Propaganda resources are disseminating information that supposedly Ukrainian refugees in Dresden (Germany) are being given canned cockroaches as humanitarian aid. As proof of their assertion, the Russians provide a video with such canned food in the hands of a “Ukrainian refugee”. However, this is a fake.

Journalists from the StopFake project drew attention to this case. They found that there was no information confirming the fact that Ukrainian refugees in Dresden or any other city received such canned food as humanitarian aid. Moreover, canned goods with the name like in the video are not available for sale in German or Austrian online stores at all. Such canned food can indeed be bought on large marketplaces, but not as a food product, but only as an “entertaining gift for Halloween”. Considering this, it can be argued that the video distributed by the network is fake.

Previously, some Kremlin-controlled media have already used the topic of eating insects as food in some Western countries for their own propaganda purposes, building a narrative about the decline of the West and the harm of anti-Russian sanctions. Detector Media denied the information that the alleged invasion of bedbugs in France is a consequence of anti-Russian sanctions.

This information was disseminated by pro-Russian resources. They say that Berlin sent the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine a thousand laptops as a gift to remove the issue of transferring Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security undertook to analyze this case. They investigated that the very fact of a gift of thousands of laptops for the needs of the Verkhovna Rada was confirmed by the German Embassy in Ukraine, but emphasized that they were transferred “as a sign of solidarity and support”. The issue of supplying Taurus missiles has been discussed over the past months, but so far Ukraine and Germany have not reached a consensus on this matter. That is, the gift of a thousand laptops is exclusively humanitarian assistance, and not a payoff for missiles, as some pro-Kremlin resources tried to provide.

Thus, Russian propaganda wants to discredit international support for Ukraine and assure everyone around that Western countries are already tired of the Russian-Ukrainian war and therefore strive to end it as quickly as possible by any means. Previously, we refuted information that the Russians allegedly destroyed a Leopard tank with a German crew.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that allegedly Ukrainian female refugees in Germany began to give birth to children from the Turks, without waiting for their men from the front to receive German citizenship. Like, an article about this was published on the Deutsche Welle website. However, this is fake.

Analysts from the Georgian project MythDetector drew attention to it. They found out that the original material for the publication by the author Olena Diuzhyna mentioned the demographic situation in Germany, where the proportion of children has increased significantly. Ukrainian refugees are also mentioned in this article, but in a different context. In particular, Germany has accepted more than a million Ukrainian refugees since February 24, 2022, most of whom are Ukrainian children.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukrainian refugees. Like, none of them wants to return home. However, this is not so - according to the material of the portal Word and Deed, 62% of Ukrainian refugees stated their desire to return to Ukraine in the future. Detector Media has already talked about the ways in which Russia is trying to humiliate Ukrainian refugees abroad.

A story allegedly from the European media Euronews is being spread on social networks in the Russian segment. It talks about the so-called 34-year-old Ukrainian refugee Petro Bondarenko, who was recently detained in Germany for committing a crime. He, according to the conclusions of the authors of the fake message, added the number 8 to houses with numbers 148. And then he divided the resulting number with the symbol / - thus forming the Nazi slogan 14/88. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project analysts investigated this case and found out that the news story about the Ukrainian refugee was compiled. At the same time, this news was also not found on the official Euronews website or on their pages on social networks. German media also did not come out with similar news.

In addition, the probable plot consists of numerous cuts of various videos that are not related to each other. For example, fakers used fragments of videos from different seasons, and this can be seen in the changes in natural phenomena: in one fragment, the leaves of the trees are green, and people are walking in light clothes while another part of the video depicts a completely different time of year, where people are dressed in warm clothes, and the leaves are no longer there, although, hypothetically, journalists cover events for one period of time, namely the moment of the “detention” of a Ukrainian refugee. The story also showed a law regulating the ban on the display of Nazi symbols in Germany, although in fact the propagandists illustrated the Australian law.

The image of the so-called Ukrainian refugee was used from the website “We face painting”, which published the photo back in 2011. Obviously, this photo has nothing to do with Ukraine.

Finally, propagandists are trying to show that Ukrainian refugees are supposedly a total threat to the sovereignty and security of EU countries. Russian propaganda, first of all, seeks to demoralize Ukrainian refugees in the eyes of Europeans and pass them off as supporters of Nazi ideology who are ready to resort to vandalism and violation of laws for their own purposes. All this contributes to a decrease in assistance to Ukraine from EU countries; and also leads to the victimization of Ukrainian refugees - when they are the only ones to blame for all the troubles.

