are supposedly more on the battlefield. At the same time, Moscow equates “mercenaries” with criminals in the context of Ukraine. However, mercenaries are indeed fighting on the Russian side, for example, the Wagner group representatives.

Propagandists claimed that soldiers from EU countries fought on the territory of Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion or that the number of foreigners in the Ukrainian army will soon exceed 50%. Thus, Russian propaganda wants to create the appearance that in reality it is not fighting with Ukraine, but with the so-called “collective West”.

Russian propagandists manipulated correspondence from the Forward Observation Group on Instagram, where photos of military personnel in the Kursk region were published. They claim that this is supposedly evidence of the participation of “militants of an American private military company” in the operation.

But Forward Observation Group is not actually a private military contractor. As the Center for Countering Disinformation explained, FOG is a security and tactical training consulting company that sells tactical gear. Representatives of the company shoot videos from different places where fighting continues in order to promote their own brand.

This is not the first time that Russian propaganda has tried to portray the Forward Observation Group as “a private military company whose mercenaries fight in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. Thus, former US military man Derrick Bales and the owner of this consulting company already came under the close attention of Russian propaganda after his trip to the front lines of the Ukrainian military to film a documentary about the war in Ukraine. Russian media wasted no time in using his presence as evidence that “American mercenaries are training Ukrainian soldiers”. At the same time, stories are also being circulated by alleged residents of the Kursk region, who claim that they allegedly saw foreign mercenaries among the Ukrainian military.

Derrick Bales himself was also accused of participating in hostilities as a “foreign mercenary”. In response, the American veteran told VICE News that he was not using his military skills to make money in Ukraine.

Russia continues to try to convince the world that it is allegedly at war not only with Ukraine, but also with “the entire NATO bloc”. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army. Moreover, it also shows Russia’s desire to justify its own failures on the battlefield and spread the narrative of “external control” in Ukraine.

On August 19, Detector Media already wrote about Russia’s message that the United States was allegedly involved in the operation in the Kursk region.

Russian telegram channels disseminate information that Spanish translators are wanted  in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. OSINT analysts seem to claim that the search for such a specialist means that a large number of “mercenaries” from Latin America will soon arrive in Ukraine. As proof, publications add a screenshot from the LobbyX job search platform.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the case and found out that the advertisements were indeed published in the Lobby X ARMY telegram channel, but similar offers had appeared before. It is still unknown about the exact number of foreigners in the Ukrainian Defense Forces. That is, propagandists simply came up with this information based on translator vacancies. Although no evidence of the arrival of the so-called mercenaries was provided.

Russian propaganda replaces the concept and calls the foreign legion mercenaries. The Foreign Legion is legally part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces; the exact number of its participants is not reported, like all other fighters. Accordingly, Russian propaganda wants to downplay the importance of the Ukrainian army, contrasting it with the so-called “mercenaries”, of whom there are supposedly more on the battlefield. At the same time, Moscow equates “mercenaries” with criminals in the context of Ukraine. However, mercenaries really fight on the Russian side, for example, the Wagner group representatives.

Russian telegram channels disseminate information that Spanish translators are looking for in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. OSINT analysts seem to claim that the search for such a specialist means that a large number of “mercenaries” from Latin America will soon arrive in Ukraine. As proof, publications add a screenshot from the LobbyX job search platform.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the case and found out that the advertisements were indeed published in the Lobby X ARMY telegram channel, but similar offers had appeared before. It is still unknown about the exact number of foreigners in the Ukrainian Defense Forces. That is, propagandists simply came up with this information based on translator vacancies. Although no evidence of the arrival of the so-called mercenaries was provided.

Russian propaganda replaces the concept and calls the foreign legion mercenaries. The Foreign Legion is legally part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces; the exact number of its participants is not reported, like all other fighters. Accordingly, Russian propaganda wants to downplay the importance of the Ukrainian army, contrasting it with the so-called “mercenaries”, of whom there are supposedly more on the battlefield. At the same time, Moscow equates “mercenaries” with criminals in the context of Ukraine. However, mercenaries really fight on the Russian side, for example, the Wagner group representatives.

