Photos of elderly women carrying firewood are circulating on social networks, with captions that German pensioners are supposedly preparing for winter because of problems with gas. This is manipulation.

In fact, in the photo are Russian pensioners. Fact-checkers of the MithDetector project found that the photos were taken in 2018-2019 by Russian photographers to illustrate materials about whether the Russians will have time to prepare for winter. Despite the fact that Russia is trying to blackmail the West with gas supplies, many regions of Russia are still not connected to the gas supply system, so they must prepare firewood for the winter.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European countries are really trying to find alternative sources of energy instead of Russian gas. Alternatives include harvesting firewood and acquiring wood-burning stoves. Demand for wood stoves in Germany has doubled compared to last year. In the past, less than 6% of Germans used wood for heating, but this year the number is likely to arise.

Russian propagandists spread several theses about the visit of a mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the alleged plan of the Ukrainian authorities to take control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

First, the pro-Kremlin media noted that on September 01, at dawn, “an unsuccessful assault began.” Allegedly, Ukrainian saboteurs on seven boats and two self-propelled barges tried to disrupt the IAEA mission in Enerhodar, temporarily occupied by Russia. The Russians blocked their landing, the British-trained elite fighters were massacred and the barges were sunk.

According to another version of the Russian Ministry of Defense, specially selected and trained "media representatives" from Ukraine, the United States and Great Britain, in the presence of the IAEA mission, were supposed to inform the world community about the transfer of the station to the control of Kyiv. Therefore, all unauthorized persons, when trying to cross the demarcation line, along with the IAEA motorcade, stopped and were not allowed through.

And it did not happen without accusations of Ukraine in the shelling. They say that the Russian side ensured the arrival of more than 60 journalists from France, the USA, China, Denmark, Japan, Germany, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Vietnam and other countries. In the morning of September 01, they witnessed an attempt to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by Ukrainian saboteurs, could see massive artillery shelling by the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and hid in a bomb shelter.

Remember that the IAEA mission headed by its head Rafael Grossi on September 01 visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant being seized by Russia since March 4. 14 experts stayed at ZNPP for two and a half hours. On that day, the Russian army conducted a powerful shelling of the corridor through which the IAEA mission was supposed to follow from Zaporizhzhia to the nuclear power plant, so the experts traveled quite a long time.

The Russians did not allow independent Ukrainian and Western journalists to enter the ZNPP. As President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said, despite the agreements with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi, the IAEA mission arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant without journalists, there were only propagandists from Russia. Enerhoatom confirmed that “the overwhelming majority of “media from all over the world” who arrived at the plant on September 01 were Russian propagandists.”

The board of the joint-stock company "Khersonoblenergo" (JSC), operating in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, reported that again the organization has nothing to do with the distribution system operator "Khersonoblenergo" JSC and draws funds from consumers in the Kherson region. Both the newly created company and its website are located in Moscow. The Ukrainian company also reminded that all electricity supplied to the Kherson region is supplied exclusively from the territory of Ukraine and must be paid exclusively to Ukrainian accounts.

Russian propaganda systematically accuses Ukraine of striking the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. At the same time, the "commander" of the occupying garrison of the nuclear power plant, Russian General Vasiliev, threatened that "the station will be either Russian or nobody" and "there will be either Russian free land or scorched earth".