In the Russian and Georgian segment of the social network Facebook, as well as in pro-Kremlin media, information is being spread that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin allegedly advised the Russian military not to hunt Abrams tanks, so as not to repeat the situation with Leopard tanks. It seems that he said: “A repetition of the situation with the German “Leopards”, when they were hunted, is unacceptable, I saw these calls. Play by the rules!”. It's fake.

As fact-checkers of the MythDetector project note, this news is fake, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not say such a phrase. Using search engines, experts determined that before getting onto Facebook, this phrase, allegedly belonging to Austin, first spread on September 25 on the social network X (formerly Twitter). However, its original source is not indicated.

During the 15th meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine, held in Germany, Lloyd Austin spoke about assistance to Ukraine, but did not utter phrases regarding the content of the hunt for Abrams tanks. This quote does not appear in any official source or reliable media.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Western partners and show that the US Secretary of Defense is making strange calls to take care of the equipment of the Ukrainian military. Propagandists are trying to create the illusion that the Russian military with its weapons is invincible and is destroying the weapons provided to Ukraine by its partners. Recently, Detector Media refuted the fake that Sweden confirmed the loss of all its tanks provided to Ukraine.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Sweden has allegedly confirmed the loss of all Leopard 2A5 tanks with the Swedish modification of Strv 122, which were provided to Ukraine as part of military aid. However, this is a fake.

The Reuters fact-checkers drew attention to the case. In response to their request for comment from a spokesperson for the Swedish Armed Forces, they received information that no such official statements had been made. Experts also could not find any reliable materials on the Internet that all 10 Swedish tanks were destroyed. In the press release of the Armed Forces of Sweden for September 21 on the topic of Swedish tanks, there is no mention of their loss. For example, in the article for September 23, the Forbes publication claims only two Swedish tanks were destroyed by a Russian air attack.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian military and Western partners. For example, either Ukrainian soldiers do not know how to use Western weapons, or the weapons themselves are of poor quality compared to Russian ones. Detector Media has already refuted a number of other fakes aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Russians at the front destroyed a Leopard tank with a German crew, that is, allegedly with German military personnel. The publications refer to the words of the Russian occupier. It's a lie.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project took up the case and found out that the propagandists did not provide any evidence to confirm such information except for the words of the Russian occupier, also stated without facts. Moreover, the German Ministry of Defense denied the presence of German tank crews in Ukraine. That is, we are not talking about any German fighters at all. This is fiction.

But it is impossible to say that the Russians did not destroy Ukrainian equipment on the battlefield, because this was more than possible during the war. However, propagandists deliberately exaggerate the significance of “destroyed” equipment on the battlefield, hinting at the allegedly low combat capability of the Ukrainian army.

The Detector Media analysts have repeatedly explained cases in which they allegedly claimed that the Russian army had destroyed a certain amount of weapons. Thus, the authors are trying to hide their own failures, masquerading as “effective destruction of weapons”. For example, we refuted the fake that Russia “destroyed” five Patriot launchers.

And also in our Newspeak column we described the Russian phenomenon of “irresistible technology”. In short, this is how the Russians try to convince the domestic audience of constant victories. In addition, they also hint at the technological perfection of their equipment.

With all this, the Kremlin natively cultivates the opinion of the fight against the “collective West”, because supposedly EU countries specifically send their military to Ukraine to fight against Russia.

Pro-Kremlin media in English and Spanish are disseminating information that a Russian intelligence group allegedly destroyed a Leopard tank, which Germany transferred to Ukraine along with a crew of soldiers from the German Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces). This allegedly happened in the Zaporizhzhia direction. Russian propaganda add that the seriously wounded mechanic has repeatedly stated that he is a member of the Bundeswehr, and together with the crew they are part of a German army unit. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the EUvsDiDiNFo project. The information disseminated by Russian propaganda contains no details — names and surnames, a clear time and place where the Russians destroyed the tank. Moreover, Germany's military support for Ukraine is limited to equipment and weapons, as well as assistance in training Ukrainian troops on German soil.

This fake is a continuation of the Russian narrative that Russia is fighting against NATO and Western countries in Ukraine. By inventing victories on the battlefield, Russian propaganda tries to raise the morale of Russians and justify Russia's difficulties on the battlefield. They say that the Russians are fighting with the German military, which is much more powerful than the Ukrainian army. Previously, we talked about the manipulation that Jens Stoltenberg allegedly confirmed that Russia invaded Ukraine “because of NATO”.

