Russian media are manipulating about the transfer of T-72 "third generation" tanks to Ukraine, Insider writes. They said that they are transferring scrapped equipment from the 70s to Ukraine.

The T-72 tank was developed in the USSR in the 1970s, but it has undergone at least 14 modifications that are still relevant today. Modified T-72s are still in service in more than 40 countries of the world (among them Serbia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, Uzbekistan, Syria, and others).

North Macedonia announced plans to dispose of its 31 T-72 tanks but linked it not to their unsuitability, but the transition to NATO standards. Ammunition for the main armament of the T-72 — 125 mm guns — is not produced in NATO countries. 

Russian media wrote that Egypt canceled contracts for the purchase of 240,000 tons of Ukrainian grain, which were supposed to be delivered in February-March, but was never shipped due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Allegedly, this was decided after the visit of the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, to Egypt. The reason, they say, is Ukraine's unreliable information about the volume of grain storage.

According to Reuters, Egypt canceled the contract because Ukraine did not fulfill its contractual obligations in March-April 2022 due to the blockade of the ports by Russian troops. Egypt officially assured the Ukrainian ambassador that it does not refuse cooperation and is ready to continue purchasing grain, writes StopFake.

"Egypt will conclude a new contract with Ukraine for the grain supply, as the Ukrainian side was unable to fulfill its contractual obligations in March-April, 2022, due to the blockade of the ports by Russian troops," said Mykhailo Nepran, the first vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He added that the previous agreement did not provide for a force majeure clause, so they canceled the contract, which cannot be fulfilled, to conclude a new one and make the purchase under it. 

Anonymous Telegram channels write a lot about the US involvement in China's conflict with Taiwan. Propagandists write that the USA has been "pumping Taiwan with weapons" for a long time and that it was the same with the "Ukrainian crisis". This generalized and manipulative message is probably designed to shift the emphasis once again, blaming the USA for starting a major war in Ukraine and not mentioning that Russia started the offensive. 

Russian media with reference to the Ukrainian edition "European Truth" write that the new head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Aji Lyabib, was banned from entering Ukraine due to a trip to Crimea. At the end of July 2021, Aja Lyabib, being a TV journalist at the time, went to the "Global Values" festival, which was held in Sevastopol under the supervision of Putin's daughter Kateryna Tikhonova.

The article in "European Pravda" entitled "The Dodon Effect. How the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium refuses to apologize for a visit to the occupied Crimea" is not about the fact that Ukraine does not allow Aja Lyabib to visit Ukraine. However, Ukraine expects an apology from Lyabib for his illegal visit to the occupied Crimea.

The author, Serhiy Sydorenko, notes that Lyabib flew to Crimea via Russia, thereby violating Ukrainian legislation. This visit was financed by the host country - Russia. After returning to Belgium, Aja Lyabib also resorted to statements that cast doubt on Crimea is Ukraine. At that time, almost no one paid attention to this event. However, after the former TV journalist became the new head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, the fact of an illegal visit to Crimea cannot remain unnoticed. More details.

In the German segment of Facebook, an image is shared: "Shocking survey: 11 million Germans will fight for Russia and Putin against NATO in case of war!" The posts with this image reported that the German channel ARD conducted such a survey.

It's a fake: German fact-checkers from Correctiv contacted the broadcaster, and ARD denied ever conducting such a survey.

The German segment of Facebook regularly spread fakes discrediting Ukraine, the Armed Forces, and slandering Ukrainian refugees in Germany.

It was said by the European Police Office (Europol) spokesman, Jaap Op Gen Oort. His comment was spread by German, Ukrainian, Russian, and other mass media. According to the spokesman, investigators from EU countries have found "signs of trade in heavy military weapons" on the black market and "a risk that the weapons will end up in the hands of organized criminals or terrorists." His statement caused a significant response.

A few hours after the information "dump," Europol clarified that they were discussing a potential threat and not specific cases. "Europol works closely with Ukrainian officials to reduce the threat of arms sales to the European Union. We have full confidence in them as they implement new measures to monitor and trace these firearms," ​​Europol said in a statement.

According to Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mary Hakobyan, information about the potential risks of arms smuggling from Ukraine against the background of the war may be a fact of dishonesty or unprofessionalism of the media or deliberate action of the Russian special services.

Telegram channels spread the news allegedly about the call of the youth group of the "Polish Crown Confederation" party to tear down Ukrainian flags around the city with the slogans "we do not want to make Ukropoliya out of Poland," "Ukrainians go to Ukraine," "there is no common future with Ukraine in Poland." Reports say that this protest allegedly spread to Warsaw and border cities. It is not true.

