Spilnota Detector Media

Manipulation 16 million tons of wheat exported by Ukraine will not affect the world and can not cause famine in Asia and Africa

The Russian media is constantly speculating on the food crisis, which all international organizations warn about. Most often, they write that Ukraine itself blocks ports and therefore does not export grain to countries that usually buy Ukrainian agricultural products. Are they claiming that Ukraine is selling its grain in exchange for weapons, or is it exporting grain to Europe to create an artificial famine in Ukraine itself? But there is a new thesis - there is not enough Ukrainian wheat at all, so the lack of exports can not affect most people worldwide.

For example, Soloviev and other propagandists write about it on telegram channels. In fact, it is a manipulation. First, the 16 million tons Russian propagandists write about is only an approximate level of wheat exports. But Ukraine does not only export wheat - in 2020/2021, the state exported almost 60 million tons of grain. And among them - barley, beans, corn, flour, and oil. And Ukraine cannot export all these products to Asia and Africa due to Russia's blockade of ports.

Secondly, Ukraine had convenient transport links with the countries it supplied grain, making it cheaper. Now, due to the impossibility of delivering them there from Ukraine, they are becoming more expensive - and therefore, countries are forced to buy less. Several countries, including Egypt and Lebanon, are a quarter dependent on grain supplies from Ukraine. The figures are as follows: 25 million tons of corn and wheat are equivalent to the annual consumption of all the world's least developed economies. And it was Ukraine that met the grain needs of these countries. In addition, recent years have been dry in many countries, so grain production has declined altogether - and this could lead to famine in the world's poorer countries. Ukrainian grain is now in dire need of Ukrainian grain.

Manipulation Ukraine produces so little grain that its loss could not cause a food crisis in the world

Russian propaganda media widely disseminate this thesis. In particular, this was stated by RIA Novosti concerning the statement of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, made at a press conference in Ankara: "The situation with Ukrainian grain has nothing to do with the food crisis in the world, but the West portrays it as a 'global catastrophe,'" said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "We have paid a lot of attention to the problem of Ukrainian grain exports, which our Western colleagues and Ukrainians are trying to classify as a global catastrophe, although the share of this Ukrainian grain in question is less than 1% of world wheat and other cereals."

A similar manipulation was spread by the Russian media, claiming that world hunger could be caused by sanctions against Russian fertilizers and not by the problem with Ukrainian grain, which arose as a result of the war unleashed by Russia. However, according to ING Economics, Ukraine accounts for 12% of world wheat exports and 17% of world corn exports; Ukraine is also the world's largest oil exporter and the largest supplier of fertilizers in the world, and Russia's war against Ukraine disrupted their exports and logistics. Also, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2021, the world produced 2776.9 million tons of grain. And according to the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Roman Leshchenko, in 2021, the country harvested 32.4 million tons of wheat, 40 million tons of corn, and 10 million tons of barley, i.e., only these three crops together account for almost 3% of world grain production. According to The Insider fact-checkers, this indicator is not as important as Ukraine's share in world exports to assess the impact of the war in Ukraine on the world grain market.

According to the Ukrainian agricultural portal Latyfundyst, in 2020, when the wheat harvest in Ukraine was significantly lower than a year later, out of 29.2 million tons exported, 21 million tons were shipped. Ukraine was in fifth place after the European Union, Russia, the United States, and Canada in the world's most extensive wheat exporters list.

