The network is spreading information that Ukraine is selling electricity abroad. As evidence, they cite data from the DiXi Group analytical center.

VoxCheck analysts studied this case and found that Ukraine did not sell electricity abroad in June 2024. The export rate is 0 kWh. And in the fake post they confused imports with exports.

After all, for example, the DiXi Group Analytical Center actually reported with reference to the Energy Map that in June 2024 Ukraine imported 858,400 kWh of electricity, which is 6% more than for the entire last year (806,400 MWh), also this the highest monthly import volume in the last 10 years.

In addition, data on planned commercial flows for each country can be checked in the “Scheduled Commercial Exchanges” table on the ENTSO-E website. According to it, Ukraine does not export energy.

Propagandists are distributing on anonymous telegram channels a photo of a letter allegedly from JSC National Atomic Power Generating Company Energoatom, addressed to the Minister of Climate and Environment of Poland, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, about their readiness to export electricity to Poland. However, this is fake.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to it. Its specialists checked the information at JSC National Atomic Power Generating Company Energoatom and found out that the letter being distributed was a fake. This indicates several details. Firstly, in the text of the “letter” there are obvious lexical and grammatical errors that are not typical for the Ukrainian language, especially in its last sentence. In addition, the head of Energoatom does not send official correspondence to government authorities of foreign countries, since this violates ethics and rules of international correspondence. The signature on the so-called document is also fake. Also, at the end of 2023, Energoatom became a joint-stock company, and not a state-owned enterprise, as stated in the “document”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists are trying to cause public discontent and neutralize Russia’s role in the crisis of the energy system in Ukraine. They say that Ukrainians are sitting without electricity not because Russia is carrying out targeted attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, but because Ukraine allegedly sells electricity abroad.

Russian media are actively spreading disinformation about the cholera “epidemic” in Kherson, which the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly trying to hide. “The infection broke out in Kherson, controlled by Kyiv, because the Ukrainian authorities did not carry out sanitary treatment after the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric station”, claim pro-Kremlin media. This fake news began to be promoted by Russian media and bots on social networks on the first anniversary of the Russian terrorist attack when the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station was blown up.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They found that as of July 2024, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine had not recorded a single case of cholera. According to WHO data published on June 19, in the first half of 2024, 105 cases of cholera were registered in the European Region - all of them were on the island of Mayotte (an overseas region of France). In Ukraine, no cholera outbreaks were recorded in 2024.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by an infection of the intestines by harmful bacteria. Clean drinking water and proper sanitation can prevent a cholera outbreak, but due to Russian aggression and a significant deterioration in quality of life, frontline communities do face an increased risk of infectious diseases. That is why the Russian media have been methodically spreading this fake news since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The purposeful destruction by the Russian army of Ukrainian critical infrastructure, including water supply and sanitation systems, creates ideal conditions for the emergence of infectious epidemics in Ukrainian territories. However, Ukraine is effectively overcoming these challenges by strengthening monitoring of the epidemiological situation in the country. Since June 2024, seasonal enhanced cholera surveillance has been in effect in Ukraine - patients with acute intestinal infections are additionally screened for cholera. Active research of environmental samples is also carried out: monitoring of wastewater, fresh and seawater samples.

The beginning of the season of enhanced surveillance of intestinal infections in Ukraine became the basis for the spread of the Russian fake, although continuous surveillance of cholera in the country is carried out throughout the year, and in the period from June 1 to October 1, monitoring is intensified. This is a routine process due to the fact that an increase in ambient temperature creates favorable conditions for the proliferation of Vibrio cholerae, so the risks of infection increase.

Peaks of cholera cases in Ukraine were recorded in 1998, 1999 and 2007. The last outbreak of cholera in Ukraine occurred in 2011 in Mariupol, when 33 cases of cholera and 24 cases of vibration carriers (asymptomatic patients) were recorded - the infection was brought to the port city from another country. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine notes that cholera is not an endemic disease in Ukraine. The infection is common in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America.

After the Russian terrorist attack with the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station on June 6, 2023, it was Russia that refused to allow independent experts, observers and humanitarian workers into the territory of the destroyed station and flooded Ukrainian settlements. Ukraine not only initiated the investigation, but also fully cooperated with independent experts, providing full access to the affected areas, witnesses, all information and evidence.

