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.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks are distributing a video claiming that the body of a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was found on the shores of the Georgian city of Batumi. However, this is manipulation.

A group of fact-checkers from the Myth Detector project have already confirmed the falsity of this information. It turned out that this video was filmed in the city of Sukhumi, and the body belonged to a local resident who went missing in 2022. It is recorded that the video was recorded on July 1, 2023.

At that moment, the body of local resident Aram Davajyan, who was considered missing since November 27, 2022, was found. This information was confirmed by “law enforcement agencies” of Abkhazia, a region occupied by Russia. After fact-checkers contacted the Emergency Management Service, it was established that there had been no reports of the body of a Ukrainian serviceman on the shore in Sukhumi.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to strengthen their narrative about the “large-scale losses” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They say that the war needs to be stopped on Russia’s terms. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other manipulations aimed at directly discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that special forces from the Kraken unit of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense will allegedly be sent to Transcarpathia to strengthen the mobilization of the men there. In addition, a separate task for the fighters will be to catch and torture Hungarians, and then mobilize them too. As evidence, propagandists attach “screenshots of correspondence” between two Kraken fighters. This is nothing more than a fake.

The specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation decided to study this case. They contacted the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine with a request to confirm or refute the “news”. They didn't have to wait long for an answer - the Main Intelligence Directorate says that the information disseminated by Russian propagandists is untrue. Today, fighters of the special forces “Kraken” are in the combat zone. There they carry out the tasks set by the highest military-political leadership of the country, facilitating the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories from Russian troops.

By spreading such disinformation, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and the Kraken special forces, as well as promote the message that Ukraine is allegedly seeking to destroy ethnic Hungarians and is recruiting them en masse into the army. Previously, we refuted information that NATO could allegedly attract the Azov and Kraken battalions to suppress protests in France.

Russian propagandists claim that in Ukraine they have begun distributing advertisements for homosexuals calling for them to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The first half of the 10-second video shows heterosexual and homosexual couples kissing, while the second half features footage of military personnel. The footage is accompanied by a male voice saying: “It doesn’t matter at all whether you love women or men. It is important that you love Ukraine. Join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. However, this is fake.

This case was analyzed by the fact-checkers for the StopFake project. They found out that the video is fake for a number of reasons. Firstly, the kissing footage was taken from a report published on the iD YouTube channel back in 2020. The second part of the video already uses footage from the social advertising of the Ukrainian Ground Forces “The Ballad of the Infantry”, published back in 2016. Secondly, the use of the word “love” in relation to Ukraine in the video indicates that its authors probably have poor command of the Ukrainian language. The word “love” describes specifically romantic love, while Ukraine or, for example, animals or colors can be “loved”.

With this fake video, Russian propaganda nourishes the narrative that supposedly Ukrainian troops will suffer huge losses on the battlefield and, as a result, they are running out of people. Therefore, “even” homosexuals are now being mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, attempts to discredit the Ukrainian army are in vain, since the Armed Forces contain representatives of different gender and sexual identities who defend Ukraine along with other military personnel. Previously, we analyzed disinformation that supposedly Ukrainians are dying for the right to be homosexual.

Propaganda telegram channels are disseminating information that Russian soldiers captured the pregnant Ukrainian military. Moreover, pro-Kremlin resources publish a video as evidence in which the Russian military demonstratively shows that this allegedly happened. It's fake.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation began to analyze this case. They found that the video distributed by propagandists contained a number of disinformation features. For example, the woman is wearing ordinary sneakers, which are not standard shoes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, the “prisoner” has a blue ribbon on her leg, while the Ukrainian military does not put identification marks on her legs. In addition, on the military shoulder one can see the chevron of the 65th Missile and Artillery Arsenal, which probably fell to the Russians during the occupation of part of the Kharkiv region.

By spreading information about a pregnant woman in the Ukrainian army, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the mobilization process. They say that people don’t want to fight, so the authorities have to indulge in extremes and send even pregnant women to fight. With this case of disinformation, propagandists are also nourishing the narrative of “grabbing” in Ukraine or “war until the last Ukrainian”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine had created body armor for pregnant women because they were going to be sent to the front.

Pro-Russian resources began distributing a video in which supposedly Ukrainian military personnel, introducing themselves as fighters of the 3rd battalion of the 110th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, complain to the President of Ukraine and the Commander-in-Chief about poor command and heavy losses in Avdiivka.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project processed this case. They found out that the 110th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces responded to this video and refuted it. On the brigade’s official Facebook page they write that the video is not of their Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, but of occupiers dressed in Ukrainian uniforms. In addition, suspicion was also aroused by the fact that the “military man” who complained on behalf of the battalion did not name his company, unit, position, surname or call sign in this “appeal”, although the video was recorded with open faces.

Propagandists are trying to demoralize Ukrainian society by spreading fake news like this video. They do this cynically, insidiously and resort to peculiar methods. Previously, we refuted the information that allegedly Hamas representatives recorded a video in which they thanked Zelenskyi for providing the weapons.

Propagandists claim that independent journalists from Ukraine allegedly counted 284 thousand Ukrainian military obituaries that were published on social networks by the families and friends of the victims. In November 2022, the number of obituaries was “record”, with 1,100 allegedly published daily. It's fake.

The information was processed at the Center for Strategic Communications. They researched that not a single Ukrainian publication has materials related to the number of obituaries about Ukrainian soldiers. Back in August 2023, the network spread information that the so-called Russian military expert Ruslan Tatarinov had carried out his “calculation”. Then, for the first time, pro-Russian resources began to spread misinformation about 284 thousand obituaries.