Manipulation There will be famine in the world because of sanctions against Russian fertilizers

 Russian media are spreading a statement by an associate professor at a Russian university who predicts world hunger allegedly due to sanctions against Russian fertilizers. He denies the facts and says that Ukraine cannot be called the leading exporter of grain globally, that "without Ukrainian grain, there will be no famine in the world," saying that "the shortage of Russian fertilizers threatens serious problems," StopFake reports. "Russian propaganda is again trying to present itself as a victim, not an aggressor in this war. To this end, Moscow is spreading the narrative that it is not the war against Ukraine and the blocking of grain supplies from Ukrainian ports that will cause famine. Still, sanctions against Russia and, consequently, cause the lack of Russian fertilizers on the world market, "the fact-checkers said. In fact, according to ING Economics, Ukraine accounts for 12% of world wheat exports and 17% of world corn exports; Ukraine is also the world's largest exporter of oil. Ukraine is also the world's largest supplier of fertilizers, and Russia's war against Ukraine has disrupted its exports and logistics. Russia has also temporarily occupied some parts of the region in the south and blocked Ukrainian ports, thus hindering grain exports to world markets. At the same time, Europe has not wholly abolished the import of fertilizers from Russia, only imposed restrictions on the import of some Russian fertilizers, allowing the import of 2.6 million tons per year. Also, some countries plan to reduce their dependence on imports and fertilizers over time. 

Manipulation Kherson region finally gained access to water - and began sowing

Collaborator Sergey Shvaika, who calls himself the "military-civil administration of the Skadovsk district," said that the Kherson region has finally received water, and farmers have started sowing.

According to StopFake, it is another manipulation within the general narrative of the Kremlin propaganda. For many years, after the closure of the Crimean Canal, farms in the Kherson region suffered from a lack of water. It is not the case because the Canal did not supply water only to Crimea all these years. In the Kherson region, he worked as usual.

In addition, according to the fact-checkers, sowing did not start not because of the lack of water in the area but because of the occupation and hostilities that hindered the start of work. Wheat is usually sown in March and April.

Message Ukraine and the West are artificially creating famine on the planet

Researchers from the EU vs Disinfo project analyzed the fakes and manipulations of the food crisis created and spread by the Russian propaganda machine, which is actively involved in the media and among MPs and diplomats. Numerous lies about the fact that the "West and Ukraine" artificially create famine in the world can be presented in three theses:

1) The food crisis began with sanctions imposed on Russia.

2) Ukraine itself blocks and mines its ports, promoting famine.

3) Ukraine sells grain for weapons, and Russia, on the contrary, prevents famine in Ukraine.

Of course, this is all a lie. The sanctions imposed on Russia do not relate to food and grain exports. Russia is blocking the export of grain from Ukraine by ships because it blocks ports in the Black Sea and does not provide security guarantees for the passage of ships with grain. Ukraine does not trade or exchange grain for weapons - on the contrary, it transports grain to European ports or sells it. The war prevented sowing, and the Russians sighting bombed stores and bases of petroleum materials needed to begin sowing. Finally, Russia is only exacerbating the food crisis and the situation in Ukraine by stealing grain, agricultural machinery, and even ships in ports where it exports and sells stolen grain to other countries. Both Putin and his diplomats have already made it clear that they are ready to supply more products to countries that have begun to suffer from declining grain exports during the war in exchange for lifting sanctions. Indeed, Russia is blackmailing everyone with global hunger, but its propaganda tries to twist everything.

Fake The West is "lying" about Russia's theft of Ukrainian grain

Russian authorities have called "American fake" evidence provided by Western partners of Russia's theft of Ukrainian grain. The Russian media published a "rebuttal" that the "collective West is deliberately spreading fakes" about Russian troops' theft of Ukrainian food. According to StopFake, many satellite images confirm Russia's theft of Ukrainian grain. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations also stated evidence of Russian theft of Ukrainian food.

Fake Salt has risen in price several times. The cost of it is artificially inflated in stores, and soon it will not be sold at all because sausage producers and canneries have bought all the salt

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine refutes the most common fakes about salt.

Salt stocks are there, and they will be on sale! Due to the shelling of the occupiers and the danger to workers' lives, the state enterprise Artemsil, located in Soledar, Donetsk region, stopped salt production in April. But in large chain supermarkets, there is a salt stock of several thousand tons.

Salt has not risen in price due to high demand, and the "opportunity to earn" in retail stores and markets artificially inflates the price of salt. But it is the massive purchase of salt in large quantities leads to shortages and further price increases!

