Spilnota Detector Media

Manipulation The Americans accused the United States and Ukraine of stealing $ 40 billion

Russian media are actively spreading the news that the Americans have accused the United States and Ukraine of stealing $ 40 billion in military aid. In particular, RIA-Novosti wrote about it. Do reports say that under the news of allocating a new tranche of aid, Americans ask the authorities where the previously given money went? Also, Americans under this post seem to be concerned about the use of taxpayers' funds and financial responsibility for government actions. Russian propaganda turned the comments of anonymous users into loud headlines such as: "Where did the money go?", "Ukrainians spent the previous 40 billion too quickly!" etc. However, all this is manipulation. According to StopFake, the news was made based on the comments of seven anonymous users of the social network Twitter. Their authors are not opinion leaders, experts, or analysts. In addition, comments were added almost simultaneously, which is a sign of the activity of bots. Therefore, it is evident that such an opinion cannot reliably reflect Americans' views. Russian media often use this technique to create news and mislead readers artificially. It is not the first time Russian propaganda has tried to discredit US aid to Ukraine. Earlier, we wrote about how similar attempts were made based on extracted citations from an article published in The Wall Street Journal. Similarly, during the week, propaganda used comments from individual social media users from France and Germany to spread the idea that citizens of these countries did not support and "dislike" Ukraine.

Fake At the Kharkiv Hospital №28, the Ukrainian military set up an artillery depot

Russian propaganda media spread this information. In particular, the publication RT. In Kharkiv, the Ukrainian army deployed artillery and MRL in the city hospital №28. In their texts, the journalists refer to the head of the National Defense Management Center of Russia, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev. However, this is a fake. Journalists from the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center asked the city council for comment, where they denied Mizintsev's words and called them nonsense. Recently, similar information about weapons depots has been spread about other hospitals in the city. The Department of Health of the Kharkiv City Council also noted that there is no army or terrorist defense in medical institutions in Kharkiv. We will remind the Russian propaganda, not for the first time invents stories about warehouses of the weapon in Ukraine placed on civilian objects, particularly in hospitals, schools, and shopping centers. Recently, the fake about the placement of firing points in Odesa schools was refuted by the head of the Odesa RMA, Serhiy Bratchuk.

Fake Russian air defense shot down a Ukrainian AN-26 aircraft carrying weapons in the sky over Odesa

Information about this is disseminated online. The reports claim that the Russian system allegedly shot down a Ukrainian AN-26 plane with weapons and military equipment consignment over Odesa on June 5. The authors of such posts refer to the message of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. However, it is not valid.

Manipulation The United States is harming Ukraine and is delaying arms supplies

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, gave an interview to the Russian newspaper RIA Novosti, in which he accused the United States of deliberately prolonging Ukraine's predicament. "The United States is prolonging the troubles of Ukraine. The United States is prolonging this bad period for Ukraine, for the people of Ukraine," Peskov said. The statement was widely circulated in the Russian media. For example, RT wrote that the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov announced that America was prolonging Ukraine's troubles and delaying the process of arms supply, which was terrible for the country. In fact, Peskov's words are manipulation and an emotional reaction to the unprecedented assistance the United States provides to Ukraine. It is almost 54 billion dollars allocated by the US Congress. The total amount of aid includes the cost of weapons that the United States supplies to Ukraine. Also, in his statement, Peskov "forgot" to say that it was because of Russia that "all the troubles" and the "bad period" arose in Ukraine. Silencing the root causes and shifting one's responsibility for war crimes against Ukraine to anyone else (Ukraine, the United States, the collective West) is part of the information policy of the occupiers. Of course, it is more advantageous for Russia to leave Ukraine without help and support because, unfortunately, we will not be able to resist such an enemy on our own. Also, in this way, Peskov is somewhat intimidating, saying that even Ukraine's partners in this war are only harming it. Hinting that as long as the United States sends weapons, the war will continue. However, the war in Ukraine began not because of actions but because of an attack by Russia, which, in particular, with the help of American weapons, Ukraine is resisting.

