Pro-Russian online publication in Ukraine "Strana.ua" regarding the words of the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing Oleksiy Kucherenko scared Ukrainians that "Naftogaz" raised natural gas prices and now for heating, a two-room apartment will have to pay up to 10000 hryvnias. Several other media outlets have spread this manipulation.

On May 10, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the draft Law of Ukraine "On the peculiarities of regulating relations in the natural gas market and the field of heat supply during martial law and subsequent recovery." The bill provides a moratorium on rising natural gas prices and tariffs for heat and related services.

However, the gas supply company Naftogaz of Ukraine reassured: "It will not affect the payments of Ukrainians." The company keeps the gas price within the annual tariff plan "Fiksovanyy." This decision was made due to martial law. The gas price is UAH 7.96 per cubic meter with VAT, without the cost of distribution (supply). Contracts between 2.2 million Ukrainian households and the company will be automatically renewed.

Russian propagandists are spreading a fake story about "small arms depots" that were allegedly sold during the war, and it was because of this sale that Artemsil was shut down. Fake was analyzed in detail by StopFake.

The only thing that is true in the report of Russian propagandists is that warehouses in the mines where salt was mined in Bakhmut (former Artemivsk) existed. Weapons from the First and Second World Wars during the Soviet era and then, already during independence, kept some guns from the disbanded Ukrainian units.

But back in 2014, 95% of these weapons from warehouses were transported to Western Ukraine when there were fierce battles around Bakhmut. First of all, modern weapons were exported, but old ones were also moved - for example, Maxim machine guns and other historical weapons. For instance, Yuri Biryukov, an adviser to President Petro Poroshenko, wrote about this in 2015 and inspected warehouses. From a military point of view, warehouse values ​​don't matter. And one of the largest producers of salt in Europe - the company "Artemsil" can not work due to constant shelling. That is why salt has become so expensive in Ukraine, and there are interruptions in the supply of salt in Europe. "The company is not working, idle, according to the order, indefinitely. The shelling is constant; the administrative building is partially destroyed. There were direct hits in the mine, in the warehouse. The production process is impossible. We will not endanger people. Moreover, most of the residents of Soledar and employees of Artemsil have already been evacuated. Most of the employees of the administration, engineering, and technical workers are not on-site, " acting director of the enterprise Viktor Yurin told Radio Svoboda. That is why the "salt crisis artificially created by the Kyiv regime," which the propagandists write about. The sale of the "shooting failure to sell it to Africa" ​​is a fiction of former Verkhovna Rada deputy Ilya Kiva, who was the first to spread this lie.

With the start of the war, Ukrainian anti-vaccination groups in Viber decreased Kremlin propaganda, but over time it returned. Texty.org.ua writes about this in their research.

Information, that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station captured by Russian troops held 30,000 kilograms of plutonium and 40,000 kilograms of enriched uranium, was first spread by a Wall Street Journal journalist on social networks; from where it was picked up and disseminated by the Russian media. Russia can use this fake to spread the message that Ukraine is allegedly preparing to "resume nuclear weapons production" because enriched uranium and plutonium could potentially be used as raw materials for nuclear weapons.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine warned about attempts by scammers to get rich at the expense of relatives of the Ukrainian military. "Relatives of soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have started receiving suspicious phone calls and messages," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. - Using the emotional state of relatives and friends, the attackers call from hidden numbers and offer to "provide information" about the military and "facilitate the release from captivity" for a monetary reward. The scammers are also trying to find out the personal data of Ukrainian defenders, allegedly as clarification. "

A fake is being spread on social networks that Viber messenger will allegedly be paid "next Saturday." The message also says that this information should be "sent to your ten friends so that it remains free." In fact, messaging on Viber, like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, is free. The fake about the alleged "paid Viber" was spread at least since 2018, and since then, the message's text has not changed. Such statements do not mention the date when the messenger is supposed to be paid, which indicates untruthfulness or manipulativeness. Also, this intrusion has other features of a fake: the lack of a primary source and a call to spread messages between your contacts.

