Information was spread on social networks that Kyiv was allegedly calling for the abandonment of the metro because it was a legacy of the Soviet Union. To such posts are added photos with stickers that contain this appeal and are allegedly pasted in the subway.
Georgian lawyer Irakli Zakareishvili published a post on Facebook claiming that "US President Joe Biden deceived Europe and forced it to give up Russian oil, while the United States buys twice as much oil from Russia as before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict." The claim that the US doubled its oil purchases from Russia after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine is fake. Fact-checkers from Myth Detector refuted Zakareishvili's words. In fact, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US imposed an embargo on Russian oil, natural gas, and coal on March 8. Canada, Great Britain, and Australia joined the initiative. On May 30, the European Union banned seaborne imports of Russian oil with a six-month phase-in period for crude oil, accounting for 90% of the country's oil purchases. The volume of Russian oil sold in Europe in April increased significantly compared to March. According to The Wall Street Journal, Russia can sell increased volumes of oil by resorting to fraud — tankers loaded with Russian oil indicate in official documents: "Destination unknown." The oil is then loaded onto large ships in the middle of the sea, and as a result, its origin is concealed.
As for the USA, we can talk about the increased demand for Russian oil from Indian companies that process Russian crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuel, mixing it with products purchased in other countries. The US does buy some oil products from India, but it is impossible to determine which ones contain Russian oil. Experts claim that even in the case of Russian fraud, the volume of oil products of Russian origin on the market in the United States is insignificant.
The Russian media is constantly speculating on the food crisis, which all international organizations warn about. Most often, they write that Ukraine itself blocks ports and therefore does not export grain to countries that usually buy Ukrainian agricultural products. Are they claiming that Ukraine is selling its grain in exchange for weapons, or is it exporting grain to Europe to create an artificial famine in Ukraine itself? But there is a new thesis - there is not enough Ukrainian wheat at all, so the lack of exports can not affect most people worldwide.
For example, Soloviev and other propagandists write about it on telegram channels. In fact, it is a manipulation. First, the 16 million tons Russian propagandists write about is only an approximate level of wheat exports. But Ukraine does not only export wheat - in 2020/2021, the state exported almost 60 million tons of grain. And among them - barley, beans, corn, flour, and oil. And Ukraine cannot export all these products to Asia and Africa due to Russia's blockade of ports.
Secondly, Ukraine had convenient transport links with the countries it supplied grain, making it cheaper. Now, due to the impossibility of delivering them there from Ukraine, they are becoming more expensive - and therefore, countries are forced to buy less. Several countries, including Egypt and Lebanon, are a quarter dependent on grain supplies from Ukraine. The figures are as follows: 25 million tons of corn and wheat are equivalent to the annual consumption of all the world's least developed economies. And it was Ukraine that met the grain needs of these countries. In addition, recent years have been dry in many countries, so grain production has declined altogether - and this could lead to famine in the world's poorer countries. Ukrainian grain is now in dire need of Ukrainian grain.
Information about this is spreading on social networks. Allegedly, all pensions and social benefits received or stored on the bank cards of Mariupol will be directed in favor of the Armed Forces if they are not urgently withdrawn from the accounts. However, this is a fake. According to Mariupol Mayor's Adviser Petro Andryushchenko, all money in the bank accounts of Ukrainian citizens is kept and not transferred without their consent, either to the Armed Forces or anywhere else. "The property right of Ukrainians is unconditional and protected by the state. The purpose of the fake is to form anti-Ukrainian sentiments, encourage Mariupol residents to refuse to evacuate, and provoke the use of conversion centers run by the occupation administration, ” Andryushchenko wrote.
Such information was disseminated on social networks during May. In particular, such messages were published by Kherson activist Viktor Totsky, the lead of the housing cooperative, candidate for Kherson City Council in 2020, and candidate for People's Deputies in 2019. The messages claim that the occupiers control the Kherson budget, and private individuals must pay taxes to them. However, this is not true. According to the fact-checking project Bez Brekhni, if the Kherson business can and wants to pay taxes and contributions, it may well do so on the accounts published by the State Tax Service. In addition, the Kherson budget is fully controlled by the legitimate city authorities - the executive committee of the Kherson City Council. "Relevant expenditures in the form of salaries, contributions, etc., are carried out regularly, but if there are funds in the budget. A significant problem is a lack of funds in the Kherson budget due to reduced revenues (this is due to the occupation). However, still, it is completely under the control of the Ukrainian authorities, "the fact-checkers write.
Pro-Kremlin media are spreading lies, according to The Guardian economist Larry Elliott. In a May 3 report, Elliott expressed concern about the humanitarian catastrophe and suggested that sooner or later, an agreement should be reached between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, the journalist added that it is difficult to compromise with the Kremlin due to the terrible atrocities committed by Russian troops. There is no support for the Putin regime in the text. The author believes that negotiations could be the best option for the world.
