A pro-Russian blogger is spreading a manipulative post in a Telegram channel about the increase in vegetable prices in Ukraine. Referring to an infographic from an article in Ekonomichna Pravda, he concluded that the reason for this phenomenon was “the choice of a pro-European course after the Revolution of Dignity”.

“This is a Republic that once fed the entire USSR, and today potatoes have become 200% more expensive in a year. Is this the victory of the Maidan? A little longer and we will ask the Belarusians for a tuber (a dialect word, a literary norm for “potato”. — Detector Media) so that we don't die of European values”, the propagandist writes.

In fact, the Revolution of Dignity and the European course are in no way connected with the increase in vegetable prices. The main reasons were the loss of the crop due to the abnormal heat of this summer, inflation and the reduction in the sown area, which was written about by Ekonomichna Pravda.

The reduction in the sown area was directly influenced by Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. For example, the Kherson region grew the most vegetables, the percentage of which was 40% of the annual harvest of Ukraine. However, due to hostilities and the occupation of part of the region, it became impossible to use the fields for their intended purpose. Therefore, entrepreneurs had to relocate their businesses. That is, the “rising prices” for vegetables has nothing to do with Ukraine's pro-European course - unlike the attempts of Russian propaganda to manipulate the aspirations of Ukrainians and highlight separation from the Russian vector as the cause of all problems, including armed aggression.

Pro-Russian sources, citing the Polish publication Gazeta.pl, are spreading information that from November 20, 2024, paper hryvnias will allegedly be printed only in Poland. According to the propagandists, the reasons for this decision are power outages, a shortage of materials, and the expensive logistics of producing the national currency in Ukraine.

However, in reality, this is a fake, journalists from the StopFake project write. First of all, the gazeta.pl website did not disseminate the relevant information. In addition, the publication publishes materials exclusively in Polish (the fake material is in English), and does not create video content (the source of the fake is a fabricated video). In the end, neither the National Bank of Ukraine itself, nor any authoritative media published the relevant “news”.

By spreading such fakes, Russian propaganda is trying to undermine trust in the Ukrainian banking system. We have previously recorded disinformation concerning the National Bank of Ukraine. For example, we refuted information that cryptocurrency payments were banned in Ukraine.

Against the backdrop of the end of the grain harvest, Russian media began to spread information that this season in European countries there is allegedly a catastrophic grain crop failure due to “anti-Russian sanctions”. Propagandists also write that against the backdrop of hunger in Europe, Russia has become the guarantor of food security for the EU.

In fact, Russian propaganda simply manipulates data and spreads disinformation. This is reported in the StopFake project. This year, the world, and Russia in particular, has seen a drop in grain yields. However, this is due to unfavorable weather conditions at the beginning of the sowing season, and not the EU sanctions policy. A very rainy spring and summer caused delays in harvesting and negatively affected wheat growth in Western Europe, while Central and Eastern Europe suffered from a lack of moisture, which also affected grain filling. According to data from the European Commission published at the end of September 2024, due to unfavorable weather conditions, the total volume of grain production in the EU is projected at 269.9 million tons. This is only 3.9% below the average for the past 5 years.

However, in Russia, according to the October report of the US Department of Agriculture, wheat production fell by 10% compared to the previous season. Russian propaganda deliberately does not provide data on Russian grain, taking into account only the decline in yields in European countries, although Russia itself suffered due to weather conditions at the beginning of the year. In the end, the Russians deliberately keep silent about the fact that Russia is not the only one among the three leading grain exporters in the world. The EU and Ukraine are also among the world's largest producers and exporters of agricultural products. They play an important role in the supply of oilseeds and grain crops to the world market.

It should also be noted that Russia steals Ukrainian grain from the occupied territories and sells it. Thus, the British newspaper Financial Times published an investigation back in 2022, where it showed, using the example of one vessel, how Russia trades Ukrainian grain stolen from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia region.

Previously, we analyzed the Russian fake, which claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were deliberately shelling fields in the Kherson region to destroy the harvest.

Propaganda Telegram channels controlled by Russia are actively disseminating a statement by the leader of the French party Patriots Florian Philippot, who claims that the European Parliament approved the allocation of an additional 35 billion euros for Ukraine at the expense of frozen Russian assets, calling it theft. This message is aimed at creating a negative attitude towards the West's support for Ukraine and forming a distorted idea of the legality of international aid.