We recommend reading our previous cases on this topic as the Kremlin systematically speculates on this:

- the Poles allegedly declared that they “don’t want to see” Ukrainian refugees in their country; 

- how a Ukrainian refugee barista “showed off his Nazi inclinations” by seeming to paint Nazi symbols on his coffee. 

And in our weekly review of disinformation, we talked on how propagandists lied about the mobilization of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the German concern (an association of several enterprises, in this case in the field of defense) Rheinmetall is canceling the construction of a tank factory in Ukraine through Russia. We are talking about constant shelling of infrastructure, so German representatives are supposedly afraid of the power of the occupying army. The authors refer to news from the Reuters news agency. This is manipulation.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and came to the conclusion that the news indicated: Germany did approve the creation of a joint venture between the main German Rheinmetall and the Ukrainian Ukroboronprom. Further, the journalists wrote that Rheinmetall will be involved in technical maintenance of the equipment. But on the official website of the German defense concern it is indicated that its specialists will be engaged in the maintenance and repair of combat vehicles, and in the future they will produce equipment together with Ukraine.

Actually, the fact-checkers write that this format of work was assumed from the very beginning of the conclusion of the strategic partnership agreement in May 2023. According to the agreement, the enterprise was supposed to begin its work in July, but the project implementation deadlines were delayed. In mid-August, the general director of Rheinmetall explained that tanks within the united concern would begin to be repaired “before the end of the month”.

That is, we are not talking about any canceled construction projects or agreements. According to Reuters, the German defense company, on the contrary, approved the decision to create a joint organization. During the implementation of the construction plan, there were no reports of cancellation of such a plan. Propagandists distorted the context of the material and wrote that even the NATO representative country allegedly fears Russia and curtails any companies on the territory of Ukraine.

This is how the authors try to dispel the thesis about their “irresistible technology”, which is ready to destroy everyone, and as confirmation of this they give the example of the “cancellation” of construction.

In our Newspeak section we described the Russian phenomenon of “irresistible technology”. In short, this is how the Russians try to convince the domestic audience of constant victories.

Pro-Kremlin media are disseminating information that Germany and France allegedly promised the Ukrainian authorities early accession to the European Union if they help overthrow the Polish government. It seems that accession is impossible without changing the treaties, and it is Poland that is blocking these changes. Russian propaganda refers to Dominika Chosych, a correspondent for Polish television, who wrote about this. It's fake.

As the fact-checkers at the Center for Strategic Communications note, the Ukrainian authorities have not received such proposals from France and Germany. Moreover, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ihor Nikolenko, commented on this information on his Facebook page. He confirmed that there was no such proposal, and “[Ukraine] did not and does not have any intentions to interfere in the internal affairs of Poland”.

Nikolenko thanked the Poles who showed solidarity with the Ukrainians and noted that “Ukraine highly appreciates Poland’s support in repelling Russian aggression, support for our path to membership in the EU and NATO.”

Polish journalist Chosych, as determined by investigators of the BezBrekhni (No lies) project, whose words contain hidden Kremlin narratives, is playing along with Russia.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to create a quarrel between Poland and Ukraine, reduce the assistance of the Poles and discredit Western countries, in particular France and Germany. Detector Media reported on the message that Poland was “expelling” Ukrainians from the country to serve in the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Such information was disseminated in pro-Kremlin telegram channels. Reports say that the German fast food chain Burgermeister allegedly launched an advertising campaign - “to talk about something more important than Ukraine”. Instead, they suggest talking about “a new line of tasty and juicy burgers”. The publications add a screenshot allegedly from a promotional video. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed this case and found out that the video was compiled using a video editor. At the same time, representatives of the German burger joint noted that they did not create such a campaign and had nothing to do with the creation of the video. And to edit this video, the propagandists used cuttings of various news stories about Ukraine, and in the second part of the video they placed a real Burgermeister advertisement posted on the main page of the site.

We have repeatedly debunked fake news regarding fake graffiti or covers on foreign magazines/newspapers or advertisements. Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Zelenskyi is hated by the whole world) is also repeated in the West. So it may seem to readers that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine. And especially when the authors use elements of popular culture, hinting that people are laughing at the situation in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian agenda for Europe is a reason to laugh.

Read the latest fakes on this topic, where Russia turns a blind eye to false works of street art and pop culture: 

Allegedly, in The Hague, the capital of European justice, they created graffiti depicting Zelenskyi hanging on the gallows. Or look at the fake cover of the allegedly British newspaper The New European, where the Ukrainian president was sitting on the lap of the Dalai Lama. Or about the fake cover of the numb Volodymyr Zelenskyi from the figure of the dictator Putin and Jesus Christ.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that in January and February 2023, Germany allegedly transferred 200 mobile crematoria to Ukraine due to heavy losses at the front. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the VoxCheck project. The website of the Federal Government of Germany records all the assistance provided, but there is no information about the transfer of mobile crematoria to Ukraine.