Sausage and smoked producers use imported specially prepared salt. In addition to their salt stocks in warehouses, large producers have concluded additional agreements on salt supply from abroad.

Manipulation Biden and Zelensky will be remembered as presidents who staged a famine on the planet

Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has once again criticized anti-Russian sanctions and said the famine could result in many countries. In his opinion, the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Joseph Biden, should be aware of the consequences in Ukraine. Otherwise, they may go down in history as presidents who staged a famine on the planet. As in many regions of Ukraine, spring field works were not carried out thoroughly. The European Union has banned the supply of Russian and Belarusian fertilizers, and sanctions against Russia have hit countries that have previously had food problems and provoked rising grain prices in all countries, including Europe. And, of course, "Russia has nothing to do with it." This "no" Russia started a war against Ukraine, "no" Russia blocked Ukrainian ports, leaving more than 20 million tons of grain in storage. And, of course, "no" to Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to unblock Ukrainian ports for food exports if the West lifts sanctions against Russia. No Russian media outlet supplemented the speaker's statement with truthful information. Leaders of many countries have repeatedly stated that Russia has gone down in history as a country through which 400 million people on the planet cannot receive grain from Ukrainian farmers. Ukraine fed exactly so many people before the war.

Manipulation Washington is provoking a food crisis in Ukraine, and Kyiv will pay for American weapons with wheat

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has officially stated that Washington is provoking a food crisis in Ukraine by depriving it of grain supplies. US President Joe Biden's statement on the need to find opportunities to export 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine coincided with the signing of the law on Ukrainian "land lease." It turns out that Kyiv will pay for weapons with wheat, "she said. Ukraine is one of the largest food exporters - of grain and other agricultural products. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has blocked grain exports from Ukrainian ports in the Black and Azov Seas. According to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, most of the traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been blocked due to the Russians` blockade. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that almost 25 million tons of grain are currently in Ukrainian granaries. Ukraine cannot direct them to the world market. The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, called on Russia to unblock the ports of Odesa. Beasley wrote on Twitter - "400 million is the number of people in the world who Ukrainian farmers fed before the war. Zero is the number of people fed by Ukrainian farmers today if the ports of Odesa are not opened immediately. " As for the land lease, the story began on April 7, when the US Senate approved the bill. On April 28, the US House of Representatives passed by an overwhelming majority a bill to supply arms to Ukraine under the land lease program by an overwhelming majority. On May 9, US President Joe Biden signed the document. And the next day, May 10, during a speech at the White House on the US government's efforts to combat inflation, Joe Biden drew attention to 20 tons of grain blocked in Ukrainian storage facilities through Russia. According to him, Ukraine is trying to find ways to bring grain to the world market, which would reduce global food prices. Under normal circumstances, the export of this grain would have started long ago, but Russia's aggression hinders this, the US president emphasized. "We are working with our European partners to bring this food to the world market, and it could help lower prices. But it is difficult - again - because of the invasion of Putin and Russia in Ukraine, " Biden said. He noted that the consequences of the pandemic and Putin's war affect not only the American market but have the global scale. "That's why we're seeing historic inflation in countries worldwide," Biden said. US Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine Kristina A. Kvien explained that the land lease program is a mechanism that allows the US president to supply weapons quickly, writes "Yevropeyska Pravda." Contrary to its name (the word lend means "to borrow," to transfer temporarily), we are not saying that Ukraine should return everything it receives under this mechanism. The idea of ​​a lease is different. When the United States sells or transfers weapons to another country, the government must go through an export procedure, obtain approval, and meet certain restrictions. And in order not to face these restrictions, it is proposed to transfer weapons by lease. Frankly, this is just a procedure to speed up the supply of weapons. Therefore, of course, the land lease will not lead to the emergence of any crazy debt in Ukraine after the war, " she said. Consequently, we are not talking about any calculation of grain for weapons. But the fact is that the cause of the food crisis is Russia's war. Especially since, on May 21, Biden signed a law providing $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $ 20 billion in armaments.  

