The claim that COVID-19 vaccination in Japan led to a sharp rise in mortality is not true. A widely circulated post alleged that vaccines were supposedly the cause of an “explosion of deaths”. In reality, the cited study merely describes an increase in excess mortality in Japan in certain years and does not establish any causal link between vaccination and this rise. The authors of the scientific paper explicitly state that vaccines cannot explain the increase in deaths. The manipulation was exposed by fact-checkers at Factcheck.bg.

An article titled “COVID vaccinations in Japan lead to a spike in mortality” was published by the outlet Kritichno.bg on August 28, 2025. It concluded that only 10% of deaths were linked to the coronavirus itself, while the rest were allegedly caused by vaccines.

However, the study mentioned in the article, published in BMJ Public Health in April 2024, reached entirely different conclusions. It analyzed excess mortality in Japan from 2020 to 2023 compared with the period from 2015 to 2019. Researchers recorded a decline in mortality in 2020, an increase in 2021 with a peak in 2022, followed by a decrease again in 2023. Overall, more than 219,000 excess deaths were recorded during the period.

The lead author of the study, University of Tokyo researcher Hanan Devanathan, emphasized that their research does not in any way prove a link between vaccines and mortality. It merely shows that mortality rates in the country did increase during the pandemic, due in particular to undiagnosed COVID-19 cases, waves of infection, demographic factors, and a rise in chronic diseases.

A similar view is shared by Paul Hunter, Professor of Medicine at the University of East Anglia. He noted that mortality peaks coincided with waves of COVID-19 rather than with vaccination campaigns. Most deaths in 2022–2023 occurred among vaccinated individuals simply because the majority of the population had been vaccinated by that time. At the same time, the risk of dying from COVID-19 among vaccinated people was significantly lower than among the unvaccinated.

Therefore, claims of an “explosion in mortality” caused by COVID-19 vaccines in Japan are a blatant manipulation that is not supported by any scientific evidence.

Information is circulating on social media claiming that Ukraine will no longer evaluate citizens' fitness for military service. Allegedly, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has made this decision by disbanding the relevant commissions responsible for such assessments. These claims suggest that the evaluation process for determining military eligibility has been completely abolished.  

“Zelenskyi has abolished medical commissions that assess fitness for military service. Everyone will fight!”, users are writing.

Actually, at the end of 2023, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi actually signed Law No. 12178, which provides for the liquidation of medical and social expert commissions (MSEC) in Ukraine. It was these bodies that established the degree of loss of a person's working capacity (disability). In the case of a positive decision, this made it possible to be released from the obligation to serve in the army. At the same time, the agitprop kept silent that the law signed by the president also provides for the creation of an analogue of MSEC - “expert teams for assessing the daily functioning of a person”, which have already begun their work on January 1, 2025.

The explanatory note to the aforementioned law states that the decision to eliminate the MSEC was related to outdated approaches used by the commissions, and not to the elimination of the ‘service’ as such.

And the final fitness for military service during martial law in Ukraine is determined by the Military Medical Commission, not the MSEC.

A Polish pro-Russian Telegram channel, citing representatives of the ‘Mykolaiv underground’, spread information that hospitals in the city of Dnipro are overflowing with ‘high-ranking NATO military personnel’. These patients are ‘so high-profile’ that SBU officers are allegedly on duty at the entrance and on the floors of hospitals, demanding that doctors sign confidentiality agreements. This secrecy regime is allegedly introduced in the event of ‘serious incidents involving Alliance generals’.

However, this information has nothing to do with reality. The Polish pro-Russian Telegram channel, which spreads the ‘news’ about NATO generals in Dnipro hospitals, regularly produces disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

In addition, this is not the first time that propagandists have referred to the so-called ‘Mykolaiv underground’. We previously reported on a fake that ‘black transplantologists’ had arrived in the Sumy region - the source of this disinformation was precisely representatives of this ‘resistance movement’.

