This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Russians are successfully destroying Ukrainian ammunition depots. Like, Ukraine loses its combat capability and loses the war. As evidence, the authors cite as an example a video of an allegedly “destroyed” ammunition depot in Uman. The authors add that this happened on June 8, 2023 during rocket attacks.

The case was noticed by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project who found that on June 8, 2023, the Russians actually hit at an industrial facility and a car wash, and not at an ammunition depot. In addition, the Russians hit the supermarket. As a result, there are casualties. That is, propagandists use the rhetoric about the destruction of military objects  to cover up their war crimes because the invaders are shelling civilian infrastructure, public places where people can be. For example, on June 27, 2023, the Russians shelled the center of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, hitting the nearby cafes and shops. This is not a rare case.

Thus, propagandists seek to whitewash themselves, as if they do not kill civilians and do not commit genocide. At the same time, they are trying to convince that they are shelling military targets (which also does not justify their aggression), when in fact the Russian army is destroying civilian infrastructure, killing people.

Users of social networks, in particular the American segment of Instagram, spread a video showing a house driving across a field, and added the inscription: “Ukrainian tank uses the house as camouflage”. The author of the publication believes that the video allegedly shows military equipment disguised as a Ukrainian house. This is manipulation.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the PolitiFact project. They determined that there was no Ukrainian tank disguised as a house in the video. In fact, this is a car, namely the Zaporozhets, which, back in 2020, a family from near Dnipro turned into a “mobile home”. Craftsmen decorated it with Petrykivka painting, and placed icons and embroidered towels inside. A reverse search also showed that the video, dated 2020, was filmed by TV Channel 34. The Instagram post was labeled as the “False Information” one. 

The Ukrainian military does not disguise military equipment as houses. Earlier, Detector Media explained the manipulation that Mexican cartels allegedly receive weapons provided to Ukraine as military aid.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that a Ukrainian military sabotage group allegedly blew up a section of the Togliatti-Odesa pipeline that Russia was using to export ammonia. The authors add that toxic fumes allegedly covered the positions of the Ukrainian military: one was killed, several were poisoned, the rest of the military received orders to use gas masks in their positions. They also claim that the Ukrainian military is doing this on purpose. It is not true. 

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, they established that it was not a “sabotage group of Ukrainian military”, but the Russian military that damaged the pipe of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline near the village of Masiutivka as a result of artillery shelling. This was stated in the Kharkiv police department. The head of the Regional Military Administration confirmed that the pipeline had been depressurized as a result of Russian strikes.

Also, the thesis about the death and poisoning of the military is a lie since later the Kharkiv police department came out with a statement that the situation with the release of ammonia in the Kupiansk district is fully controlled. Nothing threatens the life and health of people. After the night shelling, the safety valves at the station worked, and due to this, the leakage of ammonia was relatively insignificant. It was also reported that a cloud of ammonia was blown away by the wind in the direction of the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. That is, in fact, it is the Russian military who carry out terrorist attacks on industrial facilities and destroy the ecosystem of Ukraine. For example, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine recently reported that the Russians were mining the Crimean Titan plant in temporarily occupied Armiansk and preparing a terrorist act with the release of about 200 tons of ammonia. This can lead to an artificially created man-made disaster. Russia simply reflects its actions and thus tries to present itself as a constant victim of Ukraine's “aggression”. Allegedly, it is Ukraine that commits terrorist attacks and kills civilians.

Similar theses were heard on the air of Russian propaganda TV channels and media. They say that the German authorities are silent about the war crimes of the Ukrainians, and the Ukrainian military, who came to study in Germany, show videos of the torture and execution of Russian prisoners of war. Russian propaganda says that Ukrainians are more interested in ways to intimidate the enemy than in exercises, and refers to the words of General of the Bundeswehr Andreas Marlow, who allegedly spoke about this. “They praise the punitive operations that the SS troops carried out during World War II, they show the swastika”,  Marlow allegedly said. He seems to be trying to get through to the German courts, but he and other German officers are ordered to be silent, otherwise they will be fired. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of The Insider media drew attention to the case. Propaganda telegram channels refer to the telegram channel Übersicht Ukraine, which, in all likelihood, was the first to publish an article with a “statement” by Andreas Marlow with the headline German General Confirms Ukraine’s War Crimes. The channel itself does not name its sources, but the description states: this channel offers translated content from Russian sites for the German-speaking region. We do not advocate war or violence.