This is what the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes. They emphasize that in fact, Florian Philippot has long been an active relayer of Russian narratives in France, whether or not he does so consciously. Just last week, he also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi would soon lose his post. Similar pro-Russian statements have been repeatedly spread by other figures, such as Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

At the same time, Russia continues to boast about its own large-scale thefts in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia's real crimes include the so-called “nationalization” of Ukrainian enterprises, their re-registration, and the constant taxation of the population in the occupation zones.

Russia is trying to portray the legitimate use of frozen assets to support Ukraine as “theft” in order to create a negative impression of the EU and other Western aid. Propagandists are also spreading fake claims of “theft” by Ukraine and its partners in order to distract attention from their own acts of looting in the occupied territories, where real crimes are being committed. Such messages are aimed at undermining trust in Western institutions and discrediting the mechanisms of support for Ukraine, showing them as part of an international “conspiracy” plan. Using European politicians like Filippo helps Russia to shape negative sentiments in Europe and spread anti-Ukrainian messages through local mouthpieces, which creates the illusion of domestic opposition to support for Ukraine. Thus, the message about “theft of Russian assets” is another tool of Russia’s disinformation campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion in Europe and undermining support for Ukraine.

A video is being distributed in Russian Telegram channels where a woman claims that the price of potatoes in one of the Odesa stores is about 40-50 UAH/kg. Accordingly, it seems that the Odesa resident is indignant and says that she does not know what to be more afraid of - the strikes or the prices in the stores.

In fact, this is manipulation, as reported by the VoxCheck project. In the video, a woman shows one of the most expensive varieties of potatoes available in the Silpo supermarket assortment - home-grown Granada potatoes. At the same time, this vegetable can be found cheaper in Ukrainian supermarkets. For example, in the same Silpo in Odesa, there are potatoes for 31-35 UAH/kg. In other stores, such as ATB or Tavria V, prices for a kilogram of potatoes range from 25 UAH/kg to 27 UAH/kg.

Also, according to the State Statistics Service, the average price of potatoes in Ukraine in August 2024 is about 20 UAH per kilogram. However, this is not the highest price for this year, because in June Ukrainians bought this vegetable on average for 28 UAH per kilogram.

There are varieties of potatoes that are more expensive - 50-60 UAH/kg. The same goes for other goods, for example, tea, which can be purchased for 70 UAH, or for 129 UAH. Therefore, such videos that Russians distribute are manipulative, because they do not reflect all market prices, but selectively show more expensive ones.

Earlier, we refuted the information that a 70-year-old pensioner was allegedly beaten because she refused to hand over potatoes to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Pro-Russian sources are spreading the “news” that one of the world's largest payment systems, Visa, is returning to the Russian market. As “proof” of this, the propagandists cite information provided by Visa to Rospatent (in Ukraine, Ukrpatent, an organization that registers intellectual property) requesting an update of its trademarks for banking services and cryptocurrency in Russia.

However, Visa is not returning to the Russian market. The company has not even announced such a decision on any of its official pages. And the payment system has no legal right to return to Russia due to the effect of American sanctions. Government sanctions require Visa to suspend access to its network for a number of Russian financial companies, including the country's central bank and the country's second-largest financial institution, VTB Bank.

That is, returning to the Russian market would be a direct violation of US sanctions. And updating the trademarks, which Visa actually did in Russia, is standard practice to preserve the right to use certain technologies and its own brand and logo in the country. For example, in this way the company avoids reproduction or imitation of the brand by Russia.

In the Russian segment of social networks they write that by the end of next year, Ukraine’s public debt will reach more than 1000% of GDP.

“They had a great time jumping on the Maidan”, the propagandists mock.

First of all, propagandists have defiled the information about the country's external debt. In general, such debt is an important indicator of the country's financial stability and has a significant impact on economic development. It is an indispensable part of any country's policy and can be both a source of financing for economic development and a factor limiting economic growth.

For example, such a high figure is not uncommon even in countries with developed economies that are not at war. For example, the public debt of France, Belgium and the UK is 112%, 105% and 104% of GDP, respectively, and in Japan this percentage reaches 254 (data as of 2022).