Manipulation The United States is concerned about the disappearance of billions of dollars sent to Kyiv

This message was spread by the Russian media and social networks concerning an article in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), published on June 13. Russian propaganda has traditionally exaggerated information and speaks of "ordinary sawing" and "expected theft." However, the quotes announced by the Russian media are taken out of context and distort the opinion expressed in the original source. The fact-checkers from StopFake drew attention to the manipulation. The WSJ published an article about how much money the United States spends daily on military aid to Ukraine under the headline: "Since billions go to Ukraine, officials are concerned about the possibility of fraud and waste." It reports that the United States sends about $ 130 million a day in aid to Ukraine (including the cost of weapons, not just money as such). The US Congress has also allocated nearly $ 54 billion to Ukraine, exceeding annual aid to any other country, including aid sent to Afghanistan at the peak of US military involvement there. The article's authors, referring to the opinion of American politicians, draw attention to the need to establish an effective mechanism for controlling the allocated funds, which did not happen at the beginning of the war due to the need to respond quickly to challenges. That is, Americans want to be sure that the money allocated goes to their goals. And this is natural, given the amount of funding.

Manipulation The Armed Forces refuse to fight with weapons provided by the West

Russian media reported that the Ukrainian military allegedly refused to fight with weapons provided by Western partners. This thesis is disseminated concerning a CNN article. CNN does have a paragraph saying that "some units (AFUs) prefer to use commercial drones equipped with explosives" instead of the American Switchblade. In other words, it is already clear from this quote that this is not a mass renunciation of all Western weapons by the Armed Forces, and Russian propaganda has distorted CNN material. Another quote from the material confirms this: "In some cases, according to one of the sources familiar with American intelligence, Ukraine has simply decided not to use unfamiliar Western systems."

Fake Russia destroyed 186 aircraft and 129 helicopters of the Armed Forces

Following the results of the three-month full-scale war against Ukraine, the Russian General Staff announced that "...the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 186 aircraft and 129 helicopters since the beginning of the SMO in Ukraine...", "...the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 1,084 UAVs and 3,373 units of armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the special operation ". Specialists of the Zaporizhzhia Center of Investigation compared the figures of the Russian General Staff with official data and proved that what was said could not be true. Thus, according to information from the World Air Forces 2022 directory, at the end of 2021, Ukraine had 134 fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, and transport aircraft under the command of the Air Force. Another four are in the fleet. Total - 138 units. In this way, if the Russians report 186 "trophies," it turns out that they destroyed 30% more military aircraft than Ukraine had before the war. According to the same directory, at the beginning of 2022, there were 112 helicopters in Ukraine. Of them, 15, 88, and 9 belong to aviation, army, and navy.

Fake Azov fighters crucified and burned the militant alive

The fake, repeatedly refuted, is spreading on social networks again - about the crucifixion of an LPR soldier by the Azov Battalion. The VoxCheck project drew attention to this.

This video, in which a man is allegedly crucified and set on fire, has existed since 2015. Then the Russian media spread the video about the group "Kiber Berkut" - a Russian or pro-Russian hacker group - which allegedly received this video from the Azov fighters. According to the publication, there is no confirmation of the reality of this video or the fact that there is no Azov fighter in the video. Moreover, it is impossible to identify people on the video or confirm that it is not a production video.

At the same time, Kiber ​​Berkut has repeatedly disseminated fakes created by this group - non-existent orders, documents, fake videos, and photos allegedly obtained by Ukrainian hacking websites. The Azov Regiment reported in 2015 that it had nothing to do with this video. In addition, even the Russian media outlets that distributed the video wrote that there was no evidence that the video was authentic. But after the start of a massive information campaign against Azov in the Russian media in early 2022, this fake is again actively spread - and without the postscript "unverified video."

Fake The Ukrainian military, blocked at the Azot plant, is holding hostages

This thesis is spread by pro-Kremlin propaganda media, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. Reports say that Russian invaders allegedly "blocked 300-400 Ukrainian servicemen" on the Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk territory. Russian media also claim that the UAF fighters are "holding hostages" at the plant and "negotiating the occupiers" capture. However, this is not true.

In fact, according to StopFake fact-checkers, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to control the Azot industrial zone and chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region. Also, the Armed Forces do not hold hostages - people are hiding in the bomb shelters of the plant from the continuous Russian shelling. According to the head of the Luhansk DMA, Sergey Gaidai, Russia has failed to establish "quick and easy" control over the city, as announced. Gaidai also denied reports that "the Ukrainian military is blocked at the plant and wants to be taken, prisoner." "Information about the blockade of the Nitrogen plant is a complete lie spread by Russian propagandists. The rest of the "details" are a sick fantasy of Rodion Miroshnyk, a collaborator. Our people are holding the Sievierodonetsk industrial zone and destroying the Russian army in the city," Gaidai said.

