Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are distributing a video in which an unknown person in a Ukrainian Armed Forces uniform allegedly shoots a serviceman for allegedly refusing to participate in assault operations. As propagandists write, the victim of the “execution” seems to be a soldier of the 425th Special Operations Brigade “Skala” of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

However, after verifying the information together with the StratCom of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other relevant structures of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Center for Countering Disinformation reported that this video was fake. It is impossible to identify the characters and the area, as well as determine the nationality of the participants in the video. In addition, 425th Special Operations Brigade “Skala” is part of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and not the Main Intelligence Directorate, as propagandists are trying to imagine.

Considering all the above-described signs of a fake and the fact that the video is being distributed by Russian resources, the Center reports that the video was probably shot by the Russians as part of the IPSO in order to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is not the first time that fake videos have been created to demonize the Ukrainian army. Here, for example, is an analysis of a video in which the Russian military allegedly captured a pregnant Ukrainian female soldier.

Propagandists are actively disseminating information that The Times predicts that after the end of the war, half of the Ukrainian population will face mental illness. In addition, social networks are spreading the claim that Uliana Suprun, who served as the acting Minister of Health of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019, led to the death of Ukrainian medicine by destroying hospitals and rehabilitation institutions in the country. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. They found out that in an article dated January 27, journalist Anthony Lloyd talks about the psychological problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, the statistics that 50% of Ukrainians face mental problems are not mentioned. According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, between 3 and 4 million people in Ukraine (including military and civilian) require mental health care. It is estimated that up to 15 million Ukrainians may need psychological help after the war ends.

There are public and private centers in Ukraine that provide assistance to military and civilians with psychological trauma. Also, the state budget for 2024 provides 2.6 billion hryvnia for activities for mental, sports, physical, psychological rehabilitation and professional adaptation of military personnel and members of their families. In addition, Ukraine’s partners are ready to help overcome the psychological consequences of the war. For example, NATO member countries are exploring the possibility of funding recommended measures to improve the health care system in Ukraine in the area of mental health.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to intimidate Ukrainian society into accepting Russia's conditions. Detector Media has previously written about how Russian propaganda stigmatizes the topic of mental health.

Russian telegram channels circulated an image purporting to be from the Instagram account of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. It shows a homemade bong – a device for smoking cannabis, with the caption “will you smoke?” However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the image had been edited using one of the advertising images of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. They did not find any similar photos on its official page. The picture shows that this is an Instagram story, that is, in theory, it may have already been deleted.

However, VoxCheck found the original image - this is an advertisement for a test week of the attack aircraft that the brigade offers. There a person can undergo a 7-day training course and understand whether he is ready to join the unit. The Russians took a photo of a unit with a military man and put a homemade bong on it. This is indicated by the fact that the device in the fake picture is located on top of the Instagram username, and from under it one can see a military headdress on top and a belt-shoulder system with magazines to the left of the picture. They match the advertising photo. Also in the fake and authentic pictures there are identical trees on the right.

Propagandists spread such fake news to try to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces and stigmatize people who use marijuana. They say that the soldiers cannot stand it, and therefore resort to such methods of relieving stress. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other Russian fakes aimed against the Ukrainian military.

Russian propagandists, citing statements by journalist Christoph Wanner, are spreading information in the media that the defenders of Ukraine have to give up positions from small sections of the front due to a lack of people. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security drew attention to it. Probably, the propaganda had in mind the retreat of the defenders of Ukraine from Krokhmalne in the Kharkiv region and the capture of this village by Russian occupiers. The representative of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Fitio, clarified during the telethon that the defense forces retreated to reserve positions due to the fact that the village was completely destroyed by the occupiers, and it was no longer possible to remain there, since this endangered the lives of the Ukrainian military. In addition, they found that Wanner's journalistic work was characterized by one-sidedness, violations of journalistic standards and an open pro-Russian position.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to give a false impression of victories at the front. Detector Media has repeatedly denied other Russian manipulations related to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Users of social networks broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric are distributing videos where supposedly Ukrainian soldiers demonstrate underground fortifications recaptured from the Russians. Like, there are hundreds of meters of branched underground tunnels, a high level of engineering equipment. Commentators ask to see Ukrainian fortifications hinting that they allegedly do not exist. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that in fact the video is not of the Ukrainian military demonstrating their recaptured positions, but of the Russians showing their underground bunkers. However, it is unknown where these fortifications are located: on the front line, deep in the rear in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or on Russian territory.

