Spilnota Detector Media

Fake Russians “massively destroy” tanks M1 “Abrams”

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Russians are destroying Abrams tanks en masse. Like, they are so poor quality that they “burn like matches”. In addition, the authors of the reports are convinced that “the unwise production of Abrams tanks from depleted uranium negatively affects both the military and future generations due to chemical poisoning of the population”. It is not true.

The experts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the US Army M1 Abrams battle tank has not yet been delivered to Ukraine and therefore cannot “burn like a match” during military operations against the Russian occupiers. The Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive American tanks by the fall of 2023.

In addition, the thesis about the “danger of shells from depleted uranium” is untrue. Yes, pure uranium is a radioactive element, but not depleted. Some countries are armed with tanks with depleted uranium shells.

To put it simply, the projectile “does not emit” radiation and only threatens Russian tankers. Exposure to radioactive radiation from depleted uranium is insignificant.

We recall that earlier analysts of Detector Media refuted the fake about the alleged destruction of the first M1 Abrams tank near Soledar. We also refuted the destruction of another tank on the battlefield - Leopard. We explained the message in which we claimed that only the foreign legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses foreign equipment on the  battlefield.

Fake The Russians “hit” the tank “Leopard2A5” near Vuhledar

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Russians “hit” a Leopard2A5 tank with an RPG-76. As evidence, the authors of the messages add to the publication a photograph of an allegedly Russian military man who is aiming at a Leopard2A5 tank. At the same time, there is a patch with the flag of Russia on the military uniform. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated the case and found out that the photo actually depicts a Lebanese military and Israeli Merkava tank, and a patch with the Russian flag was added in a photo editor.

The fact checkers decided to find the real photo through a reverse image search using the TinEye tool. Among the results of the search is a publication on the Twitter of the Lebanese Armed Forces, from where the propagandists took the photo.

Earlier, analysts of Detector Media denied the fake, which said that the Russians allegedly destroyed the first Leopard tank on the battlefield.

Manipulation The aircraft delivered from Poland and Slovakia are ineffective, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said

In the Kremlin propaganda media, there were reports that the planes transferred to Ukraine by Poland and Slovakia are not effective in combat conditions. Like, this was recognized by the leadership of the Air Force of Ukraine. In their messages, propagandists refer to the words of the speaker of the Air Force, Yurii Ihnat, on the air of the Rada TV channel. Propaganda theses about the inefficiency of the aircraft appeared against the backdrop of news about the transfer of MIG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.

In fact, according to StopFake, the Russian media took out of context a quote from the representative of the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat. He did not say that planes from Poland and Slovakia were ineffective. Ihnat said that these planes would help Ukraine on the battlefield while patrolling the airspace, covering strike groups of Ukrainian bombers and other cases.

However, by spreading such fakes, Russian propaganda seeks to create the appearance that Ukraine's partners let Ukraine down, because they are sending unnecessary weapons that allegedly will not help the Ukrainian army in any way.

Manipulation The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is convinced that Ukraine will not receive Western fighters

Such information appeared in the Russian propaganda media. Reports say that the fact that Ukraine will not receive planes from abroad was allegedly announced by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Like, Ukraine is already desperate and there is no optimism that fighters from partners will still arrive. However, this is manipulation.

As StopFake analysts found out, propagandists distorted Dmytro Kuleba's commentary to the German publication Bild am Sonntag.

In fact, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine, on the contrary, has no doubt that it will receive fighter jets from allied countries. However, he added that the acquisition process could take a long time despite the work being done.

Propagandists use such manipulation to reassure the audience that Ukraine will not receive weapons from Western partners to fight Russia. They say that even Ukrainian officials do not believe in new deliveries, so there will definitely not be weapons. Thus, Russia creates the appearance that Ukraine is allegedly losing the support of the West and will soon be left without any help.