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The Russian media spread this manipulative thesis, StopFake reports. It is part of a widespread message that Ukraine allegedly "abandoned" the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, saying that "people are forced to survive on their own, cook food in makeshift field kitchens." In fact, gas supplies to these areas have been cut off because shelling by the Russian military has damaged the main gas pipeline. On May 23, the gas transmission system operator of Ukraine announced that the damaged section of the gas pipeline had been located. Still, it was currently impossible to resume gas transportation due to active hostilities. The Luhansk Regional Military Administration clarified that the gas pipeline was damaged when the Russian military tried to cut off the Luhansk region from the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway. In Donetsk Region State Administration added that the central hub through which gas went to the Donetsk region is now in the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region.

Such a statement by the chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin, was spread by the Russian media and pro-Kremlin telegram channels. According to him, 35 percent of the 40 billion will be used to finance the US military, 45.2 percent will be spent on other countries, 4.8 percent will be used to help refugees, reopen the USA embassy in Ukraine, and additional diplomatic support.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, USA President Joe Biden signed a law providing $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine. According to the document, the funds should be used for military and humanitarian aid. $ 20 billion of these funds will go to armaments, and the rest is direct budget and humanitarian aid.

 According to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, Russia uses Croatian MEP Mislav Kolakusic to spread the Kremlin's message that "sanctions against Russia will not stop the war in Ukraine." "The other day, during a speech in the European Parliament, M. Kolakusic said that if the European Union does not want to finance the war, it should also impose sanctions on the United States, which supplies weapons to Ukraine. This statement is manipulative because Russia has waged war against the Ukrainian people and is trying to seize foreign territories. Periodically, a member of the European Parliament retransmits messages from Russia about the "dependence of the EU on the United States" and discredits Ukraine's allies in the international arena, "the statement said. Such a message is beneficial to Russian propaganda to discredit Ukraine's allies in this war, saying that the sanctions imposed by EU countries are not enough to stop it, while the United States is inciting aggression and doing everything to make the war last longer. In fact, the United States, as an ally, is providing Ukraine with weapons to defend its integrity and sovereignty, which Russia has encroached upon by starting a bloody war.

Russian propagandists spread such information. In particular, a message appears on social networks that Kharkiv is planned to be handed over to the occupiers because the city is allegedly firing the Kharkiv Heat Networks utility company. Employees "Kharkiv authorities, by all indications, are confident that the city will come under Russian control. Otherwise, why should they destroy the entire structure of Kharkiv heating networks? The municipal enterprise Kharkiv Heat Networks dismisses all employees without compensation for unpaid salaries for three months. Operators are being fired, without whom it is impossible to start the heating season. So, do they understand that they will not have to start it? ” - it is written in a fake, widely spread the message. However, this is not true. According to the fact-checkers of the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, from the first days of the war, boiler operators, locksmiths, welders, and other employees of Kharkiv Heat Networks, risking their lives, saved the city's heating system. Currently, repair works are carried out every day. There are reports about the work almost daily on the city council's website. Also, work on preparing for the new heating season has already begun and is not ending. However, the number of residential buildings in Kharkiv decreases every day, which could not be connected to heat due to shelling. That is, not all communal workers are fired from the enterprise.

Another myth that is spreading about life in the Russian-occupied Kherson. However, this is a manipulation. This was reported by a Kherson journalist who is currently living in the occupation. She shared accurate information with the fact-checkers of the project "On the other side of the news." According to her, some regularly pay on time, and some payments, such as disability and alimony, are not paid. They are trying to solve the problem. Pensions are paid, but there are nuances: they receive only on time on the card, and there are often problems with cash - it is difficult to deliver it to the community due to the blockade of the region and the regional center by the Russians, but they try.