Fake Caliber missiles destroyed many anti-tank missile systems, portable anti-aircraft missile systems, and shells in the Ternopil region, which Kyiv received from the United States and Europe

On June 11, at 9:46 p.m., Russians fired four rockets at the city of Chortkiv in the Ternopil region. Russian propagandists claim to have destroyed weapons. But this is not true! The head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil region, Oleksandr Bogomol, said there were no weapons at the targets. "We see this as a crime, as a blow to the civilian population," Bogomol said.

The head of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration, Volodymyr Trush, said that part of the military facility was destroyed and four 5-story buildings were damaged. Twenty-two people were injured, including children. SES units rescued 12 people from the rubble, including two children. The detonation damaged the gas pipeline.

Fake The Armed Forces are preparing a provocation at the place of mass burial of plague victims in Odesa

This fabrication was spread by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense. "To do this, in a densely populated area of ​​the city near the service station of the regional ambulance, where the burial place of plague victims, the Armed Forces plans to place an air defense complex or its model," said the head of Russia's National Defense Management Center Mikhail Mizintsev. According to him, hundreds of civilians may be injured during this provocation. The colonel-general also noted that if the Russian military strikes at the complex, Kyiv will spread information in the media "about the emergence of biological danger allegedly through the fault of the Russian military".

There is indeed a cemetery in Odesa, where thousands of victims of the plagues of 1812, 1829, and 1837 were buried. It is a famous mountain, popularly called "Chumka." The regional sanitary-epidemiological station has repeatedly warned that it is forbidden to touch the Plague Mountain and everything stored in it. And although the risk of infection is minimal, it is still there. Epidemiologist Valeriy Sushko says that the plague is not as persistent as, for example, anthrax, so there is nothing to fear.

A spokesman for the head of the Odesa regional military administration, Serhiy Bratchuk, stressed that the so-called news of the provocation as part of Russia's information and psychological operation aimed at fueling panic among Ukrainians.

"Another goal is to conduct an information and psychological operation by the enemy and an" information alibi "for the use of weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine," Bratchuk added.

Fake In Kharkiv, the Ukrainian military has set up weapons depots in the buildings of the road clinical hospital, and patients are being held there against their will

Such reports are spread by Russian propaganda media, citing a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry. According to the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, the Russian Defense Ministry said that in Kharkiv in the buildings of the road clinical hospital (Igor Muratov Street), city hospital № 25 (Alexander Avenue), endocrinology clinic of the Institute of Endocrine Pathology (Gurevich Street) and children's clinic 23 (Metrobudivnykiv Street), soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine equipped firing points and ammunition depots. The Ministry of Defense also added that hospital staff and patients were forcibly detained to ensure their safety. However, this is not true. According to fact-checkers in the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Kharkiv City Council, there are no checkpoints, army, and terrorist defense in the medical institutions of Kharkiv.

Fake The United States has mistakenly provided Ukraine with two $ 9 million tactical nuclear missiles

In the Russian segment of social networks, they spread the fake that the United States allegedly provided Ukraine with two tactical nuclear missiles worth $ 9 million. The messages say that it happened allegedly due to a mistake made by an American Kleine Brogel Air Base employee in Belgium, "Matthew Kovalchuk," for which the Pentagon now punishes him.

According to Myth Detector, the source of the "news" was the Russian satirical publication panorama.pub. Panorama.pub warns that the news published on the resource is not true but is a "grotesque parody of reality."

Manipulation The Pentagon studies enthusiastic Russian technology because it wants to get "advanced technology"

Russian media have reported that Pentagon officials are studying Russian equipment seized in Ukraine, including the Dagger missile, to "copy and get something for themselves." Russian propaganda refers to an article in The New York Times in these reports.

According to StopFake, the American publication did write that researchers from the Pentagon came to Ukraine to analyze Russian technology. However, their trip explores how Russia's military-industrial complex uses Western technology. "Researchers have found that ammunition and equipment, including missile guidance systems and laser rangefinders, contain microchips, printed circuit boards, motors, and antennas manufactured in the United States and the European Union," the statement said. "Currently, several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are investigating how components of their production entered Russia's weapons systems to circumvent the arms embargo."

