On behalf of the American organization Freedom House, propagandists are sending out letters calling on Ukrainian military personnel to leave the service. However, these are false letters. This is what the Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes.

Its experts found that the propagandists created a fake email address and used the Freedom House logo to make the messages look official and credible. Such tactics are often used to spread disinformation to lower military morale and undermine trust in Ukraine's Western partners.

Freedom House is not involved in these letters, and no employee of the organization sent such messages. The text of the letter contains lexical errors, specific Russianisms and other linguistic features that indicate forgery. This is another case of using fake letters as a tool of information warfare aimed at increasing mistrust among the Ukrainian military and discrediting support from Western countries.

Anonymous Telegram channels write that the Angel Cherkasy funeral agency in its advertisement with the slogan “Take care of your husband in advance” offers city residents discounts on burial services.

However, Ukrinform journalists established that such a booklet was forged, since there is no funeral agency called Angel in Cherkasy or the Cherkasy region.

“The template for the so-called announcement can be found on the website of a Russian school for studying the Serbian language. The only thing the propagandists changed was that they drew over one of the elements of the ornament using a graphic editor”, the fact-checkers add.

Read also: Lies on how Ukrainians destroyed the grave of a soldier killed in Mariupol.

Propagandists are distributing a photo of an allegedly official document on anonymous Telegram channels, which talks about punishing relatives of those evading mobilization in Ukraine. It is noted that the document was signed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.

The Center for Countering Disinformation writes about this. After checking at the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, it was established that this document is a forgery. Its format does not meet editorial standards, since the Prime Minister does not write such letters, but issues instructions that have a different structure.

The document also contains grammatical errors, and the number indicated in it does not comply with the standards of the Cabinet of Ministers. It was also established that a document with such an original number does not exist at all in 2024.

This fake is aimed at creating panic among the population and discrediting Ukrainian state institutions. Propagandists use such fakes to undermine trust in the government, sow distrust among citizens and increase tension in society. By creating the illusion of helplessness of state structures and unfair persecution, the enemy is trying to break the morale of Ukrainians and weaken their resistance. This is also part of a wider information warfare campaign aimed at undermining unity and harmony in Ukrainian society.

Anonymous Telegram channels are distributing a photo of order No. 413 allegedly from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for July 29, 2024, which orders the invalidation of decisions by military medical commissions. It is about decisions by the military medical commissions made after 2022 in the Kyiv, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions. A screenshot of the “order” is added to the publications.

VoxCheck analysts explained that such an order from the Ministry of Defense simply does not exist; it was forged.

For example, the Ministry of Defense did not publish such orders on the official website. The Ministry of Defense page contains only one order No. 413 for 2020, and it does not concern the decisions of the Military medical commissions.

The so-called document was forged, as indicated by numerous errors. For example, the fakers wrote the wrong date, document number, and added extra punctuation marks in the sentence - “Regulations on the Ministry of Defense (Ukraine, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated October 19, 2016 ME 730)”.

Or else, in the first paragraph of the order they wrote “regional”  not in Ukrainian, and in the second paragraph they incorrectly used a comma:  “...documentation, issued during the same period”.

Anonymous telegrams are distributing photos of the so-called draft decision of the Sumy District Council on the inclusion of the Russian city of Sudzha and the Sudzha district into the Sumy district of the region of the same name in Ukraine. The document states that a referendum and elections will be held in the Sudzha district.

But VoxCheck specialists established that on August 8 (as indicated in the document) the Sumy District Council did not hold the 29th session, at which they allegedly decided to annex the Russian city and region to Ukraine. The press service of the district council told fact-checkers that the document was fake.

Also on its Facebook page, the Sumy District Council reported that the document was a fake. “The Sumy district council is not considering the decision to include the city of Sudzha and the Sudzha district of the Russian Federation into the Sumy district of the Sumy region”, the message stated.