So the propagandists have inflated the state debt figure by 10 times, and also completely ignored the context of the original news. Since the announcement of the Ministry of Finance was about reducing the external debt from 100.5% to 97% of GDP in 2025, that is, about the positive dynamics of this indicator. In total, the volume of external and internal state debt will amount to 8.2 trillion UAH. But this is, in general, a general economic factor accompanying the economy of many countries - and there is literally nothing “catastrophic” about it.

“Of course, this is a significant indicator. But we must not forget that we are a country at war. Therefore, at the current stage, the issue of debts is only in the context of the possibility of servicing and paying them off in the short term”, explained Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko at a briefing at the Ukrainian Media Center.

Information is being spread on social networks as if the water tariff throughout Ukraine is 130 UAH/cubic meter. And they add that the Ukrainian authorities are also planning to raise tariffs for electricity and gas.

But only in June of this year in the city of Pokrov in the Dnipropetrovsk region they really raised the cost of the tariff for water supply and sanitation to 130 UAH/cubic meter of water, but in July the decision was canceled, now the total payment is 36.80 UAH/cubic meter. In other regions the tariff does not reach 130 UAH/cubic meter at all.

Now the tariff for water supply in Pokrov is 21.40 UAH/cubic meter, and for water disposal – 15.40 UAH/cubic meter, that is, in total it is 36.80 UAH/cubic meter.

In other cities of Ukraine that changed tariffs in 2024, the increase was also not as significant as they say in the post. Thus, since April in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, for household consumers, the cost of water supply has increased from UAH 13.55 to UAH 19.88/cubic meter, and for water disposal from UAH 24.67 to UAH 32.80/cubic meter.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to feed the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to the lack of electricity or high prices for utilities. In this way, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize the mood and create a feeling that “nothing will change”. Also, by calling the so-called collapse revenge for the Crimean Bridge, Russians once again seek to shift responsibility for what is happening to Ukraine. They say that Russia is destroying infrastructure solely because of Ukraine’s aggression. However, it is Russia that is the aggressor, and it is this country that started the war.

On social media, Russian propagandists are spreading a picture of the Women's Peace and Security Global Index (WPS Index) for 2023, according to which Ukraine is supposedly “the worst country in the world for women”. The propaganda also makes an ironic comment: “But soon they will be the only ones left there”.

In fact, the Russians manipulated the information, as reported by the StopFake project. The data on the chart reflects the situation in Europe, but not in the world as a whole. According to the WPS Index, in 2023, the lowest scores were given to Afghanistan, Yemen, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and several other countries. Ukraine is not in the top ten worst countries for women, it ranks 117th out of 177 countries. At the same time, Ukraine has the lowest score among European countries.

It is worth noting that Ukraine received such low ratings precisely because of the war with Russia, and they reflect the difficult realities that women face in war conditions. Thus, the aforementioned rating evaluates various components of women's status from participation in the economy to health and risks of violence. In particular, it includes assessments of education, security, parliamentary representation, maternal mortality, legal protection and proximity to armed conflict.

By manipulating information, Russia is trying to discredit Ukraine, influence its image in the world and shift the focus. Earlier, we documented a fake, supposedly, that the Bellingcat investigation proved that Yermak paid Time for a place in the ranking of the most influential people of the year.

Russian media, citing a statement by the so-called “representative of the military administration of the Kharkiv region”, are disseminating information that the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly cutting off water and electricity to those residents of the Kharkiv region who refuse “forced evacuation”.

“The Ukrainian authorities have resumed the forced evacuation of the population in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region; local residents who do not want to go are being disconnected from water, electricity and gas”, the propagandists write.

However, the Ukrainian authorities allegedly intend to cut off electricity, gas and water to those who refuse to evacuate, as stated by the representative of the Russian occupation administration in the Kharkiv region, Yevhenii Lisniak, who is accused of collaboration. In the Russian media, he is called “deputy head of the military-civil administration of the Kharkiv region for defense and security”.

It is known that Yevgenii Lisniak lived in Kharkiv until 2014 and worked in the police with the rank of junior lieutenant. From 2015 to 2022, he lived in occupied Luhansk, where he worked in the so-called “Ministry of Internal Affairs of the LPR”. In April 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine reported in absentia that Lisniak was suspected of voluntarily taking a position in an illegal law enforcement agency created in the temporarily occupied territory.