Recently, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reported that, in addition to direct work for Russia, the myth of the ‘Mykolaiv underground’ was created for propaganda purposes. After all, in reality, Russian special services do not have a powerful network in Ukraine. In most cases, they either simply pay or promise to pay unwitting citizens of Ukraine for carrying out certain assignments. Instead, the agitprop talks about a ‘numerous ideological underground’ that supposedly selflessly helps Russia ‘liberate Ukraine’.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading a fake video by the American online publication Wall Street Journal that claims that Ukrainian soldiers from “nationalist battalions” are receiving medical care at the frontline, as WSJ journalist Ben Solomon allegedly reported.

“Hundreds of ordinary soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are dying on the battlefield because of this unspoken rule”, they write in the video.

However, this information is not true, as reported by VoxCheck. The Wall Street Journal did not publish such a video, and Ben Solomon did not make similar statements. That is, Russian propagandists created another fake video with a link to a well-known reliable media outlet to promote narratives aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian army.

Thus, Russian propaganda speculates on the topic of the unprofessionalism of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the contemptuous attitude of the Ukrainian command towards soldiers in order to undermine the trust of Ukrainians in the army. In addition, propagandists demonize the term “nationalism” in the context of choosing a conscious path for Ukrainian society. First of all, in order to split the population of Ukraine into camps of “their own” and “alien”.

Information is being spread on social media that Ukraine plans to reduce spending on prosthetics and rehabilitation of military personnel starting in 2025. This is attributed to the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Liashko, along with a fabricated quote about the state's lack of responsibility towards the military. However, in reality, this is a fake.

This is reported by StopFake. The project's specialists found out that there are no similar statements by Liashko in official sources or in the media. Moreover, for 2024 and 2025, the state not only did not reduce, but also increased funding for the relevant programs.

According to the budget, in 2024, UAH 4.3 billion was allocated for primary prosthetics and rehabilitation equipment, which is 40% more than last year. In 2025, this amount will increase to UAH 4.6 billion. UAH 1.1 billion is also provided for high-tech prosthetics. UAH 5.7 billion was allocated for rehabilitation services in the budget, and they remain free of charge for military and civilians.

Russian propagandists spread such fakes to create distrust in Ukrainian society towards the state and its social programs. Such disinformation is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian authorities, accusing them of alleged indifference to the injured servicemen, creating panic and disappointment among the servicemen and their families. This fake is also used to divert attention from the real problems of the Russian side.

Russian propagandists on anonymous Telegram channels are actively spreading information that mobile teams in Ukraine are forcibly vaccinating citizens with Western drugs, and the number of people sick with flu and COVID-19 is “growing” because of this. However, this is not true.

VoxCheck writes about this. Its experts found out that compulsory vaccination is not carried out in Ukraine. Mobile teams work only at the request of citizens who submit applications themselves. Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are recommended, not mandatory. Mobile teams help people with limited mobility, residents of remote settlements, and also vaccinate organized groups. Vaccination reduces the risk of complications, even if a person gets sick.

In this way, they create an impression of chaos and human rights violations, which should undermine confidence in Ukrainian medical institutions. Propagandists also provoke fears about vaccination, which could reduce the level of immunization. By highlighting “Western drugs”, propaganda tries to create a negative image of international aid to Ukraine. The focus shifts from Russia’s own problems to fictitious “crises” in Ukraine.

The pro-Russian segment of the Internet is spreading information that Ukrainian doctors allegedly removed a healthy kidney from a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who was wounded near Sudzha as a result of a Russian drone attack. In claiming this, the propagandists refer to a message on Facebook from the Ukrainian soldier's “girlfriend”, who announced a collection for the man's rehabilitation and allegedly reported that he “no longer has a kidney”.

However, the information about the removal of the Ukrainian soldier's kidney is not true - the propagandists edited the original message of a Facebook user under the nickname Victoria Pendeliuk. The woman did announce a collection for the rehabilitation of the man, but did not report the disappearance of his kidney. So, if one looks at the screenshot of Victoria Pendeliuk's message, which is being distributed by propagandists, and the real message, one will notice that the original publication does not contain the words “and he no longer has a kidney”.