Actually, Ukraine does not violate international law and does not annex the territories of neighboring states. All actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the territory of modern Russia do not go beyond the bounds of the Geneva Conventions and the rules of war. In contrast to Russia, which has been occupying Ukrainian territory since 2014 and holding pseudo-referendums.

In fact, fictitious referendums in temporarily occupied territories are not the expression of the will of Ukrainians, but indicate Russia’s desire to give legitimacy to its criminal actions. In particular, the seizure of Ukrainian regions. This is not a legitimate vote at all. Its results, in addition to Russia itself, are recognized by its “sister states”, such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. That is, this is the occupation of foreign territories by Moscow.

Read also the Newspeak section: “new regions of Russia”

A photo of a document is being circulated online, which talks about the decision of the Sumy District Council to include the Russian city of Sudzha and Sudzha District into the Sumy District as a separate territorial society.

In fact, this document is a fake. On its official Facebook page, the Sumy District Council announced that it is not considering the decision to include the city of Sudzha and the Sudzha district of Russia into the Sumy district of the Sumy region. There is no draft corresponding decision on the council's agenda. Moreover, this issue is not within its competence. The decision to establish and change the boundaries of districts and cities is made by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

In the end, the session of the Sumy District Council for today, August 8, 2024, was not planned and, accordingly, was not held, although this is the date in the fake document.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council also stated that the document distributed online is fake.

Kremlin telegram channels are distributing a photo of an order allegedly from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated July 15, 2024. With reference to the decision of the Ministry of Defense, the document writes about the reformatting of the children's hospital in Kramatorsk into a military hospital for soldiers and their families. As a result, the admission of children will allegedly be prohibited.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the case and found that the so-called order was forged, as indicated by numerous errors. For example, in the first sentence, the authors of the “document” did not agree on the words. In addition, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine did not publish any orders on July 4, 2024. The press service of the Ministry of Defense also did not report the orders of July 4.

The Russians also made a mistake in the number of the document itself, since the Ministry of Health of Ukraine issued the last order number 476 on March 20, 2024. The document is related to amendments to the Ministry’s Action Plan for the preparation of draft regulatory acts for 2024. In original orders, the signature of an authorized person, for example, the Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, must be at the bottom.

The Russian media is disseminating a fake report from the Romanian Ministry of National Defense about the allegedly “failed training” of Ukrainian pilots for F-16 fighters. This document states that they were able to train only 3 pilots out of 50. The reasons for this low rate are given as “inability to learn English” and “alcohol consumption”.

“The Romanian Ministry of Defense prepared a report in which it recognized problems in the results of training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters... Also noted is the careless attitude of Ukrainians to training, reluctance to study English and a drop in athletic performance due to weight gain and alcohol consumption”, the publications added .

StopFake analysts investigated this case and found that the Romanian Ministry of National Defense denied the existence of a report on the failed training of Ukrainian pilots for F-16 fighters. Russian propaganda created a fake document using fragments of this report, making a number of mistakes.

The department added that the fake document also states that the training of Ukrainian pilots was allegedly carried out at the European F-16 training center at the airbase in the city of Feteshte. But, as the Ministry clarified, this is also an “absolute lie”, since only Romanian pilots have studied at the center.

Pro-Russian resources are distributing an order on behalf of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which concerns changes in the work of military medical commissions at the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support. In particular, the relevant document states that the decisions of the Military medical commissions issued in the Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr regions by local Territorial centers of recruitment and social support since 2022, have been declared invalid.

The Center for countering disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council verified this order with the Ministry of Defense and found out that it was fake. The document was written in gross violation of formatting requirements. It also contains many errors. For example, the correct name is the Central Military Medical Commission of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without adding the preposition “at”.

The Center emphasizes that the purpose of such stuffing is to discredit the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, sow panic among the population and disrupt the mobilization process.

Previously, we analyzed a fake order on behalf of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to transform the children's hospital in Kramatorsk into a military hospital.

