Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that in 2024 they will spend 3.2 billion UAH from the Ukrainian state budget on propaganda. They say that compared to 2023, propaganda spending in Ukraine has doubled.

This information is untrue, writes the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council. Russians call “propaganda” expenses for the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the National Council for Cinema and Television, the National Commission for State Regulation in the Field of Electronic Communications and the State Special Communications Service. In fact, these departments do not create media content for the state. As for information products directly, 1.5 billion UAH will be allocated from the state budget for the telethon in 2024 - this is 400 million UAH less than last year.

Russian propaganda seeks to undermine the trust of the Ukrainian people in power and force them to rebel against the “Kyiv regime”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine allegedly spent $1.2 billion on fake news in 2023.

Pro-Russian online publications and users of social networks are spreading a call to expel Ukrainian refugees from Germany to Ukraine in order to relieve the burden on the German budget to pay assistance to Ukrainian men and cover the “large losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” with recruits. By spreading this thesis, they distort an article by Peter Carstens, a journalist for the German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to liaise with and match Russian propaganda. It was analyzed by the fact-checker of the StopFake project.

The FAZ article does not call for the deportation of refugees. At the same time, the author compares the costs of social assistance to refugees who have received asylum in Germany with military support from Ukraine. From February 24, 2022 to September 2023, Germany has allocated approximately 24 billion euros to support Ukraine. Of this amount, more than 15 billion euros were allocated to help Ukrainian refugees. Data from the German Federal Government shows that military support to the Ukrainian army by the end of December 2023 amounted to only 5.4 billion euros. Carstens argues that this ratio of spending is ineffective in the context of the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine and it is necessary to increase the share of spending on military support for Kyiv.

Peter Carstens also presented the positions that exist in German society regarding Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. In particular, he wrote that there are not enough workers in Ukraine not only at the front, but also for civil defense or for extinguishing fires. Carstens also quoted Bundestag member Roderich Kiesewetter: “It would be very helpful if the government could make an agreement so that these young people or older people can return without having to go to the front if they don’t want to”.

In early January, the topic of deportation of Ukrainian men from Europe appeared in fake news about the establishment of checkpoints to “filtrate” Ukrainian men with subsequent mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And also in conspiracy theories about the existence of a secret order for the return of men aged 18 to 60 years from abroad, otherwise their passports and Ukrainian citizenship will be revoked.

With such messages, propagandists try to incite distrust in the governments of states hosting Ukrainians. They are also manipulating the topic of developing a bill that could change the rules for registering those liable for military servicemen and performing military service.

Russian propagandists are disseminating information that the 2024 state budget allegedly included 18.8 billion hryvnia for the maintenance of the Office of the President (OP), although this money could have been spent on the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, this is a fake.

Fact-checkers from the VoxCheck project processed this case. On November 9, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law on the state budget for 2024. On November 17, the bill was signed by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and on November 28 by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, approving the draft state budget.

In fact, according to the adopted law on the state budget of Ukraine for 2024, 1.1 billion hryvnia are provided for the OP, and not 18.8 billion hryvnia, as propagandists write. In addition, 1.69 trillion hryvnia will be allocated for the security and defense of Ukraine - almost 100% of annual budget revenues.

Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit the OP and undermine the trust of the Ukrainian population in it. The ultimate goal of such disinformation is to force Ukrainians to rebel against the “Zelenskyi regime”.

One of the pro-Russian telegram channels disseminated information that the executive committee of the Kharkiv City Council allegedly decided to pay Kharkiv residents a funeral allowance in the amount of UAH 1942. It seems that this money will begin to be paid on January 1, 2024. However, this is manipulation.

In fact, the benefit amount UAH 1942 is not an innovation, as propagandists are trying to present, but a revised amount taking into account the cost of funeral services, as Gwara Media fact-checkers write. That is, the executive committee of the Kharkiv City Council increased the existing funeral assistance to 1942 hryvnia. Thus, the amount of such assistance in 2022 was no more than 1,730 hryvnia, and in 2019 no more than 1,440 hryvnia. It should be noted that this amount is established for persons who, at the time of the person’s death, have not yet reached retirement age, were not working and were not registered as unemployed. Also, this assistance is for people registered and living in Kharkiv for at least six months, that is, the corresponding decision also applies, for example, to IDPs.