Propagandists are spreading information that Russian aircraft allegedly destroyed a group of British SAS special forces in Odesa. They refer to a tweet by Dutch journalist Sonia van den Ende, where she indicated that “the Russian strike killed 18 British special forces and injured 25 more”. They also refer to similar statements by Russian military expert Valentyn Syvkov. However, this information is not true.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to this. They verified this information in the press service of the Tavria Operational grouping of troops, where they denied the presence of British special forces in Odesa and the event itself. Speaker of the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, also denied this information.

Propagandists spread such fakes in order to support their information campaign about “foreign mercenaries” in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian military, spreading panic and mistrust among the population, as well as justifying Russia’s aggressive actions in the international arena.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading information that mercenaries from Colombia have been transferred from the Ukrainian side to the Kharkiv direction. As “proof” of this, propagandists add the corresponding first-person video recording, allegedly of a Colombian firing from a dugout.

However, the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council reports that this video is an orchestrated fake of Russian propaganda. First of all, there is no direct evidence or symbols in the video that indicate the person is a “Colombian mercenary”. There are also no documents, symbols, or evidence that could confirm this information. And the location of the shooting does not give any reason to claim that this is the Kharkiv direction. After all, the video doesn't show the face of the person filming, nor does his accent sound Colombian.

This fake video was created as part of a Russian disinformation campaign against “foreign mercenaries” in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Previously, we denied information that the Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire allegedly recruits mercenaries to participate in the war against Russia.

While monitoring the African segment of the network, the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council discovered material that the Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire seems to be recruiting mercenaries to participate in the war against the Russian Federation. In particular, this information was disseminated through the WhatsApp messenger and the social network Facebook.

However, this is fake. The document that is being distributed as evidence contains signs of forgery. The Ukrainian embassy in Côte d’Ivoire does not have a diplomat named Denys Chernyshenko, who is listed as a contact person in the fake document. The address and telephone number of the department are also incorrect, the Center reports.

Russia has intensified its attempts to discredit Ukraine amid the expansion of the network of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Africa. Also, the spread of disinformation about the activities of Ukrainian diplomats in Africa is part of the Russian information campaign ahead of the Peace Summit, which will be held in Switzerland on June 15-16. Previously, we analyzed the Russian message that the Peace Summit is supposedly a cover for Zelenskyi’s illegitimacy.

Russian telegram channels and the Russian Embassy in South Africa distributed a video in which several Russian fighters allegedly captured “a French citizen who fought on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.

However, in fact, this is a fake video, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. The video was directed by Russian propagandists to promote the narrative about the presence of French mercenaries in Ukraine. In particular, the falsification of the video is evidenced by the very strong accent of the “captive”, which was also emphasized by the French Embassy in South Africa in a message from their colleagues from the Russian Federation:

“You have been spreading fake news for a long time, and we have become accustomed to this rather undiplomatic practice. However, this news is particularly meaningless. We encourage your actors to work on their accent in their French lessons at Alliance française”.

The Center also noted that the publication of such fake videos by representatives of Russian diplomatic departments once again confirms that Russian diplomacy is just a tool for disseminating Russian propaganda. Previously, we analyzed a Russian video fake, according to which only three Ukrainian men who were mobilized allegedly immediately died in the war.

Russian resources are disseminating information that Ukraine is allegedly recruiting mercenaries abroad into the International Legion, thereby violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the corresponding statement by the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mariia Zakharova.

In fact, this information is not true. Ukraine does not recruit mercenaries. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Indeed, according to international law, a mercenary is a person who is not part of the Armed Forces of a state and who participates in hostilities in order to receive material compensation. In addition, it significantly exceeds the remuneration of a combatant of the Armed Forces of the same rank and function. The International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is an integral part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with material support at the same level as other formations.

With this fake, the Russian propaganda machine is trying to divert attention from the recruitment of mercenaries by Russia itself. Moreover, the message about the International Legion as “mercenaries” is being spread with the aim of removing its military personnel from the scope of the Geneva Convention, which protects combatants, in particular in captivity. We previously wrote about how Russia blurs reality using the term “foreign mercenaries”.

Propagandists are circulating a short video on social media showing several men laying out what they claim are corpses in black bags in a square in central Warsaw. Many Polish flags and commemorative wreaths are visible in the background. In the description of the video they write: “Polish mercenaries are returning from the war in Ukraine!”, “Why are they being thrown away like sacks of potatoes?”, “Is this somehow disrespectful to the corpses?”, “Yes, that’s right, let’s eat and go home”, “I hope they realized that it’s better not to fight with the Russians!”, - readers of pro-Russian public pages comment on the video.