Propaganda resources began publishing reports about the “shooting down” of a Ukrainian Air Force helicopter in the area of the temporarily occupied Lyman without evidence. They say that the “first shots” of the Russian military’s successful testing of the Mi-8 helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have appeared. However, this is fake.

Researchers at the StopFake project debunked this case using Google's reverse image search tool. As it turned out, the information provided is not true. These “first shots” only show a helicopter burning in the sky. They have nothing to do with the allegedly downed Ukrainian helicopter. An identical photograph has been used by various media outlets for several years. The oldest publications found by the search engine date back to 2020.

We also managed to find a video from which Russian propaganda took its “proof” of the alleged destruction of Ukrainian equipment. The British TV channel SkyNews published a video back in February 2020 with the same footage, but with a completely different caption. According to their journalists, it shows a Syrian military helicopter shot down by rebels. One can understand that this is the right helicopter from the same ignition of the fuselage (the place where fuel, landing gear, engines can be placed) of the aircraft and the color of the sky.

Previously, we also documented a similar hoax about the Russians “massively destroying” M1 Abrams tanks, although they had not even been delivered to Ukraine at that time. We also denied information that the Russians destroyed the first Leopard tank on the battlefield. This also turned out to be untrue.

This information was disseminated by propaganda media. Reports say Russian troops launched missile attacks on Kyiv, specifically targeting depleted uranium ammunition depots. Thus, the authors of the publication wrote that Kyiv was “threatened” by the fate of Chornobyl, because after the explosion, all the uranium dust allegedly dispersed throughout Kyiv. Therefore, they even urge Kyiv residents to evacuate as quickly as possible in order to save themselves from radiation. However, this is a lie.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed this case and determined that Russia could not destroy such ammunition, since Ukraine had not even received it yet. In addition, over the past few days there has been no information about warehouse explosions in Kyiv or the region. Only on the 6th, following a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he announced the provision of a new aid package to Ukraine, including weapons, including depleted uranium shells for American Abrams tanks. The official did not note any dates for the likely delivery of weapons to Ukraine. And the Ukrainian media did not publish news about the receipt of such weapons. This is just a stuffing of Russian “news” resources that came up with the material.

Moreover, Russian propaganda is trying to portray depleted uranium weapons as capable of destroying people and generally emitting radiation. Yes, depleted uranium is indeed a radioactive substance, but it is not so dangerous that its use is prohibited. To put it simply, the projectile “does not emit radiation”. That is, the influence of radioactive radiation from depleted uranium is insignificant. For example, BBC military expert Pavlo Aksionov explained that shells with depleted uranium cores are not prohibited by any conventions. The point is that such projectiles consist of a thin core (spire), made of heavy and durable alloys using tungsten or depleted uranium. And in fact, depleted uranium is located only on the core, if there is such a thing at all. And not the entire projectile carries radiation, as propagandists are trying to convince us of.

The Russians are constantly manipulating the nuclear issue. Last autumn, propagandists and Russian officials were convincing people that Ukraine was creating a “dirty bomb” and was preparing to use this weapon with supposedly nuclear waste - depleted uranium. Ukraine is already being called a “huge threat” to a nuclear disaster, allegedly precisely because of the supply of such weapons.

Here's how Russian propaganda raised the nuclear issue in its propaganda dumps - read the latest:

They wrote that Ukraine was allegedly preparing a nuclear strike against Russia; or explained how Ukrainian troops allegedly carried out fake attacks on nuclear facilities to blame the Kremlin although it is known that Moscow resorts to nuclear marching, constant terror and ultimatums. Read and remember how in the summer of 2023, a terrorist country intimidated Ukrainians with an explosion at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

Russian media and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that Turkish media reported the destruction of the Patriot air defense system at the Zhuliany airport in Kyiv. It seems to be the third anti-aircraft missile system destroyed by the Russians, out of five. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the VoxCheck fact-checker. They established that neither Ukrainian nor Western or Turkish media wrote about the destruction of the third Patriot air defense system in Zhuliany. Moreover, according to data from open sources, Ukraine has only 2 anti-aircraft missile systems. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced in April 2023 that the United States, Germany and the Netherlands had transferred the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. However, the Netherlands did not transfer the system itself, but two launchers and missiles for them.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to sow despondency and panic among Ukrainians, they say, the Patriot air defense system has been destroyed, therefore Ukraine is unprotected. And they also try to convince people that the Russian army seems to be constantly defeating and destroying equipment that is transferred by Western partners. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that in May Russia “destroyed” five Patriot launchers.