At the same time, this is not the only type of financial assistance for funerals in Ukraine - the current amount of benefits from the state, according to the resolution of the PFU On establishing the amount of funeral benefits dated December 26, 2022 No. 29-1, is 4,100 hryvnia.

There are also other types of burial benefits, such as:

- assistance for the funeral of persons who died from an accident at work or an occupational disease;

- assistance for the funeral of a pensioner among military personnel;

- assistance for the funeral of military personnel.

By manipulating this information, Russian propaganda is trying to show that everything seems to be so bad in Ukraine that the state doesn’t even have enough money for people to pay for funerals. Previously, we refuted information that in the Kyiv region the director of a cemetery allegedly refused to provide a place for the burial of a Ukrainian military man.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the Zhytomyr city council handed over two quadcopters to the 30th separate mechanized brigade, allegedly spending 530 million hryvnia on the purchase of them. Propagandists say this indicates that much of the funds were stolen by local officials. It's fake.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council worked on this case. As it turned out, in fact, 530 thousand hryvnia were spent on the purchase of two “birds”. The Zhytomyr City Council reported this on its telegram channel.

It is common for Russian propagandists to distort information by adding zeros to numbers or replacing one or more words in a sentence to convey the desired as real. Previously, we analyzed information that 200-500 thousand Ukrainians allegedly lost limbs due to the war, although in the original it was about 20-50 thousand military personnel.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels and other social networks are spreading fake information that Poland is allegedly canceling payments to Ukrainian refugees from January 1, 2024. They say that Poland was Ukraine’s lawyer in the European Union, but Zelenskyi quickly managed to turn a friend into an enemy. As proof of this decision, users add a screenshot of the news from November 17, 2023, allegedly from the official website of the Polish government.

After disseminating such information, StopFake decided to check whether the Polish government really made a similar decision and reported it on the official website. As it turned out, the information disseminated is not true.

Project specialists went to the corresponding website of the Polish government, from which they allegedly took a screenshot distributed by propagandists. There is a separate page for citizens of Ukraine, containing official information for refugees in Ukrainian. Among the news published there, there is no information that the Polish government has decided to cancel social payments for refugees from January 1. The remaining publications are still relevant, in which you can familiarize yourself with all existing assistance programs. While researching this site, they also found the same picture with which Russian propaganda created a fake screenshot. The news “Living and working in Poland – 2022” uses the same image as in the false reports spread by propagandists. In addition, in the edited “announcement”, Russian propaganda made a mistake: the word “terminates” in Ukrainian should have been written in another way. This error indicates that the information may be incorrect.

The StopFake analysts note that the Polish government has indeed publicly announced a possible reduction in assistance to Ukrainian refugees. In October 2023, a representative of the Polish government, Piotr Müller, in an interview with the PAP agency, said that the decisions determined by the law on assistance to Ukrainians would probably lose force in the first quarter of next year and expressed the hope that “there is simply no need to continue them”. However, as of now, the Polish government has not announced that from January 1 all payments to Ukrainian refugees will be stopped.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to quarrel between Poles and Ukrainians, as well as to arouse mistrust of Ukrainians not only in the Polish government, but also in the Ukrainian one. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes involving Poland. The large number of Russian propaganda fictions about this country is due, among other things, to the high level of support for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Russian media are disseminating information that Ukraine is allegedly going to “reduce assistance” to people with disabilities in order not to pay them social assistance. As evidence, Russian propaganda cites a proposal to remove the concept of a “person with disabilities” from the legislation. It's a lie.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project took on this case and explained that the Ministry of Health had actually prepared a bill proposing to replace the disability status with an assessment of loss of functionality. However, the bill does not talk about canceling the status of a person with a disability or reducing any social benefits.

The goal of such an initiative is for Ukraine to abandon the post-Soviet model of defining disability, providing a person only with “benefits and compensation”. And the task of the state should be “to return a person to an economic state”. However, benefits and payments will not be canceled. And the changes themselves are planned to be implemented in 2025. The bill has nothing to do with mobilization. Russian propagandists are simply speculating on this topic.