Fake Viber anti-vaccination groups have returned to spreading Kremlin narratives

With the start of the war, Ukrainian anti-vaccination groups in Viber decreased Kremlin propaganda, but over time it returned. Texty.org.ua writes about this in their research.

Message Russia does not block the supply of grain from Ukraine

Russian authorities and propaganda media have been promoting the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and worldwide for the past month. For example, pro-Kremlin telegram channels have tried to shake up the situation in Ukraine with reports such as "Ukrainians are on the verge of starvation and Western countries are exporting all grain" or "Ukrainian authorities are exchanging grain for weapons while civilian food prices have risen sharply." However, following allegations from foreign politicians and foreign media investigations that Russia is looting and exporting food from Ukraine's occupied territories and blocking supplies through Ukraine's seaports, Russian propaganda has begun to spread manipulations accusing the West and Ukraine of supply problems. It is said that Ukrainians are "to blame for rising grain and oil prices in Europe," that Ukraine "mined ports and coasts," or that "the West's decisions prevent the export of grain from Ukraine." At the same time, Russia completely denies its involvement in looting Ukraine's food supplies, blocking ports, and supplying grain.

In fact, as of May 21, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia has blocked 22 million tons of food in Ukrainian ports and is gradually stealing it, exporting it, and trying to sell it. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was using food supplies as a weapon. She added that Russia was accumulating its food, using its export delays "as a form of blackmail" to provoke rising global prices or "exchange wheat for political support." New satellite images from Maxar Technologies have shown two Russian dry cargo ships loading Ukrainian grain at the port of occupied Sevastopol. According to Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova, Russia exports grain from occupied Berdiansk to occupied Crimea and then to Russia; the occupiers are trying to remove the remnants of grain from the port of Mariupol by rail. Russia also exports looted Ukrainian grain to third countries through the ports of the occupied Crimea. The Matros Pozynich ship, which had already transported the stolen grain to Syria, returned to the Black Sea and was reloaded. After leaving the Crimean port, this vessel indicated the destination port of Beirut in Lebanon, " Denisova said.

Manipulation Ukraine faces a crisis and famine in the winter of 2022-2023

The Russian media are deepening the already well-known message by writing about the massive export of food from Ukraine and ironizing the increase in fuel prices, which, in their opinion, will inevitably lead to higher prices and shortages of food. The center of counteraction to misinformation has analyzed the volume of production and consumption of agricultural crops in Ukraine and concluded: the country is not threatened by hunger, but the shortage of vegetables, price increase and possible difficulties during the harvesting in July and August (the blocking of the ports can lead to the problem of grain storage). More details on the Facebook page of the Center for Counteracting Misinformation.

Fake Ukrainian nationalists are shelling Kherson.

Russian propaganda media spread information that after Kherson was occupied by Russian troops, the AFU began "continuously shelling" the city. Such reports add that Russian air defenses "protect" civilians. Kherson, and the shelling of Ukrainians is also carried out from the direction of Nikolaev, in particular, spread such information by the propaganda website Ukraina.ru and calls such actions the point of no return, saying that this is done to scare the region, which is ready to cooperate with the Russians.

However, the Ukrainian army is not shelling temporarily occupied Kherson. According to StopFake, information about heavy explosions in the city center on May 12 was not confirmed by local media, nor was any evidence provided by Russian journalists. At the same time, the Russian army continues shelling the Kherson region, particularly with phosphorus shells, as do convoys of civilians trying to leave the occupied territories. Read more.

Fake 44 residents of Izyum, whose bodies were recently recovered from under the rubble of a house, died as a result of shelling by the AFU.

This is the lie spread by Russian propagandists. This was reported on Facebook by the deputy mayor of Izyum, Kharkiv region Volodymyr Matzokin.