The author of the two-minute video initially introduces himself as “Borman from the 3rd battalion”. However, at 01:26 from the video, it is noticeable that he has a patch with the Russian tricolor on his left hand. It should also be noted that inside the bunkers there are no traces of combat or dirt, typical of military conditions in the fall and winter. Therefore, it is more difficult to determine the date and location of the video shooting.

Despite the fact that the Russian defense line does pose a big obstacle to the Ukrainian army moving forward and liberating the occupied territories, the Russian military also complains to the propaganda media about Ukrainian drones and tunnels.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to incite despair and mistrust among Ukrainians, especially in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, in this way they are also trying to show that Russia is supposedly constantly winning on the battlefield, in particular thanks to its “amazing fortifications”.

A video from the American publication Wired, specializing in IT and innovation, is being circulated online, declaring that the Ukrainian military allegedly uses satellite Internet from Starlink primarily for online gambling. The video states that approximately 35% of all connections allegedly led to Ukrainian casino sites. The video fake was exposed by the StopFake fact-checkers.

There are three reasons why this video is fabricated.

Firstly, the American publication Wired never published the video in question on its social networks. The StopFake journalists checked the latest publications on the Wired websites (wired.co.uk and wired.com), which mentioned Ukraine. They have no mention of the Ukrainian military allegedly using Starlink to play online casinos. Instead, Wired has numerous posts about Russian disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine, such as: Elijah Wood and Mike Tyson Cameo Videos Were Used in a Russian Disinformation Campaign, Elon Musk Mocked Ukraine, and Russian Trolls Went Wild, Fake Taylor Swift Quotes Are Being Used to Spread Anti-Ukraine Propaganda.

Secondly, although the attackers tried to imitate Wired's branding, there are many differences that can be seen when comparing this video with real Wired videos. In particular, all Wired videos have a title in the first seconds - an inscription on a black background, made in a different font. The fake video does not have such a title. It should also be noted that to create the fake, the attackers used video from low-quality open sources, which is not allowed in authentic Wired videos.

Thirdly, it was not possible to find a single study in open sources that analyzed Internet traffic from Starlink stations used by the Ukrainian military.

With such publications, propagandists are trying to discredit the effectiveness of assistance to Ukraine and expose the Ukrainians as short-sighted people who allegedly abuse the help of the international community.