There are now a lot of myths and speculations about life in Russian-occupied Kherson. In particular, the myth is spreading that in Kherson it is necessary to pay in Russian rubles for all goods and services. However, this is not the case. The myth was refuted by a Kherson journalist who is currently living in the occupation. She shared true information with the fact-checkers of the project "On the other side of the news". According to her, the Ukrainian financial system continues to operate in Kherson and payment in rubles is simply impossible. In the Kherson region, in particular in Genichesk, the Russians are trying to introduce cash payments in rubles, but these are just attempts, and not very successful. Although if you try hard, you can still get cash, in particular on a bank card. Be that as it may, Kherson residents are very hopeful that they will not be able to pay in rubles.

Russian media took the adviser's phrase out of context to the head of the Office of President Mikhailo Podolyak to convince their audience of the "correctness" of his narratives about the "genocide of Russians in Donbas." According to StopFake, the agitprop, namely, the pro-Kremlin channel "Tsargrad TV" used Podolyak`s quote, in which he said during the national telethon: "Adviser to the head of Zelensky's office Podolyak wanted to organize a total genocide in Kharkiv region, as well as in LNR and DPR. Until the word 'Russian' is forgotten here at all".

In fact, Podolyak, commenting on the probable course of events in Ukraine, replied that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would talk about how the counterattack would occur. For him, it is a principle "to liberate the Kherson region and the Zaporizhzhia region, and it is not even discussed. We must also be tough on collaborators and Russian troops in those areas. We definitely need the aquatorium of the Azov Sea. I support the word "Russians" being forgotten in the Kharkiv region, and I am for the word "Russians" to be forgotten in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. And that all these criminal elements, who call themselves some kind of "power" there, will not exist anymore, even physically. Because they are ordinary bandits. "

This information was spread by the Turkish newspaper Aydınlık, which belongs to the pro-Russian Vatan party. The pro-Kremlin media widely spread this lie. They said that Ukraine does not release foreign ships from ports to prevent an attack on Odesa. "If the Russians launch an operation in Odesa and strike at Turkish ships, it is believed that tensions will arise in Turkish-Russian relations," the newspaper said.

The International Chamber of Navigation reported that as of May 5, at least 40 foreign civilian ships remained in the ports of the Odessa region. They are at anchor due to the blocking of shipping by Russia, according to the site "Suspilne. Media". Andriy Klymenko, project manager at the Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Russia had previously mined the sea routes from the Bosphorus to Odesa. However, they said it was Ukrainian mines.

Russian propaganda media spread this message. Reports say that refugees from Ukraine who left for the Czech Republic will soon not have money for food due to the abolition of financial assistance from the state. The Russian media clarify that this situation will arise due to changes in the law Lex Ukraine, which regulates the residence of refugees from Ukraine in the Czech Republic. According to the publication Nashi Groshi, the changes have indeed been made, but not as reported by Russian sites. For example, the Russian newspaper Novy Den notes that humanitarian aid of 5,000 Czech korunas (about 200 euros) now will be paid only once and only after registration in one of the municipalities. "At the same time, the website does not mention that the aid will be canceled only if the refugees already have free housing and humanitarian aid (provided with food and hygiene). That is why Russian sites are full of manipulative headlines from the category "Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic will soon have nothing to eat" and "refugees will be deprived of benefits if they do not fall into a dizziness," Nashi Groshi wrote. Read more.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation under the CNSD, this is the thesis spread by veteran U.S. intelligence officer Paul Pilar in the global information space. He also calls on Western countries to make concessions to Russia and stop a new so-called cold war.