Manipulation The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have the equipment to create full-fledged units

This thesis was spread on social networks and in the propaganda media. The reports say that the West did not provide the Armed Forces with the necessary amount of equipment to create full-fledged units. Like, the Ukrainian military has no weapons. The authors of the messages refer to the material of “Forbes”. This is a manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to this case, investigating that propagandists distorted the context of the material. As the fact-checkers explain, the Forbes article says that the lack of heavy equipment in some units is not a problem at all and is a “temporary state of affairs”. A military journalist explained in his material that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have enough other weapons. He gives the example that while heavy tanks have not arrived on the battlefield, the Ukrainian army already has “a bunch of other weapons, including lightly armored tanks”. That is, the military journalist did not say that there were “not enough weapons” in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but on the contrary, he talked about the presence of “a bunch of other weapons”, at the same time he called the absence of heavy tanks a matter of time.

Propagandists systematically spread manipulations designed to discredit the West and allegedly show that the Western countries allegedly do not care about Ukraine, which will not be sent the promised weapons and so on. Thus, the authors of the messages discredit Western partners and undermine Ukrainians' confidence in the West.

Detector Media has repeatedly refuted fakes about Western weapons, for example, about the destruction of an American M1 Abrams tank near Soledar, which had not yet been handed over to Ukraine. He also denied the fake creation of Leopard 2 tanks with so-called “nuclear warheads” and explained the message that the West came up with a new deadly weapon called “tectonic weapons” to punish Turkey with an earthquake.

Fake The Russians captured the German tank “Leopard”

A photo of a German Leopard tank allegedly captured by the Russians with a Russian flag attached is circulating on social networks. Like, the tank went on the attack near Bakhmut, but got stuck in a swamp after a hundred meters. It is not true.

The spread of the fake was recorded by the fact-checkers of the NotaYenota project. They found out that Russians used a photo published on one of the Dutch sites back in 2007 for this message. The Russian flag was added to it. There is no evidence that the Russians managed to capture a German tank.

After the decision to supply tanks to Ukraine, propagandists launched a campaign to discredit them, saying that they would not help on the battlefield, they would be burned right away. Also, the Russians have already spread fakes about the destruction of the first Leopard tank.

Manipulation In the number of tanks that Germany will give to Ukraine, Nazi symbols were encrypted

Messages are circulating on the net that the alleged number of tanks that Germany will transfer to Ukraine is not accidental. They are talking about 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks. Users claim that Nazi symbols were encrypted in these numbers: 88 - two eight letters of Latin (HH - Heil Hitler), 14 - the slogan of white racists from 14 words. This is manipulation.

The statement about encrypted characters in the number of tanks is a conspiracy theory. Moreover, finally Germany will transfer more tanks. First, the German government announced the supply of 14 Leopard 2 A6 battle tanks to Ukraine from the stocks of the Bundeswehr. According to VoxCheck fact-checkers, according to NATO standards, a tank company consists of 14 tanks. That is, this figure has nothing to do with Nazi symbols. Somewhat later, they announced the delivery of 88 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. However, the German federal government finally approved the delivery of 178 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine.

Russian propaganda used the coincidence and came up with a “hidden meaning” in the number of tanks it plans to deliver to Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda not only nourished the narrative that Nazism reigns in Ukraine, but also tries to discredit military assistance to Ukraine from other states. Previously, propaganda spread fakes, as if the Ukrainian military were awarding “Nazi” awards and allegedly fascist crosses were depicted on Ukrainian armored vehicles.

Fake The first tank “Leopard” destroyed by Russians on the battlefield

Such a message was circulated on social networks, including telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that the Russian military on the battlefield has already destroyed the first Leopard tank with the help of Russian equipment. The authors attach to the publication the testimonies of the so-called “foreign mercenaries” who were allowed to drive the tank. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council explains that this statement is not true, since not a single Leopard is even on the battlefield yet. Accordingly, the testimonies of “foreign mercenaries” are also false.