On May 10, 2024, the Russian army launched an offensive in the north of the Kharkiv region. Due to the threat to the lives and health of local residents, the evacuation of the population from the city was accelerated on the same day.

At the beginning of summer, the government raised electricity tariffs for Ukrainians. Against this background, the thesis is spreading on social networks that life in Ukraine is “unbearable” as prices for utilities, including electricity, are “sky-high” and even incomparable with European prices.

Although experts from the analytical center Dixi Group analyzed the thesis and found out that the authors of such disinformation materials take information about prices from different sources without understanding how comparable such information is. One source may indicate prices based on taxes, another - without. One source contains information about wholesale prices for electricity (i.e. without taking into account tariffs for transportation and taxes), and another - about retail (where all these components are already included).

In fact, the explainer differentiated all the indicators that accompany the time when electricity “reaches” the buildings of Europeans - the price of goods, transportation tariffs, supplier markup, taxes - and it was possible to find out that Ukraine has the lowest price for electricity among the European countries considered. This is largely due to government regulation.

Other countries - Italy, the UK, France and Germany - have higher prices, partly due to significant investment needs in clean energy and new electricity grids.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to feed the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to the lack of electricity or high prices for utilities. In this way, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize the mood and create a feeling that “nothing will change”. Also, by calling the so-called collapse revenge for the Crimean Bridge, Russians once again seek to shift responsibility for what is happening to Ukraine. They say that Russia is destroying infrastructure solely because of Ukraine’s aggression. However, it is Russia that is the aggressor, and it is this country that started the war.

Read on Censor.NET: Ukraine will become “unfit for living”

Information is spreading online that Ukrainians allegedly stand in long lines at exchange offices, trying to exchange hryvnia. Users distributing photographs of queues claim that this is due to news of a possible default. Some Kyiv exchange offices no longer seem to have currency, as propagandists note. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. The information that Ukrainians are queuing en masse in front of exchange offices is not true. To create panic in Ukraine, attackers publish made-up comments about queues along with archival or edited photographs.

The photo of the exchanger with the caption “No currency” was indeed edited. The original photo was posted on Google maps of the Kyiv exchange office Obmen24 two years ago. The attackers changed the announcement about the need to check banknotes at the cash register with the inscription “No currency”.

Another photograph, which shows a line outside an A-Bank branch, does not relate to current events at all. The original of this photo belongs to Suspilne Chernivtsi. It was published in July 2022 and shows the queue for applying for payments from international organizations. The publication of the Suspilne Chernivtsi says that A-Bank helps to fill out an application in installments, but this can also be done independently online.

Reports about Ukraine's impending default, according to many experts, are also untrue. In August 2022, Ukraine received a two-year deferment on loans - this term was determined based on the fact that no one knew how long the war would last. Thus, Ukraine must agree with foreign creditors before August 1 on the restructuring of the state debt. Today, the International Monetary Fund is actively lobbying for a new deferment for Ukraine.

“Ukraine does not intend to pay according to the schedule that was agreed upon two years ago. The IMF allows not to comply with this schedule and has blessed Ukraine for new negotiations with creditors on a new payment schedule”, explains Oleksandr Parashchiy, head of the analytical department at Concorde Capital, in a commentary for BBC Ukraine.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Danylo Hetmantsev also notes that there will be no default in Ukraine, because there are no grounds for this.

Thus, propagandists are spreading panic among Ukrainians amid tensions caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Propaganda telegram channels working in the interests of the occupation forces in the Zaporizhzhia region quote an article from the Turkish publication dikGazete. The author of the article claims that Russian reforms in the agricultural sector of the Zaporizhzhia region allegedly led to economic growth. This, according to them, became possible thanks to the support of the Russian government, which purchases the products of local farmers at market prices and provides them with subsidies. They also praise the organization of the State Grain Operator, which creates jobs and pays high prices for grain. However, they do not have objective information about the work of this operator. They say that Ukraine, on the contrary, sold off land and neglected the region. The article was pointed out by the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center.