This is the information disseminated by the Russian media. Reports claim that the hospital in Rubizhny, "neglected due to lack of funds and resources," was allegedly repaired with funds from Ramzan Kadyrov's mother's fund. A video showing a tour of the new hospital was also made public on the Telegram account of the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. In that video, the Chechen fighters claim that before their arrival in the city there was "not a single institution that could not provide professional care. However, this is a fake. As StopFake fact checkers write, the infectious disease department of the Central City Hospital in Rubizhne was rebuilt with funds from the United Nations Development Program and the Japanese government back in 2017. Serhii Haidai, chairman of the Luhansk Military Regional Administration, said that before the war, this infectious disease department of the city hospital in Rubizhne had modern equipment and was considered one of the best in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is actively spreading such a thesis in its media. As writes StopFake, thus propagandists interpreted in their own way one of the new laws, which will soon be signed by President Vladimir Zelensky. "We are talking about the document, in the translation of the Russian agitprop it turned into 'legalization of the robbery of supporters of Russia,'" the fact checkers write.

In this way, they are trying to increase the audience of telegram channels, taking advantage of the current vulnerability of Ukrainians in terms of finances, the Brekhunets project fact checkers write. In particular, the "ads" for money attach links to which you need to click to receive funds - in one version it is the age of the person, in another - the bank. Once the link is clicked, no money is involved. In the case of "crypto" anonymous organizers without mentioning the beginning and end of the draw offer to fulfill simple conditions: subscribe to the channel and put "+" in the comments. On the channel to which they offer to subscribe, there is no mention of cash equivalents, the end date of the drawing is indicated (not a close date) and all the content is in Russian. Read more

  According to VoxCheck, users of social networks spread information about allegedly state subsidies at "OKKO" gas stations for 5000 hryvnia. In order to get the money, users are offered to take a short survey. However, this is a fraud. The company OKKO denied information about the state subsidies for 5000 hryvnia. As the factchecker writes, OKKO network reported that it had nothing to do with this action. You can find out about the campaign on the official website, in a message from loyalty program Fishka or on pages in social networks. More details.  

Telegram channels controlled by Russian intelligence are spreading the thesis that Kentucky Senator Paul Rand blocked a bill to allocate $40 billion to Ukraine, ostensibly because the West "sawed off" humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The thesis is also spreading that the West is tired of the war in Ukraine, so it has only started to pay lip service to the country - but will in fact block real aid to the Ukrainians.

This is manipulation. First, there is no doubt, that $40 billion will be allocated to Ukraine – Senator Rand did not block, but only delayed the vote for the bill. The U.S. media is confident, it will be voted on next week.

Secondly, Rand's proposal to amend the bill to create additional control over how that money is spent in Ukraine will not be accepted, political analysts and politicians in the US are sure: in general they consider such a mechanism useful, but it will take more time to develop, and Ukraine needs help as soon as possible. And one last thing: Rand has many times slowed down the adoption of any decisions in the Senate, adding his own amendments to the bills at the time. This has involved not only Ukraine, but also bills on sanctions against Russia, preventing a federal government shutdown, the U.S. defense budget, and enhancing the security of judges and their families. His position is related solely to the internal political struggle in the U.S.

This thesis is spread by telegram channels administered by Russian special services. Russian propaganda promotes the manipulative message that the Ukrainian political top brass is enriching themselves on agribusinesses while Ukrainians are forced to consume in short supply and spend a lot of money on food. At the same time, these propagandists do not mention the fact that Russia steals and exports food from Ukraine. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, stolen grain from Ukraine can be exported to Russia, occupied Crimea and Syria (from where it can be smuggled to other Middle Eastern countries).

In fact, back in March 2022 the government banned the export of oats, millet, buckwheat, sugar, salt, rye, cattle, meat and by-products from cattle, frozen brine, etc. because of Russia's war against Ukraine. This was done to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, market stability and meet the needs of the population in critical food products. Under certain conditions (with informing the government and issuing a free license) it is possible to export: wheat and a mixture of wheat and rye (meslin), corn, domestic chicken meat, domestic chicken eggs, sunflower oil.