Moreover, the Oryx website, which collects data based on open sources, also does not have information on this delivery.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow panic and despondency among Ukrainians, saying that there are large losses in the Ukrainian army. Previously, we refuted the fake news that Ukrainian territorial defense brigades were creating mobile crematoria.

Anonymous telegram channels disseminating pro-Russian rhetoric published a photo showing a brochure calling for Ukrainian refugees in Germany. In it, one can see certain vocabulary for searching for work before coming to the country. The “vocabulary” consists mostly of words related to cleaning. Under the publications, “Ukrainians” complain that the Germans allegedly do not even think about highly paid and skilled labor for refugees. However, this is fake.

Analysts from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found that there was no such advice on the website of the online platform Handbook Germany, whose logo was used by propagandists to create the fake news. In addition, on its Facebook page it is noted that all of their materials are available only in digital format: on their website or official social media accounts.

With the help of this fake, Russia wants to humiliate Ukrainian refugees and deal a reputational blow to the organizations that support them.  Detector Media has already written about how Russian propaganda is weaponizing refugees and their problems for its own purposes.

Information is spreading in the Kremlin media and the Russian segment of social networks that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz allegedly announced that the West was tired of the war in Ukraine and was ready to make concessions to Russia. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications drew attention to the case. The statement referred to by the Russian propaganda was made on August 18 in Salzburg at a press conference with Austrian Chancellor Neghammer. Olaf Scholz stated: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine presents us with serious new problems... We will all have to adapt to this new geopolitical reality and draw the necessary conclusions... This war in Europe calls on all of us to critically analyze our self-image, and sometimes to be willing to make uncomfortable decisions.

Scholz said that weapons are now being delivered to Ukraine so that they can defend themselves against Russia. By “uncomfortable decisions” the German Chancellor meant precisely the supply of weapons, because this is contrary to the “long-term principles of German policy”.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Germany and embroil Ukraine with their allies. Russian propaganda spreads the opinion that the West is tired of the war, so Ukraine will have to give in to Russia. Earlier, we talked about the manipulation that children in Germany are allegedly forced to work and give funds to help Ukraine.

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

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

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

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that 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 before May 9, a “red flag of Victory” was placed on the building of the Bundestag. The authors of the messages add photos and videos, as if the Soviet flag with a hammer and sickle flutters over the parliament building. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and found out that not a single flag was set over the Bundestag, even without authorization. The Soviet flag was not on the parliament building. This was confirmed by the representatives of the administration of the German parliament in their comments to the news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Fact-checkers are convinced that the videos are edited and the photos are edited using Photoshop. This is indicated by various inaccuracies that the fact-checkers recorded. For example, in the video, the Soviet flag and the German flag are flying in different directions, although they are “placed” relatively close to each other. Moreover, such photos can only be found in the Russian segment of social networks.

By spreading such fakes, Russia once again seeks to show its greatness to the “Nazi West” since the message about the “red flag of Victory over the Reichstag” is an allusion to the image of a Soviet soldier raising the Soviet flag to the Reichstag in Berlin a few days before the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Such information is distributed in the German-speaking segment of social networks, particularly on TikTok. Reports say that people from Ukraine in Germany seem to be able to get assistance very easily. To receive payments, they allegedly do not even need to pass the verification that people from other countries must pass. The videos that were being circulated also stated that the Ukrainians receive this aid without problems and spend it on vacations on the islands. It is not true.

Analysts of the Correctiv project drew attention to the case in the network. In fact, Ukrainians in Germany do not receive social assistance without any verification, according to a spokesman for the Federal Employment Service. However, like all people receiving social assistance in Germany, they can spend 21 days a year away from their place of residence and do not have to work within these days, so the claim that refugees travel on the islands is not logical.

Analysts note that such videos are added to a number of other false claims that have been circulated against Ukrainians in recent months in order to create a negative image for refugees from Ukraine. Russia needs such fakes in order to discredit Ukrainian refugees and change the attitude towards them in countries where there are now tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, in the German and Russian TikTok segments. Reports say Ukrainian refugees who have recently confirmed their status will be given 500 “greeting” euros. Like, this is an initiative of the Bundestag, which recently adopted a resolution and issue funds to Ukrainians “from the pockets of the Germans”.