By spreading this fake, propagandists want to distort reality and show that Ukraine is constantly losing and even powerful equipment does not help, because the Russians are successfully destroying it. In addition, Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. Thus, propaganda wants to create an appearance that is actually at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called collective West.

We recall that earlier Detector Media refuted the fake about the destruction of the American M1 Abrams tank near Soledar and explained the message in which they claimed that only the foreign legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses foreign equipment on the field of battle.

Message The West does not allow the Ukrainian military to use its equipment as “foreign mercenaries” are engaged in this

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on Telegram broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that all operators of foreign weapons, such as the Challenger 2 tanks or the AS90 artillery mount, are “foreign mercenaries”. They say that Western countries do not trust Ukrainians and entrust their equipment on the battlefield only to foreigners. The authors of the reports note that the Ukrainian army is only engaged in “protecting equipment” and in some cases, according to them, “foreigners allow Ukrainians to steer”.

Such a thesis is unfounded, because the Ukrainian military use foreign weapons on their own. For example, recently a group of Ukrainian military arrived in the UK to train to use the AS90 self-propelled artillery mount. Earlier, the British government announced that it would transfer Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine for use. This indicates that the Ukrainian army and Ukrainians in particular are entrusted with the use of weapons. This is not the only case when the Ukrainian army is sent for training and taught to use foreign weapons.

As for the so-called “foreign mercenaries”, Russian propaganda replaces the concept and calls the foreign legion mercenaries. The Foreign Legion is legally part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the exact number of its members is not reported, like all other fighters. In theory, both the Ukrainian military and members of the foreign legion can use weapons. The ban does not apply to Ukrainians or the foreign legion, since they are all part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Accordingly, foreign countries, sending their weapons for use to Ukraine, give the Armed Forces of Ukraine the right to operate them.

Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. 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%. Thus, propaganda wants to create an appearance that is actually at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called collective West.

Fake Zelenskyi asked the earthquake-affected Turks for military equipment

Such a fake was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that against the backdrop of earthquakes that took place in Turkey, Volodymyr Zelenskyi turned to the victims with the goal of “pulling even more weapons”. Like, instead of compassion and words of support, Zelenskyi showed “hypocrisy” and demanded even more weapons. The authors of the messages add a likely screenshot from Twitter, where he allegedly wrote that “Turkey will be able to overcome the tragedy, and the supply of weapons will not stop”. It is not true.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and determined that Zelenskyi did not actually write such a thing, but a screenshot with a message was created using graphic editors. Analysts add that the official account first published an appeal in Turkish, and then in Ukrainian. The fake screenshot did not show the post in Turkish. Moreover, the fabricated nature of the screenshot is indicated by spelling errors, in particular the spelling of “my”.

By spreading such a fake, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Zelenskyi and present him as a beggar, as if the only thing he does is he begs for money and weapons from other countries.

We recall that Detector Media described the main messages that propagandists spread during Zelenskyi's visit to the UK, France and Belgium. In particular, among the many messages it was said that Volodymyr Zelenskyi was begging for weapons from the West.

Manipulation US refuses to transfer Abrams tanks

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. It says the US is unlikely to hand over the Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of their difficult process of maintaining combat capability. The authors of the report add that the Ukrainian army is not capable of repairing tanks, so they will definitely not be sent. As evidence, they refer to the material of the Financial Times, where supposedly experts talked about this. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found out that neither the author of the article nor the experts interviewed stated that the United States was not ready to transfer the tanks. On the contrary, the publication says that after long discussions and requests from Germany and Ukraine, America nevertheless decided to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which is equivalent to one Ukrainian tank battalion. The fact-checkers note that the reporters only cited experts interviewed by the Financial Times who expressed concern about whether Ukraine could actually handle the maintenance of the tank. That is, the context of the article was distorted and the authors used convenient propaganda theses to justify “the unwillingness of the United States to transfer tanks”.