On Facebook, it would be noticeable if the post had been edited. In this case, when you click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the post, the option “View edit history” appears. Some of the posts by Facebook user Victoria Pendeliuk were indeed edited after publication, but no changes were made to the post announcing a fundraiser for the man's rehabilitation. Accordingly, the option “View edit history” is not displayed on it.

After all, Facebook user Victoria Pendeliuk is in fact the wife, not the girlfriend, of the wounded Ukrainian serviceman, and she has already managed to publish a new message refuting the “news” about her husband’s “disappearance of a kidney”.

This fake is intended to feed the Russian narrative about the alleged flourishing of black transplantology in Ukraine. They say that black transplantologists are profiting from the war in Ukraine. We have previously analyzed a number of fakes on this topic. For example, we wrote about disinformation that the heart of a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier is allegedly being sold on the darknet for 70 thousand dollars.

Russian anonymous Telegram channels are actively spreading false information about the sale of organs of deceased Ukrainian soldiers on the black market. According to their reports, ads for the sale of the heart of a Ukrainian soldier for $70,000 have allegedly appeared on the darknet, and similar cases have allegedly been recorded earlier. However, these messages are part of a long-running disinformation campaign known as Black Transplantology, which dates back to 2014, that is, false. Its main goal is to discredit the Ukrainian military-political leadership and form a negative image of Ukraine in the international arena. This is written by the Center for Countering Disinformation.

This fake also functions as a tool of psychological warfare, creating mistrust of the Ukrainian government, speculating on emotionally sensitive topics, and creating an image of the Ukrainian military as “victims of the system” rather than victims of Russian aggression. The manipulation is aimed at destabilizing Ukrainian society and weakening support for the country from the international community. Propaganda often uses such disinformation tactics to tarnish Ukraine’s reputation, presenting it as a corrupt state that disregards human rights.

Ukraine complies with international humanitarian law and ensures appropriate treatment of fallen soldiers, strictly fulfilling its international obligations. The dissemination of such fakes is an attempt to manipulate public opinion and undermine the morale of Ukrainians.

Information is being spread on Russian social networks that a private clinic has posted ads looking for a doctor and a driver-courier to work in frontline cities. Anonymous users report that these vacancies are likely related to the removal of organs from the front or semi-legal cooperation between Ukrainian military personnel and private clinics.

But this is a fake. The ads contain numerous inaccuracies, the phone number belongs to another person. Using keywords, our fact-checking colleagues found the vacancies shown in the screenshots, all of them were published by a user named Viktor Glushko. The ad from the first screenshot was removed from the SellBuyAll.com.ua website, but Glushko published a vacancy for an anesthesiologist-resuscitator on the same website. It is noteworthy that an ad with identical content on the same website was published by an account with the nickname _anо.ni.m. The vacancies were posted on other local websites with ads.

There are inaccuracies in the text of the advertisements themselves. In particular, it is stated that the applicant for the vacancy of a surgeon must have mastered “transplantation methods”. However, fact-checkers were unable to find a definition of “transplantation methods”.

The list of duties of a “driver-courier” includes the item “delivery of biomaterials in Ukraine and abroad by automobile and motorcycle transport”. However, firstly, travel outside of Ukraine is prohibited for most military-liable men, although, of course, there are exceptions.

“Black transplantology” in Ukraine is a conspiracy theory that Russians have been developing for a decade. The constant return to the topic testifies to its importance for Russia. These messages are promoted to both domestic and international audiences. However, their refutation in foreign and Ukrainian media prevents the campaign from having the desired effect. Among the goals pursued by Russian propaganda within the framework of this topic are discrediting the military-political leadership of Ukraine and reducing trust in it, creating a negative image of the state in the eyes of the international community, and justifying a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: How and why Russia uses the topic of “black transplantology” in Ukraine

Anonymous Telegram channels are spreading a Spanish-language story about how the body of fallen Colombian International Legion soldier Michael Ramirezi Fino was returned to his family “without internal organs”. In the video, the soldier’s mother allegedly claims that she asked the International Legion leadership for an explanation and was told that her son’s organs were transplanted to wounded comrades, but the woman doubts this.