By the way, in our recent review of disinformation, we also explained why Ukraine is not going to abolish the status of individuals with disabilities: then propagandists convinced that the Ukrainian leadership supposedly wants to mobilize everyone to the front without exception. This also turned out to be a lie.

In the Ukrainian segment of Instagram, a video is being circulated with information that the Estonian Council allegedly provides financial assistance to children for winter clothes in the amount of $250. “Today, the Estonian Council provides assistance for winter clothes to all children in Ukraine who are under 10 years old (...) Or one can choose a box with clothes”. To receive it, you need to follow the link and fill out the form. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Brekhunets (The Liar) project. The page that distributed the video on Instagram has more than 20 thousand subscribers, and the link, where one can supposedly find a form to fill out, leads to the “Kyi City” telegram channel, which one needs to subscribe to.

Moreover, the fact-checkers checked the official information resources of the Estonian Refugee Council and determined that there was no such message. So, information about cash benefits from international organizations should be found on the organization’s official pages on social networks or on the official website.

In the Russian segment of Facebook, a statement is being circulated allegedly by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba that Ukraine should participate in the formation of the US state budget for 2024. “As a country that relies on part of this budget in the form of military or other assistance, we have the right to participate in its discussion. We may not be satisfied with the numbers, and we should be able to influence the final decision”, Kuleba said. It's fake.

As the VoxCheck project specialists note, Dmytro Kuleba has never made such statements. On social networks, on the official pages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in authoritative Ukrainian and foreign media there is no mention that the Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about this. Russian propaganda took this news from the satirical telegram channel “Here is my Yandex wallet” and spread it on social networks as regular news.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and turn Western partners against Ukraine, which could lead to a decrease in aid. They say that Ukraine is trying to influence processes within another state. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake that the European Union will not provide military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion euros in 2024.

This information was disseminated by pro-Kremlin media. In the messages, the authors wrote that the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance recognized “the West’s tiredness of driving Ukraine into debt”. Allegedly, this was stated by the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii  Marchenko. The authors refer to material from the Reuters news agency following the meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Marrakech (Morocco). It's a lie.

The case was examined by analysts from the StopFake project. They found out that the quote about the “pit of debt” was completely made up. The head of the Ministry of Finance did not make such statements. At the same time, the Reuters story states that Serhii Marchenko told the meeting how it is becoming increasingly difficult for Ukraine to receive financial support as the attention of donor countries is now focused on their upcoming elections. And he added that as the war with Russia continues, Ukraine needs to enlist financial support from Western countries to cover the budget deficit of about $42 billion by 2024.

On October 17, 2023, in an interview with Ukrinform, the head of the Ministry of Finance noted that Ukraine really depends on international support because of Russian aggression, which is precisely what hinders the country’s economic development.

According to experts from the International Monetary Fund, despite the Russian-Ukrainian war, the financial system of Ukraine has survived. The IMF also acknowledged that the sharp economic downturn in 2022 has now given way to a gradual economic recovery. For example, Ukrainian GDP growth in 2023 increased to 1-3%, and the Central Bank's reserves strengthened.

In the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, information is being spread that Ukraine will allegedly not receive reparations from Russia, because Volodymyr Zelenskyi “did not introduce a state of war”, and minor citizens of Ukraine will not have the status of “children of war”. It is not true.

The message was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. They turned to the former Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine in 2015–2019, a teacher at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Serhiii Pietukhov, for comment. He said: “Russian reparations are a matter of international law. Reparations are a form of compensation for harm caused by one state to another. In this case, the international community has no doubt that there is a war between Ukraine and Russia, or in the terminology of international law, an international armed conflict. A formal declaration of war has long been no longer required in international law and is not a criterion for assessing damages or the debt to pay reparations”.

Pietukhov also explained that the status of children of war can be accepted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, regardless of the declaration of a state of war. This is a domestic decision and “no one within the country questions the existence of war”.

Consequently, the message that Ukraine will not receive reparations because it did not declare war on Russia is intended to create distrust in the Ukrainian authorities. Earlier,  Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine did not declare war on Russia.

Fake information about one-time payments to Ukrainians in the amount of 6,600 hryvnia is being spread on social networks. Allegedly, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Law No. 2708-267 “On the payment of monetary assistance to all citizens of Ukraine”.