Its experts found that the information in this publication is manipulative and deceitful. For example, the mention of Russia’s “rescue” actions in restoring the agricultural sector of the Zaporizhzhia region after the Ukrainian government does not reflect the real situation, since the region had developed agricultural activities even before the invasion. In addition, the statement about the sale of agricultural land to foreign investors is not true, since until July 2021 there was a moratorium on the sale of such land in Ukraine, and after its lifting, sales to foreigners remain complicated.

This media has a pronounced pro-Russian slant. At the time of writing, columns were published on the main page of the publication’s website about the alleged blackmail of the families of Russian prisoners of war by Ukraine and disappointing forecasts for Ukraine. These materials have a direct connection with Russia: the author of one of them indicated Moscow as his location, and the other - St. Petersburg.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to the TOT inhabitants to convince them that Russia supposedly cares about “new regions”, unlike Ukraine.

Deputies of the Servant of the People party allegedly adopted a law on the dismissal of workers with “connections” in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. They say that this norm will now be used as a reason for dismissal if the employer simply “does not like” the employee.

However, this information is not true. Specialists from the VoxCheck project write about this. In April 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted bill No. 7731, which amends the Labor Code of Ukraine, and sent it to the president for signing. The purpose of such changes is to prevent collaborators from working at enterprises, institutions and organizations of strategic importance for the economy and security of Ukraine, as well as at critical infrastructure facilities.

Therefore, according to this law, employees must inform the employer about connections with persons who are registered or reside in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and Russia. However, on May 16, 2024, Volodymyr Zelenskyi returned bill No. 7731 to the Verkhovna Rada.

Earlier, eight human rights organizations approached the president with a request to veto the law, calling such a rule “the basis for harassment and stigmatization of those who have relatives in the occupation, and people who are still registered but have traveled abroad”. That is, the relevant law has not yet been finalized and entered into force. In addition, according to the law, an employee who has not reported his connections to the TOT can be fired only if he or she  works in institutions of strategic importance for the economy and security of Ukraine.

Russian media are distributing a photo where the ATM screen allegedly reports a cash withdrawal limit of 100 UAH per day for men of military age. To cancel restrictions, one needs to update their data at the nearest Territorial center of recruitment and social support.

The case was examined by VoxCheck analysts, who found out that the image had been edited, because the original photo did not show an ATM dispensing cash. Propagandists used a photo of a PrivatBank self-service terminal - the terminal only accepts cash and does not issue it. Moreover, through a reverse search, Google was able to establish that the photo appeared on the Internet back in 2021. This was a negative review about a malfunction of the self-service terminal in Pervomaisk.

And the official website of PrivatBank does not indicate a limit on cash withdrawals of 100 UAH per day. Currently, one can withdraw up to 100 thousand UAH per day from hryvnia and foreign currency accounts in Ukraine.

Propagandists are disseminating information from an article, now deleted from the Australian National Review, about the sale of 40% of Ukrainian agricultural land in 2021 to Western companies Cargill, Monsanto and Dupont. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They explained that from January 1, 2024, the land market in Ukraine began its work, and the second stage of land reform continues. Now not only individuals, but also companies can buy land, and the limit on this has been increased to 10 thousand hectares. But at both the first and second stages of land reform, the purchase of land by foreign companies is prohibited. Even Ukrainian agricultural holdings with foreign beneficiaries do not have access to the Ukrainian land market. Foreigners (individuals) can inherit agricultural plots, but cannot use them, and these plots are subject to alienation within a year.

Media Bias/Fact Check categorizes the Australian National Review as a conspiracy theorist and pseudoscientific source that spreads false claims. The publication also refers to an article by the French publication Ritimo, but it does not contain any information about the purchase of Ukrainian lands by Cargill, Monsanto and Dupont. Moreover, Monsanto ceased to exist in 2018 when it was acquired by Bayer.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to intimidate the Ukrainian population and hit a trigger for many people, reinforcing the message about external control. They say there is a war in the country, but allegedly the country itself has already been sold. 

Social networks in the Russian segment are disseminating information that the Ukrainian bank Monobank has sent out a warning to users about limiting a number of financial transactions for “evaders” - that is, individuals who may evade mobilization.

As “proof”, the fake robs attached a screenshot from the phone that allegedly received such a message.

This case was investigated by StopFake specialists, who determined that the Ukrainian bank Monobank did not send clients notifications about restrictions for “evaders”.