In fact, in Wroclaw, four guys organized a press conference at the "City Transport Company" headquarters due to dissatisfaction with the Ukrainian flags that the company displayed on Wroclaw's buses and trams and offered to submit a petition to replace them with Polish flags. Young people talked about Ukrpolia, but in the context of the party rhetoric of the Confederation of the Polish Crown, a Eurosceptic party that advocates for a "traditional" Poland. "We want a Polish, not a rainbow, left or serf Poland under the dictates of Brussels Eurocrats. We also do not want to turn Poland into Ukropolia, and we will not allow those in power to do so," the message reads.

According to the fact-checkers of "On the other side of the news," the company president, Krzysztof Balawejder, came to the young people and informed them that the mayor of Wrocław had agreed upon the initiative. He added that the blue-yellow flag is a meaningful gesture of solidarity, and the Polish flag is a reason for pride. The company's office also has the flags of Ukraine and the European Union. After that, the "rally" ended. There is no information about similar protests in Warsaw or other cities. Reporting protests over Ukrainian flags in Poland is a manipulation of pro-Russian Telegram channels to worsen Ukrainian-Polish relations.

Posts of this content are distributed on social networks. They are accompanied by an image purporting to be a social ad in Germany, urging people to wash only four areas of the body "to annoy Putin."

The picture also shows a child with the indicated body parts, the flag of Ukraine, and the inscription: "Wash only these four body parts if you want to annoy Putin. Water should also be saved for the sake of freedom." However, it is a fake. In Germany, they did not create social advertising that encourages people to wash less to spite Putin.

According to Stopfake, an extended search of this picture on the Internet shows that it appeared on a German-language Twitter profile as early as April 24 of this year with the caption: "For two years, you had to wash your hands so as not to endanger your grandmother! Four body parts in the soul are enough to annoy Putin and influence the war! (…) It's amazing how simple this world has become!". Commenters on Twitter asked the author to provide the source of this image, but there was no response. A further search for this picture only leads to publications on social networks on pro-Russian accounts. In mid-July, it began to spread information that "in Germany, Germans are offered to wash less for the sake of Russia."

According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, the Russian media spreads such a message concerning Russian politicians' statements. According to the Center, such information by Russia arose after Ukraine began calling on the world community to recognize Russia as a terrorist state due to war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Russian propagandists spread this thesis. In their materials, they allegedly refer to an article in the American edition of Politico. Propagandists claim that Europe will have to make concessions to Russia to get gas during the heating season, allegedly due to anti-Russian sanctions.

In fact, as the Center for Combating Disinformation writes, Ukraine's allies continue to work on another package of anti-Russian sanctions, and German Economy Minister Habek, whose comment is cited by Politico, said that he would be the first to advocate for another tough package of European Union sanctions.

The Russian mass media distorted the quote of Jair Bolsonaro, who said that he knows how to settle the military conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The president of Brazil announced a telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky and noted that the decision could be similar to how the war between Argentina and Great Britain in 1982 ended. The politician did not specify details, stressing that he would only share his opinion with the Ukraine President.

The Kremlin media reported that the president of Brazil is talking about Kyiv's surrender as a solution because of the Falklands conflict. Then, in 1982, Argentina abandoned negotiations and invaded the Falkland Islands, which Britain had controlled since 1833. The conflict began in April and ended in June with the capitulation of Argentina, whose military leadership discredited itself. Since 1983, democracy has been restored in Argentina, and the Falkland Islands are now British and under the protection of the British military. Therefore, the identification of Argentina with Ukraine is the work of the Russian mass media, not the statement of the Brazilian president. The call between Zelensky and Bolsonaro should take place on July 18. Read more at StopFake.

Russian mass media concerning the Telegram channel "Sputnik Belarus" spread the "news" that eyewitnesses reported the suspension of the US embassy, ​​the embassy building was closed, and the employees were not visible. And that this happened after the USA appealed to its citizens to leave Ukraine.

The US Embassy in Ukraine called on Americans on their official website to leave Ukraine immediately and not enter its territory.

The embassy asks Americans to avoid mass gatherings and organized events, as they can become a target for the Russian military anywhere in Ukraine, including the western regions.

However, the US Embassy in Ukraine did not announce the suspension of work.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine, the US embassy in Kyiv, like dozens of embassies of other countries, has suspended its work for security reasons. Most employees of diplomatic missions left for the west of the country or beyond its borders.

In mid-May, the American embassy resumed its work in Kyiv. On July 15, Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USA to Ukraine Bridget Brink. "The return of the US Embassy to Kyiv and the appointment of Bridget Brink as Ambassador is an important political signal of further support for Ukraine. And we appreciate it very much," Klitschko shared in a Telegram.