On July 26, 2024, the online publication Odessaonline received an email, allegedly from the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine with a request to publish an article entitled “It’s time to return what’s yours!”. However, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security confirmed that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the GUR did not send any letters to local media.

The article contained obvious signs of Russian stuffing, describing the unfavorable situation at the front and groundlessly accusing the country's leadership of disrupting mobilization. In particular, it was argued that:

the military command assumed mobilization powers;

informing law enforcement agencies about people evading their constitutional duty is encouraged;

representatives of the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support have permission to use weapons to detain persons liable for military service without reason.

However, this is not true. Such disinformation is aimed at creating resistance among citizens regarding joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as fueling panic and the desire to leave Ukraine.

The purpose of this information operation was to sow distrust in the Ukrainian government and military command, reduce morale among military personnel and civilians, and create an atmosphere of fear and panic. Propagandists sought to arouse resistance among citizens to mobilization and military service, as well as to provoke internal conflicts and divisions in society.

Russian propaganda resources are spreading messages about the alleged decision of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to turn the only children's hospital in Kramatorsk into a military hospital. They refer to the “document” of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, where this is indicated. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to it. They found out that the document, which is supposedly an order from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, is not real. The Ministry of Health confirmed that such orders do not exist, and the Ministry of Health has no such plans. The document contains spelling errors and does not meet the standards of Ukrainian document flow. Moreover, the Ministry of Health does not have the authority to issue such orders.

Thus, they want to discredit Ukrainian government institutions, in particular the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. They also want panic and mistrust among the Ukrainian population, especially residents of Kramatorsk, regarding the functioning of medical institutions in their region. In addition, propagandists also want to achieve a negative international perception of Ukraine, showing it as a state that does not care about its citizens and children, and allegedly uses medical institutions for military purposes. The goal is to weaken internal stability and international support for Ukraine.

A video is being circulated in the Russian segment of social networks in which a woman states that in a kindergarten in Vinnytsia, one of the teachers allegedly “washed his child’s mouth with soap” because she spoke Russian. As the publications add, after the “punishment” the guy allegedly developed allergic stomatitis, but it has not yet been possible to bring the administration of his mother’s kindergarten to justice.

In the video one can also see several documents, complaints addressed to the head of the kindergarten and to the regional prosecutor's office, as well as a certificate from the dentist stating that the child allegedly developed allergic stomatitis. Complaints on behalf of Olesia Mykolaivna Kovalchuk say that the incident occurred in kindergarten No. 67 “Sonechko”, where a preschool teacher Olena Mykhailivna Panasiuk allegedly “bullied” her son.

StopFake analysts explained that this story is complete fiction. Experts turned to the director of the Department of Education of the Vinnytsia City Council Oksana Yatsenko, who denied the authenticity of this story. Oksana Yatsenko stated that neither in kindergarten No. 67, nor in any other preschool institution in Vinnytsia, such a situation never happened.

Analysts also found many inaccuracies in the “complaint statement”, for example:

In Vinnytsia kindergarten No. 67, a preschool teacher named Olena Mykhailivna Panasiuk does not work;

The complaint addressed to the director of kindergarten No. 67 indicated the wrong address of the preschool institution (Vasyl Poryk street, 14 instead of Stelmakh street, 45);

The name of the director of kindergarten No. 67 is also incorrectly indicated. The person indicated in the letter is the head of another educational institution, but no such incidents were recorded there either.

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 propagandists spread the news, allegedly the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov wrote a letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi with a request to investigate the corrupt activities of the chairman of the Kharkiv city council Ihor Terekhov.

VoxCheck analysts explained that such a document is fake. In fact, a number of errors indicate a falsification of the document. The press service of the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration confirmed that the document is not real.

For example, some errors are recorded in the “document”:

The correct spelling would be in such words: “Supreme Commander-in-Chief”,  “heads”, “criminal proceedings”, “during” etc.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are distributing a video in which the wife of a deceased Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier allegedly shows a bill for equipment in the amount of UAH 227,115, which she allegedly must pay. The corresponding “document” was apparently signed by V. M. Orel, the military commissar of the Kaniv United City Military Commissariat.