But this story is made up, and the video was fabricated by propagandists. Firstly, it was not possible to find a Spanish-language media outlet called Ahora online - the propagandists probably drew the logo of the fictitious publication themselves. Secondly, no other authoritative source reported on this story. Mentions of this story are published only in social networks of the Russian segment.

Black transplantology in Ukraine is a conspiracy theory that Russians have been developing for a decade. The constant return to the topic testifies to its importance for Russia. These messages are promoted to both domestic and international audiences. However, their refutation in foreign and Ukrainian media prevents the campaign from having the desired effect. Among the goals pursued by Russian propaganda within the framework of this topic are discrediting the military-political leadership of Ukraine and reducing trust in it, creating a negative image of the state in the eyes of the international community, and justifying a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: How and why Russia uses the topic of “black transplantology” in Ukraine

Russian media have spread information that in Ukraine children's blood was allegedly forcibly taken for the needs of the army. At the same time, such propaganda materials note that this is done by the military themselves, or that this blood is collected for “foreign mercenaries”. The publications are accompanied by a photo of a guy who donated blood in an educational institution - school desks are visible in the background of the photo.

“There have already been cases in history when children's blood was used to support the health of Wehrmacht soldiers. And this practice was assessed during the Nuremberg Trials”, the propagandists write.

VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and determined that this photo was actually taken on Donor Day, which was held on August 22 in the Vinnytsia region. At that time, a blood collection point was indeed set up in a local lyceum, and the blood collection itself was carried out by a mobile team from the Vinnytsia regional blood service center with the help of local health workers.

A total of 80 people donated blood, local groups write that there were many more who wanted to, but not everyone was able to take part in this procedure due to health reasons. Many photographs from the West were published, among them readers can see the one used by agitprop, but not a single photo shows children, only adults are in line and donating blood.

Propagandists have been systematically spreading fakes and manipulations on the topic of an alleged blood shortage in Ukraine. In this way, the authors of the messages are trying to convince that everything is bad in Ukraine and that there are many wounded who are not receiving adequate care because “there is not enough blood”. We managed to refute several fakes on this topic. For example, one of the fakes said that Ukraine is banning all foreign citizens from becoming blood donors. We also checked the authenticity of a message on social networks about a Ukrainian woman abandoning her husband because he was “transfused with Russian blood”.

A pro-Russian Moldovan Telegram channel writes that Ukraine is “a testing ground not only for conventional, intelligent and unmanned weapons”. Wounded Ukrainian soldiers are also allegedly transported to Europe as biomaterial for studying the effects of modern weapons on humans and for testing new types of viruses and bacteria that are more resistant to antibiotics. In reporting this, the propagandists partly refer to the material of the British publication The Times.

In fact, the propagandists manipulated an article in The Times titled: “Ukraine war highlights mutated superbugs that can resist antibiotics”. The text tells of the case of a Ukrainian soldier whose leg was amputated at St George’s Hospital in London because antibiotics could not cure his infection, as the bacteria were resistant to all classes of antibiotics. However, the propagandists’ claims that Ukrainian servicemen are being transported to Europe to test new types of viruses and bacteria are unfounded.

At the same time, The Times writes that this is not just a crisis of war zones and distant lands. In 2022, more than 58,000 people in England were infected with an antibiotic-resistant infection, up 4% from the previous year. Moreover, almost 8,000 people die from such infections in the UK every year.

With this message, propagandists feed the narrative about Western biological laboratories in Ukraine. As part of this disinformation campaign, we recorded a number of such leaks. For example, we wrote about the spread of a fake about the invasion of poisonous spiders from American biological laboratories in Ukraine.