In February, General Marlow gave an interview to the German television channel ntv Nachrichten, where he spoke about the Ukrainian military: “What strikes me deeply is the seriousness and motivation of the people who come to us. They are inquisitive and would rather not stop learning and exercising as much as possible”. That is, in fact, Marlow expressed directly opposite opinions to those that were disseminated by the propagandists.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads the narrative that Ukrainians are Nazis and murderers. And as if the West supports them in this. Thus, Russia is trying to shift responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of aggression. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that Zelenskyi allegedly wore a sweater with Nazi symbols to a meeting with the Pope.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that people living in Africa or the Middle East are calling to take part in the war against Russia on the side of Ukraine. Allegedly, people are “attracted” by EU citizenship. The authors of the messages add a screenshot of an ad on a job search website, which offers to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and note that employers will be able to provide an accelerated acquisition of EU citizenship. It is not true.

The case was taken up by Reuters fact-checkers, who turned to officials for comment in order to find out “the EU citizenship program”. At the same time, the representative of the EU Commission said that the ad has nothing to do with EU initiatives, because they did not implement or finance something similar. The speaker also added that he is sure that the ad  is part of a disinformation campaign against Ukraine and the European Union. Since there is no document certifying exclusively EU citizenship. EU citizenship is determined by the presence of citizenship of one of the EU member states. In other words, any citizen of a country of the European Union is considered a citizen of the Union. And “EU citizenship” is just a term that allows a person to better understand his or her belonging to the Union. That is, it is impossible to obtain “EU citizenship” and not become a citizen of one of the states of the European Union.

By spreading this fake, the authors are trying to show that there is no one to fight in Ukraine. Allegedly, people are already being recruited to the front, using various baits such as “EU citizenship”.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting Kremlin rhetoric have circulated an article by Russian media citing CNN about US plans to expand military training from Ukraine. Russian propaganda writes that the article used an image of a truck with pigs. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They note that neither the Russian media nor CNN have published images of the pigs in the truck. This was verified using the Internet Archive tool.

Also, the CNN article does say that US President Biden's administration is considering training 2,500 Ukrainian troops at a US base in Germany. However, a different photo was used in the news. The results of checking with the Internet Archive showed that the CNN publication did not include a photo of pigs in a truck.

Thus, Russian propaganda wants to sow doubts about the sincerity of the support of the Americans and show that they despise the Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Ukrainian military allegedly massively complains about equipment supplied by the United States.

The Russian media disseminated information that forty fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were poisoned to death by dumplings received from volunteers. It's fake.

Analysts of The Insider project drew attention to it. They note that propagandists began to spread it after a voice message with this story appeared in chats on Signal and WhatsApp. It was sent to these chats by a user with the nickname marjankopuk. This nickname can be found on the Internet only once in an ad on the OLX website for the sale of a children's bed and a malfunctioning microwave. According to it, “Marjan” is a Lviv resident. Also, the project specialists found a publication in 2014, according to which in the Luhansk region, indeed, “Ukrainian soldiers were poisoned with dumplings”, but no one died.

Propagandists talk about “deadly dumplings” because they want to undermine Ukrainians’ trust in volunteers and cause public panic. They say that even volunteers feed Ukrainian soldiers with trash, and what can be said about food from the state. However, Ukrainians are unlikely to be demoralized by dumplings.