Fact-checkers recalled that back in 2014, after Russia's occupation of Crimea, the United States and other EU countries imposed the first restrictions on supplying weapons and selling high-performance computer chips to Russian companies. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, an embargo was imposed on the supply of advanced technologies to Russia, such as the export of semiconductors, computers, lasers, telecommunications equipment, etc. At the same time, the NYT material refers to X-101 cruise missiles, Azart radio stations, and reconnaissance drones, but there are no Dagger missiles among them.

Read more.

Fake At the railcar repair plant in Kyiv, where Russian missiles hit, tanks and other armored vehicles were provided to Ukraine by Eastern European countries

On the morning of June 5, after the explosions in Kyiv, pro-Kremlin telegram channels circulated two theses.

The first is "this is for you for Donetsk." On Saturday evening, June 4, propaganda media reported that "a series of explosions took place in Donetsk… The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired 40 shells from the “Grad, "the blow fell on the city center." "The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine reports that eyewitness reports from occupied Donetsk shatter the following statements by the Russian media: "They shoot from the Kuybyshev district, fly over Voroshilovskyi and fall in Kalininskyi," "arrival in Kalininskyi, a departure from Makiivka, everything is obvious," "there were eight flights from Makiivka East Batman, "people are beginning to understand what is happening and they need to be convinced again that Ukraine is bad. "

On Sunday morning, June 5, Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov in a telegram, "boasted" that he had flown to Kyiv for the evening shelling of Donetsk, "no one will allow anyone to shoot in Donetsk with impunity."

The second thesis was that the target of the attack was a car repair plant in Kyiv because its buildings repaired Russian-lined T-72 tanks and prepared them for sending advanced foreign military equipment imported from Poland and other Eastern European countries. The chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Kamyshin, confirmed that Russian troops had struck the Darnytsia Railcar Repair Plant (DVRZ) on the left bank of Kyiv with four missiles. "It simply came to our notice then. They hit the railroad every day; we repair it quickly and move on. One of the railway workers was injured and treated. And we promptly began to eliminate the consequences of the missiles hit, "he said. According to Kamyshin, there are no "tanks" mentioned by Russian propaganda. He invited journalists to see for themselves. "I officially declare that there is no military equipment on the territory of the DVRZ. This plant repaired gondola cars and grain trucks, which we use for export. I officially invite all Ukrainian and foreign journalists to the DVRZ today. We will confirm that Russia once again lied. And that their real goal is the economy of Ukraine and the civilian population. They want to block our opportunity to export Ukrainian products to the West. Media accreditation is required. The event is open to media representatives accredited by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, " said the Chairman of the Board of Ukrzaliznytsia.

Fake Handguns are transported in passenger cars. A missile can hit a train. Money for the canceled train is not refundable

The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine refuted the most common fakes about the movement of Ukrainian railway trains.

First, all weapons provided by partners, including hand weapons, are transported in special cars and other routes. Secondly, missiles launched by the Russian army fly on a given trajectory to the destination, so it is doubtful to hit a moving train. Third, the money will not be lost. Ukrzaliznytsia allowed the return of tickets for canceled trains due to the war. It is also important to remember that train routes change due to the nature of the fighting. The train may be delayed in the event of a rocket attack on the railway infrastructure. Ukrzaliznytsia has clarified the schedule so that the train does not arrive at its destination during the curfew.

Fake Ukraine will fire at Russia from American systems of volley fire from Shostka

It was stated at a regular briefing by the head of the National Center for Defense Management, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev. It is alleged the Ukrainian military plans are to deploy US MRL directly in the city of Shostka in the Sumy region and fire on Russia's border areas to "provoke a response and then accuse the Russian Armed Forces of indiscriminately shelling civilians and infrastructure."

In fact, American MRL will finally come to Ukraine - and plan to use it where they are needed now - on the front lines to resist Russian invaders. At the same time, there is no point in "provoking" the occupiers' fire from anywhere - they have already fired on Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and other Ukrainian cities many times, destroying Mariupol, Popasna, Rubizhne, and almost all of Sievierodonetsk. The whole world sees Russia's indiscriminate bombing and shelling of residential neighborhoods, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the shelling of evacuation vehicles and railway stations. Russia is violating all the rules of war, and experts have already acknowledged that Russians are involved in the genocide of Ukrainians. That is why Mizintsev's statement is another fake of military propaganda to convince its population that the Russians are not killing civilians in Ukraine and have not started an aggressive war.