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists are trying to convince that the Ukrainian military is not capable of using Western weapons, they say, they don’t even know how to repair them. Thus, they also want to promote the narrative about the combat-ready Russian technology, which has no equal in the world. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake story about the alleged destruction of the Abrams tank by the Russian army, which had not yet arrived in Ukraine.

Manipulation More than 90% of Germans are against the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Pro-Kremlin media disseminate information that, according to a poll, 94% of German citizens do not support the supply of tanks to Ukraine. However, allegedly contrary to public opinion and under pressure from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, they were forced to agree on the supply of German tanks to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

In fact, according to the results of a regular public opinion poll, 46% of Germans supported the delivery of tanks to Ukraine, 43% were against, and another 11% refrained from answering. In terms of party affiliation: 66% of the supporters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), 61% of the Greens and 49% of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) supported the transfer of tanks to Ukraine. Among the far-right Alternative for Germany party, 84% opposed the decision. It is their opinion, as the fact-checkers of Myth Detector note, that propagandists give out in the opinion of the Germans as a whole. However, in the elections in 2021, the party won the support of 10.3% of the vote. Therefore, such generalizations are incorrect. According to a poll conducted by Civey for Der Spiegel after the decision to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, 54% of the population supported this decision.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine with weapons, relying on non-authoritative sources of information or disfigured quotes. Thus, Russia is trying to undermine the authority of Ukraine at the international level, to show the weakness of the Ukrainian government. Propagandists continued to disseminate distorted opinion polls in Germany. They wrote that allegedly more than 70% of Germans are against increasing military assistance to Ukraine, or 40% of Germans are convinced that NATO provoked Russia into a war with Ukraine.

Fake In Berlin, they urge not to provide tanks to Ukraine because of advertising

A video allegedly recorded in Berlin is being circulated on social networks. On the advertising screen on the wall of the building, a video is broadcast with a call not to provide tanks to Ukraine. The ads used images of 1943 and 2022 and the slogan “Maybe, never again?”. Social media users add that this is allegedly how the Germans are trying to remind their government about the events of the world war. It's fake.

The video was created with software. The author and date of the video is unknown. The fact-checkers of the Correctiv project have established that the screen is indeed located in Berlin. Its owners denied broadcasting such a video not only on a specific screen, but also on any other of their property.

Thus, Russian propaganda continues to oppose the supply of German tanks to Ukraine. Previously, fakes were spread about similar advertising at Stuttgart Airport. Russian propaganda also spread messages that Western tanks would not help Ukraine, the Russians would burn them down.

Message Poland benefits from the war in Ukraine lasting as long as possible

A network of telegram channels run by Russian intelligence is spreading the message that Poland is receiving huge sums of money for the repair of Ukrainian military equipment, and therefore is interested in continuing the war.

This is another Russian propaganda message about Poland, which seems to be the most interested party in the war. From the very beginning of the war, propaganda has been writing about Poland, which seems to be planning to divide Ukraine and annex or occupy the western part of Ukraine. Also, propaganda constantly promotes the message that Poland received a lot of cheap labor at the expense of Ukrainian refugees. Now propaganda is spreading the thesis that Poland seems to receive at least 10 billion dollars for the repair of Ukrainian military equipment. These figures are not supported by anything, but on January 29, The Wall Street Journal published an article about the repair of Ukrainian military equipment in Poland, which talked about a secret repair factory that restores artillery and armored vehicles. Poland will continue to repair damaged equipment, including American and European tanks, in the future, journalists write.

Poland is one of the most important partners of Ukraine, and Russian propaganda is constantly trying to present Poland as the aggressor or beneficiary of the war, once again trying to shift the responsibility for the invasion, in particular, to the United States and NATO countries.

Fake Russia destroys four Bradley armored vehicles

Russian propaganda constantly lies about the “achievement” of its army, and therefore makes mistakes. This time, as TSN drew attention, the speaker of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ihor Konashenkov, “reported” that the Russian army destroyed four Bradley infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by the United States. It's fake.