Such information is disseminated by the Kremlin propaganda media. They refer to the statement of the chief US general in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, which he allegedly made on the air of the American TV channel TruNews. According to propagandists, Cavoli said that the Russian military allegedly “has not been affected negatively” in the war, and Western media seemed to distort information about the “degradation” of Russian troops. This is manipulation.

According to the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project, Christopher Cavoli did not talk about the advantage of the Russians in the war and that the Western media distort the facts, moreover, he emphasized that Ukraine is in a good position. Russian propaganda took out of context a quote where the general spoke about the activity of the Russians in the Atlantic Ocean and that it was precisely that part of the Russian military that the war had almost no effect on. “Russians are more active than we’ve seen them in years, and their patrols into the Atlantic, and throughout the Atlantic, are at a high level, most of the time at a higher level than we’ve seen in years”, Cavoli said exclusively about the Russian military in the Atlantic Ocean.

Russian propaganda also said that the general spoke on the TruNews TV channel, but took out of context a quote from his speech to the House Committee. The Media Bias/Fact Check project, which aggregates the assessments of independent IFCN fact-checkers, writes that TruNews is a conspiracy and pseudo-scientific publication that spreads conspiracy theories and hate speech and is an unreliable source of information. VoxCheck noticed that TruNews was spreading pro-Kremlin narratives.

Russian propaganda systematically distorts interviews with foreign experts in order to discredit them. Thus, propagandists are trying to convince Ukrainians that the event does not support our country in the war and sow discouragement among society. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that American General Mark Milli allegedly accidentally praised Russia for “successes” in the beginning of a “special military operation”.

Propagandists are spreading information that the head of the US General Staff, General Mark Milley, accidentally praised Russia for “successes” in the beginning of the “special military operation”. Like, he said that Russia was striving to advance into Dnipro, and thus he accidentally praised the Russian army for its professionalism. It's fake.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to it. In fact, the American general did not say that about the Russian army. On the contrary, in an interview for Foreign Affairs, he stated that in a very short time, Russia did not achieve its strategic goals and could not achieve what it wanted militarily.

Propagandists constantly resort to distorting interviews with Western media people to fit their own messages. In this way, they want to show that the support of the West is not real and that in fact it recognizes the victory of Russia. But in fact, the pace of support from the West continues to grow.

Such information was disseminated in Russian propaganda media, referring to the head of the Kharkiv military garrison, Serhii Melnyk. He believes that Ukraine “will never have enough people and equipment to defeat Russia”. Russian propaganda also stated that “the combat-ready part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed, and the professional military was out of action”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. Russian propaganda media used an interview with General Serhii Melnyk for the Spanish edition of El País. Melnyk spoke about the defense of Kharkiv in 2022 and the upcoming counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023. The general noted that Ukraine needs not only a large amount of equipment and ammunition, but also the military, so that rotations can be carried out more often. It was this statement that took the propaganda out of context and created the manipulation that the Ukrainian army had “already been killed”.

After the Russian propaganda media began to spread this manipulation, Serhii Melnyk explained his words. He noted that although the fighters are heroic, however, they are exhausted, some are injured, and someone dies. He also noted that Ukraine has enough resources for a counteroffensive, but the most important thing is to get enough weapons to save the lives of the fighters.

This is not the first time Russian propaganda wants to undermine the reputation of the Ukrainian military leadership and cause discouragement among Ukrainian society by manipulating the topic of a counteroffensive. Like, even the military leaders do not believe in the victory of Ukraine over Russia. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that if the Ukrainian military fails the counteroffensive, the West will allegedly stop supporting Ukraine.

Such a “document” was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “document” says that the Ukrainian military has increasingly begun to leave their positions, refusing to perform tasks at the forefront. They also allegedly sabotage the orders and instructions of the commanders.

This case was noticed by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project, who found that the report was not real. The fact-checkers sent a request to 123 TD brigade. They replied that they did not create such a report.