Enemy telegram channels are spreading the fake news that the missile attack on the Park Hotel in Kharkiv on January 10, 2024 was directed against the Foreign Legion, whose fighters allegedly lived in the complex. It was also noted that the strikes did not lead to casualties. “Unfortunately, the strike did not lead to any result (only the facade was damaged, and the mercenary unit lived on the ground floor). Therefore, the Ukrainian media promptly made a story about how the Russians were shelling peaceful hotels. Immediately after the strike, units of the International Legion and foreign mercenaries who lived in similar buildings began to be notified throughout Kharkiv”, said one of the anonymous telegram channels disseminating pro-Kremlin rhetoric. It's fake.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, thirteen people were injured as a result of a rocket attack on the Park Hotel in Kharkiv. In total, there were 31 people in the hotel complex: eight employees and 23 guests. All these people were civilians; there was not a single military man in the hotel. Representatives of foreign delegations, journalists, and documentarians often stayed here, in particular. According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, the Russian military fired two missiles from the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system at Kharkiv at about 22:30 from the direction of Belgorod. One rocket hit the ground near the facade of the hotel, the second hit the roof of the building, which led to a fire. According to preliminary data, among the victims in the hotel there was one Turkish citizen, one Georgian citizen, both represented the Turkish media. One man's condition is serious. Most of the victims suffered from shrapnel wounds and traumatic brain injuries. “There were no military mercenaries, there were no military people here. This is a civilian facility, civilian infrastructure. We have always settled our friends, guests who were in Kharkiv, and foreign delegations here”, said the mayor of the city, Ihor Terekhov, in a comment to Suspilne (Public) Kharkiv. “The military never lived in this hotel, almost all of Kharkiv knows this. This hotel was used by journalists. This was a well-known fact. At the time of the attack, there were foreign journalists in the hotel, in particular from Turkey. Therefore, I believe that the Russian Federation dealt this blow specifically to the media”, said Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv region police. Serhii Tomilenko, head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, notes that Russia is targeting journalists in Kharkiv: “In October - Reikartz, this New Year - Kharkiv Palace and at night - Park Hotel. These hotels were constantly used by journalists from national and international media to stay. And with every shelling, journalists were injured”.

Russia attacks civilian targets, cynically presenting them as legitimate military targets, but they are not. Such attacks are a flagrant violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians, including attacks on civilian buildings, in particular hotels.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that viral pneumonia is “massively spreading” in the Kharkiv region. As evidence, they add a photo allegedly from a Ukrainian military doctor in an ambulance with people who “get pneumonia”. And they claim that local doctors cannot fully determine what kind of disease it is: they suggest that it may be a form of COVID-19 or another disease. It is not true.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated the case and found out that there are no statistics yet on the number of people infected with any type of pneumonia. Moreover, in the Kharkiv region, influenza and COVID-19 diseases do not exceed the epidemic threshold. And using a reverse search on Google, analysts found the original source of the photo - on Facebook, a military man posted a photo of an ambulance and wrote that he pulled a fellow soldier from the battlefield who had a fever due to pneumonia. According to the author of the message, after treatment the guy recovered and returned to service.

That is, the anonymous people used a reliable photograph that illustrates a military man suffering from pneumonia, but distorted the context in their own way. Allegedly, disease epidemics are approaching in Ukraine.

Propagandists claim that, according to them, only 173 military personnel returned to Ukraine in exchange for 248 Russian citizens. According to them, the exchange allegedly took place in the format of 173 people on both sides. At the same time, Russia additionally received 75 military personnel for those five Azovstal defense commanders, whom Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi took from Turkey in the summer of 2023. It is not true.

In fact, the Ukrainian side officially reported that 230 people returned to their homeland, including 130 military personnel, 55 national guardsmen, 38 border guards, one policeman and six civilians.

Propagandists spread such fakes to create distrust in the Ukrainian authorities. They say that Kyiv does not care about the fate of prisoners. They spread such fabrications whenever there is talk of an exchange of prisoners. So, in the summer, when the exchange of Azovstal commanders was called a violation of previous agreements. They say that the military should have remained in Turkey until the end of hostilities.

Propaganda resources disseminated information that the Russians destroyed three or four F-16 aircraft in Odesa. It's fake.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security has processed this information. In fact, Ukraine is just getting ready to accept the F-16 – we are talking about infrastructure, pilots, and engineering personnel. All statements about the destruction of these fighters in Ukraine are an invention of Russian propaganda, which Yurii Ihnat, a representative of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has already ridiculed.

“Their [Russian – ed.] reports are encouraging: per day, five Ukrainian aircraft are destroyed in the reports of their general staff. There are even memes about the F-16 that they have already found them in Ukraine”, Ihnat said on the telethon.

Propagandists exaggerate the achievements of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine by spreading such disinformation. Like, they have everything under control. Previously, we denied information that Russia allegedly destroyed five Patriot air defense missile launchers.