Such messages are distributed on social networks. They said that the deployment of American Patriot air defense systems to protect the airspace means that Ukraine is relinquishing part of its sovereignty due to the introduction of foreign troops. In addition, these systems are allegedly ineffective because they did not save Saudi Arabia from missiles and drones. But it is not valid.

There are two options for using Patriot systems in Ukraine: deploy US military units on the territory of Ukraine, train the Ukrainian military to use Patriot, and transfer these systems to the Armed Forces. In both cases, it does not contradict the principle of autonomy and independence of Ukraine in both domestic and foreign policy. Ukrainian legislation allows the placement of foreign military units on the territory of Ukraine in cases of repelling aggression or under the terms of a previous agreement on the temporary order of foreign military units on its territory. A violation of sovereignty would be the forced placement of a foreign army without prior agreement on this issue with Ukraine. However, itis not the case. As for Saudi Arabia's experience, it did have 108 Patriot installations as of 2019, when two oil facilities were hit by drones and cruise missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. However, firstly, it is no air defense system that provides 100% protection against air attacks. Secondly, it is unknown whether Patriot systems protected Saudi Arabia's oil facilities. VoxCheck writes that there are successful examples of Patriot use: air defense systems have shot down air targets in Iraq and Israel and recorded cases of interception of enemy targets in Saudi Arabia during the Yemen war since 2015.

By spreading such fakes, Russian propaganda tries to discredit the effectiveness of any Western weapons provided to Ukraine. We have refuted Russian fakes regarding the Turkish Bayraktar drones, the American HIMARS salvo fire systems, the French Caesar self-propelled guns, etc.

Russian propaganda media spread information that the EU is preparing to strengthen the fight against "arms smuggling and drug trafficking" from Ukraine. There were similar, and sometimes even more manipulative, headlines in articles in European and American publications. It is a manipulation in which the narrative about the alleged sale of weapons provided by the West of Ukraine to other countries is once again spreading. "We have some data, but experience suggests that weapons often move during or after wars. We know how many weapons there are in Ukraine now and, of course, not all weapons are always in the right hands," Russian media quoted the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson as saying on July 11 during an informal meeting of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of Moldova, Ukraine and the EU in Prague.

However, there are no such words in the official press release posted on the website of the European Commission. At the same time, the release mentions Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and the joint work of Ukraine, Moldova, and the EU to prevent drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, and illegal circulation of firearms.

There are always risks of an increase in such crimes during the war, but it is about coordinating the work to prevent such crimes - Ukraine, like Moldova, is the partner of the EU in such a fight and not an accused party. Ukraine also denied such manipulation: "The information that Ukraine is becoming the main center of arms smuggling is not true," said the advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Yuriy Sak. He suggested those who make such statements "may be part of Russia's information war to prevent international partners from providing Ukraine with the weapons necessary for our victory."

Read more about this manipulation in the StopFake material.

Russian media are spreading reports that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has "spoken" that the Alliance was "purposefully" preparing for war.

It is not true.

The Russian media took Stoltenberg's quote out of context and added it at their discretion. Jens Stoltenberg reflected on the foundations of European security, which Russia undermined in 2014 due to its occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. "In fact, we have long been preparing for such a possibility [a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine]. It's not like NATO suddenly woke up on February 24 and realized that Russia is dangerous... That's why we've been working on a new Force Structure [NATO's defense capability] for some time," Stoltenberg said. He also once again refuted the propaganda thesis about the planned "attack" of the Alliance on Russia and emphasized that NATO is not a party to the conflict in the Russian war against Ukraine, but will continue to support Ukraine in its struggle.

StopFake writes that Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2014 became the impetus for revising NATO's collective security standards. After February 24, 2022, the Alliance changed its Strategic Concept and recognized Russia as the "biggest direct threat" to European security. A separate clause was written by NATO stating that "NATO does not seek confrontation and does not pose a threat to Russia" to fight against Russian propaganda. However, Russian media continue to try to justify Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine with messages about "anti-Russian Western aggression."

The Russian propaganda media spread such messages concerning The New York Times materials. They said that the capacity of the USA and Europe to provide Ukraine with weapons is already running out. But it is not so.