The fact-checkers at the Center for Countering Disinformation drew attention to this. In fact, such a law on payments does not exist and the Verkhovna Rada has not adopted it. Behind this are scammers citing Law No. 2708 “On Labor”, which has similar figures. By clicking on the link in a distributed message, a person ends up on a dubious Telegram channel or unknown persons trying to ask for bank card details.

The National Police of Ukraine urges people not to click on suspicious links and not to provide any bank cards and account details to unknown persons.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that the foreign ministers of the European Union countries allegedly did not reach an agreement on the allocation of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion euros in 2024. Russian propaganda refers to a statement by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. It's fake.

The case was studied by fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. The European Union is currently working on creating a military assistance fund worth 20 billion euros, which Ukraine should receive from 2024 to 2027. As the fact-checkers of the BezBrekhni (No Lies)” project have established, the EU will allocate 5 billion euros annually. Moreover, this program was proposed by Josep Borrell himself, and there is no information in the official EU channels that international partners have not reached an agreement on assistance to Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is trying to sow panic among Ukrainians, allegedly abandoned by their international partners, and also to create the impression that the West is tired of the war and will no longer allocate funds for military assistance to Ukraine. Previously, we refuted the fake that Germany and France promised early accession to the EU if Ukraine helps to overthrow the Polish government.

Propagandists are actively disseminating in their media a quote from a Polish soldier fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Piotr Mitkiewicz, from his interview for the ONET portal, where he allegedly demands compensation from Ukraine for the families of his colleagues who died during the war. Like, Ukraine abandoned Poland and that’s what it needs. However, this is manipulation.

This statement by Mitkiewicz is taken out of context. The full version of the interview shows that the man really expressed concern about the lack of compensation for Polish volunteers fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, he noted that this is most likely due to the fact that there have been no such precedents yet; accordingly, the mechanism for paying these compensations has not yet been fully formed. Mitkiewicz did not accuse the Ukrainian authorities of disrespecting or neglecting the efforts of their Polish colleagues. On the contrary, throughout the interview he did not stop expressing his support for Ukraine and stated that he was soon going to return to the front again.

Using such manipulations, propagandists want to quarrel Ukrainians and Poles, and also accuse Ukraine of hiring foreigners without remuneration. Detector Media has already written about how Russians want to influence Polish politics because of anonymous telegram channels where such manipulations are spread.

On social networks one can find advertisements according to which the Ukrainian government has allegedly “approved” a law on payments to “families defending” the country at the front. NotaYenota project specialists drew attention to it.

They found out that the Russians were actually behind the ads. In particular, this is indicated, at least, by the fact that in Ukraine the government does not “approve” laws. In addition, neither the Verkhovna Rada nor the Cabinet of Ministers made such decisions.

Project specialists note that Russians launch such advertising campaigns to spread negative sentiments in society and cause distrust in the authorities in general. The advertisements were created with the expectation that Ukrainians would start asking local authorities about payments and, in response to a refusal, would accuse it of lying. Subsequently, Russians will make advertisements about how corrupt Ukraine is. Detector Media has already written about how the topic of corruption in Ukraine is used by Russian propaganda in its own interests.

A video is circulating on social networks in which the author claims that the government of Ukraine has obliged the population to install meters on wells in order to collect water fees from citizens. Like, now Ukrainians need to install meters and pay for water. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that although on July 11 the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding changes in the Procedure for the State Register of Artesian Wells was issued, the statement that the new changes would allegedly affect all those who have wells and boreholes is not true. The well register, water use fees, and the duty to obtain permits apply only to businesses. At the same time, Ukrainians who use well water for their own needs do not need to install meters and pay for it. Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, announced this on the air of the telethon.

By creating and spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to cause panic among the population and discredit the Ukrainian authorities. Like, in addition to the war, it still wants to rip off money from people for water.