Anonymous telegram channels are distributing a video that allegedly states that Volodymyr Zelenskyi supported the so-called petition of Ukrainian linguist Iryna Farion for the “dismissal” of Russian-speaking fighters from the Ukrainian Defense Forces. “From now on, we will mobilize only Ukrainian-speaking citizens”, Zelenskyi was quoted. It's a lie.

The Voxcheck specialists analyzed the case and found that there is no such petition on the website of the official Internet representation of the President of Ukraine, and the quote from Volodymyr Zelenskyi was completely invented. Analysts also checked the social networks of the former deputy of the 7th convocation - they did not find any information about the presentation of the petition. And the original source of this video is a TikTok account in which the author systematically disseminates fakes about mobilization, humanitarian aid and creates deepfakes with the participation of Ukrainian politicians. The author also runs a telegram channel, where, according to analysts, he relays Kremlin narratives: for example, he does not call Russia an aggressor.

This fake is most likely spread against the backdrop of Iryna Farion’s scandalous statements about Russian-speaking military personnel on the air of the program “Rendezvous with Yanina Sokolova”. Then she stated that “she cannot call Russian-speaking military personnel Ukrainians”. After all, according to her, if there is no discipline in the army (to study the Ukrainian language - DM), then it is a rabble. Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets appealed to law enforcement officers and the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to verify Farion’s statements about Russian-speaking military personnel.

Subsequently, on November 8, 2023, she released an email from a Crimean student, which supported his position on the importance of using the Ukrainian language among the military. At the same time, Farion published the letter and did not hide the student’s personal data. Anonymous and pro-Russian telegram channels “thanked” the linguists for the information provided and a few days later they published a video in which the guy confirms that it was he who sent the letter to Farion. In the video, he also said that he was at the Center for Combating Extremism of the Russian occupation Ministry of Internal Affairs and they had an “intelligent conversation” with him. As a result, Dmytro Lubinets contacted the Security Service of Ukraine regarding the disclosure of confidential information.

Now criminal proceedings have been opened against Farion under several articles, in particular, violation of the equality of citizens depending on their race, nationality, regional affiliation, religious beliefs, disability and other characteristics.

In the pro-Russian segment of social networks, information is being spread that Chernihiv has come up with a “working scheme” for mobilization. They say that advertisements offering help to people in difficult situations indicate the telephone number of the Chernihiv Regional Military Office. However, this is fake.

The fact-checkers from Ukrinform analyzed this information. Currently, territorial recruitment and social support centers are functioning in Ukraine, which have completely replaced the military registration and enlistment offices, which are allegedly mentioned in the “ads”.​​

In a comment to Ukrinform, representatives of the Chernihiv regional  territorial recruitment and social support centers emphasized that their institution was the first center of the country. “On December 28, 2018, order No. 1 of the institution was officially signed. This date, accordingly, is the day of the founding of the Chernihiv  regional territorial recruitment and social support centers together with the city and district territorial recruitment and social support centers of the entire region”, the center reported. In addition, the phone number provided by the propagandists is also not valid. The current telephone number of the Chernihiv Regional territorial recruitment and social support centers can be found on their official Facebook page.

Russian propaganda seeks to discredit the mobilization process, so it creates fake news on this topic. Previously, we refuted information that in Ukraine they allegedly call on people to mobilize into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with their entire families.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are creating an advertising campaign to “promote” women into the army. And they explain this initiative by saying that women should “encourage” men and get to know them. “Do you want a “real man”: strong, courageous, responsible? You know the answer. All the “real men” are here now - join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, the video says.

The VoxCheck analysts investigated the case and found that such a video does not belong to the official campaigns of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. For example, this video is not on the official website or on the social media pages of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moreover, using a reverse search on Google, it was possible to find out that the video was compiled using frames from stock videos. In addition, the video was distributed exclusively in the Russian segment of social networks.