In fact, this information is not true, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. The so-called equipment bill is a fake by Russian propagandists. The first thing one should pay attention to is that today in Ukraine, instead of military commissariats, there are Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support. Propagandists often get caught doing this. In addition, the “document” itself also contains grammatical errors, which are typical for Russians when creating their fakes.

In general, such fakes are spread with the aim of discrediting the military leadership and creating a negative image of Ukrainian defenders. Previously, we refuted information that in private correspondence, military wives allegedly talk about how the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hides large losses and does not pay money to the families of the dead.

Russian telegram channels are distributing a photo of a “document” from the Taras Shevchenko national university of Kyiv on “exemption from training of 1000 students in connection with their conscription for military service during mobilization”. In addition, the relevant document states that the reason for such an order was an appeal from representatives of the SBU, as well as the Shevchenko district territorial center of procurement and social support.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council undertook to analyze this information. They found out that in fact the photo of the “document” is just another photoshop of Russian propagandists.

Firstly, the execution of the document does not meet the legal requirements for the execution of organizational and administrative documents.

Secondly, the numbering of the order does not correspond to the numbering that is used to register orders of the National National Institution, which are posted in the public domain.

After all, the fictitious document contains many spelling errors, which also indicate its falsity.

This fake appeared as part of a large-scale propaganda campaign to discredit mobilization in Ukraine. Propagandists speculate on a sensitive topic for many Ukrainians and resort to such fabrications that are intended to demoralize, mislead and intimidate society. Previously, we refuted information that Zelenskyi allegedly mobilizes minors.

Propagandists are disseminating information that Western pharmaceutical companies allegedly conducted dangerous experiments with drugs for rheumatoid arthritis on patients in the psychiatric ward of Hospital No. 7 in Mariupol. It is noted that the drug “could contribute to the occurrence of cancers of the lymphatic and hematopoietic systems”, but the “research subjects” were not informed about this. “Documents” have emerged that, according to propagandists, indicate the “criminal activities” of these pharmaceutical companies. Among them is a brochure that supposedly confirms the risk of lymphoma, leukemia and other diseases of the hematopoietic system. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that this study was not conducted at the psychiatric ward of Hospital No. 7 in Mariupol, as propagandists claim. Claims regarding the use of children and the mentally ill in experiments are false. According to Ukrainian legislation, participants in clinical trials must be fully informed about the risks and possible side effects of the drugs being tested.

Propagandists spread fake news to discredit Ukraine’s Western partners and cause panic among the population. They say that Ukrainians are testing biological weapons, and Russia is saving them from precisely this. However, this fake does not correspond to the legislation of Ukraine and reality.

The social network TikTok is distributing a video in which a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly died during hostilities received a draft notice from the Territorial center of recruitment and social support. The video with the relevant documents was allegedly recorded by the close family of the deceased woman.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security claims that the video is fake and created by the Russians. This is evidenced by several factors.

Firstly, from the pronunciation one can hear that the Ukrainian language is foreign to a person, he makes a huge number of mistakes and has a specific accent.

Secondly, one senses inept acting – the woman is clearly overacting with negative emotions.

Thirdly, the draft notice states that the military man is an “ordinary” one, but there is no such rank in the Armed Forces of Ukraine; in Ukraine it is a “soldier”.

Fourth, the “documents” date back to May and June 2022, but the video appeared online on February 23, 2024—on the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

It should be noted that in Ukraine there were indeed cases when people who had already died received draft notices. However, they are not associated with the “arbitrariness of the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support”, as propagandists claim, but with a certain confusion in the databases. For example, the district administration may not have informed the Territorial center of recruitment and social support about the death of a person, which is why it was on the agenda list.

This fake appeared as part of a large-scale propaganda campaign to discredit mobilization in Ukraine. Propagandists speculate on a sensitive topic for many Ukrainians and resort to such fabrications that are intended to demoralize, mislead and intimidate society. Previously, we refuted the information that Silpo’s receipts allegedly issued draft notices.