In particular, the “document” contains elements in its design that do not comply with the standards of modern Ukrainian office work. For example, in this case, the document should not be signed for the “commander of the OUV KHERSON (operational group of troops KHERSON)”, but is required to write for the highest military authority (for example, the headquarters of a military unit) and the authority of the Military Law Enforcement Service. This is a different type of document, namely a report. Therefore, there are other instructions for its design.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Offensive Guard is a “group of evaders to defend the regime of Zelenskyi”. Like, the brigades of the Offensive Guard are subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which means that they will protect Ukrainian officials from civilians and from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Allegedly, the Offensive Guard will work in the event of mass protests by Ukrainians, hindering freedom of speech.

The fact-checkers of VoxCheck drew attention to the case, and found that the brigades of the Offensive Guards were created to conduct combat operations since the National Guardsmen, policemen and border guards fought at the front even before the full-scale invasion of Russia. The main goal of the Offensive Guard is to form assault brigades that will liberate Ukrainian territory. Currently, 9 brigades are being formed. All these units participated in the fighting, but under a different name or in a different structure.

That is, the Offensive Guard, like the Armed Forces of Ukraine, serve Ukraine and the Ukrainians. This is not an initiative of “individual officials” to introduce their own agenda. The military, on the contrary, protects every Ukrainian man and every Ukrainian woman, and does not interfere with their freedom.

Kremlin propaganda media spread information that if the Ukrainian counteroffensive fails, the West will allegedly stop helping Ukraine. They refer to an article on The New York Times website. This is manipulation.

 As experts from the StopFake project note, in fact, the New York Times article does not say that a hypothetical failure during the Ukrainian counteroffensive will lead to the refusal of the West to help Ukraine. In the original article, the authors note that assistance can only weaken for a while, and Kyiv will be under more pressure during this period and persuaded to negotiate with Russia.

 According to the authors of the article, if this happens, by the beginning of 2024 the West will again be able to help Ukraine in full as within this time the partner countries will develop a sufficient amount of ammunition and military equipment. Moreover, during his visit to Washington, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told reporters: “between this year and next year, I think Ukraine will continue to have the momentum with it”.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow discouragement among Ukrainian society and convince them that they should not count on the help of the West, as well as on victory over Russia. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Western tanks would allegedly not help Ukraine, but would be completely destroyed by Russia.

Propaganda anonymous telegram channels distribute a document in which the commander of the military unit 3056, Ruslan Kuzmich, allegedly instructs the personnel to “use weapons to defeat” at checkpoints. Also, this “document” refers to the organization of round-the-clock patrols and “firing points” in the Mykolaiv region in order to identify Ukrainian military evading mobilization and who arbitrarily left their combat positions. The order was allegedly issued on April 20, 2023. It's fake.

 StopFake project experts note that this document is fake. This is indicated by a number of errors, for example, the incorrect name “military unit 3056” instead of “military unit 3056 of the National Guard of Ukraine”, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the heading of the “document”, instead of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the National Guard of Ukraine. Also, the name of the commander is incorrectly written in the document - Kuzmych instead of Kuzmich.

Also, the wrong code of the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations of Ukraine (EDRPOU) is indicated on the seal - 12345678, although the military unit 3056 NGU has a different code - 23313931. StopFake analysts note that the propagandists probably used a sample of a seal for a military unit, which they found on one of the websites of a seal manufacturing company.

The press officer of the military unit 3056 NGU said that such an “order” was not issued, the signature does not belong to Ruslan Kuzmich, and the military unit is now in Kherson, although it was based in Mykolaiv for some time.

So, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army, to show the cruelty and inadequacy of the leadership of military units and to intimidate society. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that 20,000 policemen are going to be mobilized into the Ukrainian army.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric spread information that the Ukrainian military is allegedly complaining about the equipment that Western partners handed over to Ukraine. It is about the International M1224 MaxxPro MRAP armored car. Earlier, propagandists posted a video with this car and wrote that it was smashed “near Artemivsk”. It's fake.