Russian media and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, and  the Russian segment of the X social network, formerly known as Twitter, spread the information that “Ukraine should not rejoice”, since it allegedly will receive F-16 fighters only after the end of the war. They link to material published on the Dutch site GeenStijl. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. The political leadership of the Netherlands has repeatedly stated that Ukraine will receive the F-16 after the necessary conditions are met. A press release on the government website says that Denmark and the Netherlands will be able to transfer the F-16 after training Ukrainian pilots, establishing logistics processes and building the necessary infrastructure. According to the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kajsa Ollongren, the training of the Ukrainian military will most likely last from 6 to 8 months.

Regarding the Dutch site GeenStijl, which Russian propaganda links to, it is one of the popular political blogs among skeptics. The blog has been involved in scandals more than once, and in the past has opposed the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Western partners and sow discouragement among the Ukrainian military and civilians. Like, the event allocates assistance, but not on time, so it will not be possible to win the war against Russia. Previously, we refuted the manipulation that Ukraine is going to attack the Hasidim in Uman in order to get the Israeli air defense system.

Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu said that “Russia, for humanitarian reasons, does not use cluster munitions, but may reconsider this decision”. It's fake.

Russia has repeatedly shelled the territory of Ukraine with cluster munitions. On February 25, 2022, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported that the attack on the hospital in Vuhledar was carried out by a Russian ballistic missile 9M79 fired by the Tochka-U complex. At the end of March 2022, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachalet, stated that Russia had used cluster munitions 24 times at that time. On April 8, 2022, the Russians attacked the Kramatorsk station with Tochka-U. Then 58 civilians were killed and about 100 people were injured.

Russian propaganda is trying to shift the responsibility for the crimes of Russians to Ukraine. Like, Ukraine is provoking Russia, and it is forced to give an answer. Earlier, we refuted a similar fake that Putin said that Russia did not shell Ukraine with cluster munitions.

The Polish radio station Radio Zet spread the information that the explosion of one of the grenade launchers that the Poles presented to the head of the Polish police Yaroslav Shymchyk in Ukraine undermined the confidence of Ukraine and the United States in Poland. Allegedly, because of this incident, Volodymyr Zelenskyi traveled through Poland without the knowledge of the Polish special services. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications drew attention to the case. The representative of the Polish special services, Stanislav Zharyn, denied this information and said that such stuffing “is designed to humiliate the structures responsible for the security of Poland”. For spreading a fake, a Polish radio station was fined by the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Poland.

Such fakes are spread in order to discredit Poland and create the appearance that there is tension between neighboring countries that support each other. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the German edition of Eulenspiegel published a cover with Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Andrzej Duda.

On the Russian segment of Facebook, on a YouTube page and in media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, a video was circulated stating that Norway had sold Russia a strategically important facility, the Olavsvern submarine base, for $4.4 million. It is also noted that Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway, agreed to the sale. This base was bought by Gunnar Wilhelmsen, who later allegedly sold it to Russia. The Norwegians turned their attention to the base when two Russian ships stopped there. They employ Russian scientists who provide detailed analysis to the Russian military on NATO infrastructure. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case. Norway did not sell a military base to Russia. In 2013, the Olavsvern military base was decommissioned, after which it was bought by a Norwegian private investment group. And in 2014–2015, Russian ships used the port of this base. However, Olavsvern itself has never belonged to either the Russian authorities themselves or Russian companies. This information was confirmed by the new owners of the base, WilNor Governmental Services AS, which bought it in 2020.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Norwegian authorities, sow discouragement among Ukrainians and quarrel Ukraine with Western partners. Earlier, we refuted the fake that a billboard appeared in Japan with the inscription: “Stop Zelenskyi, stop the war”.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that Russian engineers easily manage to destroy Ukrainian tanks and any other equipment. Like, the Ukrainian army is not capable of resisting the Russian one. As proof of this thesis, the authors cite a video where the Russians allegedly destroyed a Leopard in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case and determined that the video shows a tank clearing mines from the de-occupied territories in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, it was not destroyed, as it continues to work with mine clearance. This fact was determined by the checkers by a reverse search in Google and characteristic publications in the telegram channels of the Ukrainian segment. 