In fact, these machines have not yet been delivered to Ukraine, and only on January 16 it became known that the Ukrainian military began to learn how to operate them at training grounds in Germany.

We recall that earlier Russian propaganda constantly reported on the destruction of Haimars complexes and Bayraktar drones. If we calculate how much propaganda “destroyed” these complexes and UAVs in Ukraine, it turns out that the Russians shot down and destroyed several times more devices and complexes than they were in Ukraine at all.

Message The transfer of Leopard tanks by Poland is a “theater performance” that will not affect anything

Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels write about this after the message of Polish President Andrzej Duda about the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Propagandists write that this will not affect the front in any way. They say that these tanks will not provide Ukraine with a decisive advantage. It seems to be just a demonstration of support for Ukraine.

In fact, in this way, Russian propaganda is trying to be proactive and use the tactics of depreciation after any reports of providing new weapons to Ukraine. The same messages are now being extended to the Patriot air defense system, which the United States plans to transfer. Like, one installation will not cope with so many Russian missiles, so there will be no significant changes.

Message NATO supplies Ukraine with “scrap metal” instead of weapons

The Russian media are spreading the information that NATO is “delivering scrap metal”, that is, old, ineffective weapons to Ukraine, in order to “clean out warehouses” and “recycle old trash”. This message earlier appeared on Russian telegram channels, but this time it has a specific source - the Polish website Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny. But this is a site that was created for the dissemination of Russian propaganda, and has nothing to do with journalism.

As the journalists of the Polish True Story portal found out, most of the publications were copied from other portals. Thus, the impression of a full-fledged media is formed. The few original materials are undisguised Russian propaganda and lies. For example, it was this publication that published fabricated statements by American generals that the Poles were drunkards, drug addicts, and thieves. Most of the texts are written in poor Polish, full of Russianisms, impossible linguistic constructions occur in the texts. According to True Story, this is the result of an unsuccessful machine translation. The editor of the publication, Adam Kaminsky, is a non-existent person. The photo posted on his Twitter and Facebook accounts (both now deleted) is actually a portrait of Lithuanian traumatologist Andrius Zukauskas. Also, real Polish journalists did not find anyone who personally knows the authors of the original articles Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny.

All this proves that Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny is another fake site created solely to spread propaganda messages beneficial to Russia.

Interestingly, almost simultaneously with the message about the “scrap metal” supplied by the West to Ukraine, Russian propaganda is also spreading another one: “Ukraine has become a testing ground for testing the latest technologies and weapons”. This is one of the features of Russian propaganda: not so much to promote some kind of alternative version of reality, but to distribute as many fictional versions as possible so that the audience simply gets confused and stops trying to find the truth or facts.

And they are like this: the West supplies Ukraine with old Soviet-style weapons, which were mainly armed with the Ukrainian army, and new, modern equipment. The first is getting smaller, the second is getting bigger. And this happens for understandable and obvious reasons: the Ukrainian military knew how to fight with Soviet weapons, and therefore they were supplied by countries that still had their stocks. Now there is less and less of it, and more and more Ukrainian soldiers are learning how to use modern Western weapons, while Europe and the United States are supplying more and more of it.

Disclosure Manipulative photos of “new” Russian tanks are being distributed online

Photos of new Russian tanks, which are placed in a special hangar, are being circulated on social networks. In the comments to the photo, they scoff, saying that “Russia has run out of tanks” and praise the military might of Russia.

However, this photo is old. It was made in October 2012 during Volodymyr Putin's visit to the “Uralvagonzavod”, an enterprise for the repair of military vehicles and the production of military tanks, located in Nizhnyi Tagil. Fact-checkers of the Delfi project found the original source of the image - an article by the Russian portal “Kommersant”, its author is Dmytro Azarov, the photographer of this publication. The photo has nothing to do with current events and does not reflect the real state of affairs with the equipment of the Russian army.