The German group of fact-checkers Correctiv decided to check the information and contact the official representation in the Bundestag for a comment. The Bundestag denied such information and stressed that Ukrainian refugees do not receive any additional payments, including “greeting” money. The Bundestag also stressed that they are not creating a procedure for receiving cash payments; such a bill has not been submitted to parliament.

Such information was disseminated in social networks and propaganda media. The reports say that a sociological survey was conducted in Germany, which illustrated the attitude of the Germans regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO. Like, many Germans strongly opposed the entry. The authors of the messages refer to the material of the German edition Die Welt, which allegedly contains the results of the survey. It is not true.

The experts of the StopFake project investigated the case and found out that the journalists of the Die Welt publication did not conduct any sociological survey, but made up the results.

Analysts are convinced that the basis for creating this fake was an article called “We should seriously think about Ukraine's membership in NATO” since the propagandists cited as an example the comments of ordinary users of the Die Welt website, which do not represent “the attitude of the Germans towards Ukraine's membership in NATO”. Under the article, over 800 comments of various content were published, but the Russian media cite only a few of them to illustrate a point of view suitable for Russian propaganda.

As for the material itself, it contains forecasts for the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine, and in general it was not about any “sociological survey”.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine in the war, relying on non-authoritative sources of information or disfigured quotes. Thus, Russia is trying to undermine the authority of Ukraine at the international level, distort reality and allegedly show that the European community does not consider Ukraine and does not want to see it either in NATO or, for example, in the EU.

Propagandists say that a year ago at a press conference US President Joe Biden made a reservation about plans to blow up Nord Stream. This is manipulation.

Analysts of The Insider project drew attention to it. They analyzed Biden's responses at a press conference cited by propagandists. A press conference between Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took place on February 7, 2022. At it, Andrea Schalal, a correspondent for Reuters, asked whether Germany gave Biden guarantees to close Nord Stream in case of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Biden replied that if Russian “tanks or troops cross the border of Ukraine again”, there will be “no more Nord Stream 2”. The reporter tried to clarify how the United States wants to achieve this, to which the President of the United States replied: “I promise you, we can do it”.

Analysts at The Insider drew attention to the fact that at that time Nord Stream 2 was completed, but not yet put into operation. Given the full context of the press conference, it is clear that we are talking about sanctions against the operation of Nord Stream 2. These sanctions were introduced on February 23, 2022 in response to Russia's recognition of the so-called “DNR” and “LNR”. Then Germany stopped certification of the gas pipeline, which led to a halt in its operation.

Thus, propagandists want to shift the responsibility for Russia's crimes to Western countries. Like, the West is provoking Russia and testing its patience. Russian propaganda actively uses the statements of Joe Biden, taking them out of context. Detector Media published a selection of messages that propagandists disseminated on his recent visit to Kyiv.

The Russian media disseminate information that due to the Ukrainians who left Ukraine because of Russian aggression, the use of the Russian language in Germany has allegedly increased. It is allegedly evidenced by the recently released data from the Destatis, Federal statistical office. It is not true.

The studies cited by the Russian media were conducted in 2021, that is, even before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, the document states that the study does not reflect the possible consequences of changes in the German population due to Russian aggression, since only 2021 data was analyzed. Russian propaganda does not provide any explanation of how exactly the Ukrainian refugees influenced the use of different languages in Germany.

As StopFake explains, propagandists cite survey results showing that 80% of the German population only speak German at home, 15% also use one or more additional languages, and 5% do not use German at all in their families. The study showed that families who are not native German speakers use Turkish (15%), Russian (13%), Arabic (10%), Polish (7%) and English (6%) in everyday life. Similar data for 2022 is still being processed, they have not been published anywhere.

Російська пропаганда систематично маніпулює мовним питанням як в Україні, так і за кордоном. У такий спосіб вони намагаються розколоти суспільство за етно-національними ознаками. Раніше пропагандисти стверджували, що нібито через російську мову ставлення багатьох поляків до українців погіршилося.

Russian propaganda systematically manipulates the language issue, both in Ukraine and abroad. Thus, they are trying to split the society along ethno-national lines. Earlier, propagandists claimed that, allegedly because of the Russian language, the attitude of many Poles towards Ukrainians worsened.

A video allegedly from an interview with the Head of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, is being distributed on social networks. She says that German soldiers should be sent to war in Ukraine. It's fake.