The case was noticed by specialists from the StopFake project. They report that the Ukrainian military, on the contrary, has repeatedly written about the reliability of the M1224 MaxxPro MRAP, for example, the armored car withstood a hit from a grenade launcher. And even the most anonymous Russian telegram channels write that the Russian army should also be equipped with similar vehicles.

By spreading this fake, Russian propaganda continues to discredit Western partners that provide weapons to Ukraine. The propagandists want to show that this technique is outdated or expired. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that supposedly fascist crosses were depicted on Ukrainian armored vehicles.

The Kremlin websites disseminate information that in Ukraine, due to the war with Russia, there are allegedly almost no people of twenty years old left. Propagandists attribute this to “the West's order to Zelenskyi to fight to the last Ukrainian”. Like, precisely because the Ukrainians are forced to fight, the number of twenty-year-old boys and girls in Ukraine “has decreased by four in just a year”. It is not true.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated this case. They determined that the Russian propagandists were referring to “official statistics from the annual World Population Prospects published by the UN Secretariat”. Thus, Russian propaganda claims that last year in Ukraine there were about 200 thousand boys and 200 thousand girls of twenty years old, and this year's data show that in the age category of 21 years (these people are now 21 years old) there are only about 60 thousand boys and 50 thousand girls left.

However, the data presented in the World Population Prospects differ from the figures voiced by the propagandists. In 2023, about 133 thousand boys and 118 thousand girls aged 21 live in Ukraine, and not 60 and 50 thousand, respectively. And in 2021, when they were 19 years old, the number of boys was about 190 thousand, and girls - 180 thousand. That is, over the specified period, the number of young people in Ukraine has indeed decreased somewhat, but not by several times, as Russian propaganda claims. According to StopFake experts, the main reason for the decline in the population of Ukraine in 2022-2023 was emigration abroad due to Russia's armed aggression.

Russian propaganda spreads such fakes in order to discredit the Ukrainian authorities, demoralize Ukrainians and show the inexpediency of further resistance to Russia. They say that Ukraine is losing its youth because of the opposition to Russian aggression, and the authorities are not able to ensure the safety of their people. We note that this is not the first time Russia has manipulated figures on the population of Ukraine. Detector Media has already told how Russian propaganda counted Ukrainians by the amount of bread consumed and claimed that there are 5 million fewer Ukrainians every year.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that many of the military allegedly did not want to return to Ukraine after military training in the UK, while at the same time some even tried to hide. In addition, the authors of the reports claim that only 20% of the Ukrainian military successfully passed the exams after the training in the UK. As evidence, the authors refer to the material of The Guardian. It is not true.

The case was noticed by the VoxCheck project specialists, who determined that there was no mention of military desertion, unwillingness to return home, and poor training results in The Guardian material. The Guardian, published on March 27, noted that Ukrainian crews who were trained on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK have returned home.

We recall that earlier Detector Media refuted a fake that Ukrainian soldiers arrived in the UK for military training along with their wives, and explained the case about the alleged ban on the Ukrainian military from the West to use equipment, including Challenger 2 tanks. We also refuted the fake, in which the propagandists claimed that in Ukraine they “dug a ditch on the border with Moldova in order to stop the flight of men from mobilization”.

Such information is distributed in the Georgian segment of Facebook in Russian. Reports say that 60% of the Ukrainian military cannot return alive from the front line, and the losses are about 200,000 out of 800,000 fighters. The authors of the messages referred to information from The New York Times allegedly dated March 11. However, this is an unsubstantiated conclusion.

According to Myth Detector project analysts, the statistics presented in the viral post cannot be found in any official source. In addition, the New York Times did not publish an article about the liquidation of 60% of the Ukrainian military.

However, according to analysts, the New York Times is not directly mentioned as a source in the published information, although the text circulated on Facebook is accompanied by a screenshot of the publication, which gives the impression that this media published the information.