On the ENTSO-E website, the Ukrainian woman found information that Ukraine allegedly sells electricity to Romania, while its own citizens are forced to sit by candlelight and buy generators. Videos of this discovery are being distributed by propaganda publications and telegram channels. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine drew attention to it. They found out that Ukraine does not export electricity to the EU, but provides transit flows between European countries.

This was confirmed by the head of the board of NEC Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyi in an interview with Hromadske. He explained that to check the absence of exports, you can look at the Scheduled Commercial Exchanges tab on the ENTSO-E website, where trade transactions are displayed.

Russian propaganda, taking advantage of the lack of awareness of Ukrainians, is spreading conspiracy theories with the aim of undermining citizens' trust in the authorities and directing their discontent towards Kyiv, and not towards Moscow, which created this crisis by striking Ukrainian energy facilities.

The Ukrainian “energy manipulation” conspiracy theory is one of the new conspiracy theories, according to which the West is allegedly deliberately provoking an energy crisis by supporting Ukraine. Proponents of this theory believe that the United States and European countries are using the war in Ukraine to achieve their own economic and political goals, in particular, increasing energy prices and increasing the profits of their energy corporations. They say that the main problem is the “shortage of oil and gas” in the EU, and the attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid are allegedly fiction or exaggeration.

Conspiracy theorists claim that the West is allegedly deliberately creating a shortage of energy resources through sanctions against Russia. Propagandists note that sanctions lead to higher prices on world markets, which benefits Western energy companies. Part of the theory also includes the idea that energy companies are using the situation to strengthen their position in the market, increasing their income and influence with governments, without thinking about ordinary residents.

By spreading and using this theory, Russians are replacing the concept in the current situation. The main reason for the crisis in the energy sector is Russian aggression against Ukraine, which results in sanctions against Russian energy resources and attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

This conspiracy theory is actively spread by Russians through social networks, blogs and alternative media. It is often accompanied by misinformation and distorted facts, making it difficult to refute. The main goal of such conspiracies is to undermine trust in governments, international organizations and traditional media. For example, disseminating reports that electricity in Ukraine is being turned off allegedly in collusion with the Territorial center of recruitment and social support for easier mobilization. However, in fact, these shutdowns are not related to the mobilization process in Ukraine.

Russia is using this conspiracy theory in its information war against Ukraine and the West to justify its military aggression against Ukraine. They say that its actions are a response to the West’s “economic war” against Russia. This conspiracy theory is helping to fuel anti-Western sentiment both within Russia and among international audiences. This undermines trust in Western governments and their actions. The spread of this theory also contributes to the destabilization of the unity of Western countries and leads to internal disputes in European countries and the United States over their policies of support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that supposedly Ukrainians have begun to be warned that they are obliged to pay for electricity, even if they do not use it. The message attached an announcement which stated: “In order to quickly restore standard capacity, payment for electricity will be charged regardless of the supply of electricity”.

VoxCheck analysts explained that Ukraine’s electricity tariff is calculated in accordance with the amount of energy actually consumed or average daily consumption. This procedure was not changed, and there were some errors in the announcement.

For example, in the first sentence, the fakers made a mistake in the sentence: “Starting June 1, tariffs for the light will be increased”. In Ukrainian the correct word is “svitlo” (light), and “svet” is a copy of the Russian (light). The phrase “the meter will transmit readings” is incorrect and may have been created from the Russian “to transmit pokazaniia (Russian equivalent of meter readings)”.

Russian propagandists are disseminating information that Ukraine has allegedly introduced a ban on the use of air conditioners by all citizens. They say that the government is hiding from Ukrainians the real state of the energy network in Ukraine and is mocking people. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that in fact there was no official ban on the use of air conditioners in Ukrainian apartments. Russian propaganda distorted the order of the Cabinet of Ministers banning officials from using air conditioners, external lighting of buildings and surrounding areas in government institutions, which was introduced in connection with the emergency situation in the energy system caused by Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.

The relevant order of the Cabinet of Ministers clearly states that the ban applies only to government institutions, and the instructions “do not apply to healthcare institutions, business entities for which air conditioning is part of the technological process, as well as technical measures for organizing traffic”.