Russian propaganda is once again speculating on the topic of “mobilization of women”. But only doctors and pharmacists must register with the military from October 1, 2023; however, military registration does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on travel abroad. The Ministry of Health notes: registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. The travel of this category of women is unlimited. To register for military service, this category of women will have three years - until December 31, 2026.

Propagandists also repeatedly appealed to the provisions of the bill, previously promulgated by People’s Deputy Marianna Bezuhla. Possible legislative norms published state that women who are fit for military service will be registered as liable for military service. At the same time, during martial law, women are recruited to combat positions only voluntarily. But during a big press conference that Volodymyr Zelenskyi held on December 19, 2023, he said that he would not sign a bill with clauses on the mobilization of women.

Among other things, we recommend reading another of our documented cases, in which propagandists claimed that Ukrainian doctors and pharmacists were supposedly “escaping” from Ukraine en masse through the so-called mobilization.

Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating information that they allegedly decided to start arming Ukrainian soldiers with shovels in case they run out of ammunition. According to propagandists, such a plan was allegedly shared by the commander of the 59th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a commentary for the Associated Press (AP). This is manipulation.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reviewed this information. They found out that the commander of the 59th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces actually stated that if there was a shortage of bullets, Ukrainian soldiers would kill the invaders with shovels. However, it was not said that the military leadership would give soldiers shovels instead of weapons, but about how motivated the Defense Forces are to go to victory: “Probably everyone is tired of the war physically and mentally. But imagine if we stop, what happens next? - the commander summed up. Ukrainians do not intend to stop fighting for their own state, no matter what the situation at the front.

Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the military leadership of Ukraine, saying that it doesn’t care about soldiers, so they will soon be sent into battle even with shovels, as long as they hold the defense. That is, in this case, propagandists are speculating on the expression “war to the last Ukrainian”, since it is obvious that it is impossible to resist with shovels against modern weapons. In addition, Russian propaganda creates the picture that no one needs Ukraine anymore, so international military assistance is becoming weaker. Previously, we analyzed the propaganda manipulation that Ukraine allegedly wants to refuse supplies of Western weapons.

Russian media are interpreting the results of a sociological survey among Ukrainians in their own way, claiming that “Ukrainians do not need peace” and that “Ukrainians are drawn to battle”, even without the help of the West.

Such reports focus on the fact that if these results were true, then “Ukrainians in a single patriotic impulse” would daily storm their territorial recruitment centers to enroll as soldiers and, singing, go to the front to beat the “damned Russians”. Thus, the narrative is again put forward that Ukraine is ready to fight “until the last Ukrainian”.

The StopFake specialists found out that the manipulation was created on the basis of an opinion poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). It showed that the majority of Ukrainians believe that with the necessary help from the West, Ukraine can confront Russia and achieve an acceptable result. 87% of respondents expressed support for this statement.

At the same time, two strategies were proposed for Ukraine in case of a significant decrease in Western support: stopping hostilities while maintaining control over existing territories and receiving serious security guarantees from the West, or continuing military operations to put pressure on the Russian occupiers at the risk of Ukrainian-controlled territories. The results showed that 58% of respondents are now inclined to believe that even with a significant reduction in aid, the West should continue military action to put pressure on the occupiers, albeit at risk to controlled territories.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to shift responsibility for their actions from the aggressor to the victim of aggression, without mentioning that it was Russia that started the war against Ukraine.

Users of social networks spreading pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information allegedly from servicemen of two separate mechanized brigades in eastern Ukraine, namely the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after. Hetman Ivan Mazepa and the 14th OMBR named after Prince Roman the Great were infected with rabies. It is noted that they were hospitalized due to consumption of meat from infected animals. However, such statements are false.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated the case. They claim that the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and local media have not recorded any cases of rabies among the military men mentioned in the post or any other military brigades. As of December 2023, there were no cases of rabies infection in humans in the Kharkov region. At the time of writing, only one case of rabies was confirmed in Ukraine in a resident of the Vinnytsia region. Despite the fact that the mentioned brigades do participate in the defense in the Kharkiv region, there is no evidence of rabies infection among their military personnel.

