Russian media are reporting that Ukraine has allegedly adopted a law allowing apartments to be confiscated over unpaid utility bills – supposedly “without prior notice”, creating a threat that people could be left without their only housing. However, this information is manipulative, StopFake confirms.

Draft Law No. 14005 does not provide for the confiscation of a person’s only home over minor utility debts. Provisions allowing for the possible seizure of real estate existed before as well – they are applied only when the amount of debt is substantial or when the debtor has no other property from which the debt can be recovered. The document is aimed at automating certain technical processes: when a debt arises, the system may automatically impose an asset freeze, but this freeze is also automatically lifted once the debt is paid. A freeze is a temporary restriction on the disposal of property, not its confiscation.

Disinformation publications, however, deliberately present the situation as if utility debt could lead to the loss of one’s home. “This means that thousands of people who are already barely making ends meet could suddenly find themselves on the street”, “without prior notice”, writes the propaganda outlet Ukraina.ru.

Lawyers and the head of the relevant parliamentary committee, Denys Maslov, confirm that the draft law does not change the rules for confiscating real estate that have been in place for many years. The seizure of an apartment is possible only in exceptional cases – for example, when the amount of debt is significant (exceeding 20 minimum wages) or when the debtor has no other assets from which the debt can be recovered. This is not about “automatic confiscation”, but about a lengthy legal process that necessarily requires a court decision. Under Ukraine’s Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” (Articles 48 and 50), the seizure of a debtor’s only home is a last-resort measure in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is actively spreading fakes claiming that Ukraine’s defensive actions against Russian aggression allegedly cause an “ecocide in Donbas and a global climate catastrophe”. Analysts from the StopFake project have drawn attention to these claims.

Referring to supposedly authoritative environmental organizations, Russian media accuse Ukraine and the EU of polluting the European continent, asserting that “ecocide has become part of the tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ukrainian troops destroy forests and strike hazardous facilities”.

“Because of the conflict in Ukraine, military spending has sharply increased, especially in Europe, which has boosted demand for explosives, steel, and other materials with a high carbon footprint. This inevitably leads to additional emissions from military activity,” propagandists complain, citing alleged eco-activists.

The International Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War (IGGAW), which propaganda outlets refer to, in fact explicitly points to Russia’s responsibility for the climate and environmental damage inflicted on Ukraine and the world. Experts emphasize that Russian aggression not only devastates Ukraine’s environment but also has global climate consequences.

Over three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (IGGAW data for February 24, 2022 – February 23, 2025), the war caused nearly 237 million tons of CO₂ emissions. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia combined, or to the emissions produced by 120 million cars in one year. The climate damage caused by Russian aggression has already exceeded 43 billion dollars.

According to researchers, the main sources of pollution are:

Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainian authorities have recorded more than 8,000 environmental crimes committed by Russia (as of June 2025), including attacks on nuclear power plants, the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant in 2023, and other war crimes.

Thus, the global climate crisis and the destruction of Ukraine’s environment are being intensified not by the so-called “militarization of the West”, as propaganda falsely claims, but by Russia’s invasion itself, the daily shelling of peaceful cities, and the deliberate destruction of infrastructure.

A fake video is being spread on social media in which the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, allegedly says that in winter, due to gas and electricity shortages, heating will be provided only to families whose husbands have “paid their debt to Ukraine.”

This was flagged by fact-checkers from the VoxCheck project.

In reality, this is a deepfake. Stefanchuk never made such statements. The video was created using artificial intelligence.

A reverse image search on Google showed that the video was actively distributed by pro-Russian resources. No original video featuring Stefanchuk against this background could be found.

A check using the Deepware service confirmed that the video was generated by a neural network.

Signs that the video was generated by AI include:

The fake portrays Ukraine’s leadership (including the parliamentary speaker) as cynical and indifferent to people. This fuels the narrative that a “Kyiv junta is mocking its own population”, which is then echoed in Russian media and in occupied territories.

The fake also preemptively “explains” future blackouts by suggesting that “it’s not us bombing – it’s your own government punishing you for evading mobilization”. In this way, responsibility is shifted from the aggressor to the victim.

Russian propaganda is once again spreading a fabricated quote falsely attributed to former Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko.

Propagandists mock what they claim are his words, sarcastically commenting: “Preparing for the cold the Ukrainian way”. Halushchenko is falsely attributed a line from a fake interview with the outlet Bukvy: “The fewer power plants we have, the easier they are to protect – it’s simple logic”. This was reported by StopFake.