"Advice to Russian propagandists: if you are already molding fakes, at least try not to use the recipe of g...na. According to the official data of the General Staff of the AFU, Izyum was occupied on April 1, 2022. Occupied by Rashist troops. So what's April 9? Let me give you a hint, the destruction of multi-story buildings on Khlebozavodskaya and Pervomaiskaya Streets took place on March 8-9, 2022. It was done by the barbarians of the Russian army during the capture of the city. About 60 people died and 44 were found. Attempts by such fake reports to destroy the truth will lead to nothing but punishment," Matzokin wrote.

In the story of Russian propagandists on camera speaks a resident of Izyum Serhiy Shtanko, born in 1989. The gray-haired 33-year-old man notes that windows and doors in the house flew out first after the shelling, and that on April 9 at 9 a.m. a tank seemed to have fired and hit the slab. When asked from behind the frame: "Whose side was the beating? From the side of the AFU or Russia?" Shtanko answers: "They were beating from the side of the hunting store, which is 200 meters away. I do not know who was beating them. Both of them could have done it. But ... it was our guys who were beating.

According to him, a total of seven people escaped from the house.

Izyum mayor's office believes that Shtanko was forced to give such an interview under the threat of death.

Beginning March 6, the Russians began intensive shelling and airstrikes on Izyum, destroying the entrances of multi-story buildings and destroying all infrastructure. Izyum has been under Russian occupation for a second month. On May 10, in the temporarily occupied city of Izyum, the bodies of 44 civilians were found dead in the rubble of a five-story building. Among the dead, there are two families of five and two others of three.

Fake . Ukraine infected people in the occupied part of Luhansk Region with tuberculosis using fake rubles.

The Russian Defense Ministry comes up with more and more series of series about "biological weapons" and "insidious" Ukrainians armed with biological weapons at briefings. This time, the Russian military took the old fake about "tuberculosis-infected leaflets" that were allegedly scattered by the Ukrainian military in 2020 over the Slavyanoserbsky district of Luhansk Region - and added new slides to it.

This fake was already refuted back in 2020: then a representative of the LNR Interior Ministry said that fake ruble banknotes were scattered near a district school, which people picked up, and during the day they became ill. The local laboratory seems to have found tuberculosis on these hundred dollar bills. The only real fact in these reports is that the Ukrainian volunteers did indeed spread the leaflets by drone - and did so regularly. The difference this time was that the texts were printed on paper that resembled ruble bills - and therefore attracted more attention from locals. Everything else is fiction: people could get sick for any reason, but tuberculosis is a disease that has a long incubation period of up to a month, so no one can catch it instantly and feel worsened within a day. You can read more refutation of this fake here. But the Radio Liberty article clearly was not read by the Defense Ministry - so they just repeated the fake about "deliberate contamination with counterfeit money" in the Luhansk region.

Fake . Ukraine exports state grain reserves to Poland.

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Once again, Russian propaganda media and telegram channels spread fakes about the "artificial creation of hunger" in Ukraine because of the actions of the West. This time they are using a fake spread by Ilya Kiva, a former Verkhovna Rada deputy: he claims that "Ukraine is exporting state grain reserves to Poland" supposedly because "Ukraine has been written off as a state.

In fact, about 25 million tons of grain to be sold for export are blocked at Ukrainian ports because of Russian aggression in the Black Sea. This is as much as Ukraine sold grain during 4 months of last year. The Europeans suggested a way out: to export grain by rail to Poland and transport it by ships from the Baltic Sea. So now the grain is simply exported for sale - no treason and "writing off the country". Strategic grain reserves remain in the country and the government of Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it is enough to meet the needs of Ukrainians.

Read more about the grain and export situation in Ukraine here.

Message The generals of the Ukrainian army have British and American passports and receive salaries from the governments of these countries.