It is noted that in Ukraine there has been an increase in cases of rabies among animals, especially in September-October. However, infection due to consumption of meat from infected animals is unlikely because the virus does not persist in meat for long periods of time outside the body.

Propagandists spread such fake news in order to desecrate the image of the Ukrainian military and cause distrust of them among the Ukrainian population. Detector Media has repeatedly written about other inventions of Russians aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Users of social networks broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric began to spread fake information that one of the Ukrainian companies specializing in the production of video content is now showing a video where a neural network “revitalizes” dead soldiers so that they express the opinion: “It was not worth it” (reflection of Russian aggression, which led to the death of soldiers at the hands of the Russian occupiers. - ed.). As “proof”, users attach a short video, which, according to them, was recorded from the group’s official YouTube page.

The StopFake project verified whether this video is actually related to the mentioned company. It turned out that the disseminated information was not true. Firstly, the video shows that the broadcast, as noted, took place on the Film.ua Group YouTube channel. The Ukrainian group of companies actually has its own channel on this platform, but the original channel has an authenticity icon next to its name, while the fake one does not. Secondly, there are no videos on the channel distributed by Russian propaganda. StopFake specialists reviewed published videos and live broadcasts over the past few months and did not find anything similar. Thirdly, StopFake turned to Film.ua Group for a comment: did they really broadcast the video that was being distributed on social networks. The group's PR manager Kateryna Zymina said that they did not do this.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine and create a false impression that everything is tragic at the front. Like, it’s not worth fighting, so it is necessary to agree to Russia’s terms. Detector Media wrote about a number of other inventions by Russians against the Ukrainian military.

Russian telegram channels are distributing a video by a TikTok user under the nickname shket057, in which soldiers of the 167th brigade of the Ukrainian Defense Forces disorganizedly retreat from their positions near Bilohorivka. They say that such actions are related to the lack of supplies of resources necessary for fighting on the battlefield. However, this is fake.

Experts at the Center for Countering Disinformation analyzed this video. They found out that the profile from which the video was distributed duplicates the real page of the user shket057, but this video is not on it. In addition, in this case, the fact that there are no 167 brigades in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is also important.

To make things more credible, propagandists create fake accounts on TikTok, where they spread their lies on behalf of the Ukrainian military. The purpose of such actions is to demoralize the population of Ukraine, sow panic among them and assure everyone of the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield. The Russians also spread information that Ukraine allegedly went on the defensive along the entire front line, however, this turned out to be a manipulation of the words of Hanna Maliar, the former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

According to Russian propaganda, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have allegedly regularly committed war crimes since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014. For example, propaganda resources blamed the Ukrainian side for the downing of a civilian Boeing 777 passenger plane near Donetsk in the first year of the war, while denying Russia’s guilt. Then 298 people died - all on board.

In conditions of a full-scale war, propagandists continue to use “reports” and “interviews of residents” who allegedly managed to leave the combat zones as evidence of “crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. They say that the Ukrainian military, for example, is firing at the cars of people who are trying to evacuate along humanitarian corridors, or they say that civilians are allegedly being used as “human shields”. Or, say, when in March 2022, the online publication Sky News took a comment from the Kremlin Ambassador to the UN Vasyl Nebenzia about the overthrown air bomb on the drama theater in the center of Mariupol, he denied Russia’s involvement in this.

The court in The Hague concluded, in particular, that the Boeing 777 aircraft mentioned in the text was shot down by a missile from the Buk anti-aircraft missile system and belonged to the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces. As for Mariupol, investigations by a number of foreign organizations unanimously indicate that it was a Russian plane that dropped an aerial bomb on the Drama Theater in the center of the city on March 16, 2022, where about 600 people could have died. The atrocities of Russians in Bucha and Gostomel in the Kyiv region, in Izium in the Kharkiv region and in other de-occupied territories have been confirmed and documented by journalists from the world's leading newspapers - and these are war crimes that Russia commits in Ukraine every day.