StopFake journalists managed to discover the original video. On March 23, it was published on the YouTube channel “ToNieNaszaWojna!” (It’s Not Our War!) under the title “Najgorszy dzień pokoju jest lepszy niż najpiękniejszy dzień wojny. Demo Warszawa, Polska 03.23.2024” (“The worst day of peace is better than the best day of war. Demonstration Warsaw, Poland, 03.23.2024”).

In fact, what is happening in the video is a performance that took place as part of the rally on March 23, 2024 in Warsaw. The description of the video says that this is an “anti-globalist, anti-American demonstration in Warsaw against the war in Ukraine”.

Propagandists want to intimidate foreigners with this video. They say they will be forcibly hired to die for Ukraine. However, participation in the International Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is voluntary.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that during the Russian-Ukrainian war, the head of the Georgian Legion, Mamuka Mamulashvili, was killed as a result of rocket attacks. In claiming this, the propagandists refer to a message signed RIP on his page.

In fact, this news is false, according to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Mamulashvili himself has already managed to refute this information. In a comment to the Georgian service of Radio Svoboda (Liberty), he explained: “They are amusing themselves”. The message from the head of the Georgian Legion with the caption RIP depicts another military man, Mukhran Lomtadze. This is evidenced, at least, by his name on the patch.

Russian propagandists are trying to pass off wishful thinking by spreading such disinformation. They say that the Russian army successfully fulfills all the tasks assigned to it at the front. In fact, in this way propaganda turns a blind eye to ordinary Russians. More materials on this topic can be found under the tag #ForeignLegion.

Enemy telegram channels are spreading the fake news that the missile attack on the Park Hotel in Kharkiv on January 10, 2024 was directed against the Foreign Legion, whose fighters allegedly lived in the complex. It was also noted that the strikes did not lead to casualties. “Unfortunately, the strike did not lead to any result (only the facade was damaged, and the mercenary unit lived on the ground floor). Therefore, the Ukrainian media promptly made a story about how the Russians were shelling peaceful hotels. Immediately after the strike, units of the International Legion and foreign mercenaries who lived in similar buildings began to be notified throughout Kharkiv”, said one of the anonymous telegram channels disseminating pro-Kremlin rhetoric. It's fake.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, thirteen people were injured as a result of a rocket attack on the Park Hotel in Kharkiv. In total, there were 31 people in the hotel complex: eight employees and 23 guests. All these people were civilians; there was not a single military man in the hotel. Representatives of foreign delegations, journalists, and documentarians often stayed here, in particular. According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, the Russian military fired two missiles from the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system at Kharkiv at about 22:30 from the direction of Belgorod. One rocket hit the ground near the facade of the hotel, the second hit the roof of the building, which led to a fire. According to preliminary data, among the victims in the hotel there was one Turkish citizen, one Georgian citizen, both represented the Turkish media. One man's condition is serious. Most of the victims suffered from shrapnel wounds and traumatic brain injuries. “There were no military mercenaries, there were no military people here. This is a civilian facility, civilian infrastructure. We have always settled our friends, guests who were in Kharkiv, and foreign delegations here”, said the mayor of the city, Ihor Terekhov, in a comment to Suspilne (Public) Kharkiv. “The military never lived in this hotel, almost all of Kharkiv knows this. This hotel was used by journalists. This was a well-known fact. At the time of the attack, there were foreign journalists in the hotel, in particular from Turkey. Therefore, I believe that the Russian Federation dealt this blow specifically to the media”, said Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv region police. Serhii Tomilenko, head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, notes that Russia is targeting journalists in Kharkiv: “In October - Reikartz, this New Year - Kharkiv Palace and at night - Park Hotel. These hotels were constantly used by journalists from national and international media to stay. And with every shelling, journalists were injured”.

Russia attacks civilian targets, cynically presenting them as legitimate military targets, but they are not. Such attacks are a flagrant violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians, including attacks on civilian buildings, in particular hotels.