Experts whose opinions are given in The New York Times talk about the need to consolidate the West's efforts to help Ukraine and speed up the pace of providing heavy weapons as part of military aid. In particular, it is said that the US defense industry is currently working for the needs of Ukraine, and President Joe Biden is negotiating with the countries of the Middle East to provide Ukraine with stocks of Soviet-made weapons. According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, Russian media reports about the lack of weapons among Ukraine's allies are aimed at destabilizing the situation inside our country. Russian propaganda systematically uses out-of-context or distorted quotes from Western media to convince Ukrainians that the world has left Ukraine to fend for itself and that without Western aid, Ukraine will not be able to withstand such a "strong adversary."

Russian propaganda uses quotes from Polish historian Tomash Jankovsky to discredit Ukraine on the international stage. In particular, during an interview on the air of the Russian propaganda program "Solovyev Live," Yankovsky stated that "extreme nationalism is flourishing in Ukraine," and Poles "do not actuallyn support Ukrainians," they are "forced to do so by the European Union." Jankovsky also believes that the change of power in Poland will not improve relations with Russia since many Polish politicians have received a Western education and have "Russophobic views." According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, Jankovsky repeatedly expressed anti-Ukrainian theses; in particular, he talked about "wild Ukrainians" in Europe and that Ukraine as a state poses a danger to Poland.

In this way, Russian propaganda tries to create a false impression of Ukraine's isolation in the international arena, neutralize the importance of the growing military aid of the West to Ukraine, and demoralize Ukrainians.

Mykhaylo Onufriyenko, a pro-Russian journalist and blogger from Ukraine, said this on the TV channel of Kremlin propagandist Volodymyr Solovyov "Solovyov Live." He believes that "the Anglo-Saxons, of course, are ready to fight to the last Ukrainian, but Europe does not want to fight." And allegedly, the West does not want to help Ukraine because it thinks about the heating season and whether there will be gas. However, it is not true. Even though the EU is preparing for a complete gas blockade by Russia, support for Ukraine does not stop. Western countries help Ukraine defend itself against Russia and provide humanitarian aid. In addition, the other day, Ukraine received a German grant of 1 billion euros. On July 7, the European Parliament supported the provision of European macro-financial assistance to Ukraine for 1 billion euros.

Russian and Ukrainian mass media and social networks spread a fake that a section of the railway connecting Russia and Belarus with Kaliningrad had been dismantled in Lithuania. At the same time, it is noted that "very motivated in this matter" refugees from Ukraine allegedly helped dismantle the railway. This fake is part of the information campaign against Lithuania, which Russia launched after blocking the transit to Kaliningrad.

StopFake writes that, in fact, the original source of this news was the site of satirical, fictional "news" "Panorama." The publication warns its audience that all texts on the site are not real news. Transit to Kaliningrad has been restricted for some freight since June 17 due to sanctions imposed by Brussels. The customs department of Lithuania reported that the ban on the transit of cement, alcohol, and other products would come into effect on July 10, on coal and other solid fossil fuels - on August 10, and Russian oil - on December 5. But there is no information about disassembling railway tracks. In particular, Lithuanian Railways denied halting transit between Russia and Kaliningrad after Russian officials expressed anger over the alleged decision, which ostensibly interrupted the flow of goods to the region.    

Russia spread information on social networks that Pentagon spokesman, US Army General Robert Jefferson, allegedly demanded to exclude Lithuania from NATO due to the blockade of the Kaliningrad region.

Representatives of NATO and the Pentagon denied this information by Check Your Fact. "It is complete nonsense. Lithuania is a valuable NATO ally, and the United States has not called for Lithuania's exclusion from NATO," said a NATO representative. The fact-checkers also reported there is no "Robert Jefferson" officer in the US Army's Office of the General Officer Database. Earlier, the Russian media spread a fake that Lithuania allegedly intends to annex the Kaliningrad region and provokes Russia into a military conflict with NATO. Russian propaganda often messages that Western countries are allegedly "attacking the territorial integrity" of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, etc. In fact, despite the Kremlin spreading similar messages and conspiracy theories, Russia occupied parts of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Japan, and Chechnya.    

Russian mass media spread information that Polish President Andrzej Duda allegedly stated that after Sweden and Finland joined NATO, the Baltic Sea would become the "internal sea" of the North Atlantic Alliance. Russian politicians then used this fake statement to accuse again Poland and other European countries of allegedly "provoking a confrontation between NATO and Russia."

In fact, Duda did not make such statements. As StopFake writes, at the NATO summit in Madrid, he expressed support for the entry into the North Atlantic Alliance of Sweden and Finland and spoke about strengthening the flank, the border of which with Russia will stretch for more than 1,600 kilometers. "The fact that Sweden and Finland are states of the Baltic Sea basin does not mean that the Baltic Sea allegedly became NATO's internal sea, the Russian media wrote. As Kremlin propaganda portrays, NATO is not a supranational organization claiming to seize territories. The North Atlantic Alliance is a military-political bloc, the main purpose of which is to deter possible military aggression against its member countries," the fact-checkers explained.    