Despite the absence of an official ban on Ukrainians using air conditioners, the Ukrainian government and energy workers are calling for reasonable energy consumption and limiting the use of appliances such as boilers, washing machines, heaters, and air conditioners during peak hours in order to reduce the load and “free up” electricity.

Russia is actively parasitizing on topics related to the energy situation in Ukraine to demoralize Ukrainians, reinforce the narrative of the ineffectiveness of Ukraine as a state that cannot ensure the energy security of its citizens and undermine trust in the authorities and allies.

On the social network Facebook, on behalf of Ukrenergo, advertisements are being distributed about “severe power outages” in different regions of Ukraine.

However, Ukrenergo itself denied this message. They explained that the company never publishes a schedule of hourly outages in the regions. Also, even grammatical errors indicate the falsity of the message - power engineers will never write “power outage”.

By publishing false messages about outages, unscrupulous people thus increase the audience of their telegram channels, Ukrenergo adds. True information about power outages can be found on the official pages on the social networks of the Ministry of Energy, NEC Ukrenergo, every oblenergo and local authorities.

Propaganda resources are spreading reports that Ukrainian oligarchs, who control Ukraine's strategic energy sector, deliberately turn off electricity in the summer. Thus, they allegedly want to divert the attention of Ukrainians from “Zelenskyi’s illegitimacy”, demoralize and control them.

In fact, such statements are fake, write the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. The culprits behind the blackouts are the Russians, who are terroristically targeting Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure. By doing so, they seek to plunge Ukrainians into darkness and provoke a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

In addition, Russian propaganda circulates conspiracy theories in the information space with the aim of psychologically influencing Ukrainians, saying that the limitation of electricity supply is “unmotivated”.

Previously, we analyzed the media manipulation of Russian propaganda, which consisted in the fact that the energy sector in Ukraine was allegedly protected only with sandbags costing two billion hryvnia.

According to the memo, Ukrainians are advised to buy fast food products, reduce watching TV, prepare a month's supply of panties and socks, save the charge of gadgets and keep an eye on children, since they often increase energy consumption.

However, having verified the information with the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, the Center for Countering Disinformation at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine reports that the distributed monument with “advice” has nothing to do with the Ministry of Energy.

Thus, propagandists seek to sow panic among Ukrainians and confuse them. Previously, we refuted the information that allegedly no one needed the “Points of invincibility” and that they were opened for the sake of PR and they provoke the enemy to launch missile strikes. 

Propagandists in the Russian media say that the energy sector in Ukraine, as they claim, was “protected with sandbags worth 2 billion hryvnia”, and this is supposedly why the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant (TPP) in the Kyiv region was destroyed. They say that corruption and the lack of desire to truly protect the country’s energy structure were the reason for the destruction of Ukrainian thermal power plants, and not targeted missile attacks by the Russian army. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They remind us that on the night of April 11, Russian troops completely destroyed the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kyiv region, as reported by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Centerenergo PJSC Andrii Hota in a commentary to Interfax-Ukraine. Centerenergo added that Trypilska Thermal Power Plant was the largest supplier of electricity to the Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions.

After the destruction of the thermal power plant, information began to spread on social networks that last year Centerenergo PJSC claimed that the Trypilska station was 100% equipped with physical protection from shelling, and money was allocated for this from the budget (we are talking about 9.7 billion hryvnia - note ed.). Based on this, the Russian propagandist began to write that this defense was “sandbags” worth 2 billion hryvnia.

Centerenergo OJSC responded to this information and explained that Trypilska Thermal Power Plant did not receive 9.7 billion hryvnia from the state budget for the construction of protection against drones and missiles, and that this amount was allocated by the Cabinet of Ministers to protect the entire critical infrastructure of the country’s fuel and energy sector, and not just separately for the Trypilska station. In addition, Centerenergo added that the company, through its efforts, ensured 100% physical protection of the station, but this protection can only protect against fragmentation damage, and not against direct missile hits.

The head of the State Agency for Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Development, Mustafa Nayyem, said the same, explaining that the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant is a very large facility, and it is impossible to completely protect it only with protective engineering structures without the use of appropriate air defense systems.