In fact, the March 11 issue of the New York Times pictured in the post contained two articles about Ukraine. The first one concerned the meeting between US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, where the main topic of discussion was the effective resistance of Russia against the backdrop of the ongoing war.

The second article is devoted to the grief of the fighter Dmytro Kotsiubailo who died near Bakhmut and was the commander of the “Da Vinci Wolves” unit. However, none of these articles contains information about the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and statistical information about the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Propagandists are spreading a video in which Ukrainian soldiers allegedly shoot at a civilian car of a woman with a small child. Like, that was the reaction to the Russian language, heard from them. According to the plot of the video, the military man and the driver allegedly belong to the Crimean Tatar people. It's fake.

The fake was refuted by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Its specialists found out that the location captured on the video is located in the temporarily occupied territory between Donetsk and Makiivka. In addition, one of the primary sources of the fake is a netizen under the nickname “Yurii Aleksieich Z V”. The Ukrainian military put solid crosses on their cars, and the Wehrmacht crosses are visible on the video. Moreover, the use of registrars in Ukraine is prohibited even in the rear. The Main Intelligence Directorate specialists also found out that the body of the car on which the Ukrainian military was traveling was manufactured in Russia and was not delivered to Ukraine. In the video, you can see signs of unsuccessful editing.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to show them as cruel and inadequate, and also to cause conflict with representatives of the Muslim community, in particular with the Crimean Tatars.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric publish information that it is currently impossible to buy antidepressants in Ukraine due to their shortage. Like, upon returning from the front, the Ukrainian military “swept away” them from pharmacies. It's fake.

When looking for antidepressants in Ukrainian pharmacies, even online, you can find the exact addresses of pharmacies where you can buy them at the moment. This is not about the presence of several items, but about a wide selection of antidepressants. Moreover, even if such a deficit did occur, it is impossible to confirm whether it was the military that provoked it or not. Civilians living in the stress of war can also buy these drugs, and antidepressants are even on the list of drugs provided under the government's “Affordable Medicines” program.

Thus, Russian propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces and demoralize Ukrainian society. They say that allegedly the Ukrainian soldiers cannot withstand the war, which means that they must give up and start negotiating.

In fact, the topic of mental health for both military and civilians during the war is quite important. However, Russian propaganda stigmatizes it. It seems that taking care of one’s mental health is the business of “weaklings”. However, the trauma of wartime experiences can interfere with a return to normal life.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian military mocks the Islamic religion: they cut bacon on the Koran, and then kindle a fire over it. The authors of the messages add a video to the publication where this can be seen. It is not true.

The Center for Strategic Communications investigated this case and determined that the video was staged. As experts explain, it contains errors in pronunciation and an “unhidden Russian accent”. Experts quoted the phrase of one of the heroes of the video, which sounds like this: “Guys, you can’t set the fire”. The Center for Strategic Communications is sure that the Russian military independently filmed a video, tearing up the Koran and passing it off as the actions of the Ukrainian military.

Radio “Svoboda” (Liberty) journalists came to this conclusion in their study of Russian disinformation on social networks. In particular, during the study, media workers discovered fake accounts disguised as profiles of the Ukrainian military.

One of the tiktok accounts masqueraded as the personal page of a sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who actually keeps his war diary. The clone page had over 19,000 subscribers, with some videos reaching millions of views. The account, which was a clone of the profile of a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, contained real videos shot by real soldiers, but the messages superimposed on them were not at all the messages that the author of the real tiktok account had in mind. According to journalists, these messages inspired despair and mistrust. For example, such messages were promoted: “Bakhmut cannot be kept”, “We leave Soledar”, “Military are tired”, etc. Later, a real sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was found, who confirmed that his video was used by Russian propagandists.