Propagandists are spreading a screenshot from a video, according to which the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov allegedly gave his daughter a house in Cannes worth 7 million euros, bought with the money of allies, for her wedding. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the mentioned video was first published by a TikTok user under the nickname vladyslavyaschchenko1. The video says that Reznikov's daughter allegedly bought a house for 7 million euros in the city of Vallauris, near Cannes. The purportedly purchased home shown in the video has a pool, an elevator, and 7 bedrooms. However, a reverse image search on Google revealed that the house is actually still for sale and costs not 7, but almost 12 million euros. In addition, there is no news about such cases of theft on the main Ukrainian investigative journalism platforms.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to arouse distrust in the government and force people to go against it. In addition, they are also created for the audience of Western countries in order to cause skepticism among their population about providing more assistance to Ukraine, raising doubts about the appropriateness of its use.

This thesis was spread in the Ukrainian segment of social networks, in particular, on TikTok. Users distributed a video of a girl in which she talks about fraud by Ukrainian charitable foundations. Like, they allegedly keep significant funds on their accounts from the donations of Ukrainians and do not spend them on the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

VoxCheck fact-checkers investigated this case and explained that it is important for funds to have a certain amount of funds for large purchases or emergencies. Charitable foundations use funds to help the military. If possible, they report this on their websites or social media pages. For example, Taras Chmut, head of the Come Back Alive Foundation, explained in a report by Ukrainska Pravda that from time to time there are opportunities to purchase super-important equipment on the market, but other countries or organizations can buy it as well. Therefore, it is important for charitable foundations to have money for the future.

Moreover, Ukrainian funds, as a rule, report on the funds used. The Serhii Prytula Foundation or Come Back Alive reports both regular purchases and special fees. That is, they try to be as transparent as possible.

Propagandists on anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that information has appeared on the website of the Finnish public broadcaster Yle that Finland wants to cancel social assistance for Ukrainian refugees, because it allegedly exceeds the payment for picking berries. Accordingly, since the Ukrainians do not agree with these conditions, it is necessary to introduce a system of assistance in exchange for employment. However, this is manipulation.

The authors of the message do not provide a link to the article containing such information, but only to the main Finnish-language page of the broadcaster. However, if one looks for news on the Yle website, in particular in the Ukrainian-language section, you can really find material related to the problem. However, it is not about plans to cancel aid. Moreover, its authors, on the contrary, note that Ukrainians would be happy to work on plantations for picking berries, however, according to the current Finnish legislation, such activity is not considered “sustainable income”, which may lead to a decrease in the amount of assistance. Accordingly, they have no choice but to go to a more stable job, so as not to lose help from the state. Therefore, Finnish companies have begun to hire more berry pickers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Recent political transformations in Finland are also related to the migration legislation of the state. In particular, the new Finnish government is discussing a tougher approach to it. Ideas are being considered such as increasing the required period of permanent residence in Finland for obtaining citizenship, passing an exam in Finnish or Swedish for obtaining a permanent residence permit (now this is only necessary for obtaining citizenship) and, in particular, reducing the amount of social benefits for migrants. However, this does not apply only to Ukrainian refugees, but in general to all migrants in the state. These ideas have already caused outrage among them, which is why rallies were held in the country and a corresponding petition was created on Change.org.

Taking such news out of context, the propagandists once again want to show the Ukrainians as ungrateful, as well as devalue the help of European partners. They also want to cause panic among Ukrainian refugees by artificially inflating the scale of the problem. Detector Media has already written about other manipulations against Ukrainian refugees, in particular about a Ukrainian who allegedly destroyed a monument to Polish soldiers who fought against Nazism.

Propagandists in the Russian media claim that it is not Russia, but the United States, that is responsible for “prolonging the conflict”. Like, that is why the United States should pay reparations to Ukraine in the future and compensate for the renewal of the destruction “caused by American weapons”.

This message was noticed by experts from the StopFake project. They note that it is a continuation of a larger narrative about the “aggressive collective West” and “Russia's war with NATO”. Since it was Russia who attacked Ukraine, it must answer for the losses to the Ukrainian economy and infrastructure. More statements on this topic began to appear after the London Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine on June 21-22.

According to StopFake, the reaction of propagandists is due to anger at Ukraine's allies, who not only have not abandoned their plans to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but also unanimously support the economic stability of the state. A number of Western leaders, namely: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - even the UN General Assembly not only recognized the decision to pay reparations to Ukraine as legitimate, but also strongly supported the search for practical mechanisms.