Later, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in an interview with the American media PBS, said that the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant was destroyed by the Russians because Ukraine had no missiles left to protect it. Commenting on the problems with weapons by the allies, Zelenskyi gave an example of the situation with thermal power plants: “I’ll give you one example, very simple: at the Trypilska station, the light in the Kyiv region depends on it. 11 missiles were flying. We destroyed the first seven, the next four destroyed TPP. Why? Because there were zero missiles”.

Centerenergo also adds that at the moment, the resumption of thermal power plants without providing Ukraine with air defense systems is “surprisingly useless”. This was stated by the head of the supervisory board of PJSC Centerenergo Andrii Hota on the air of the Ukrainian Voice of America service.

Such statements are yet another example of Russian propaganda manipulation aimed at spreading narratives of massive corruption in the country in order to discredit Ukraine’s efforts to ensure the security of its critical infrastructure. At the same time, Russian propaganda misses the fact that it is the Russian army that is committing war crimes, shelling the energy infrastructure of Ukraine and causing significant damage to the civilian population.

Enemy resources are spreading a narrative that a nuclear disaster awaits Europeans at their own nuclear power plants. Propagandists appeal to the fact that the EU may face unpredictable consequences, comparing the experience of Ukraine, which abandoned Russian nuclear fuel in favor of American one. However, this is fake.

StopFake specialists drew attention to it. They emphasize that in Ukraine and a number of countries, nuclear power plants were indeed built under the dominance of Soviet power and were designed exclusively for Russian fuel. However, over time, Ukraine began to diversify its supplies, switching to American fuel and launching its own production of nuclear fuel from Ukrainian uranium. Thus, Energoatom and Westinghouse signed a contract in 2020, which stated a long-term partnership. Namely, about the supply of nuclear fuel for VVER-440 reactors at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. As a result, starting from 2020, Ukraine has not made a single purchase of Russian fuel. In September 2023, fuel produced by Westinghouse with the participation of our specialists was successfully loaded into the Ukrainian reactor. Even before the full-scale invasion began, the Russian budget had already lost profits from the supply of fuel, since we were already using American fuel at our nuclear power plants.

This step gave Ukraine the opportunity to free itself from dependence on Russian fuel and become a potential supplier to other European countries, namely the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, and Bulgaria, also interested in diversifying their energy sources.

Despite this, Russian media continue to spread fake news about the nuclear safety of Ukraine and other countries. Since the state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom was included in the sanctions list, Russia began to lose its competitive position in the energy market. Therefore, propagandists try to influence Western audiences by weakening their trust in Western technologies.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading information that Kharkiv residents are leaving the city en masse due to the lack of light, heating and other benefits of civilization. In their messages, propagandists add a video allegedly describing the entire situation.

In fact, the video that was circulated dates back to the end of February 2022: the footage shows wet snow and the author of the video can be heard saying: “We will defeat you [the Russians] anyway”. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

As for the situation with electricity, in Kharkiv it is indeed difficult, but not critical for the citizens. The massive Russian shelling of energy infrastructure on March 22, 2024 caused significant damage to it, but the blackout lasted less than a day. Currently, power outage schedules are in effect in Kharkiv and the region.

The heating season ended ahead of schedule - on March 26 instead of April 30. This decision is due to damage to the energy infrastructure by the Russians, as well as the need to save resources during the war and global warming. The heating season was also completed ahead of schedule in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lutsk and other cities, where there were no attacks on energy facilities during this period.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda seeks to provoke panic among Kharkiv residents, as well as to intimidate with a possible Russian attack on the city in the summer. As for the latter, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, spoke eloquently about this: “If the Russians go there again, Kharkiv will become a fatal city for them”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine allegedly announced the deportation of residents of Kharkiv, preparing it for defense.

Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating information as if the Ukrainian military is planning to blow up the Dnipro hydroelectric station in order to cause a “large number” of victims and subsequently shift responsibility for these actions to Russia. They say that it does not resort to shelling of civilian infrastructure and such a step may be the work of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation write that these falsehoods only serve to escalate the situation around the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. The point is that none of the Ukrainian military plans to blow up the Dnipro hydroelectric power station, this is just an element of the Russian disinformation campaign.

In reality, Russia is shelling critical infrastructure, residential buildings and killing civilians. And all it is trying to do by spreading such messages is to intimidate Ukrainians and create in them a sense of distrust of the state and the defense forces of Ukraine.