Anonymous telegram channels in the Russian segment are distributing a photo of an allegedly Ukrainian military ID of “foreign mercenary” Brian Boenger. The document contains the fighter’s personal data, and also contains a separate photograph: a photograph of both guys kissing. This is how the authors convince that this is a photograph of an American. They also add that this ID was found in the Zaporizhzhia direction and that “his beloved friend waits in vain for the military” hinting at the probable destruction of the American military man.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project began analyzing the case and found that the photos of the military ID were partially compiled. The figure of the American fighter Brian Boenger is real, and he fought in Ukraine. Using a reverse search, the fact-checkers found that the image of an American soldier’s military ID was indeed published in journalistic materials back in 2016.

And to create a fake photograph, propagandists superimposed on the image of a real military ID a photo of a stranger and a photo of two guys kissing.

Moreover, Brian Boenger is not a “foreign mercenary”; in April 2016, he entered into an official contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, the decree allowing foreigners or stateless persons to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was signed by the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko back in November 2015.

Russian propaganda systematically fuels the narrative that professional military personnel from other states - the so-called “foreign mercenaries” - are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda also tries to justify the failures of the Russian army. They say they are not fighting “weak” Ukrainians, but “specially trained NATO members” or Americans. Moreover, Russian propaganda spreads fake news about hiring students, the unemployed, and they like to show that in Ukraine there is no one left to fight and they are recruiting “everyone in a row”.

By the way, in our Newspeak section we talked about Russia that recruits mercenaries, in particular, Wagner group representatives. This is essentially a terrorist organization within the Russian army.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media and social networks claim that Mazur Mecheslav, a Polish citizen serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has been put on the wanted list in Ukraine. He is allegedly suspected of committing a number of crimes, in particular “arbitrary escape from a military unit, murder, causing harm to health and bullying of minors”. As evidence, they are distributing a photo of a wanted notice for this person. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They noticed a number of grammatical errors in the “announcement”, which are not typical for native speakers of the Ukrainian language and representatives of government agencies. For example, the official abbreviation of the police agency, the proper word “police”, the use of the Russian word “department” and the phrase “poses a threat”. They also tried to find this person in open databases of all people wanted in Ukraine on a separate website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Among the persons found on the site there is no Mecheslav Mazur, and other persons with the same surname do not match the parameters specified in the “announcement”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to once again discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They say that only criminals fleeing responsibility abroad serve them. Detector Media has already refuted a number of fakes and manipulations of Russian propaganda about the “Foreign Legion”.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that allegedly in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian military infected a Polish fighter of the Foreign Legion with an “unknown disease”.  According to the authors, after the infection, the Polish fighter was allegedly put into a medically induced coma in order to find out “what kind of disease the Ukrainians infected him with”. Subsequently, the “sick” was sent to the Polish city of Rzeszow, where he allegedly spread the virus to the Poles. The publications refer to the material of the Associated Press. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and determined that the material really refers to an investigation into the cause of an outbreak of legionnaires' disease in the city of Rzeszow, which killed 7 people and infected more than 100. And this is not an “unknown disease”, but legionellosis. One can get sick from small drops of water containing the causative agent of the disease - the Legionella bacterium. The disease is not transmitted from person to person. Weapons for Ukraine are being transported through the city, so Stanislav Zharyn, Deputy Minister-Coordinator of the Polish intelligence services, explained that the services will check Russia’s involvement in the spread of the disease.

However, there was no talk of any International Legion and Polish fighter in the material. This is just an invented story of propagandists. At the same time, they used the topic of the material to create a false impression that the infection started from the Ukrainian military. In fact, the authors distorted the context of the material and added false information from themselves. Moreover, the first case of legionellosis infection was found in Poland, that is, in the city of Rzeszow. Meanwhile, not a single case of legionellosis has been registered in Ukraine over the past year. Russian media regularly spread misinformation about disease outbreaks in Ukraine. Including in order to intimidate people with various ailments. Also to show that Ukrainian officials do not care about the sanitary and epidemiological state of the country and leave everyone to the mercy of fate. Propagandists seek to discourage Ukrainians to the state.