Moreover, in a comment to StopFake, bank representatives denied sending such messages. In addition, the text of the message itself was compiled with numerous errors and inaccuracies.

Russian propagandists claim that the confiscation of frozen Russian assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine will lead to inevitable economic collapse. This message gained traction in early 2024, as proposals to use these assets for reconstruction efforts in Ukraine became more common.

Specialists from the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to it. They explain that while there is heated debate about the advisability of avoiding this decision, its critics argue that it could violate the principle of state sovereignty and undermine confidence in Western financial institutions, arguments made by propagandists are a serious exaggeration.

Russia has said that if its assets are confiscated, it will respond by confiscating Western assets on its territory and resorting to other economic actions. However, this will not lead to the consequences of fearful propagandists. The dissemination of this message aims to question the actions of the West and try to stop these processes.

Russian resources are spreading the news that allegedly the American media Bloomberg released a video in which American economist Robert Kiosaki called investments in Ukraine pointless. According to propagandists, Kiyosaki made the corresponding statement at a meeting of the international investment company Traderfriends.

In fact, this information is not true, they write in the VoxCheck project. The video published by the propagandists is not on Bloomberg’s official channels - website, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Kiyosaki himself also did not call investments in Ukraine pointless on his pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Propagandists edited the video from several videos that are unrelated to each other. In particular, using keywords, VoxCheck specialists were able to find an excerpt from an interview with the YouTube channel “Finance With Sharan”, published on September 6, 2023. In it, Kiyosaki discussed finance, politics and the like. We were also talking about Ukraine. Kiyosaki said that the United States is printing dollars to support Ukraine, and therefore does not recommend saving in this currency. However, the economist did not say a word about the absurdity of financial assistance to Ukraine.

In addition, Kiyosaki could not make a corresponding statement at a meeting of the international investment company Traderfriends, as propagandists write. Traderfriends is actually a company that provides educational trading services. VoxCheck's colleagues were unable to find any evidence that Robert Kiyosaki recently spoke at the company's invitation. The last publication with an economist on the Traderfriends YouTube page dates back to January 14, 2018.

After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Kiyosaki supported Ukraine and stated that if he were in Ukraine, he would also fight for freedom. The economist also believes that the impact of the war on the economy will give impetus to the development of cryptocurrency.

Russian propaganda seeks to interfere with the decision-making process of high-ranking officials on the allocation of financial support to Ukraine in many countries of the world, in particular the United States, and therefore resorts to such fakes. Previously, we denied information that French activists were allegedly conducting an anti-Ukrainian campaign, calling on citizens to stop supporting Ukraine.

Information is being spread online that Poltava residents stand in long lines for bread and even fight for the opportunity to get it for free. Entire families supposedly come to stand in the cold, since “only one loaf of bread is given per person”.

This “news” is nothing more than fiction. They write about this, in particular, in the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Thus, Ukrainian and foreign volunteers, regional military administrations, and private entrepreneurs bring and distribute free bread to everyone in need, especially in settlements affected by Russian aggression. However, no unrest was ever recorded. Information about “fights for bread in Ukraine” is not found either in the Ukrainian media or in law enforcement agencies. In addition, the creators of the fake used an arbitrary photograph from the Internet, which did not reflect the context at all, to make what was written more credible.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda seeks to convince the domestic population of Russia that life is very, very bad for people in Ukraine. To be fair, the lives of every Ukrainian did change once and for all after Russia invaded Ukraine. The “Russian World” brought with it pain, despair, sadness and suffering. However, there are many programs, both domestic and foreign, that today help people affected by the war return to normal life.

Let us recall that on March 16, 2022, the Russians fired artillery at the line for bread in Chernihiv. As a result, 14 people were killed and dozens were injured.

Read also: In Chernihiv, because of “poverty”, people allegedly stand in long lines for bread

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukrainians have allegedly begun to massively withdraw deposits from their bank accounts and take everything valuable and important from the boxes. According to Russian propagandists, this is due to the fact that Ukrainians are preparing “for something sad”, and the entire banking sector is now “supported only by foreign credit injections”.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council analyzed this message. Having verified the information with the NBU, the Center found out that at the beginning of 2024 there actually was a seasonal outflow of funds from the accounts of individuals, but growth resumed in February - and therefore there are no threats to the stability of bank funding.