Back in early March 2024, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal reported that Ukraine went through the winter without “blackouts or shutdown schedules”. Due to the reliable protection of Russian energy facilities, it was most likely not possible to damage them. However, the terrorist country does not give up its attempts to destroy Ukraine, including threatening future “shelling”. And he demonstrates this as a so-called response to the Ukrainian military.

For example, Bloomberg journalists write that the Russian-Ukrainian war has entered a new phase. Ukrainian drones are beginning to attack Russia's Soviet-era energy infrastructure. Since the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has carried out about 15 drone attacks on oil refineries in 9 Russian regions.

That is, Ukrainian attacks demonstrate Russia’s vulnerability and at the same time the inability to effectively counter them. In order not to demoralize the Russians, the Kremlin is building different theories regarding “retaliation strikes”. For example, the Russian Ministry of Defense on his telegram channel called the massive attack on March 22, 2024 a “retaliation strike” against Ukraine for its “illegal” shelling.

And even earlier, on the night of December 30, 2023, there was shelling of military facilities in the Belgorod region, but as a result of the unprofessional work of Russian air defense, fragments of Ukrainian missiles fell on the center of the city of Belgorod and on the housing sector.

That is, the Kremlin is looking for ways to enrage Ukrainian society by churning out scare messages like this.

Propagandists in the Russian media are frightened with a “nuclear apocalypse” due to the disconnection of the second power unit of the Khmelnytsk NPP from the network. They say that this “emergency shutdown” was caused by “nuclear fuel from Westinghouse from the United States”. They appeal to the fact that reactors of Russian origin operate only on Russian nuclear fuel, so changing suppliers is very risky. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the national operator Energoatom reported that the shutdown of the second power unit of the Khmelnytsk NPP occurred due to “fluctuations in the axial shift parameter of the rotor of the high-pressure cylinder of the turbine unit with an increasing tendency”. This is a mechanical problem and not a nuclear safety issue. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the outage had no impact on nuclear safety. Ukrainian nuclear power plants have long expanded their capabilities and abandoned Russian fuel in favor of American fuel. Propagandists are trying to discredit this process and again “throw stones” at the West by spreading these fakes.

Russian propagandists have spread information that Ukraine is exporting record amounts of electricity while its residents themselves face blackouts. However, this is not true.

The message was noticed by specialists from the VoxCheck project. They found out that this message was being spread against the backdrop of reports of a temporary power outage in Ternopil, which was associated with repair work.

On March 4, 2024, the Ternopiloblenergo company announced the likelihood of a temporary blackout for two hours due to the repair of power lines. However, this announcement did not cover power outages in several neighborhoods and hospitals in the city.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy stated that on March 4 there was no shortage of electricity in the Ukrainian energy system and the outage schedule was not applied. That day there were only local power outages due to repair work and shelling from Russia. Also in early March, Ukrainian specialists planned to export electricity to a number of countries, but this was carried out only if there was no shortage in the national grid.

Propagandists spread such fakes to cause panic among the population and dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities.

A video began to be distributed online saying that in some regions of Ukraine, power outages were to begin on January 15, 2024, in particular in the Chernihiv region. This information was disseminated from the supposedly official Ukrenergo Facebook profile.

In fact, this video is fake. This was reported to JSC Chernihivoblenergo. They warned that the resource that distributed the video was dubious. In addition, the video appeared on Facebook users’ feeds marked as Advertising. Propagandists have repeatedly made similar disinformation advertisements targeting the population of Ukraine.

The Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council urges everyone not to be subjected to Russian IPSO. Masquerading as an official resource of Ukrenergo, Russian propaganda is trying to make the information more truthful and make Ukrainians panic. Previously, we refuted information that the energy situation in Ukraine is allegedly catastrophic.

The network is spreading information that this winter there will be an energy disaster in Ukraine - it seems there will be no light or heat. Last year, the Russians allegedly “hardly bombed” energy facilities, but this year they will. Moreover, in addition to potential shelling, there is also an allegedly serious electricity shortage in Ukraine. The money that the allies gave to restore energy systems was allegedly stolen by the main power engineers.

In fact, the information about the “energy disaster” is not true. The given “facts” are false or distorted, write journalists from the “No Lies” project.