Read similar fakes on the topic: an infectious disease with leptospirosis is allegedly spreading among the Ukrainian military, or how an outbreak of cholera was allegedly recorded in Odesa. Kyiv and Mykolaiv also suffered from this propaganda story. But finally, pay attention to the message that cholera in Ukraine is the work of the United States and their “biological laboratories”.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that one of the universities in the United States posted a job advertisement for the Foreign Legion of Ukraine. The ad itself says: “Don't know how to pay off your student loan? Join the Foreign Legion of Ukraine!” It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, who found out that such an announcement was not real, took up the case. Through a reverse search on Google, the experts found that ads are published only in the Russian segment of social networks. It is most likely that the authors of the fake compiled the photo using Photoshop.

Russian propaganda systematically nourished the narrative that regular military personnel of other states, the so-called “foreign mercenaries”, are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda is also trying to justify the failures of the Russian army. Like, they are fighting not with “weak” Ukrainians, but with “specially trained NATO members” or Americans. Moreover, Russian propaganda throws in fakes about hiring students, the unemployed, and the like to show that there is no one to fight in Ukraine and they are recruiting “everyone in a row”.

Earlier, we refuted such a fake, that the United States calls on people without a fixed place of residence to join the International Legion of Ukraine.

The video was circulated in Russian propaganda media. It shows three masked men with Georgian Legion chevrons fighting in Ukraine addressing  “Russian pigs” and promising to dance on their graves, as well as threatening residents of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, including women and children, with rape. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case. In the video, the faces of the soldiers are covered, so it is impossible to identify them. Also, the commander of the Georgian Legion, Mamuka Mamulashvili, made a statement on Facebook that “this is another Russian provocation aimed at discrediting the Georgian Legion fighting in Ukraine”. The persons depicted in the video are not related to the Georgian Legion.

Analysts also note that the person in the video pronounces Georgian words incorrectly and violates morphology: instead of “ruso gorebo” (Russian pigs), the masked man says “Rusi gorebo”, and instead of “ukrainuly sheteva” (Ukrainian attack) on the video one can hear “Ukrainskuli sheteva”. Therefore, the Georgian language is not native for the man in the mask.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Georgian Legion that is fighting in Ukraine and spread the opinion that criminals and murderers are fighting in the International Legion. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that all foreigners fighting in Ukraine are mercenaries.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has launched an advertising campaign on the New York subway urging homeless people to join the Ukrainian International Defense Legion. The authors of the messages also add a photo of a leaflet with the inscription: “Tired of living on subsidies? Join the International Defense Legion of Ukraine!”. At the same time, they seem to promise a monthly salary and medical insurance. It is not true.

The case was noticed by the fact-checkers of the project “Beyond the News”, who investigated that the postcard was not real. As they explain, a fake can be recognized for a number of reasons, in particular:

The advertising card does not correspond to the unified design system of advertising banners. The location and color scheme of the fake postcard differs from the New York subway design code;

The number that poor New Yorkers are advised to apply for really exists. However, this number is for Washington, not New York;

Getting into the Legion is not easy. Among the requirements for candidates is the presence of combat experience. That is, a person without a specific place of residence will not be able to be accepted into the Legion if they really do not meet certain requirements.

By spreading this fake, propagandists are trying to convince that everything is bad in Ukraine, that no one can fight, that the Ukrainian leadership resorts to recruiting people without a home. We recall that in our new section “Newspeak”, analysts of Detector Media analyzed how Russian propaganda discredits members of the Foreign Legion, calling them “foreign mercenaries”.

This is written by Russian and pro-Russian information resources with reference to the materials of the American edition of Newsweek. Like, many countries condemned the actions of the West and supported the position of the Russian president on the “situation” in Ukraine. This is manipulation.

There is not a single mention in the Newsweek article that most countries took the side of Russia in the war against Ukraine. The author of the material writes that different countries of the world proceed from their agenda and their own interests in the context of responding to the war. Therefore, they do not always fully share the approach of the US and the EU. Many countries, for example, advocate a "diplomatic settlement" of the conflict, but do not necessarily side with Russia in this war.

As StopFake writes, Daniel DePetrice's article was published in the “Dumky” (“Opinions") section, so the author's opinion is also not necessarily shared by Newsweek. The author notes that, despite the fact that the events in Ukraine are cruel, each country primarily pursues its own geopolitical interests and does not always fully share the “approach of the West”. The article does not say that "most countries have begun to support Putin." Propagandists have distorted the idea that some countries do not want to completely lose ties with Russia and presented it as support for Putin.