The other day the propaganda publication "Komsomolskaya Pravda" published an article with the title "What is the secret of the Ukrainian army". In the text the author Sergey Markov allegedly tries to analyze why the Ukrainian army gives a decent fight to the Russian - "one of the strongest in the world". That is, the Russian propaganda already admits that the Ukrainian military is able to resist Russia and tries to look for various explanations for this "phenomenon". In particular, calling the Ukrainian army an amazing and very strong combination of a Russian soldier, a fascist officer and an American general and claiming that almost the entire leadership of the Ukrainian army during 8 years of war was trained by Americans. American, British passports, as well as individual salaries that they receive there," the author of the text claims.

In fact, Ukrainian generals do not have dual citizenship and do not work for the Pentagon. In particular, General Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the AFU, a Ukrainian military officer who studied and served in Ukraine specifically, was Commander of Troops of Operational Command "North" (2019-2021), Chief of the Joint Operational Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - First Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces (2018), Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of Troops of Operational Command "West" (2017). Commander of the 51st separate mechanized brigade (2009-2012). In addition, the Ukrainian army has servicemen from different cities and regions of Ukraine, and they communicate both in Ukrainian and Russian. There is no reason to claim that Russian is the main language in the Ukrainian army. Thus, by claiming that Ukrainian generals are people trained and paid by the U.S., Russia tries to justify the defeat of its troops, saying that the Ukrainian army is strong only because of this.

Message The United States seeks to organize a holodomor in Ukraine.

This was stated by the Russian propaganda media, citing the words of the speaker of the State Duma of Russia Volodin. This is not the first time the politician has accused the United States of "wanting to organize a famine in Ukraine." He claims that the famine in Ukraine will come because of the US intentions to return all the grain stored in Ukraine to the world markets. He argues that "instead of real help, the U.S. only wants to take back what it needs.

First, in this way Russia again seeks to discredit Ukraine's allies in helping to wage war and supply arms. Russian propaganda benefits from spreading the thesis that the U.S. and other countries do not help Ukraine and Ukrainians in any way, but instead make things worse. Secondly, problems with grain and other food in Ukraine may arise not because of the U.S. and intentions to sell Ukrainian grain, but because of the war that Russia unleashed by destroying Ukrainian infrastructure and occupying cities. As a reminder, it recently became known, that Russian Kafirs are removing stolen food from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on a large scale. Obviously, the food problem in Ukraine could arise as a result of the actions of the Russians, not the United States.

Manipulation Western countries export all the grain from Ukraine while Ukrainians spend more and more money on food.

This thesis is spread by telegram channels administered by Russian special services. Russian propaganda promotes the manipulative message that the Ukrainian political top brass is enriching themselves on agribusinesses while Ukrainians are forced to consume in short supply and spend a lot of money on food. At the same time, these propagandists do not mention the fact that Russia steals and exports food from Ukraine. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, stolen grain from Ukraine can be exported to Russia, occupied Crimea and Syria (from where it can be smuggled to other Middle Eastern countries).

In fact, back in March 2022 the government banned the export of oats, millet, buckwheat, sugar, salt, rye, cattle, meat and by-products from cattle, frozen brine, etc. because of Russia's war against Ukraine. This was done to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, market stability and meet the needs of the population in critical food products. Under certain conditions (with informing the government and issuing a free license) it is possible to export: wheat and a mixture of wheat and rye (meslin), corn, domestic chicken meat, domestic chicken eggs, sunflower oil.

Fake Andrzej Duda's grandfather was a friend of Stepan Banedra.

The Russian and pro-Kremlin media have spread an old fake about Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose grandfather was allegedly Michail Duda, a friend of Stepan Banedra. These reports are, expectedly, accompanied by accusations of Nazism against the Polish leader. Mythdetector fact checkers reminded us, that Duda himself refuted this fake back in 2015. Then he said that his grandfather's name was Alojz Duda. He was a fur expert who died in 1992.

Fake Ukrainian saboteurs burned a warehouse with humanitarian aid in Kremenna.