In reality, this quote is completely fabricated. It first appeared back in June last year, when Herman Halushchenko was indeed serving as Minister of Energy. However, as of July 17, 2025, he was replaced in the post by Svitlana Hrynchuk. Neither Halushchenko nor his successor has ever made such comments to Bukvy or to any other Ukrainian media outlet. The fake news was circulated exclusively through pro-Russian sources linked to the Kremlin. This year, it was “revived” ahead of the heating season in an attempt to discredit the Ukrainian government and create an impression of chaos in the energy sector.

In reality, as reported by the current Minister of Energy, Svitlana Hrynchuk, the situation in the energy system remains under control despite daily shelling. Speaking on the national telethon, she stated: “Almost every day, Russian energy terror continues. Energy workers are working around the clock, and it is thanks to their dedicated efforts that the energy system remains stable”. The minister clarified that in October alone, the enemy carried out two missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure, including generation facilities, transmission and distribution networks, as well as railway and gas facilities. In addition, Russia is using a tactic of “double terror”, launching repeated strikes on already damaged sites to complicate restoration efforts.

A number of Kremlin media outlets and social media users have begun spreading a fake claim that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has allegedly decided to postpone the start of the heating season until 1 November 2025. In these messages, propagandists try to scare Ukrainians by saying that “people will have to heat their apartments with wood-burning stoves in winter” and that the state is supposedly unprepared to provide heat to homes. StopFake explained why this is false.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy has refuted this information. The ministry emphasized that the heating season in 2025 will begin as planned, and that decisions on its start and end are made by local authorities depending on the average daily temperature in a given region. If the temperature remains below +8°C for more than three consecutive days, local governments have the right to start heat supply.

The manipulation arose from a government resolution on imposing special obligations (PSO) on the natural gas market. This document does mention the date 1 November 2025, but it has nothing to do with the actual launch of heating. The Ministry of Energy explained that this date is used solely as a technical marker for the start of the period during which fixed gas prices for households apply – from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026. It concerns only the gas supply period, not the physical provision of heat to homes.

Russian sources claim that in the Ukrainian parliament, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was allegedly called a ‘terrorist’ over the energy crisis in Transnistria. These words are attributed to MP Artem Dmytruk.

However, the StopFake project reports that Dmytruk, who indeed referred to Zelenskyi as a ‘terrorist’, is only nominally a member of the Ukrainian parliament. Therefore, his words do not represent the position of the Ukrainian parliament.

In August 2024, he illegally left Ukraine via Moldova just before his possible arrest. Besides scandals involving fights, including the beating of a soldier, Dmytruk is known for appearing in a propaganda film by Anatolii Sharii about the events in Odesa in 2014 and being a subdeacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. In November 2021, he was expelled from the Servant of the People faction. Today, Dmytruk regularly serves as a primary source for spreading fake news about the situation in Ukraine. For example, in November 2024, he gave an interview to RT (formerly Russia Today).

There are two main reasons for the suspension of gas supplies to Transnistria. First, it is the cessation of transit through Ukrainian territory - the agreement between Russia and Ukraine regarding gas transit expired on December 31, 2024, and Ukraine refused to renew it due to the ongoing war with Russia. Second, there are debt obligations - Gazprom announced the cessation of gas supplies to Moldova, including Transnistria, citing Moldovagaz's debt of $709 million.

President Zelenskyi stated that Ukraine had offered assistance in resolving the energy crisis in Transnistria, but this offer was ignored there. Moldova's offer of help received the same response in Transnistria. The presidents of both countries have stated that the crisis in Transnistria is a result of deliberate actions by Russia.

Russian agitprop is conducting an information campaign against Ukraine and Moldova, highlighting the situation in Transnistria.

Earlier, we analyzed the words of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who, reacting to the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, said that President Zelenskyi was engaging in “blackmail and begging”.

Russian propagandists claim on anonymous Telegram channels that the problem of Russian natural gas exports allegedly remains one of the main issues for the global economy. Supposedly, this was written by Asia Times, and in the corresponding article, experts allegedly state that by providing Ukraine with weapons and supporting anti-Russian sanctions, the EU is making things worse for itself. However, this is manipulation.

The European Union is actively working on diversifying energy supply sources to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. In 2024, the United States became the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, providing 48% of imports. Ukraine, for its part, ceased the transit of Russian gas through its territory, which was a strategic decision in response to Russian aggression.

At the same time, Europe is developing renewable energy, modernizing nuclear power plants, and optimizing energy consumption. Russia's manipulations with gas supplies, including the sabotage of the Nord Streams, have only accelerated the EU's adaptation to new conditions. Statements about a ‘cold future for Europe’ are part of Russian disinformation aimed at discrediting European unity and resilience. The EU is showing determination in building energy independence and supporting Ukraine as part of its long-term security strategy.