The video circulating on social networks is compiled from phrases taken out of context. As the fact-checkers of the Correctiv project note, in fact, in an interview, the politician did not explain her expectations for the candidate for the post of German defense minister after the dismissal of Christine Lambrecht. In particular, the words of Strack-Zimmermann related to the fact that the minister would be responsible for people who, according to his decision, would go to war. That is, it was said that the Minister of Defense as a whole is responsible for the leadership of the army, and not for the participation of the German military in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Moreover, the Chairman of the German Defense Committee does not decide on the missions of the German army. Also, the fact-checkers did not find any evidence that Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann once spoke positively about the deployment of German soldiers in Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propaganda nourishes the narrative that foreign military forces are fighting in Ukraine. Previously, propagandists spread the message that the EU and NATO were planning to unleash the Third World War, and the military from the EU countries fought on the territory of Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion.

Russian and foreign media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric use the recent statement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against Ukraine. Like, the chancellor is against NATO supplying weapons to Ukraine, because it weakens the Alliance. As a result, according to the authors of the messages, Germany will no longer supply Ukraine with armed assistance.

Analysts of the EUvsDisInfo project found out that in fact, in his statement, Scholz did not criticize the supply of weapons to Ukraine, but that the members of the Alliance turned this process into a “public competition”. This, according to the Chancellor, is what weakens NATO, threatening its unity. Scholz said that unity helped Ukraine in the early days of the war and countries should not argue about arms supplies to Ukraine.

Propagandists are trying in every possible way to condemn Western countries for providing military assistance to Ukraine, using various methods for this. They either call it “foul play” or direct intervention in the war. Very often this is combined with manipulations on the topic of the attitude of society in NATO member countries to the provision of weapons 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.

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.

In the German-language segment of Facebook and Twitter, users are spreading a video showing a train with German Leopard tanks. The inscription of the video claims that it was made before January 24, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz officially announced that Germany would provide tanks to Ukraine. But this is not true.

As Correctiv points out, the video was made in April 2022, and it shows the process of returning German equipment to its places of permanent deployment after military exercises. Users misleading the inscription that the video was made before the federal authorities decided to supply tanks to Ukraine write in the comments that Scholz is a liar and that he does not solve anything, since Germany is led by the United States.

The purpose of spreading such fake videos may be to influence the German society in order to convince it that Germany is losing independence in decision-making and sow distrust in the authorities. The audience of such fakes can be Euroskeptics and East Germans, who traditionally advocate rapprochement with Russia.

Russian propaganda is constantly trying to use social conflicts or tensions in different countries to sow chaos, discord or bring right-wing populists backed by the Kremlin to power. Germany is one of the most important countries for the Kremlin, on whose loyalty Russia has relied for decades. After the start of a full-scale invasion, German politicians admitted that their policies of “reconciliation” with Russia, attempts to reduce sanctions after the annexation of Crimea and increasing dependence on Russian gas supplies were a mistake. Also, the German society took the side of Ukraine. But Russian propaganda continues to work intensively in Germany, thanks to social networks as well. And their efforts are bearing fruit: according to a study by the German Center for monitoring, analysis and strategy CeMAS, since the beginning of the war in Germany, the number of people who believe Russian propaganda narratives has increased significantly.

Kremlin media are spreading a photo of a sign purporting to be in a Berlin zoo asking them not to feed the leopards with “Zelensky’s empty chatter because the animals might vomit”.  This information was also shared on social media. Some users are convinced that the zoo is protesting against the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. In the picture distributed by the propaganda media, there is a man with a signboard with the corresponding inscription behind him. However, this is fake.

StopFake analysts conducted an investigation and found that the photo was actually edited. Due to a search using the hashtag #berlinzoo, it was possible to find the original image. There really is a sign there, but it only has the name and logo of the zoo.

Recently, the West agreed on a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, so Russia reacted to it by new falsifications. Prior to this, the Kremlin media called arms supplies to Ukraine a “theatrical performance” and insisted that the West was actually sending scrap metal to the battlefield. By spreading such fakes, propagandists seek to create the appearance that the level of support for Ukraine in the world is declining. Allegedly, everyone is against new arms supplies to Ukraine.

Such information appeared in Russian propaganda media and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly threatening to cancel Ukraine's bid for EU membership unless Germany hands over Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Like, Zelenskyi is blackmailing the European community. However, this is not true.

According to the VoxCheck fact-checkers who investigated this case, this news has been made up. It was published by satirical telegram channels. At the same time, the propagandists referred to this news as real. The fact-checkers found the original source, and the telegram channel published by the text actually says that their materials are “a parody, a satire on political reality, only verified fakes”. Fact checkers add that Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not make such statements in order to get tanks.

By spreading this fake, propagandists are trying to prove that Ukraine is trying to get what it wants by various methods, blackmailing included. Thus, Russian propaganda also seeks to discredit President Zelenskyi and show that the level of support for Ukraine in the world is waning, so the authorities have to use blackmail to achieve their goal.