Russian telegram channels are spreading a message with a video in which the media United 24 allegedly claims that the Ukrainian army intercepted a radio conversation in which a Russian commander warns his soldiers that they can only eat the food they brought with them. The video notes that there have been mass cases of fatal poisoning among Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk direction after they allegedly stole and ate food from local supermarkets.

But this is a fake. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are not looting in the Kursk region, unlike the Russian army and locals, who have been repeatedly seen robbing stores. We checked the United 24 website, as well as their social media pages, and did not find the news quoted by the propagandists. In addition, the fakeness of the message is indicated by the use of videos from Russian Telegram channels in the background, in which Ukrainian soldiers allegedly steal food en masse from Kursk stores and supermarkets.

The main goal of this fake is to spread messages about marginalization and looting among the military defense forces of Ukraine. In this way, the propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian army, accuse it of crimes against the civilian population, and also hide their own. In addition, such news should convince Ukrainians that the operation in the Kursk direction is a failure for Ukraine, primarily due to the alleged presence of active public resistance among Russians.

One of the Russian propagandists claims that a large outbreak of open tuberculosis was discovered in parts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stationed in the Kherson region. This was allegedly reported by the “pro-Russian underground” in the Ukrainian rear. Deaths from this infectious disease are also already being recorded.

However, this information is not true. After failing with a fake about an outbreak of an unknown infection in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson region, without coming up with anything new, the Russians are spreading a similar fake about an outbreak of tuberculosis.

In fact, the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Kherson region is stable and controlled. No outbreaks of acute intestinal infections or food poisoning were recorded. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council.

By spreading such fakes, the Russians are trying to confirm that the Ukrainian military and political command are hiding information about the infection of the Ukrainian military and neglecting them. However, in reality, fiction about “tuberculosis”, “cholera” or “an unknown gastric intestinal infection” in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is aimed at nothing more than to discredit the Ukrainian authorities, undermine confidence in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and destabilize the situation in the country.

Information is being spread on social networks that the energy company of Ukraine, the joint-stock company Sumyoblenergo, allegedly promises to leave without wages those workers who refuse to donate blood to soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Publications add a photo of an advertisement that talks about this.

“Ukrainians are forced to donate blood for AFU soldiers who defend the independence and security of Ukraine in the Kursk region. And if they don’t do it, they won’t receive a salary…”, this is how the fake makers describe the situation.

StopFake specialists analyzed the case and contacted Sumyoblenergo with a request to confirm or deny such information. A company spokeswoman said the ad was fake and pointed out exactly where the propaganda went wrong. For example, the company does not have such a department as the “personnel department”, because it was this department that allegedly issued the announcement.

Propagandists systematically spread fakes and manipulations on the topic of an alleged shortage of blood in Ukraine. Thus, the authors of the messages seek to convince that everything is bad in Ukraine and that there are many wounded who are not receiving decent assistance because “there is not enough blood”. We managed to refute several fakes on this topic. For example, one of the fakes said that Ukraine prohibits all foreign citizens from becoming blood donors. We also verified the authenticity of a message on social networks that a Ukrainian woman was abandoning her husband because he was “transfused with the blood of Russans”.

Read on Censor.NET: In Ukraine, representatives of the LGBT community were allegedly banned from “donating blood”

Pro-Kremlin media, referring to the so-called “Mykolaiv movement”, are disseminating information about the appearance of “black transplantologists” in the Sumy region. According to propagandists, they come from the West and drive foreign medical vehicles.

In fact, this information is not true. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes about this. This fake is part of the Russian campaign for the prosperity of black transplantation in Ukraine. The Center for countering disinformation did an extensive study on this topic, where it described in detail such Russian stuffing.

Russians have been conducting an information campaign about black transplantology since 2014. To do this, they produce fake stories, documents, articles and news. The goal is to discredit the military-political leadership of Ukraine and create a negative image of the state in the eyes of the international community.

We have previously recorded similar fakes. For example, about the creation of groups of donors from the Ukrainian military or about the fact that in Ukraine children are sold for organs.

Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating information that the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly forming “donor squads” from military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Officials allegedly realize that the soldiers “will still be killed or maimed”, so their organs can be taken by “black transplantologists”. In reporting this, propagandists refer to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry representative Zakharova.

In fact, Russia has been spreading the narrative about the supposed “prosperity of black transplantology” in Ukraine for more than 10 years, writes the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Propaganda broadcasts lies to Western audiences, saying that Ukrainians, including children, are “disassembled” for organs, which are then sold to the West. This narrative began to be promoted especially actively with the outbreak of a full-scale war.

However, the Kremlin has never provided any evidence of this. Russians continue to come up with more and more terrible legends, which are subsequently voiced by officials of the Putin regime. Accordingly, this information dump is another attempt to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine and show that the defense of Ukraine from the aggressor is supposedly just a business, the victims of which are ordinary soldiers.

As part of the Russian narrative about “black transplantology” in Ukraine, we have already recorded a number of fakes. In particular, they denied information about the alleged sale of Ukrainian children for organs, as well as about the alleged US assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to “preserve donor organs”.

Pro-Russian sources are disseminating information that the United States is allegedly using hallucinogenic drugs, in particular ketamine, on Ukrainian military personnel. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the corresponding article by The Economist.

However, this information is untrue, write experts on the VoxCheck project. Thus, The Economist did publish an article about the use of ketamine therapy by Ukrainian fighters. However, it was primarily about military personnel with neurological or psychological problems caused by injuries or experiences in war. At the same time, there is no mention in the material that the United States is promoting the spread of ketamine therapy in Ukraine or elsewhere. That is, neither in this article nor in other reliable sources there is information that Ukrainian clinics, at the direction of the United States, are testing ketamine or other psychedelic drugs on Ukrainians.

The Economist story cites the story of Ihor Kholodylo, a military psychologist and medic who, as a result of being wounded, began to stutter and was unable to speak clearly, and also had increased anxiety and nightmares. According to him, ketamine therapy was the only remedy that helped him cope with the trauma and get rid of the mentioned problems.

Also, according to Ukrainian legislation, ketamine is a psychotropic substance whose circulation is limited. In this case, the drug can be used as a medicine. Now in Ukraine one can get services using ketamine therapy in a number of clinics, but in none of the cases are we talking about testing the drug on patients. One can check information about clinical trials on the website of the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The list of clinical trials conducted or ongoing in Ukraine does not include ketamine.

Previously, we analyzed a similar fake of Russian propagandists, which consisted in the fact that Time magazine allegedly published an article in which it was said that the Ukrainian military was “pumped up” with ketamine before the battle.

Social networks are spreading information that there are almost no doctors left in Poltava. According to users publishing this information, the specialists were mobilized or went abroad. The messages depict the work schedule of doctors, where only three of the full staff are supposedly working. However, this is fake.

VoxCheck disinformation experts took note of this case. According to information received from the administration of the establishment, this photo does not correspond to reality. Hospital representatives provided a valid work schedule, which did not include any absences. Information from open sources confirms that the institution did not report any shortage of personnel and the medical institution has a staff of 42 doctors.

It should also be recalled that hospitals and other medical institutions are critical infrastructure and 50% of their workers may be “protected” from mobilization.

Such fakes are aimed at undermining trust in government, mobilization and discrediting the healthcare system. Decreasing trust in government organizations is an established repertoire in propaganda against Ukraine.

Propagandists are distributing reviews of supposedly a woman from Ukraine on foreign and Ukrainian medicine on anonymous telegram channels. In it, this refugee claims that Ukraine is adopting “sloppy” European experience in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. In particular, in her words:

In Europe, early pregnancy diagnosis is not carried out, vitamin intake and iron levels in the blood of pregnant women are not monitored.

Childbirth in hospitals is artificially induced, and there is no postpartum examination.

Doctors do not recommend following a diet while breastfeeding.