Russian sources have claimed that Ukraine is allegedly using UN personnel as ‘hostages’ to protect its energy infrastructure. They attribute this to an article in The New York Times (NYT), citing a letter from Ukraine’s Parliamentary Committee on Energy to the UN, requesting the deployment of permanent monitoring groups at critical substations to prevent provocations by Russia.  

However, the fact-checking project VoxCheck reports that propagandists have distorted the content of the NYT article titled How Will Ukraine Keep the Lights On This Winter? While the article does mention the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee's appeal to the UN to station permanent monitoring groups at substations crucial for nuclear power plants, the claim that Ukraine intends to use UN personnel as ‘hostages’ is baseless and fabricated.  

The NYT article cites Jan Vande Putte, a nuclear expert at Greenpeace, who noted that Russia may be hesitant to target sites monitored by UN staff, given its dependence on exporting nuclear technology, which requires International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approval. The Ukrainian Parliament has not publicly confirmed whether such an appeal to the UN was made, and nowhere in the NYT article is there any suggestion that Ukraine intends to use UN staff as human shields.  

The IAEA's mission explicitly includes ensuring that peaceful nuclear facilities and materials are not used for military purposes, including monitoring nuclear sites in conflict zones. Consequently, Ukraine's request for UN personnel to monitor nuclear power plants and other critical infrastructure falls within the agency’s mandate and cannot be equated to using them as hostages. Furthermore, the NYT article does not criticize Ukraine’s request.  

The IAEA has already conducted periodic monitoring missions at substations vital to Ukraine's nuclear power plants. Since September 2022, the agency has maintained a permanent monitoring group at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. As of January 2023, permanent IAEA missions have also been stationed at the Chornobyl, Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants.  

Previously, we debunked a fake claim alleging that the IAEA accused Ukraine of attacking one of the agency’s vehicles. 

A video is being circulated online in which a woman complains about a note in her son's diary: “Dress the children warmly! There is no heating at school!” The woman is outraged that she donated money for a generator, but the school still has no heating.

But it's fake. The video is probably a decree. In a number of cities, schools are already heated, and there is no need for generators yet, since there are no power outages.

Traditionally, the heating season in Ukraine starts in mid-October. However, the start of connecting heat in different cities may differ. The actual start date depends on weather conditions, as well as the readiness of the infrastructure. In particular, the heating period begins if the air temperature for 3 days is on average +8 degrees and below. However, social facilities, in particular educational institutions, are usually connected to heat earlier than residential buildings.

For example, by the end of October, heating of schools in a number of cities had already begun. In particular, in Kyiv, Lviv, Uzhhorod, Ternopil, Vinnytsia and other cities.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to feed the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to the lack of electricity, high prices for utilities; or due to various diseases, pandemics that are spreading exclusively in Ukraine due to the war. In this way, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize the mood and create a feeling that “nothing will change”.

The Internet is spreading the alleged words of the Chairman of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities Oleh Popenko that the cost of electricity for the population in 2025 will be 6.5-7 UAH kWh. He stated that these figures have already been voiced by representatives of the electricity supplier company YASNO, DTEK and deputy Serhii Nahorniak.

However, the Cabinet of Ministers, YASNO, DTEK and Nahorniak did not announce an increase in the electricity tariff in 2025 to 6.5-7 UAH kWh. The current tariff of 4.32 UAH kWh will be valid until May 2025. Let us recall that according to Ukrainian legislation, electricity tariffs are set by the Cabinet of Ministers.

At the beginning of summer, the government raised electricity tariffs for Ukrainians. In fact, the increase occurred on June 1, 2024, from UAH 2.64 to UAH 4.32 per 1 kWh. This tariff will be valid until April 30, 2025. Against this background, the thesis is spreading on social networks that life in Ukraine is “unbearable” - prices for utilities, including electricity, are “sky-high” and even incomparable with European prices.

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

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

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

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

The Internet is spreading alleged words of the head of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities Oleh Popenko that the cost of electricity for the population in 2025 will be 6.5-7 UAH kWh. He stated that these figures have already been voiced by representatives of the electricity supplier company YASNO, DTEK and deputy Serhii  Nahorniak.

However, the Cabinet of Ministers, YASNO DTEK and Nahorniak did not announce an increase in the electricity tariff in 2025 to 6.5-7 UAH kWh. The current tariff of 4.32 UAH kWh will be valid until May 2025. Let us recall that according to Ukrainian legislation, electricity tariffs are set by the Cabinet of Ministers. .