Russian propaganda spreads such messages in its media and Telegram channels. At the same time, propagandists refer to Western media - The Sunday Time, Daily Banner, BB-CNTV, and others. For example, the Western press wrote that the lack of agreement in NATO caused "the defeat of the idea of ​​deploying small contingents of the Alliance's troops in Western Ukraine." But it is not true. In fact, the Russian media only used the article's headline, which refers to the "division" of the alliance countries, not the "split," to spread a manipulative message.

The original source of the publication, which was reprinted by Western publications, is the British weekly The Sunday Time. The article tells that the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance are conditionally divided into three groups based on their views on the Russian-Ukrainian war and assessments of options for developing the situation. The first group is the so-called "hawks" - countries bordering Russia. They believe that NATO should do everything possible to help Ukraine regain control over its territory. Russia's defeat should be so devastating that it will no longer claim the territory of neighboring states. The second group is "doves," which includes countries that want a ceasefire and consider Kyiv's territorial concessions in favor of Moscow acceptable. Such an "agreement is unfair but practical." The third group - "ostriches," are those states that do not pay much attention to the conflict in Ukraine, although they support the documents adopted by NATO. Despite such a division of opinion, at the end of June, the leaders of the NATO member states adopted a new strategic concept, in which Russia is officially recognized as the biggest threat to the security of the North Atlantic Alliance. The main factor influencing the decision of the alliance was the military actions in Ukraine, which shook Euro-Atlantic security and "caused untold suffering and destruction." Such a decision testifies to the strategic unity of NATO countries. Russian propaganda systematically uses distorted or out-of-context quotes from Western politicians and media to promote individual messages, fakes, and manipulations. In this way, they are trying to destroy partnership relations between Ukraine and the world.    

Such information is disseminated in the media and social networks. It is not true.

The Center for Combating Disinformation refuted several theses spread by propagandists regarding the new requirements for transport connections between Ukraine and the EU. In fact, the European Union will recognize Ukrainian driver's licenses, but they must be of a modern design. Therefore, only those who have not done so will have to replace their certificates. Also, within the framework of the agreement, Ukrainian carriers no longer need to issue permission documents for entry into EU countries. The agreement on "transport visa-free" with the agreement on "cargo transportation" and the adopted EU decisions on the abolition of customs duties and tariffs on Ukrainian goods allow Ukrainian businesses to save on paperwork and open up new opportunities for Ukrainian products on the EU markets.    

Such a reaction of the illegally installed "authority" in the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region was caused by the arrest of a Russian ship that left the port of Berdyansk and was transporting grain. The Russian media spread a flurry of criticism of the Turkish authorities' decisions. For example, Russia is accused of causing world hunger, and at the same time, they are not allowed to sell their own grain. However, it is manipulation.

The Turkish authorities had proper legal grounds to decide to arrest the cargo ship "Zhibek Zholy" in its territorial waters. According to the message of the Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, at the beginning of July, the Turkish customs detained the ship based on a letter from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine with a request to inspect the ship and take samples of grain for laboratory examination, as there is a suspicion that the ship carries out illegal export of grain from the port in temporarily occupied Berdyansk. Berdyansk is a Ukrainian city, so there cannot be Russian grain there. Based on the inspection results, Ukraine expects further confiscation of grain for its benefit and punishment of those guilty of the crime. The ship's owners - the Kazakh National Company "KZHT" - reported that a Russian company is currently leasing the ship for grain transportation and cooperating with Ukraine and Turkey to comply with the norms of international law. StopFake writes about it in detail.    

This information was announced, on July 3, in the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on the TV channel "Russia 1" by the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmytro Peskov. He noted that now the demand for initiatives to calm the situation around Ukraine has decreased. Still, sooner or later, common sense will prevail, and the turn of negotiations will come again. According to him, Ukrainians should agree to Russia's terms, sit at the negotiating table, and record a document that had already been decided mainly upon earlier. Peskov believes that the West is currently preventing a peaceful settlement.

Earlier, Peskov stated that the war could be stopped by the end of the day. They said that to end the war, it was enough for the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to order the military to lay down their arms and fulfill all of Moscow's ultimatums.

Then Mykhaylo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President's Office and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the negotiations with Russia, answered him: "Ukraine did not start this war to stop it "on orders." The war can be ended in Moscow at any time, simply by returning to adequacy: stop sending rockets to cities, withdraw troops, and abandon "nuclear propaganda." The position of Ukraine has not changed since that time.