Firstly, in September 2023 alone, Russia launched 246 missiles at Ukraine, so the accusation that “Ukraine was almost never bombed” is wrong.

Secondly, the electricity shortage is insignificant, since during the month and a half of winter in Ukraine there was not a single day with a planned power outage. While in 2022, planned shutdowns began in October.

Thirdly, there is no evidence of theft of money by the “chief power engineers”. This is manipulation of a painful topic for Ukrainians.

It can be argued that this information dump is built on emotional, manipulative messages. By spreading such disinformation, the creators of the fake seek to intimidate Ukrainians and awaken in them a feeling of hatred towards the authorities. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine should allegedly increase electricity tariffs for the population from January 1, 2024.

Users of social networks that spread pro-Russian rhetoric are spreading information that, due to a shortage of electricity, Ukrainian television is allegedly calling on “all unmarried women to move to bachelorhood”. A video is also being circulated online of a news program presenter saying: “The message continues to be important. Due to the heat and electricity conservation regime, all unmarried women are asked to move into bachelors. Please do not ignore this question and be sure to pass it on to your loved ones. Studio”.

In fact, the message being circulated online is not true, and the video itself has been edited. Using a reverse image search on Bing, StopFake specialists were able to establish that a news release from the First City TV Channel.Kryvyi Rih was used to create this fake video. On the screen is Natalia Boldunska, who regularly hosts a news program. The fact-checkers looked through all the news releases with Natalia’s participation, but they were never able to find such a “story”. This video was probably created using a neural network.

The fact that the video was deliberately edited for propaganda purposes is also indicated by the illogicality of the “presenter’s” language. At the end of the video, it can be heard saying: “Studio”. Typically, such an appeal can be heard from correspondents during live broadcasts, and not from the host who is most in the studio of the new program. The very advice to unmarried women to move into bachelors during a power outage is a joke and has been spreading online since at least October 2022.

This video was first published on his Telegram channel by the famous pro-Kremlin propagandist Simeon Boikov, better known by his online nickname Aussie Cossack. StopFake has repeatedly drawn attention to Boikov’s propaganda activities: he regularly distributes false content about Ukraine. Also, Australian media previously reported that Boikov was hiding in the Russian consulate after a Sydney court issued a warrant for his arrest in December 2022. A man is accused of attacking a pro-Ukrainian protester.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to show that the Ukrainian authorities and Ukrainians do not want to solve problems at all, but are running away from them. In particular, this also applies to power outages. However, in reality it is Russia that should be in them, since it is destroying Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

Propagandists are disseminating information that from January 1, 2024, electricity tariffs for the population will increase in Ukraine. Anonymous telegram channels write about this and refer to a recent interview with Kostiantyn Ushchapovskyi, head of the National Commission for State Regulation in the Field of Energy and Utilities. However, this is manipulation.

Colleagues from the Center for Strategic Communications and Security decided to check the information. They found out that Ushchapovskyi did not make such a statement. The Ministry of Energy also reported that at present there are no plans to increase tariffs for the population. The words of the head of the National Commission for State Regulation in the Field of Energy and Utilities were taken out of context: in fact, he said that “until the successful completion of the autumn-winter season there can be no talk of raising tariffs”. The Russians manipulated information to nourish their narrative about the “Kyiv regime”, whose representatives do not take into account the Ukrainian people, but think only about themselves and are ready to torment the population with cold and darkness.

This case of disinformation, like other similar ones - about a power outage or the unpreparedness of the Ukrainian energy system for winter, is intended to demoralize Ukrainian society and “scold it with the authorities”. By the way, we previously refuted information that supposedly in November there could be a blackout in Ukraine even without shelling.

Some Ukrainian media have spread information that in Ukraine in November it seems they can turn off the lights even without Russian attacks on energy facilities. Journalists refer to Serhii Nahorniak, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy Issues. It's fake.

The case was studied by the fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine denied this information. “Shutdowns are possible only in case of massive enemy shelling and, as a result, damage to energy equipment”, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement. They also emphasize that “the electricity produced by Ukrainian power plants is quite sufficient to meet the needs of consumers”.

Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake news that power outage schedules would be introduced in Ukraine starting October 1.

On October 10, 2022, Russia began a massive shelling campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. It lasted until March 9, 2023, and then individual cases of such attacks could be observed. As a result, Russian terrorist attacks caused serious damage to the Ukrainian energy system.