Thus, the Russian army tries to hide its crimes and convinces that it is constantly winning.

Russian media are spreading information that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have confirmed that they are placing air defense systems near residential buildings and have recognized “hits of homes of civilians”. This is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the propagandists deliberately took out of context and disfigured a quote from Yurii Ihnat, a representative of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, he did not speak about the “deliberate deployment of air defense forces near residential buildings”. On the air of the national telethon on July 16, Ihnat said that the forces of the Ukrainian air defense system were positioned to protect previously peaceful cities, as well as important critical and military infrastructure. He stressed that due to the fact that it is impossible to cover the entire territory of Ukraine with the available air defense systems, these complexes are located near settlements. On July 21, Ihnat even reacted to disinformation saying that it was Russia that was spreading it.

According to the speaker, propagandists make such statements to cause panic among Ukrainians and justify their aggression against Ukraine. Detector Media has already written about how other propagandists support their message about the “harm” of the Ukrainian air defense system for civilians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that on July 19, the Russian army attacked not grain sheds, but a storage site for Ukrainian equipment. The authors report that Moscow will not allow shelling of civilian or port infrastructure. A video of a “destroyed hangar with Ukrainian equipment” is added to the publication.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project explain that this video has nothing to do with the events of July 19th. The video shows the composition of Russian military equipment destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi said that during the attack, the Russians destroyed 60,000 tons of grain. In addition, they damaged the port infrastructure involved in the work of the “grain corridor”.

That is, the Russians continue to destroy the infrastructure of Ukraine, preventing the export of grain from Ukraine. And the authors once again reflect the situation and declare that they are not involved in the destruction of elements of civilian or port infrastructure. Traditionally they say that this is a military facility, but it is not.

Anonymous telegram channels and media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the Joseph Biden administration decided to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions banned by the convention in 2008. Russian propaganda notes that Ukraine signed this document, however, despite this, the Ukrainian military will use them to attack Russian cities. And this type of weapon is dangerous for civilians after the war, if the ammunition does not explode. It's fake.

The case drew the attention of specialists from the VoxCheck project. US presidential adviser Jake Sullivan said that since the beginning of a full-scale invasion, Russia has been using cluster shells, which in 30-40% of cases do not explode. The Convention on Cluster Munitions was created in 2008 and has been signed by 123 countries. However, Ukraine, the US and Russia are not signatories. Joseph Biden also explained that this type of weapons will be transferred to Ukraine due to the lack of other ammunition. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov noted that the Ukrainian military will not use cluster munitions on the territory of Russian settlements and will keep a strict record of use and localization, so that these territories can be cleared later.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army and government, noting that it is in Ukraine that the terrorists are and they want to destroy the Russians. Russia is trying to portray itself as a victim, but it is it who commits the crimes. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that if the United States provides Ukraine with cluster munitions, Russia will have no choice but to use them in response on the territory of Ukraine.

Russian media, as well as anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric, referring to an article by The New York Times, disseminated information that since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukraine has lost up to 20% of all armored vehicles that were transferred to it by Western partners (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers). However, this is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They argue that the New York Times publication actually only mentions that up to 20% of the heavy weapons, including Western ones, used in the counteroffensive during the first two weeks of June, could be destroyed or damaged by the enemy. The authors of the article report that in the following weeks, the level of Ukrainian losses of armored vehicles dropped to 10%, as Ukraine changed its offensive tactics.

By manipulating foreign publications, propagandists want to create the erroneous impression of Ukraine's failure on the battlefield and show the ineffectiveness of Western weapons. However, in this situation, even in this article it is indicated that a number of Western weapons are not used in the counteroffensive, and the losses of Western equipment are exaggerated.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that in Poland, heavy equipment from Ukraine is being sold at the car market. There one can buy any infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), armored personnel carrier (APC) and other military vehicles that were transferred by Western partners. The authors add a screenshot from the site for the sale of cars. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and determined that on the website of the Polish car market there is no mention that the equipment was brought from Ukraine. The authors did not provide any hard evidence, which means that this is a propaganda stuffing. The car market that sells Ukrainian equipment is called Motodemont and is located in the Polish city of Kazimierz. This is a company specializing in the repair of special vehicles and trucks. They also have their own official website. Fact-checkers noted that they did not find any sign of resale of Ukrainian equipment on any of the published ads.