According to the Anti-Disinformation Center, the Russian propaganda actively spreads this thesis. The messages also say that Pekin is a fierce critic of the sanctions against Russia and does not condemn Moscow. "Indeed, the Kremlin only dreams of such a partnership as the basis of a new anti-Nazi bloc against the U.S. and NATO. There is no alliance between the countries. Since the early 1980s China has followed a diplomatic policy of independent self-sufficiency and lack of alliances. Reluctance to condemn the "special operation" Russia has strained relations between China and the United States, its allies. This disrupted the supply of goods from the PRC and led to the cancellation of export orders from Chinese companies. The underlying principle of the China-Ukraine Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation states that China supports Ukraine's policy aimed at the unity of the state and its territorial integrity", the Center's statement reads.

Back in March this year, almost at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Bloomberg agency wrote that China will rely on Russia's attempts to involve it in the war against Ukraine and will not provide substantial military and material assistance. At the same time, the Chinese government does not want to pressure Russia to end the war. But there is no reason to call China an ally of Russia in this war.

Pro-Kremlin media and Telegram channels spread information that "the Kiev government is once again engaged in a 'culture of cancellation,'" as the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture allegedly plans to withdraw Russian literature from Ukraine's library collections. In particular, the propaganda publication RIA Novosti reported that "works of Russian literature, which is considered propaganda," will be withdrawn. In fact, these statements are manipulation, reports StopFake.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy said that Ukraine will launch a process of removing Russian books from libraries, but it is not talking about all works of Russian literature, but only those that promote war and the elimination of Ukrainian statehood. The Council for the Development of Librarianship under the Ministry developed criteria, according to which books will be withdrawn. First of all, the works that meet one of these criteria will be withdrawn:

• whose content is aimed at eliminating the independence of Ukraine, propaganda of violence, inciting interethnic, racial, religious enmity, committing terrorist acts, encroaching on human rights and freedoms;

• propaganda of war, national and religious discord, changing the constitutional system or the territorial integrity of Ukraine by violence; contain justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, including by presenting the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an internal conflict, civil conflict, civil war, denial of temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine; glorify persons committing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, present;

• publishers, as well as authors to whom restrictive measures (sanctions) have been applied in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions";

• authors who publicly supported the aggression against Ukraine, information about which is publicly available on the Internet.

Apparently, the Russian language of the work is not a criterion according to which the Ministry of Culture will withdraw literature from library collections.The Council for Library Development, founded in April 2022, is engaged in the process of developing the criteria according to which literature will be withdrawn. They regularly publish information about their meetings on the official Facebook page of the Ukrainian Library Association. According to the press service of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, libraries can create advisory bodies, which will give recommendations on how to update the library collection in the conditions of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Library Association says that the issue of removing propaganda literature from the libraries of Ukraine will be approached carefully and in a balanced way. Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy Larysa Petasyuk confirms this: "Propaganda is a dangerous weapon. Today Russian lies poison everything around us. We have all the means to fight this phenomenon. The Ministry has defined clear criteria according to which Russian literature will be withdrawn from Ukrainian library collections. We approach this question carefully and in a balanced way. We hope that all this will have a positive effect on the development of Ukrainian book publishing.The Ministry of Culture reports that the withdrawn books will be replaced by Ukrainian works and books of Ukrainian publishers.

According to the Center to Counter Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, Russian propaganda spreads this thesis, confirming it by saying that Hungary will veto the embargo on the import of Russian oil, which the European Union plans to include in the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. The veto of the embargo was announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on May 3. Since 65% of Hungary's oil consumption comes through the Druzhba pipeline, and there are no alternative lines to the country, the draft sixth sanctions package includes exceptions for Hungary and Slovakia, which are allowed to extend imports until the end of 2023. ""But due to the prohibition of transit through the Hungarian territory of military aid to Ukraine, the EU has launched a legal process, the result of which could be the termination of Euro-donations for Hungary. The reaction of EU countries prompts the Hungarian leadership to withdraw its veto of the EU oil embargo against Russia," the Center said in a statement.