Message They constantly lie to Ukrainians about the number of Russian missiles

On January 31, during a massive rocket attack on Ukraine, anonymous telegram channels spread the message that the Ukrainian authorities were hiding the truth about the number of Russian missiles. Allegedly, government officials downplay the number of Russian missiles fired at Ukraine and reassure people that Russia will soon run out of missile stocks.

Like, the reality is completely different, and this evidence is a photograph of the sky over the Russian city of Astrakhan, covered with traces of launched missiles.

In fact, neither the Ukrainian authorities nor the Department of Strategic Communications of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hide the number of missiles that Russia fired at Ukraine, nor are they silent about the consequences of the hits and the results of the work of the Ukrainian air defense forces.

In the Ukrainian information space, a photograph of the sky with traces of launched Russian missiles was distributed by the Strategic Communications Department of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The sky in Astrakhan. Traces of “gifts” from the invaders who launched them in the direction of Ukraine. The bastards won't calm down”.

Russian propagandists spread such messages in order to intimidate Ukrainians and cause distrust in the authorities.

Fake Zelenskyi sat on Santa's lap and asked for another $50 billion

The holiday is coming and the fakes invented by Russian propaganda are becoming more and more like fairy tales. The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector edition recorded the distribution of a photo collage in Russian telegram channels, where Volodymyr Zelenskyi is supposedly sitting on Santa Claus’s lap and “asking him for another 50 billion dollars”. It's fake.

It was created by the American fictional satirical news outlet Babylon Bee. Today, on the front page of this publication is the news that Max will remain in the position of CEO of Twitter, if they count the votes received by mail. Also, that Cain killed Abel in the field, and not at home, so that the elf on the mantelpiece would not see this. Obviously, the news about Zelenskyi was about US President Joseph Biden signing a budget for next year, in which $ 45 billion is allocated to help Ukraine and its allies. This year, financial assistance to Ukraine amounted to $ 28 billion - and this does not include the cost of weapons transferred by partners of the Ukrainian army.

Message The US provides Patriot complexes to prolong the war in Ukraine

A network of telegram channels, led by Russian intelligence, is spreading the following message: it seems that the United States has volunteered to provide Ukraine with air defense, including Patriot systems, in order to prolong the war in Ukraine. It seems that this is being done so that the United States continues to earn on the supply of weapons and to continue the effect of sanctions in order to weaken the European economy.

This is another invention of Russian propaganda. Ukraine has repeatedly turned to European partners, the United States and Israel, to get modern air defense systems, especially after Russia launched massive rocket attacks on energy infrastructure. Israel refused Ukraine. Germany, after two rockets fell on the territory of Poland and two people died, offered its own “Patriots” to Poland, but Poland made a different proposal: to send the complexes to Ukraine. Finally, Germany refused after a lot of consultation and evasion. But now these complexes have been agreed to be supplied to Ukraine by the United States. America is doing this precisely on the persistent appeals of Ukraine, which wants to get the Patriot complex in order to better protect both the population and the military.

The thesis about the “prolongation” of the war is also one of the common messages of Russian propaganda, which first threatened to “seize” Ukraine in two weeks, and then came up with “the prolongation of the war by the United States” to explain its own defeats at the front.

The war has led to many consequences, including an energy crisis, and is not beneficial to Ukraine, the US, the EU, or Russia itself, which can stop it at any moment. And it is Russia that is responsible for protracting this war.

The US provides Patriot complexes to prolong the war in Ukraine.

A network of telegram channels, led by Russian intelligence, is spreading the following message: it seems that the United States has volunteered to provide Ukraine with air defense, including Patriot systems, in order to prolong the war in Ukraine. It seems that this is being done so that the United States continues to earn on the supply of weapons and to continue the effect of sanctions in order to weaken the European economy.