This is reported by foreign pro-Russian media. They say that an operational group of officers and soldiers of the Polish special forces in Ukrainian uniforms arrived in Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk region, to detect pro-Russian residents of the city. This unit is under the control of NATO Headquarters. It is not true.

NATO countries do not take part in hostilities in Ukraine. The fact-checkers of EU vs Disinfo drew attention to the spread of this fake. They note that there is no evidence of the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine. Western instructors exclusively teach the Ukrainian military how to use modern weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western partners.

Pro-Russian Telegram channels and media write about this. The Russian army is allegedly opposed not by the Armed Forces, but by foreigners, "NATO armies", "battalions of Poles", etc. According to Russian intelligence, the Ukrainian army is currently filled with foreign mercenaries by 30%, and soon the number will exceed 50%. That's when the message will allegedly be made that NATO troops are fighting in Ukraine. It is a fake.

According to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers are resisting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The number of foreign volunteers is estimated from several hundred to several thousand people and can`t be "half" of the Armed Forces.

In August 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Forces reported that no more than 100 foreign servicemen are serving in the Ukrainian army under contract. As StopFake writes, in March 2022, about 20,000 volunteers applied to participate in the International Legion of Terror Defense of Ukraine. The legion includes fighters from all continents. The largest number of representatives are from the USA, Great Britain, Poland, the Baltic countries, Canada, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. In general, it is 70–80% of foreign volunteers. According to the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA, more than three thousand Americans applied to join the Legion. However, the final number of foreigners is not announced by the military command for security reasons. The indicated numbers are only applications, and it is unknown how many of those who expressed a desire to go to the front actually went to fight.

Russian propaganda spreads fakes that the NATO army is allegedly opposing them in Ukraine to justify the failures of their army for the Russians. Moreover, the agitprop said that allegedly the Ukrainian military can`t reach the level of military training according to NATO standards. Furthermore, the successful counteroffensive of the Armed Forces is due to the Pentagon's direct participation in the development of the plan.

This information is spread by the Kremlin mass media. American mercenaries allegedly should participate in hostilities.

To prove it, they cite an ad on the American recruiting agency Silent Professionals website for a job search in the field of protection and security, where a vacancy has been published. It involves work in the territory of Ukraine. However, it is not related to direct participation in hostilities. The job description is titled "Extraction/Protective Agents". It states that the employer is looking for a specialist for the evacuation operations of individuals and families from rural areas and large cities in Ukraine. Moreover, the claim of a "massive recruitment of mercenaries" is a propagandist fantasy, as the vacancy says that the company is looking for several agents or an evacuation and protection team, according to Stop Fake.

The existence of such an announcement cannot be proof of the fact that mercenaries are allegedly fighting for Ukraine. Foreign citizens who take direct part in hostilities on the side of Ukraine are not mercenaries. They enter into the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, submit to their command, and receive the same financial support as citizens of Ukraine. Those legionnaires who did not want to sign a contract with the Armed Forces joined volunteer battalions. They have no material benefit - most of them have personal, ideological reasons to protect justice and the rights of Ukrainians.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian propaganda has been promoting in the public space the thesis that foreigners who fight for Ukraine are allegedly mercenaries and are guided by the desire to receive material rewards, so Russia will not use the norms of the Geneva Convention against these "criminals". It is worth mentioning that many mercenaries in the Russian army came to Ukraine with weapons to earn money.

This information was spread by the Russian media. Allegedly, as a result of the conflict, 9 civilians were injured. The Center for Combating Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine reports that this is a fake.

Russian media spread information that two battalions of the Polish army allegedly arrived in Ukraine and were sent to Pavlograd (Dnipropetrovsk region). Reports say that these Polish battalions were destroyed on the territory of Ukraine. However, it is not true.

Polish regular troops do not take part in Russia's war against Ukraine. In a comment to the Polish publication Konkret24, the General Staff of the Polish Army denied information about the participation of Polish battalions in the war on the territory of Ukraine, calling such reports another fake of systematic Russian propaganda. Poles can fight in Ukraine as part of the International Legion, which is subordinate to the Armed Forces. Therefore, Poles or any military personnel with foreign citizenship who fight in this legion are Ukrainian military personnel. More details.