However, these statements are false. Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to them. They found that both in Ukraine and in Europe, early diagnosis of pregnancy, as well as support for the mother before, during and after childbirth, are included in the standards of medical care. According to Ukrainian legislation, medical institutions are required to comply with these standards.

In Europe, there are European Standards for the Care of Newborn Health (ESCNH), which are recommended to be adapted to local conditions when developing laws, guidelines and protocols. These standards cover various aspects of maternal and child health care, including childbirth, postpartum care, intensive care, nutrition, hygiene, moral decision-making, palliative care, safety and data collection.

Early diagnosis of pregnancy and postnatal examination of mother and child (with the participation of a pediatrician) are part of European medical standards. The basis of medical practice is patient awareness and provision of counseling support. The patient is offered, rather than ordered, to undergo additional examinations or courses of vitamins.

In Ukraine, since August 2022, the Standards of Medical Care Normal Pregnancy have been in force, according to which early observation of pregnant women (up to 12 weeks) is an indicator of the quality of medical care. Postpartum care is regulated by the “Physiological Childbirth” clinical protocol, which provides for observation in the first 2 hours after birth, monitoring the well-being of mother and child, maintaining early breastfeeding and informing the mother.

Artificial induction of labor is indeed practiced and only for certain indications, such as delay in labor after 41 weeks, premature breaking of water or health problems in the mother or child.

Regarding diet, European doctors really do not advise limiting yourself in food during breastfeeding, noting a complete and balanced diet. In Ukraine, a hypoallergenic diet may be recommended if it is discovered that some foods in the mother’s diet provoke colic in the child.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to create the impression that the European way of life and Ukraine’s European integration in general are wrong. In particular, one of their narratives is that the healthcare system in Europe is terrible, and therefore it is not worth collaborating with it.

Russian telegram channels, citing unnamed Ukrainian media, disseminate information that the risk of epidemics in Ukraine is increasing due to interruptions in electricity, water supply, increasing unsanitary conditions, and a decline in the quality of medicine.

Fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this message and explained that these statements are not true. The fact-checkers were unable to find publications in Ukrainian media that discussed significant risks of the spread of infectious diseases due to temporary power outages. Such messages have only been recorded in the Russian sector of social networks.

And in June 2024, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin, in an interview with Ukrinform, noted that there are no outbreaks of measles, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, ARVI or COVID-19 in Ukraine. In addition, Ukraine has enough vaccines against the listed diseases.

Propagandists are again spreading fake news about the Ukrainian healthcare system, in particular about organ transplantation. They claim that former CIA agent Larry Johnson, in an interview on the YouTube channel Judging Freedom, said that in Ukraine children are sold for organs or given into sexual slavery. However, his statement is not true.

This was found out by specialists from the VoxCheck project. They found an interview with Larry Johnson, where he said that the West is selling Ukrainian children to remove their organs or use them in sexual slavery. However, Larry Johnson is not a reliable source of information. He systematically discredits Ukraine by spreading fake news about the destruction of air defense systems, so-called mercenaries, and support for Russian conditions to end the war. The host of the Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom channel, Andrew Napolitano, also supports the Kremlin propaganda, in particular accusing the United States of “direct war with Russia”.

Previously, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine noted isolated cases of illegal removal of children from Ukraine, but there were no reports of their sale in Western countries. There is no evidence of child trafficking for organ removal.

The European Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) said in its 2023 report that two Ukrainian women were likely victims of sexual exploitation in the Netherlands in 2022, but it is unknown whether any of them were minors. In Poland, 5 cases of human trafficking were investigated, where two 17-year-old Ukrainian women were forced to provide sexual services. One case has been confirmed. The report contains no information about children being sold for organs in the EU, and Larry Johnson did not provide any evidence for his claims.

Propagandists spread such disinformation statements from media figures to create “false confirmation” of their messages. Allegedly, if a foreigner said it, it’s true.