This fake was spread by the Russian media, in particular, the May 9 edition of Izvestia made a story about an allegedly burnt-out train that was in the building of a sports complex in Luhansk Oblast. Although the propagandists did not specify which sports complex they were talking about, StopFake managed to identify the building in the video. It turned out that this was the Luhansk regional sports center Olimp, which burned down back on March 18 as a result of artillery shelling of the city by the Russian military. Before the temporary occupation of Kreminna by the Russian military, humanitarian aid had indeed been stored in the building. However, it had been organized by local authorities, not by Russia and its controlled fighters, as early as March 22.

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Fake The graves of World War II veterans were replaced in Kharkiv.

This is the claim spread by the Russian propagandists in the media and social networks. The reports, which began to be spread on 7 January, say that the graves were replaced on the eve of 9 February, so that people could not go to the wake of their relatives. However, none of this is true. According to the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, the photos that were used in the signatures appeared in the media earlier than the propaganda message started to spread. Їh were published in the local publication "Redpost" to illustrate that Ukrainian soldiers find such "gifts" in the abandoned territories near Kharkiv.

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Manipulation Since the beginning of the war, China has supported the Kremlin's actions and opposed NATO's expansion into the East.

According to the Anti-Disinformation Center, the Russian propaganda actively spreads this thesis. The messages also say that Pekin is a fierce critic of the sanctions against Russia and does not condemn Moscow. "Indeed, the Kremlin only dreams of such a partnership as the basis of a new anti-Nazi bloc against the U.S. and NATO. There is no alliance between the countries. Since the early 1980s China has followed a diplomatic policy of independent self-sufficiency and lack of alliances. Reluctance to condemn the "special operation" Russia has strained relations between China and the United States, its allies. This disrupted the supply of goods from the PRC and led to the cancellation of export orders from Chinese companies. The underlying principle of the China-Ukraine Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation states that China supports Ukraine's policy aimed at the unity of the state and its territorial integrity", the Center's statement reads.

Back in March this year, almost at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Bloomberg agency wrote that China will rely on Russia's attempts to involve it in the war against Ukraine and will not provide substantial military and material assistance. At the same time, the Chinese government does not want to pressure Russia to end the war. But there is no reason to call China an ally of Russia in this war.

Fake Ukrainian laboratories have created a hybrid of pigs and humans.

Social media are spreading the most common fake about what is being created in the so-called Ukrainian bio-laboratories, which are allegedly funded by the United States. Russian propaganda has already spread fakes about the fact that the laboratories are producing biological weapons, in particular, infecting mosquitoes and birds that will harm Russians. Now there is a widespread fake about the so-called experimental discovery of the human hybrid with pigs. These reports are supplemented by the image of a figure in the form of a nepivludini-napivsvine, which is allegedly the result of experiments in the laboratories of Ukraine. However, as the experts of the Maldita project write, it is not true, as the photo is a work by artist Liri Mahanuko.

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Fake The U.S. refused to accept Ukrainian refugees.

At the beginning of May, the Conservative Movement group, in particular, published information on Facebook that the United States allegedly refused to accept Ukrainian refugees and queues of Ukrainians were already gathering at the borders, whom Washington did not care about. The reports also added that Zelensky does not respond to such actions by the U.S. However, as Myth Detector Project fact checkers write, the claim that the United States has refused to accept Ukrainian refugees is false, and the manipulation is reinforced by the fact that since April 25, the United States changed the rules for accepting refugees from Ukraine, which caused a temporary delay at the border. "Ukrainian refugees need to fill out a special application, considered on a case-by-case basis, and find a sponsor to fund their stay," the fact checkers wrote. However, this is not a refusal to accept refugees from Ukraine. As a reminder, Russia has already repeatedly spread a similar thesis that Ukrainian refugees are refused to be accepted in EU countries. In particular, in Poland and Germany. Propagandists also spread fakes about Ukrainian refugees allegedly committing crimes in those countries. Thus, by reporting that the U.S. and other countries are refusing refugees from Ukraine, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit allies in the Russia-Ukraine war. Read more.