Data on the dead Ukrainian military is a state secret and will not be made public until the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The figures mentioned in the material were invented by Russian propaganda with the aim of demoralizing Ukrainians: to sow fear, uncertainty and doubts about the issue of war and Ukraine’s victory in it.

Russian high-ranking officials claim that it is absurd to talk about the prospects of Ukraine's victory. They said that all the goals that were set for the special military operation will be fulfilled.

Specialists of the Center of Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine drew attention to this message. They found such statements to be manipulative and contrasted with Russia's front-line failures, sanctions pressure, and heavy casualties during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

By spreading such messages, propagandists are trying to establish among Russians the myth of the power of the Russian army. Moreover, such reports also aim to show that everything is supposedly under control in Russia. They seek to create the impression that Russia is in a winning position and will fight against Ukraine until it achieves its own goals. There were more such messages against the background of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which Russian propagandists repeatedly tried to discredit. Detector Media wrote about this, refuting a number of fakes and messages on this topic.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks publish a scan of a document allegedly in the name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In it, the moral and psychological state of the Armed Forces is assessed as low. However, this document is a fake.

The analysts of the Center of Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine drew attention to it. They found that the “document” contained a large number of grammatical errors. In addition, the text has a characteristic Russian-language tracing paper and a style uncharacteristic of documents. Moreover, the margin between the main text and the official's signature has been increased by 1.5-2 times. That is, part of the main text is hidden or deleted.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to demoralize the Armed Forces of Ukraine and cause panic among the civilian population. He said that terrible things are happening to the psyche of the military, and therefore, you have to agree to Russia's terms and start living normally. In this way, the Russians manipulate the important topic of mental health of veterans, turning it into a scarecrow for Ukrainians. Detector Media has already written about how Russia devalues the topic of mental health during the war in general.

Anonymous telegram channels in the Russian segment are distributing a photo of an allegedly Ukrainian military ID of “foreign mercenary” Brian Boenger. The document contains the fighter’s personal data, and also contains a separate photograph: a photograph of both guys kissing. This is how the authors convince that this is a photograph of an American. They also add that this ID was found in the Zaporizhzhia direction and that “his beloved friend waits in vain for the military” hinting at the probable destruction of the American military man.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project began analyzing the case and found that the photos of the military ID were partially compiled. The figure of the American fighter Brian Boenger is real, and he fought in Ukraine. Using a reverse search, the fact-checkers found that the image of an American soldier’s military ID was indeed published in journalistic materials back in 2016.

And to create a fake photograph, propagandists superimposed on the image of a real military ID a photo of a stranger and a photo of two guys kissing.

Moreover, Brian Boenger is not a “foreign mercenary”; in April 2016, he entered into an official contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, the decree allowing foreigners or stateless persons to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was signed by the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko back in November 2015.

Russian propaganda systematically fuels the narrative that professional military personnel from other states - the so-called “foreign mercenaries” - are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda also tries to justify the failures of the Russian army. They say they are not fighting “weak” Ukrainians, but “specially trained NATO members” or Americans. Moreover, Russian propaganda spreads fake news about hiring students, the unemployed, and they like to show that in Ukraine there is no one left to fight and they are recruiting “everyone in a row”.

By the way, in our Newspeak section we talked about Russia that recruits mercenaries, in particular, Wagner group representatives. This is essentially a terrorist organization within the Russian army.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that the Ukrainian military is allegedly fighting under the influence of “combat chemicals” obtained in the form of chocolates and injections. Russian military officers report that it is psychotropic drugs that are behind the courage of the Ukrainian military and therefore they are not afraid of death. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project. Russian propaganda has been systematically spreading fake news about drug addiction among Ukrainians since 2014. Russian propagandists have repeatedly stated that psychotropic substances were added to the food of Euromaidan participants and that they were used by ATO participants. Russian propaganda also accused the Ukrainian military of using drugs at the end of March 2022, when the Russians, under pressure from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, left the north of Ukraine. After the start of the counteroffensive, these topics re-emerged in the Russian information space.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to demonize the Ukrainian military and sow fear among Ukrainians about them. Also, Russian propagandists seek to justify Russian aggression - they say, Ukrainians need to be saved from aggressive Ukrainian fighters and the failures of the Russian military on the battlefield. Previously, we refuted the fake that the United States supplies drugs to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media and social networks claim that Mazur Mecheslav, a Polish citizen serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has been put on the wanted list in Ukraine. He is allegedly suspected of committing a number of crimes, in particular “arbitrary escape from a military unit, murder, causing harm to health and bullying of minors”. As evidence, they are distributing a photo of a wanted notice for this person. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They noticed a number of grammatical errors in the “announcement”, which are not typical for native speakers of the Ukrainian language and representatives of government agencies. For example, the official abbreviation of the police agency, the proper word “police”, the use of the Russian word “department” and the phrase “poses a threat”. They also tried to find this person in open databases of all people wanted in Ukraine on a separate website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Among the persons found on the site there is no Mecheslav Mazur, and other persons with the same surname do not match the parameters specified in the “announcement”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to once again discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They say that only criminals fleeing responsibility abroad serve them. Detector Media has already refuted a number of fakes and manipulations of Russian propaganda about the “Foreign Legion”.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that three thieves robbed the house of the family of a deceased military man during his funeral in the Lviv region in 2023. They say that while the defenders are being buried, other Ukrainians are robbing them. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the story, which is being distributed as evidence of this message, was published on July 25, 2016. The event occurred on July 22 of the same year in the city of Zolochiv, Lviv region. Thieves broke into the house during the funeral of serviceman Andrii Shvets, who served as a volunteer during the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine. Later, the police detained the suspects - three teenagers who stole money and property worth 40 thousand hryvnia.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to ridicule and discredit Ukrainians. Detector Media previously refuted other Russian lies about the Ukrainian military.