The site presents old copies of military equipment produced for the Polish Armed Forces. However, this technique was not transferred to Ukraine. For example, Motodemont only sells 1980s tracked military vehicles, 5 armored wheeled vehicles, a machine gun, and a launcher. Fact-checkers emphasize that this technique has nothing to do with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Let us remind that earlier we refuted the fake that the 92nd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine resold ambulances.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the protests in France allegedly used weapons previously handed over to the Ukrainian military. Russian propaganda adds a screenshot of the article with a text about it. It's fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They note that the article referenced by the Russian propaganda does not exist with that title. In addition, neither the name of the publication, nor the date of publication, nor the name of the author are indicated on the screenshot. The photo was first circulated in 2012. Reliable French and world media did not write such articles, and international partners did not report on the resale of weapons.

Some Russian propagandists refer to Agoravox, but from the very beginning this media has been spreading Russian narratives and discrediting Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and disrupt the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that Ukrainians took part in the protests in France for money.

On July 6, anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric began to circulate reports that a significant air defense shortage had formed in Ukraine. Such statements appeared after a night attack by Russian missiles on the territory of Ukraine and hitting a high-rise building in Lviv. It is noted that this was supposedly a test version of air defense tracking. “As it turned out, it was almost empty. Most of the missiles reached their targets (there were no more than a dozen missiles, more than 60% reached their targets, others were shot down)”, they write on anonymous telegram channels. This is manipulation.

According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of July 6, the enemy attacked Lviv with Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea. 7 out of 10 missiles were shot down, there were hits on civilian targets in the city. Consequently, 70% of the missiles were shot down, only 30% reached their targets, and not 60%, as Russian propaganda writes. Also, the representative of the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, commented on the night attack on Lviv on the air of the Radio Svoboda (Liberty) project Svoboda.Morning. “It is the presence of the F-16 that can make it possible to destroy all air targets attacking Ukrainian infrastructure”, the military man notes. Yurii Ihnat adds that the Russians “worked out the route, using both the terrain and the riverbeds – in this case Dnipro – they flew to Kyiv and turned sharply in the direction of Lviv”.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians and arouse distrust in the authorities. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that all air defense systems were installed in Kyiv, so other cities of Ukraine are unprotected.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the UK is allegedly transferring fighter jets with military pilots to Ukraine. That is, they will lead the fighters, not the Ukrainian troops. The authors explain this by saying that Ukrainian pilots take a long time to learn, so they send “foreign mercenaries” to Ukraine. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project specialists took up this case and determined that the UK did not announce that it would provide fighters along with crews. That is, it is an invention of propagandists. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously announced that the British military would train Ukrainian fighter pilots. And already on May 15, 2023, the British government announced that it would begin training Ukrainian pilots in the summer. At the same time, Rishi Sunak explained that the UK does not plan to send fighter jets to Ukraine, it will only train the military. Consequently, the UK does not plan to transfer either fighters or crews to Ukraine.

By spreading this fake, the propagandists feed the narrative about the fight against the “collective event”. Allegedly, mercenaries sent by NATO are fighting on the side of Ukraine. Thus, the authors attribute their failures on the battlefield. Like, the whole world is fighting against them, and not just Ukraine.

Telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric distribute ads from the Ukrainian website OLX allegedly selling ambulances. The authors claim that the 92nd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is engaged in the illegal sale of cars. They also add that the military first collects money for these vehicles, and then they resell them and thus earn money. That is, they are cashing in on the Ukrainians. Information about the collection for the brigade (and its results) is added to the publications and the cars are compared with the announcements on the OLX website. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project managed to analyze the case, explaining that the 92nd brigade does not sell ambulances that they received from fundraising. The brands and type of cars in the photo with the collection are different from those exhibited at OLX. Fact-checkers studied the social networks of volunteers who carry out meetings specifically for the 92nd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The pages publish the call to the meeting, their results, etc. The cars that are in the posts with the collection and are sold on OLX are different. They differ in brand and appearance. Actually fact-checkers also investigated the OLX site for the sale of cars. They noted that the cars have civilian Ukrainian and European numbers. At the same time, vehicles registered with a military unit have black military numbers. This can be seen in the fundraising publications for the 92nd Brigade.