By spreading such messages, Russian propaganda seeks to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt about the future in Ukraine. The ultimate goal of such messages is to force Ukrainians to either protest against the current government or flee abroad in search of a better life. Previously, we refuted the information that Oschadbank was allegedly blocking the cards of those residents who were draft evaders.

Propagandists in pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading information that the Office of the President of Ukraine plans to introduce a “tax on parasitism”. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Beyond the News project drew attention to it. They found out that the fake was created on the basis of material from Ukrainska Pravda, which states that out of 11.1 million men aged 25 to 60 years who are subject to mobilization, 950 thousand do not work, do not pay taxes and do not serve in the army . However, pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that Rostislav Shurma, deputy head of the Office of the President, took the initiative to introduce a “tax on parasitism” in order to stimulate labor and pay taxes.

The fakers came up with the idea that the tax could reach 1,500 hryvnia per month, and if it is not paid, citizens will not have access to government services, will not be able to drive a car or travel outside of Ukraine, and their property will be seized and sold. They also emphasized that paying such a tax will not exempt them from mobilization, and they plan to include this provision in the bill on economic mobilization.

However, there have been no official announcements about these plans. Even at the level of rumors in the Ukrainian information space they do not talk about this. Punishment for parasitism existed in the former USSR and in Belarus, but was later abolished. There were also talks about introducing a “tax on parasitism” in Russia, but then this initiative was rejected.

Propagandists spread such fake news to intimidate society. They say that the Ukrainian authorities are mocking their own citizens. It also fuels what is already quite an active discussion about new ideas for mobilization. Detector Media has already refuted other Russian inventions regarding mobilization in Ukraine.

Russian media and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information, allegedly Dariia Kaleniuk from the Anti-Corruption Center expressed the claim that “Norway owes money to Ukraine because it makes money from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that it was created based on an interview with Dariia Kaleniuk on Radio NV. The conversation discussed which countries could help Ukraine if it does not receive support from the United States.

Dariia Kaleniuk noted that there are alternative sources of financing, including from Norway. She expressed the opinion that the Norwegians are ready to help Ukraine more and spoke about the Nansen program, which provides funding and support for humanitarian projects. Kaleniuk also emphasized that Norway has received significant revenues from gas sales as a result of the boycott of Russian gas, and expressed hope that Ukraine will be able to establish more active cooperation with Norway, including the appointment of an ambassador and military attaché in this country.

Russian propagandists spread such fake news to undermine confidence in Ukraine among its partners and create a negative image of Ukraine among its allies. Detector Media continued to refute Russian fakes regarding international partnership in the context of Ukraine.

The agricultural sector suffered significant losses, therefore, in order for ordinary citizens of Ukraine to at least somehow diversify their diet, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine allegedly sent out a mailing to Ukrainians with recipes for preparing dishes from pigeons, dogs, and Colorado beetles. This is the Russian IPSO.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security investigated this case. They noted that the Ministry of Agrarian Policy itself had already denied the information. They stated that they did not do such a mailing and called it another attempt by the Russians to convince everyone around that there is famine in Ukraine.

Previously, we analyzed the message of Russian propaganda that Ukrainians are supposedly starving and must stand in line for free lunches.

Russian media and social network users spreading pro-Russian rhetoric began to disseminate information that Ukrainian citizens were being offered to participate in the repayment of the state debt. Proof of this information are photographs with messages that were allegedly sent to Ukrainians through the online government service Diia. However, this is fake.

After the dissemination of this information, the StopFake portal decided to check whether Ukrainians are actually being asked through Diia to join in repaying the national debt. It turned out that this information is not true.

The photographs distributed by Russian propaganda show that the message in Diia application supposedly arrived on November 7, 2023. However, the fact-checkers could not find such information on the official website and Facebook page of the online service, as well as on the website of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, which is responsible for Diia.

Even despite this, StopFake contacted the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine directly asking whether the information being disseminated was reliable. The press service of the institution reported that this was not true and Diia did not send such messages.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the government and exaggerate the scale of Ukraine's economic problems. In addition, in this way they want to strengthen the imaginary subjectivity of Ukraine in front of its Western partners. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted fakes, messages and manipulations by Russians on the topic of the Ukrainian economy.