Based on the assumptions and reflections of an individual journalist, Russian propaganda created dozens of materials about the alleged recognition of power and invincibility of Russia by Britains.
The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine reminds us that the Kremlin's use of experts who express a personal opinion is manipulation. In this way, Russia is trying to impose its point of view on the world.
After the ambassadors of the European Union approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia on June 2, the pro-Kremlin media intensified the thesis that it would not affect Russia as much as the West. Russian propagandists write that the European Union has analyzed who is harmed by anti-Russian sanctions and decided to reconcile with Russia. Due to specific sanctions against Russia in the EU, inflation has been breaking all records recently, with grain and vegetable oil prices rising significantly. Therefore, the sanctions imposed by the European Union under the sixth package could lead to a "price shock," an increase in interest rates, and a decline in the population's purchasing power.
One of the sources of the manipulative idea of reconciliation was a column by scholar William Moloney in the American publication The Hill entitled "Can Russia win a PR war against the West?". A writer citing the New York Times suggests that the United States and its allies are no longer staunch supporters of "victory" for Ukraine and harsh "punishment" for Russia as they were at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And that now they are trying to find an acceptable way to compromise to end the war. But nowhere in the column does the author claim that the European Union has decided to reconcile with Russia. Even though the European Union has approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus in connection with Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. In particular, the EU has decided to ban the purchase, import, or transit of crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia. Excluding the use of Russian oil will take six months for crude oil and up to 8 months for other refined products.
If restrictive political and economic measures against Russia had not destroyed its economy, Putin would not have had to repeat as a mantra that "sanctions against Russia are largely provoking a global crisis." He has recently blackmailed the EU and the US by unblocking Ukrainian ports for grain exports after anti-Russian sanctions are lifted. And on June 4, he came up with another option, if Ukraine wants to export grain, it can do it, but not through ports, but through Belarus, and for this, the EU will need to lift sanctions from Minsk.
And if in Russia, an analog of McDonald's was invented, Russian companies have already faced a technological crisis due to Western sanctions. According to the Financial Times, they can not replace their electrical and computer equipment from global manufacturers who have completely stopped doing business in Russia.
In fact, Russia's real place is a lot of noise out of nowhere. All of Russia has less GDP than one state of California or Texas. The only valuable contribution of modern Russia to the world economy is oil and gas.
Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has spread fake information that Ukraine will receive only 15% of the $ 40 billion allocated by the United States to help Ukraine. Most of the money will go to the United States and other countries - but Ukrainians will have to return all 40 billion US dollars.
In fact, it is not the case: indeed, $ 6 billion - or 15% of the total - will go directly to the Ukrainian army. And, for example, more than 8 billion - to restore weapons stockpiles for the US Army itself, which has already handed over a lot of equipment to Ukraine. But other programs for which the United States allocates 40 billion are humanitarian aid, including refugees from Ukraine to the United States and other European countries; these are funds for stabilizing inflation, economic recovery, etc. You can read in detail what the funds will be allocated for this assistance here. And all these programs, in different ways, help Ukraine and Ukrainians - both in the country and abroad. Another part will go to strengthening NATO troops in Europe.
Volodin's manipulation was spread by many Russian media simultaneously, claiming that this assistance would need to be returned. However, this is an aid, not a lend-lease - a program of a simplified system of purchasing weapons for Ukraine in the United States. It means that you will need to return the money - just later, not at the time of purchase and delivery.
Russian Telegram channels and the media controlled by the occupiers write that the Ukrainian government plans to refuse social benefits to residents of the occupied region. It is a lie that StopFake has refuted.
All social benefits continue to be paid in the oblast, but in some cases, the payments have been blocked due to technical conditions. Local authorities have repeatedly reported these delays.
Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council Yury Sobolevsky previously said that social benefits in the region would not be canceled. Besides, the deputy of the Kherson regional council, Serhiy Khlan, noted on May 19 that all social payments across the Kherson region, which were blocked till today, managed to be unblocked. And by May 22, all-region residents must receive social benefits.
It will be recalled that the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Maryna Lazebna, stated that all pensions and social benefits to those Ukrainians who find themselves in temporary occupation zones are accrued properly.
Facebook users are sharing a video claiming that Zelenskyy is working for the United States and Russia at the same time. The video is based on various Russian propaganda theses, such as "Ukraine is ruled by America," "Ukraine will soon cease to exist," "Zelenskyy received billions of dollars from the United States," and others. For example, the video claims that "Zelenskyy disarmed NATO, united the Russians around Putin, and expelled foreign companies from Russia to do Russian work."
It is another attempt by Russian propagandists to discredit the truth and disrupt plans to seize Ukraine in 72 hours - victory: NATO is not disarmed, Putin's support is important only to Putin and the Russians, Zelenskyy did not receive billions from the West, Russia in isolation, and so on. The war started by Russia is destroying Ukraine, but it is also reducing the economic performance of the aggressor country itself.
You can read more about the facts that contradict the allegations in the video in the Delphi article.
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.
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.