That is, the propagandists did not provide any evidence that the Ukrainian troops are reselling cars for which they used to raise funds. The authors used random ads from the OLX platform, although these vehicles have nothing to do with the 92nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Russians are successfully destroying Ukrainian hardware. They say that the technique of the Russians is of better quality and nothing will interfere with it. As an example, the authors write that on June 9, in the Donetsk region, a Russian army drone destroyed a Ukrainian tank without any problems. Video evidence is added to the publications. 

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case, explaining that on June 9, the Russians fired on a dummy tank. It was not a real tank, but a bait for the invaders. The officer of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Afanasiev posted a video of the consequences of the hit on his social media page. In the video, he said that until the last moment he did not believe that the Russian military would “fall for” the bait prepared by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The military can use such decoys to get the opponent to use a weapon for nothing. This is what the Ukrainian military wanted. In the end, it is impossible to say that the Russians do not destroy Ukrainian equipment on the battlefield, because this is more than possible during the course of the war.

However, propagandists deliberately exaggerate the importance of the “destroyed” equipment on the battlefield, thus hinting at the supposedly low combat capability of the Ukrainian army. Analysts of Detector Media have repeatedly explained cases in which propagandists allegedly claimed that the Russian army destroyed a certain amount of weapons. However, this turned out to be a lie.

Thus, the authors try to hide their own failures by masquerading as “effective destruction of weapons”. For example, we refuted a fake claiming that Russia “destroyed” five Patriot launchers.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine is using munitions unsuitable for combat. They say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are sorely lacking weapons, so the military is using old weapons. The authors add that in this way the equipment will break down quickly, and nothing will resist Russian technology. They add to the publication a photograph allegedly from the Ukrainian composition of weapons.

The case was noticed by StopFake fact-checkers who found out that the thesis about the use of damaged weapons is unfounded. The propagandists did not provide evidence, since in fact the image is a warehouse of Russian weapons, which was recently found by the State Special Transport Service in the Kharkiv region. Suitable shells were given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the damaged ones were disposed of. That is, the photo showed Russian weapons and the shells were indeed damaged. However, this does not apply to the Ukrainian army and their combat stock.

The propagandists reflected the situation and passed off Russian equipment as Ukrainian. The authors use the rhetoric about the use of damaged ammunition or equipment to convince the lack of decent combat capability in the Ukrainian army. Thus, it is propagandists’ wishful thinking, they say that Ukraine allegedly constantly loses.

The Russian segment, Facebook and media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock asked Ukraine not to call Leopard tanks German. Baerbock allegedly asked the media not to name the Leopard tanks destroyed in Ukraine as German. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. Annalena Baerbock did not ask the media not to call the Leopard tanks German. Experts have determined that open source searches in German, English and Russian lead to Russian propaganda sites and the Russian segment of social networks. Also, on the website of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs there are no texts with a similar request from Annalena Baerbock.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Germany and the assistance provided to Ukraine by Western partners. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that Ukraine could join NATO if it gave up the territories occupied by Russia.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian military has begun to complain about Western equipment. Allegedly, it is not adapted for Ukraine, and in general it is because of it that Ukraine “experiences failures” in the counteroffensive. The authors refer to the material of The Wall Street Journal. This is manipulation. 

The fact-checkers of the Stop Fake project took up the case, and found out that the article does not talk about the Ukrainian military complaining about Western weapons, especially justifying the “unsuccessful counteroffensive”. Journalists from The Wall Street Journal interviewed several Ukrainian servicemen participating in the battles in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk directions. One of the fighters noted that, in his opinion, MaxxPro armored vehicles are not suitable for moving through swampy areas. And according to him, such cars hardly pass swampy areas. It was this phrase that the propagandists used and distorted the entire context of the quote. The military did not criticize or justify “failures” in the counteroffensive. He talked about the features of the operation of a particular technique. 

Thus, the authors once again promote false messages about broken or malfunctioning Western weapons. So, they want to show that the Ukrainian army is constantly losing and even innovative Western technology does not help.