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

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

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

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

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

Russians are distributing a video on behalf of the Ministry of Energy, which allegedly urged Ukrainians to use manure briquettes for heating. After all, they supposedly burn longer and do not harm the environment. In the video, the Ministry of Energy also explains how they can be made.

However, this is a fake, the VoxCheck project writes. In fact, the Ministry of Energy has not published such a video either on its website or on its social media pages. Moreover, the department does not create vertical videos, as the Russians did, does not add its logo to the recordings and does not use the appropriate font. The forgery is also indicated by the mistakes made by the Russians. In Ukrainian, the correct spelling is “сушитися”, not “сушится” (to dry out). They also wrote the word “замішайте” incorrectly instead of “змішайте” (to mix).

With such fakes, Russians are trying to ridicule the Ukrainian authorities, who allegedly do nothing to solve energy problems, and to remove responsibility from Russia. However, in reality, it is precisely because of the massive shelling of the Russian army since March 2024 that Ukraine has lost more than 9 GW of generation, and Russia has occupied another 18 GW since the start of the invasion. All this leads to a shortage of generation and power outages.

Read on Censor.NET: Propagandists on behalf of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine distribute photos of landmarks with recommendations for saving electricity

Propagandists claim on anonymous Telegram channels that Ukrainians could allegedly go out for mass protests in the winter due to power outages, and the authorities are afraid of this scenario. They say this is what The Washington Post writes, citing an “unnamed official from Kyiv”. However, this is manipulation.

This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Its experts found out that the original article only said that serious problems could arise this winter due to possible energy difficulties caused by Russian strikes on infrastructure. The consensus among Ukrainians is that Russia is responsible for the strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, which led to massive power outages.

Propagandists are trying to create an image of a weak government that is not in control of the situation and is afraid of protests. This is aimed at undermining Ukrainians' trust in their own government. Russia is trying to cause panic and discontent among the population by spreading fears of an energy crisis and power outages. The spread of such fakes is also aimed at demoralizing Ukrainians, encouraging them to believe that the situation in the country is deteriorating and the government is unable to cope with the challenges. The goal of the fake is to show that there are disagreements and tensions within the country that could allegedly lead to mass protests in order to reduce international support for Ukraine.

Russian propagandists are spreading information that there is an energy collapse in Kharkiv “due to the Kursk adventure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. They add that all thermal power plants have been destroyed, “the city is completely left without electricity and heat”, and local residents “will not survive the winter and will freeze”. That is, propagandists assure that the destruction of power generation facilities in the Kharkiv region is allegedly a consequence of the Kursk breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for which Russia is “taking revenge”.

In fact, this is disinformation, writes the StopFake project. Indeed, according to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, the Russians have actually completely destroyed all thermal power plants in the Kharkiv region. At the same time, Shmyhal assured that the government focused on the problems of the region and sent mobile units to the Kharkiv region. Also, as the Prime Minister reported, Ukraine has created a reserve of sustainability for the generation of electricity and heat. International partners, within the framework of the Energy Support Fund, financed the purchase of distribution generation equipment with a capacity of 170 MW. In addition, Ukraine is waiting for the delivery of another 291 units and 101 block-modular boiler houses.

To get through the autumn-winter period, the Kharkiv region received 35 cogeneration units. Of these, 21 have been put into operation, and another 13 will be put into operation by the end of this year. In the end, the region managed to decentralize heat and power generation, as well as reconstruct some of the facilities - that is why the city has almost uninterrupted electricity and water, despite constant Russian attacks.

Boiler houses, central heating points and heating networks of the Kharkiv region as of September 2024 are more than 90% ready for the heating season. Social facilities are more than 98% ready. Also, most institutions have generators and full autonomy in the field of water and heat supply.

StopFake journalists add that the 2023-2024 heating season in the Kharkiv region was as successful as it was possible under the conditions of constant Russian shelling. There were 518 boiler houses in the region and the city, heat was supplied to 7.6 thousand apartment buildings out of 8.2 thousand - that is, more than 90% of subscribers had heating in their apartments.

This fake news is part of the Russian disinformation campaign about a “hungry and cold” Ukraine, which Russia has once again started promoting ahead of the new heating season. Read more about what messages the Kremlin propaganda is spreading about the coming winter in the article by the Detector Media Research Center: Ukrainians are in for a terrible winter. What propagandists are writing on Telegram about the Ukrainian winter of 2024-2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.