The October 2023 UN report on war crimes by Russia and Ukraine in the war for the period from February 1 to July 31, 2023 contains information that during this time six murders of Ukrainian prisoners of war and not a single murder of Russians in captivity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. There is also no confirmed information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at civilians trying to leave dangerous territories.

By resorting to newspeak, in this case, Russian propaganda aims to shift responsibility for the war crimes of the Russian army onto the Ukrainian army. Like, “evil in the form of the Ukrainian Armed Forces must be punished”, and “peaceful Ukrainian citizens must be protected”. Deportations of civilians, their torture, massacres, the use of cover for the Russian military (“human shields”) - these and other violations of international humanitarian law by Russia are documented in the 50-kilogram book “Crime Without Punishment”, created in Ukraine and already represented in NATO and the European Parliament.

Various photographs are actively being circulated in the Ukrainian segment of social networks, in which it is believed that Ukrainian soldiers are on their knees, praying for salvation. Like, Avdiivka asks for prayer. However, these photos are fake.

Over the past few weeks, StopFake analysts have observed the spread of various pictures on social networks depicting Ukrainian military personnel, with calls to pray for their fate. Similar publications are distributed mainly by bot accounts.

In fact, these images are not authentic - they were all created using artificial intelligence technology. Neural networks such as Midjourney, Bing Image Creator, DALL-E or DeepAI are capable of independently creating completely new content or transforming existing ones. Using services like AI or Not, one can check whether an image was created using AI or not. However, now it is possible to distinguish real photographs from artificially created ones without special tools - by carefully studying all the details in the picture. StopFake analysts checked the images circulating online using the AI or Not tool and found that they were likely all generated by a neural network.

The fact that this is an artificially created image is also indicated by many errors. For example, analyzing the image of a girl in military uniform in one of the photographs, you can notice: an incorrect image of the limbs (one leg, unnatural position of the fingers); the absence of a body and an example of a machine gun (in addition, the weapon in the photo does not resemble any of the models in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine); incorrect image of the sleeve chevron (its size and color of the flag of Ukraine). In addition, the camouflage pattern of the uniform that the people in the photo are wearing is not used in the Ukrainian army, and is generally not similar to any real-life camouflage option.

Propagandists are likely spreading such images with the aim of demoralizing Ukrainians amid the fierce fighting for Avdiivka. Allegedly, the only thing left to do is pray, everything is so bad.  Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes regarding the Ukrainian military.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the battalion commander of the 14th separate mechanized brigade (14 separate mechanized brigade) allegedly shot and killed young psychologist Nataliia Lychman, who forced soldiers to storm Russian troops to return lost territories. Her death was then attributed to artillery shelling by the Russian Armed Forces with cluster munitions. However, this is a fake.

The specialists from the StopFake project checked this information. They managed to find out that Nataliia Lychman was not a psychologist and did not serve in the 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, but was a serviceman of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade. She participated in the defense of Bakhmut, and her death became known on December 19, 2022. Then many Ukrainian media reported about the deceased serviceman from Transcarpathia, using in their materials a photograph that the propagandists took for their fake news.

This disinformation is consistent with the Russian propaganda narrative that Ukrainians do not seem to want to fight, and therefore they need to be forced to confront the Russians. In addition, propagandists continue to “create a picture” of discord between Ukrainians – in particular, the military, as in this case. Previously, we refuted information that in Ukraine they allegedly distributed propaganda letters to elderly people so that they could mobilize them into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly silent about the “colossal losses” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Propaganda media write about this with reference to a video from the YouTube channel of Oleh Soskin, a former adviser to the ex-president of Ukraine Kuchma. However, this is a fake.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security undertook to analyze this case. The fact is that information about the number of killed and wounded Ukrainian military personnel during martial law constitutes a state secret. This is at least due to the fact that Russia can use this data to calculate possible further actions of the Defense Forces. That is, we are talking about the military’s demand, and not about Zelenskyi’s personal desire to hide important information from society.