Fake The bayraktar, which the Lithuanians bought for Ukraine, was shot down in the air in 3.5 minutes

In many posts, social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, said that the Bayraktar drone was shot down 3.5 minutes after its use. It was bought for 5 million euros collected by concerned Lithuanians. It is an outright fake that is easy to refute: the drone is not yet in Ukraine. The founder wrote it of the crowdfunding initiative on Laisves TV journalist and public figure Andrius Tapinas who actually announced the fundraising campaign.

"Unfortunately, we see sad news. Russian propaganda on social media spreads the message that our Bayraktar was already shot down and was in the air for only 3.5 minutes. The ability to shoot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that has not yet been purchased and is in the factory requires incredible anti-aircraft artillery, " he wrote, ironically. He added a few more details: almost 200,000 people were transferred funds from Lithuania in three days. Then, when it turned out that the Turkish manufacturer would make a gift to Ukraine and provide one drone for free - Lithuanian organizers decided to arm this gift for 1.5 million euros. And the amount that remained in the accounts, and where the funds are still coming, to transfer to the aid of the Ukrainian army. A campaign to choose a name for the drone is currently underway on the journalist's Facebook page.

Fact-checkers from StopFake: "The first reports of the beating of the bayraktar appeared in late May, before the end of the crowdfunding campaign."

Message Western arms supplies to Ukraine could lead to Russia's war with the United States

According to the Center for Counteracting Disinformation, this thesis was spread by several American media concerning the words of Doug Bandow, a supporter of Trump. Promoting the Russian narrative, Bandow concludes that the supply of weapons by Western countries to Ukraine could lead to a war between Russia and the United States. "Although Bandow emphasizes that Putin is solely responsible for the war in Ukraine, according to the scientist, the United States and Europe provoked the Russian president by violating" security guarantees given to Moscow. " The scientist resorted to manipulation. There could be no guarantee that NATO would not expand, as the Alliance pursued an "open door" policy. These are not the first pro-Kremlin statements by D. Bandow promoted by the Russian propaganda machine. Today, through the scientist, the Kremlin tries to persuade Ukraine to negotiate, convincing the Western world that Putin's concessions are the only way to end the war, " the Center wrote. We remind you that this is not the first time Russian propaganda has tried to promote its narratives through so-called Western experts. In this way, the propagandists want to create the appearance of support for Russia's actions by the Western world.

Fake Ukrainian military sells weapons to Syrian militants

Another fake in the grand narrative of Russian disinformation about what is happening with foreign weapons in Ukraine. Russian propaganda at first pretends that it has been "completely destroyed," and many times. Then - that it is sold to Al-Qaeda militants. Now - a new fake about the alleged purchase of Western weapons by "Syrian militants."

All this is to persuade Western countries to reduce their support for Ukraine with weapons or prove that Ukraine does not control the weapons supplied by partners.

There is no evidence of these alleged sales. But there is a lot of evidence of the Ukrainian military's successful use of Western weapons.

Fake "High-precision" Russian missiles destroyed the shop of the Motor-Sich plant, where Bayraktar drones were being finished

Russian propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov in the program "News of the Week," continued to spread the fake that Ukrainian manufacturers allegedly modified Turkish Bayraktar drones with "spray containers" with which they allegedly intended to spray viruses. This fake appeared in late March but has now been extended. Kiselyov claims that this drone modification was developed at the Motor-Sich plant, which the Russians "destroyed with high-precision missiles" last week. To prove the existence of such "finished" bayraktars in the story, Russian propagandists showed an unknown who made a small quadcopter with a container, writes Insider.

The propagandists are fabricating fakes in advance. When the Russians fired four rockets at Zaporizhzhia on May 25 (Ukrainian air defenses destroyed one), they called the shelling "the destruction of the Motor-Sich plant." The Ukrainian military leadership did not report any hits at the plant's shops. But it is well known that the missiles hit the mall and other civilian objects. One person was killed, and three others were injured

Fake "High-precision" Russian missiles destroyed the shop of the Motor-Sich plant, where Bayraktar drones were being finished

Russian propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov in the program "News of the Week," continued to spread the fake that Ukrainian manufacturers allegedly modified Turkish Bayraktar drones with "spray containers" with which they allegedly intended to spray viruses. This fake appeared in late March but has now been extended. Kiselyov claims that this drone modification was developed at the Motor-Sich plant, which the Russians "destroyed with high-precision missiles" last week. To prove the existence of such "finished" bayraktars in the story, Russian propagandists showed an unknown who made a small quadcopter with a container, writes Insider.