After the first large-scale attacks, Russian propagandists tried to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and promoted messages that the “obsolescence” of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure is one of the main reasons for power outages. Other factors behind the problematic power supply in Ukrainian homes were alleged government inaction and inadequate maintenance of power grid facilities. They say that the Ukrainian leadership, led by Volodymyr Zelenskyi, is deliberately tormenting the population of Ukraine with cold and darkness. Russians speculate on the famine (Holodomor), a tragic event in Ukrainian history, and describe this alleged infantilism and indifference of Kyiv as the “coldness” (Kholodomor) of ordinary citizens.

On March 16, 2022, Ukraine officially joined the common energy system of the European Union. This decision was intended to help our country maintain a stable electricity supply system. European electricity began to be supplied to Ukraine, and Ukrainian electricity to the EU. However, on October 11, 2022, the day after the first large-scale Russian missile attack on energy infrastructure, Ukraine suspended electricity exports. This was due to Russian shelling and, as a consequence, the need to cover Ukraine’s internal consumption needs throughout the day, as well as to provide reserves for the evening, when demand is maximum. Already on April 7, 2023, electricity exports were resumed.

If it weren’t for the massive Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, there would not have been widespread power outages. This is confirmed by the fact that there were no problems with electricity generation and heating seasons in the country until the fall of 2022.

Russian plans to completely cut off power to Ukraine failed thanks to the titanic work of Ukrainian energy workers, the support of international partners and balanced decisions of the Ukrainian authorities in the context of the energy crisis. After each attack, power engineers went to facilities that were damaged and, risking their own lives, repaired the stations.

As of June 2023, the Kyiv School of Economics preliminary estimates the damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure at $8.8 billion. It is Russia, by firing missiles at the Ukrainian energy system, that is responsible for putting it out of action. Already in August 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that five nuclear power units had been repaired in Ukraine, and four more were under repair at that time. Ukraine has been fruitfully preparing for this winter, also purchasing, for example, 100 spare high-voltage transformers, which will be stored abroad for safety purposes in case the need for them arises.

Ukrainian media are disseminating information that from October 1, 2023, emergency power outage schedules will come into effect in Ukraine. It seems that government officials and energy companies have already prepared them. It's fake.

The case was examined by fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. The official website of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reported that “the energy system will be fully ready for the heating season without power outages and, accordingly, consumer restrictions” and “the use of outages from October 1 in any of the regions of the country is not planned”.

Since last year there were power outages due to Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, the ministry notes that this year they “can only be used in the event of shelling and damage to energy equipment”.

Such information was disseminated in the Ukrainian segment of social networks. Reports say Ukraine is restoring hourly power outage schedules in May. The authors refer to the press service of the Ministry of Energy. It is not true.

The Ministry of Energy denied this information and said that it was not true. According to them, power engineers did not plan to introduce schedules for limiting electricity. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko also added that thanks to the well-coordinated work of power engineers, there have been no electricity restrictions for almost three months. In addition, the Ministry of Energy is already preparing for the new heating season and is convinced that local blackouts can only be due to Russian shelling.

At present, together with all power engineers of the country generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, an optimized repair schedule has been drawn up, designed to eliminate the consequences of Russian shelling.

Russian propaganda media disseminate information that they are allegedly going to “seize and destroy nuclear power plants located on the territory of the Russian Federation” in Kyiv. Such a statement was allegedly made by Serhii Kryvonos, the former deputy commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the air of Channel 5. It's fake.

The case was noticed by specialists from the StopFake project. In fact, on Channel 5 a major general Serhii Kryvonos answered a journalist’s questions about the Zaporizhzhia NPP and said that the Russians also have NPPs, “perhaps it’s even easier not to liberate the Zaporizhzhia NPP, but to seize the NPP or disable the NPP on the territory of the Russian Federation”. Serhii Kryvonos acted as a military expert, is now out of service and does not represent the official position of the Ukrainian army. And the pro-Kremlin media presented his considerations as the official position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the announcement of the attacks although this was not about it.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to show that Ukraine is an aggressor country and it threatens the security of the whole world, but not Russia. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that Ukraine “refused to create a protective zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP”.