The journalists also investigated the fake telegram channel of the 46th airmobile brigade, created back in September. The propagandists have gathered a fairly large audience on this channel, up to 15,000 subscribers. That is, it allows the dissemination of various manipulative or fake news from there that are beneficial to Russian propaganda. It was also a clone of the real telegram channel of the 46th brigade. The official authors stated that there was nothing to do with the creation of the clone page.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian military is freezing male seeds using a cryopreservation method. As the authors of the messages explain, this is all planned to “breed the army of Ukrainians with a high level of russophobia”.

Analysts of the VoxCheck investigated this case, who found out that since 2014, cryopreservation has become popular among Ukrainian military personnel. After the start of a large-scale invasion, the number of applicants increased. Some clinics offer free cryopreservation for the military. However, there is no confirmed data, due to which it is possible to “breed” a whole “army” of Ukrainians with an increased level of russophobia. This is a conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda, since the cryopreservation method does not bring out a “special type of people”, but freezes male spermatozoa in liquid nitrogen for further artificial insemination “in vitro”.

The storage of frozen spermatozoa is not limited in time. For the most part, the freezing of male sperm is associated with the “in vitro” fertilization procedure. This is a specific method of treating infertility, that is, in vitro fertilization. However, cryopreservation is advised to be carried out before chemotherapy and operations that can affect the reproductive function of a person. Cryopreservation can be performed not only for men, but also for women (egg freezing).

Such information was disseminated in social networks and propaganda media. Reports say that allegedly the Ukrainian government does not allocate funds for the rehabilitation of military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder. Allegedly, Zelenskyi “spends all the money on something else”. It is not true.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found that, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On social and legal protection of military personnel and members of their families”, the state provides free psychological assistance:

to military personnel who do military service on the territory of Ukraine and perform military duty outside its borders;

to the military, who became persons with disabilities due to a disease associated with the passage of service;

to members of volunteer formations of territorial communities.

That is, the law regulates the process of providing free psychological assistance, so the thesis about “non-allocation of funds by the government” is unfounded. Analysts believe that the basis for creating this fake was the material of The Economist, in which journalists talk about a military rehabilitation center for the treatment of PTSD, located in the Kharkiv region. The material also said that all this was “new” for Ukraine, since until 2014 the military had received almost no psychological assistance.

It is worth noting that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic mental disorder that can develop after a traumatic event. Persistent thoughts about the traumatic event last more than a month and usually occur 6 months after the event. Intrusive thoughts appear involuntarily when some kind of trigger reminds of trauma.

Pro-Russian and occupation telegram channels are circulating reports that Poland is amending legislation to send 10,000 to 40,000 troops to Ukraine under the guise of mercenaries and employees of a private military company (PVK). Like, the Polish military would like to go to the front under their own flag, but NATO will not allow this, because then the North Atlantic Alliance will become a participant in the war. It is also alleged that Poland is adopting a law to legalize “mercenaries” who are already fighting in Ukraine and compensation to the families of the victims. It is not true.

There are no foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. The law on the legalization of Polish mercenaries in Poland is also not being prepared. According to VoxCheck, the authors of the messages refer to the so-called “military” expert and editor of the “Arsenal of the Fatherland" publication Oleksii Leonkov, who systematically promotes Russian and Belarusian propaganda narratives. Leonkov does not provide any evidence to support his words about the arrival of the Polish military in Ukraine under the guise of mercenaries and PVK employees.

Fake stories about foreign mercenaries in Ukraine have been repeatedly refuted. The propagandists claimed that the military from the EU countries fought on the territory of Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion, or the number of foreigners in the Ukrainian army would soon exceed 50%. To confirm the message about Polish mercenaries in Ukraine, Russian propaganda disfigured the quote by the Minister of Defense of Poland. The Russians claimed that in Poland they began to openly recruit Ukrainian tank troops. It was also said that Polish professional soldiers were dying in Ukraine, and a special cemetery had allegedly been created for them. Thus, propagandists are trying to downplay the combat effectiveness of the Ukrainian army, which has been resisting the Russians for a year now, and explain their own failures by the fact that they are allegedly fighting against a stronger enemy than they expected.