The information was recorded by journalists of the Ukrainian studies project Ukraїner, who found out that unknown people create clone pages of their publication and distribute advertisements about cash payments. So far, fraudulent activity has been recorded on Facebook. Attackers launch advertisements in which, on behalf of Ukraine, they urge people to go to outside resources in order to receive a cash payment. Journalists of the publication note that they do not publish any news about receiving financial payments. And now Ukraine does not hold any active public meetings.

This is a fraudulent scheme by which attackers can steal your personal data. If such advertising happens, Ukraїner  recommends to complain about it. Today, journalists have contacted Meta technical support and are waiting for a prompt decision.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that children are recruited in Germany for work, and then they are required to pay their entire “salary” to help Ukraine. The authors of the messages add a photo of the employment contract, which allegedly needs to be signed by the children. This is manipulation. 

The fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation, who turned to the Ukrainian Embassy in Berlin for comment, took up the case. It turned out that in Germany there is a nationwide action - Social Day - when schoolchildren across the country have the opportunity to exchange one of their school days for a day of their dream work. And the money earned is usually donated to charity. The propagandists distorted the context of the “labor contract”, which referred exclusively to the initiative of one day of work. 

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to show that the West illegally employs children and takes money from them. Allegedly, Germany violates the rights of children and does not believe that children can only be allowed to work at a specific age and for a limited time.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that recently the National Bank of Ukraine collects data on all payments from individuals (i.e. ordinary people). They say that in Ukraine they collect personal information for their own, possibly selfish needs. The authors of the messages add a reminder letter from the NBU to Ukrainian banks in the publication. This is manipulation.

The department of the NBU denied this information. They explained that the National Bank, in order to strengthen supervision, from December 2022 on a periodic basis receives generalized information from banks exclusively on business entities, payment service providers - legal entities using the services of banks. That is, we are talking about organizations, enterprises (legal entities). There was no mention of individuals in the letter. The authors of the messages simply distorted the contents of the document itself.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the International Monetary Fund is allegedly demanding that Ukraine completely eliminate subsidies for some Ukrainians and leave only minimal assistance. The authors add to the reports that Ukrainians should forget about social payments because Zelenskyi “surrenders Ukraine” and does not care about his people. The authors refer to the IMF resolution on the Extended Financing for Ukraine  program. This is manipulation.

The case was noticed by StopFake project fact-checkers, who found out that in March 2023, the IMF Board of Directors approved a new four-year extended financing program for Ukraine in the amount of $15.6 billion. The program includes implementation points in Ukraine to strengthen control over the distribution of funds and reduce the number of possible cases of corruption. Among these points is, for example, the reorganization of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine. Actually, the IMF provided support to Ukraine on the condition that the Ukrainian government will fulfill its obligations on reforms and public administration measures. However, we are not talking about any abolition of subsidies or social payments, since the propagandists distorted the context of the main provisions of the project.

The fact-checkers also explain that the IMF Program provides for a gradual increase in gas and electricity tariffs to ensure the sustainability of the energy sector. Meanwhile, Maksym Samoiliuk, an economist at the Center for Economic Strategy, notes that this is a necessary step in a war.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to feed the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to a lack of electricity or high utility prices. Thus, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize moods and create a feeling that “nothing will change”. However, Russia does not take into account the fact that it was it who invaded the territory of Ukraine destroying our infrastructure, killing civilians and hindering peaceful life.

In social networks, in particular in the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, information was disseminated that the EU government is introducing a project for the issuance of financial assistance to people of retirement and pre-retirement age. Like, people can get up to 200 euros per day by participating in this program. The authors also claim that the funds are provided by the Provision Fund. Then the message asks to follow the link for the registration.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project worked on the case and found out that the program for paying 200 euros per day does not exist at all. The Provision Fund itself exists in the USA. The purpose of the fund is to create additional funding for residents of Sheridan County, Wyoming, in areas that do not have sufficient funding from the government. That is, this fund has nothing to do with the EU. In fact, group admins use the financial assistant thesis as a bait to increase the reach and membership of the channel. As fact-checkers explained, the group can later change its subject and spread fake information, and due to the large number of subscribers, potential readers will get the impression that this resource can be trusted. However, this is not true.