Propagandists are distributing on anonymous telegram channels a photo of an allegedly official letter from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which requests the use of Moldova’s airspace. To discuss this issue, a meeting of representatives of the general staffs of Ukraine, Moldova and Romania was held from February 12 to 16, 2024. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. They found out that this information comes exclusively from Russian and pro-Russian sources. No other media or officials have confirmed such a meeting. Additionally, information about the deployment of F-16 military aircraft on the territory of Moldova and the use of its airspace was denied by the Ministry of Defense of this country. Even the “letter” that propagandists distribute shows signs of editing.

The Moldovan media NewsMaker contacted the Ministry of Defense with a request to clarify information about the use of airspace for Ukrainian aircraft, and received an answer that this information was erroneous and was being disseminated with the aim of scaring society. Moreover, there is no mention anywhere of a meeting between representatives of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine in Chisinau from February 12 to 16, 2024. Analyzing the “writing” using the Forensically tool and ELA analysis, signs of editing are noticeable.

Previously, the same pro-Russian sources disseminated information that F-16 aircraft transferred to Ukraine would be stationed at the Moldovan Marculesti airport near the border with Ukraine. However, Moldovan Defense Minister Anatolii Nosatyi denied these statements, calling them an attempt to destabilize the situation in the country.

A letter allegedly from Volodymyr Shvachko, director of the passport service of the State Enterprise “Document”, was distributed on social networks. The letter referred to the issuance of temporary travel documents to men born between 1960 and 2006 to return to Ukraine. However, this story turned out to be fake, debunked by VoxCheck.

The first suspicious allegation was that the State Enterprise “Document” had allegedly started issuing new “temporary travel documents”. However, no official data about such a service could be found. Indeed, there are documents for returning to Ukraine, but they are issued in other circumstances and by other institutions.

Secondly, the specified age range covers people from 17 to 63 years old, many of whom are not eligible for mobilization in Ukraine due to their age.

As for Volodymyr Shvachko himself, he was suspended from his duties during the investigation, which means he could not sign such documents at the time of their alleged issuance.

The fake document contained numerous linguistic and formal errors, which was additional confirmation of its falsity. The absence of official recognition or any communications from Ukrainian citizens abroad about the receipt of such documents only strengthened the denial.

Russian media write that rheumatological drugs for large Western pharmacological companies were tested on patients at Hospital No. 7 in Mariupol. Everything happened between 2008 and 2016. In asserting this, propagandists refer to “documents that were found at the site of the reconstruction of the hospital”.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security analyzed this information. As it turned out, Russian propaganda did not provide any real evidence to support this news. The reference to the mythical “workers who found the test documents” cannot be an official source. The documents themselves have not been made public, so we can conclude that they simply do not exist.

In addition, a search for information about “drug research on patients in Mariupol hospitals” in open sources also did not yield results. It should be noted that in Ukraine no one has conducted or is conducting experiments on people. In particular, such cases were not recorded either in the Luhansk region or in the Donetsk region.

This fake propaganda piece echoes others like it about “the functioning of American biological laboratories in Ukraine”, “black transplantology”, “combat mosquitoes”, etc. The purpose of such information dumps is to demonize the West and Ukraine. On the other hand, propagandists are trying to once again assure everyone that “Ukraine is a puppet state”, so Western countries supposedly allow themselves to do whatever they want on its territory.

In the Russian segment of social networks, a document “transcript” of allegedly secretly listening to conversations between Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Oleksandr Syrskyi and Mykhailo Podoliak is being distributed. The transcripts of the conversations allegedly talk about criticism of the Ukrainian president and dissatisfaction with him. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck analysts took up the case and determined that the “groundwork” of the so-called investigators is not real, because, first of all, the documents published on anonymous telegram channels and from there were replicated by other resources. In the “transcripts” one can notice numerous errors, for example: in the text they wrote “relatively”, but it is correct to write “in relation to”. Also, Syrskyi’s surname was simultaneously written in both Ukrainian and Russian.