Russian clinical psychologist Svitlana Kolobova stated that according to official data from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, currently 30% of military personnel at the front suffer from various mental illnesses. She also noted that such estimates may be underestimated, and Ukrainian experts allegedly do not disclose how they identified these psychological problems in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Russian propagandist Volodymyr Soloviov conveyed these statements to himself. However, these statements are unreliable.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to them. There are no data or studies confirming such statistics on the official websites of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and on social networks. The Public Health Center or the National Health Service of Ukraine have also not released any information on this matter.

So far, only statistics are available on the number of military personnel who may face mental disorders in the future, but these data were not made public by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, but by foreign and Ukrainian specialists. For example, in the report “Scars on their souls: PTSD and veterans of Ukraine”, experts from the international analytical center Globsec noted that during the ATO and Joint Forces Operation, about 25% of cases of combat stress turned into PTSD of varying severity, and from 20 to 30% of military personnel. those who received psychological trauma during hostilities were unable to solve them without the help of a specialist. According to these data, the real number of cases of PTSD in Ukraine may be more than 20%.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They say they don’t pay attention to this problem, which is becoming increasingly widespread. Russian propaganda stigmatizes the issue of mental health and tries to intimidate the local population.

In the Russian segment of social networks they add that in Ukraine they do not sell medicines without a reference from Territorial centers of procurement and social support. In their publications, the authors refer to the so-called new norms of the law on mobilization. It's a lie.

VoxCheck analysts write that the law signed on April 16, 2024 does not refer to restrictions on the purchase of goods, including medicines, without presenting military registration documents or updating data at Territorial centers of procurement and social support.

That is, in the law on mobilization there is no information that men will not be able to purchase medications at a pharmacy without a reference from the Territorial centers of procurement and social support. VoxCheck specialists asked the largest pharmacies in Ukraine whether they really do not sell medicines without such a certificate. The Podorozhnyk pharmacy chain responded that they act in accordance with current legislation, that is, they provide medicines to everyone in need. So the Russians’ statements are just part of the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign to intimidate Ukrainians and discredit the healthcare system in Ukraine.

An alleged quote from Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former adviser to several American presidents, is being circulated on social networks. According to a Facebook post, he allegedly said that global elites are preparing to cause wars, famines and epidemics around the world with the help of vaccines and chips. Fact-checkers of the Czech project Demagog.cz established that this quote was invented by Russian users of social networks, and then supplemented by Slovak ones.

“Our ultimate goal is a one world government. We will do terrible things: wars, famines and epidemics around the world. After the first, the second, third, fourth, fifth will come, until you yourself ask us for vaccines, and in the end, for chips. If only all this would finally end”, says the quote, which is distributed in Slovak.

The fictitious quote from Zbigniew Brzezinski was first distributed on the Internet in a somewhat abbreviated form - without mention of vaccines and chips, only about a “one world government” and “wars, famines and epidemics”, Demagog.cz reported. Myth Detector, a fact-checking organization, has previously refuted the authenticity of these words and found that the false quote began to spread from Russian sources back in 2012. It was first published in August 2012 by Russian publicist Mykola Kofyrin in his conspiracy blog post, and the next day the fake quote began to spread on the Russian blogging platform LiveJournal.

A post with an invitation to a protest march containing this fake quote began spreading in Facebook groups on April 6, 2024. They used the full version of the quote from vaccines and chips. A similar version first appeared on social networks in October 2020. It was mentioned without specifying a source in an interview for the Extra Plus website by Slovak entrepreneur Jan Semaniak.

Semaniak, who died in January 2024 in Slovakia, was involved in book publishing. His publishing house, Torden, has published books by Volodymyr Putin's advisers and defenders of Russian imperial ambitions. “The publishing company did not stop selling books with pro-Kremlin propaganda even after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Semaniak himself also openly held pro-Russian views in life and liked to spread unfounded conspiracy theories”, Demagog.cz reports.

More refutations of propaganda theses and conspiracy theories can be found in the sections “Messages”, “Tactics and tools”, “Newspeak” and “Conspiracy Theories” of the Detector Media “Disinformation Chronicles”.