By spreading disinformation on a sensitive topic for Ukrainians, Russian propaganda is trying to once again discredit the current President of Ukraine and undermine the trust of Ukrainian society in him. After all, the approximate number of Ukrainian military deaths in the war against Russia will only be known after its end. Previously, we analyzed the propaganda message that the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly lying to the Ukrainians, that there are no losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels and other social networks began to spread fake information that the Ukrainian language ombudsman Taras Kremin allegedly “admitted” that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were shooting at Russian-speaking citizens. They use a video with his quote, which is supposed to “confirm” such messages. After the dissemination of such information, StopFake decided to check this information. It is not true.

On November 21, Taras Kremin actually made a comment on the Ukrainian service of Radio Svoboda (Liberty), where he spoke about language problems within Ukraine. On this broadcast, the resource’s journalist spoke about the discussion that arose in Ukrainian society. According to it, one part of the population says that it does not matter what language one speaks if a person is a patriot of Ukraine, and the second part says that communicating in Ukrainian is still very important. It was these two opinions that the journalist asked the language ombudsman to comment on. To which Kremen replied that “with the beginning of a full-scale invasion, the factor of language is not only a factor of freedom, but also the security of our identity and culture, and this is a marker of “friend or foe”. According to him, soldiers from the front line have repeatedly said that where one hears the Russian language, the first reaction is a shot. Propagandists used this to make it look like they were targeting all Russian speakers, especially civilians.

However, if you look more closely at the quote, you can hear that we are talking only about identifying a person as “friend or foe” precisely on the front line. There was no talk about shooting at Russian-speaking civilians in the interview.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to strengthen their own myth about the oppression of the Russian-speaking population. They say that “protecting” this category of people is one of the goals of launching a full-scale invasion. However, it was Russia that turned the language issue into a political instrument. In addition, it attacks civilians in mostly Russian-speaking cities, which undermines the narrative of “protecting” civilians who communicate in Russian.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels disseminated information that supposedly in Lutsk law enforcement officers exposed the activities of a drug laboratory in which, according to them, servicemen of the 14th separate mechanized brigade worked. It's fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that in the fake, propagandists refer to the original article from the Volyn News website for November 9, 2023. It says that on November 8, the Volyn region police exposed the activities of drug laboratories. However, firstly, this article makes no mention of the military personnel of the 14th separate mechanized brigade. Secondly, propagandists claim that the laboratories were exposed in Lutsk, although the head of the department for combating drug crime in the Volyn region, Oleh  Zubko, stated that the searches were carried out in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions. Thirdly, none of the sources confirms the involvement of servicemen of the 14th Mechanized Brigade in the identified laboratories.

They also found several publications in other media about this National Police operation, and none of them mentioned soldiers from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to discredit the Ukrainian armed forces. They say that soldiers cannot survive what they saw in the war and integrate into Ukrainian society. Detector Media also refuted other fakes with a similar message, including that the military was allegedly buying up antidepressants en masse.

Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukrainian soldiers are being pelted with the carcasses of dead animals during training in France. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. The Politico article “Inside the secret French camp where Ukrainians prepare for war” confirms the use of dead animal carcasses in training to create more realistic conditions. This is carried out to prepare the Ukrainian military for the smell arising from the decomposition of flesh. However, this does not have the scale that the Russians talk about. The training course was adapted according to the comments of the Ukrainian side, including the use of artillery, grenades and simulating various combat situations. Instructors try to limit the shock effect of the Ukrainian military upon arrival at the front.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to discredit the NATO armies and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They say that the situation has become absurd, and therefore Russia needs to be allowed to win. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other inventions of Russians aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.