The propagandists are fabricating fakes in advance. When the Russians fired four rockets at Zaporizhzhia on May 25 (Ukrainian air defenses destroyed one), they called the shelling "the destruction of the Motor-Sich plant." The Ukrainian military leadership did not report any hits at the plant's shops. But it is well known that the missiles hit the mall and other civilian objects. One person was killed, and three others were injured.

Fake Finland is pulling equipment to the border with Russia

The video of a freight train carrying dozens of tanks and military equipment across a railway bridge is being spread on social media. The posts claim that the tanks are allegedly moving to the Russian border in the direction of eastern Finland, noting that the country is allegedly preparing to go to war with Russia, reports Euronews.

The Finnish Defense Forces have already denied this information and said that these allegations are "false" and that the equipment, on the contrary, is moving away from Russia's border. In fact, this equipment was transported to the annual two-week military exercises in western Finland. Euronews writes that it compared the video with images on Google and found that the video was shot in the city of Tampere: the footage shows that the train is moving west, towards the villages of Niinisalo and Sakyla.

Fake NATO has agreed not to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Western-made tanks

 The media reports about the tacit agreement of NATO countries not to give Ukraine certain heavy weapons are fake, or a member of the Czech Alliance does not know anything about it. It was stated at a press conference with Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď by his Czech counterpart Jana Chernohova, idnes.cz reports. The other day, the German news agency dpa, citing Bundestag member Wolfgang Hellmich, wrote that NATO had allegedly agreed in private not to provide the Armed Forces with certain types of heavy equipment, such as infantry fighting vehicles or Western-made tanks. "There is no such agreement. Well, at least I didn't go down without explaining myself first. And if this idea came to someone's mind, we would not support it, "Chernohova said when asked by a journalist. In Prague, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and her Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky also denied similar reports. "It simply came to our notice then. Ukraine's support comes from individual states, and NATO does not have such a large program [of support]. The Czech Republic is proud to support Ukraine militarily, help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, and participate in all relevant projects, as our capabilities allow or necessary, " Lipavsky said. Truss assured that NATO countries would continue to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. She stressed that now it is important to create a recovery plan for Ukraine.    

Fake Ukrainian authorities have stopped salt production to sell weapons from warehouses in Bakhmut

Russian propagandists are spreading a fake story about "small arms depots" that were allegedly sold during the war, and it was because of this sale that Artemsil was shut down. Fake was analyzed in detail by StopFake.

The only thing that is true in the report of Russian propagandists is that warehouses in the mines where salt was mined in Bakhmut (former Artemivsk) existed. Weapons from the First and Second World Wars during the Soviet era and then, already during independence, kept some guns from the disbanded Ukrainian units.

But back in 2014, 95% of these weapons from warehouses were transported to Western Ukraine when there were fierce battles around Bakhmut. First of all, modern weapons were exported, but old ones were also moved - for example, Maxim machine guns and other historical weapons. For instance, Yuri Biryukov, an adviser to President Petro Poroshenko, wrote about this in 2015 and inspected warehouses. From a military point of view, warehouse values ​​don't matter. And one of the largest producers of salt in Europe - the company "Artemsil" can not work due to constant shelling. That is why salt has become so expensive in Ukraine, and there are interruptions in the supply of salt in Europe. "The company is not working, idle, according to the order, indefinitely. The shelling is constant; the administrative building is partially destroyed. There were direct hits in the mine, in the warehouse. The production process is impossible. We will not endanger people. Moreover, most of the residents of Soledar and employees of Artemsil have already been evacuated. Most of the employees of the administration, engineering, and technical workers are not on-site, " acting director of the enterprise Viktor Yurin told Radio Svoboda. That is why the "salt crisis artificially created by the Kyiv regime," which the propagandists write about. The sale of the "shooting failure to sell it to Africa" ​​is a fiction of former Verkhovna Rada deputy Ilya Kiva, who was the first to spread this lie.