Or else the text is filled with classic Russian propaganda techniques: where Zelenskyi was called a “drug addict”, “comedian”, “clown”, etc.

That is, it is most likely that the text was created by the Kremlin’s henchmen and subsequently they distributed it on anonymous resources.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading a story about allegedly black transplantation in temporarily occupied Sievierodonetsk, when it was under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Propagandists claim to have found consent forms for the removal of organs and body tissues, allegedly filled out on behalf of Ukrainian army soldiers in 2022. The plot also features witnesses to black transplantation who seem to talk about how it all happened.

In fact, this plot has been staged. It contains fake heroes and evidence. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation. In general, Russians have been spreading the message about black transplantology in Ukraine, in particular in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since 2014. The goal is to discredit the military-political leadership of Ukraine and create a negative image of the state in the eyes of the international community.

To promote its lies, Russian propaganda systematically uses staged stories, fake articles and news distributed by Kremlin-controlled resources. More information about the propaganda campaign of information influence “Black Transplantology” can be found in the study of the Center for Countering Disinformation.

• Read also: The medical mission of FRIDA Ukraine is allegedly engaged in the transfer of organs

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are distributing photos of a letter allegedly from the SBU to the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany with a demand to provide information about all adult men participating in the rallies for further sending their data to the ​​Territorial centers of recruitment and social support.

After verifying the letter at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Center for Countering Disinformation reported that this “document” was fake. The text of the letter contains signs of Photoshop; there is no electronic signature on the “document”, as well as errors in the formatting of the letter. In addition, the letter allegedly from the SBU was written on the letterhead of the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany, and this does not comply with the rules for organizing office work.

By spreading such fakes, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians abroad, in particular in Germany. It should be noted that this spread of misinformation occurred against the backdrop of a new version of the Mobilization Bill.

• Read also: In Ukraine they allegedly call on people to mobilize into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with their entire families.

Anonymous telegram channels are spreading information that Volodymyr Zelenskyi, through proxies, bought two yachts - “Lucky Me” and “My Legacy” - for $75 million. In support of such theses, the authors add photographs of the “bought” yachts and relevant “documents” that supposedly evidence of a purchase. And they link to the English-language media The Islander. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck analysts took on this case and found out that, first of all, the companies that own the yachts confirmed that no one bought them from them and they are still up for sale. Accordingly, the “documents” are fake and in no way claim to be authentic. In November 2023, The Islander media actually published an investigative material in which the authors establish the involvement of the Ukrainian president in the purchase of ships. However, the founders of this media are henchmen of the Kremlin. For example, the About Us section states that The Islander was co-created by Jerry Nolan and Chey Bowes. The latter works as a correspondent for the Russian propaganda television and radio company Russia Today.

Also, information about the purchase, in a traditional way for Russian propaganda, was published on an inactive YouTube channel, where the author allegedly talks about yachts that were bought by persons associated with Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The author of the video calls himself Shahzade Nasir. But open sources also do not contain any other materials from the author of the “investigation”, Shahzad Nasir. The search engine returns only the mentioned YouTube channel. It is unlikely that this is a real name.

The so-called investigations into the property of Ukrainian officials are turning into a systematic campaign to discredit them. Thus, propagandists or proxies of Moscow seek to portray Ukraine as a cradle of corruption schemes - which in the future could harm Ukraine’s European integration path. After all, the fight against corruption and its reduction is one of the main tasks of the state in order to become part of the European Union.

Here are other cases related to the “taking” of real estate with “stolen funds”: how Zelenskyi allegedly bought the villa of Hitler’s propaganda minister Goebbels for 8 million euros; or how propagandists lied that Zelenskyi’s mother-in-law purchased a villa on the coast of Egypt using Western humanitarian aid to Ukraine.