This is another invention of Russian propaganda. Ukraine has repeatedly turned to European partners, the United States and Israel, to get modern air defense systems, especially after Russia launched massive rocket attacks on energy infrastructure. Israel refused Ukraine. Germany, after two rockets fell on the territory of Poland and two people died, offered its own “Patriots” to Poland, but Poland made a different proposal: to send the complexes to Ukraine. Finally, Germany refused after a lot of consultation and evasion. But now these complexes have been agreed to be supplied to Ukraine by the United States. America is doing this precisely on the persistent appeals of Ukraine, which wants to get the Patriot complex in order to better protect both the population and the military.

The thesis about the “prolongation” of the war is also one of the common messages of Russian propaganda, which first threatened to “seize” Ukraine in two weeks, and then came up with “the prolongation of the war by the United States” to explain its own defeats at the front.

The war has led to many consequences, including an energy crisis, and is not beneficial to Ukraine, the US, the EU, or Russia itself, which can stop it at any moment. And it is Russia that is responsible for protracting this war.

Fake Russia used a powerful vacuum bomb to strike the Armed Forces of Ukraine

On social networks and through pro-Russian telegram channels, a video with a powerful explosion is being distributed. The comments note that these are footage of the alleged detonation of the ODAB-500P volumetric detonating (vacuum) air bomb dropped by the Russian Su-34 bomber on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is not true. The video has nothing to do with Ukraine. According to StopFake, it was probably filmed in Syria. This video has been circulating online since at least December 2019, that is, before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, it was the Russian media that published these footage in 2019 and, with the help of military experts, found out whether the explosion of a vacuum bomb was actually recorded on the video, or, perhaps, it was the use of other weapons. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to demoralize Ukrainians with its "advantages" in armament and "victories" at the front. Previously, Russian propaganda passed off footage from a video game as the “destruction” of a Ukrainian tank division. 

Message Russia has not yet begun to fight in full because of the kindness of the Russians

After the surrender of Kherson, Russian propagandists launched theses on social networks that victory for Russia was inevitable. On November 12, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmytro Medvediev made a statement in confirmation. They say that Russia has so far allegedly not used its "arsenal of means of destruction" and "did not strike at all possible hostile targets located in populated areas", including because of the "human kindness" characteristic of Russians.

Manipulation More than 70% of Germans are against increasing military aid to Ukraine

Such information is disseminated in social networks. The authors of the publications allegedly refer to a survey conducted for the German TV program ARD-Deutschland Trend. Russian media write that the Germans rebelled against the increase in military assistance to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

As StopFake writes, the German company Infratest Dimap really conducted a survey commissioned by the German TV program ARD-Deutschland Trend. Such surveys are carried out systematically. This time, 1,307 Germans with the right to vote expressed their opinion. The survey was conducted over the phone or online from 31 October to 2 November. The question on the supply of weapons to Ukraine sounded like this: “Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. Germany reacted to this with different steps. Please indicate below in each case whether they are appropriate, excessive or insufficient (…) regarding German arms support for Ukraine?”. That is, in this case, they estimated the number of weapons, and did not investigate issues of support.

A total of 41% of Germans consider the volume of military assistance sufficient, which is 2% more than in August this year. 30% of Germans consider excessive deliveries of weapons - this is 2% less compared to August. 21% called aid to Ukraine insufficient, which is also 2% less than two months ago. The remaining 8% probably found it difficult to answer.

Fake Dozens of dangerous small explosive devices found in Lviv

A fake is spreading in the Ukrainian segment of social networks that dozens of small explosive devices have been found in Lviv that can tear off a person’s limb. One of these pictures was shared almost 65,000 times.

In fact, as fact-checkers from StopFake write, no explosive devices were found in Lviv, this information was provided to journalists upon request by the Lviv police. It is interesting that the photo with the same subject is also distributed by Russian local media, in particular in Rostov. Most likely in the photo it is a broken electronic disposable cigarette without a case.