Spilnota Detector Media

Fake The command of the 110th territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly prohibited treating its military in Kharkiv

Propagandists on anonymous telegram channels, where they spread pro-Russian rhetoric, are distributing a screenshot of a message from an individual who is allegedly a volunteer of the 110th territorial defense brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and is surprised that wounded military personnel are being taken for treatment to Zaporizhzhia, and not to Kharkiv. They say that it was this brigade that the Russians “destroyed” in Avdiivka, so it would be more logical to take the wounded to Kharkiv, and not halfway across the country to Zaporizhzhia. Russian media indicate that the command chose this strategy due to the fact that Kharkiv doctors allegedly help the military desert and hide in the big city. However, all this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that these statements are part of the Kremlin's disinformation campaign. For example, a person who is called a volunteer of the 110th territorial defense forces brigade is actually a journalist from Zaporizhzhia. Russian media also mixed up the brigade that served in Avdiivka.

In light of this, VoxCheck notes that the medical evacuation of Ukrainian military personnel is under threat due to constant Russian shelling, often aimed at medical facilities. This creates very difficult conditions for providing care to the wounded. Russians use such methods, in particular, to discredit the Ukrainian healthcare system.

Fake Fake about the death of 40 children from Pfizer vaccination in Ukraine reached Georgia and Chicago

A fake is being spread on Georgian social networks and the American edition of The Chicago Chronicle, which was refuted in Ukraine two weeks ago. Fact-checkers of the Georgian project Myth Detector told about its appearance.

In the first week of February, Ukrainian social media users circulated a video about the alleged death of 40 children in Ukraine as a result of vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine. In the video, a woman who introduced herself as an employee of the Kyiv office of Pfizer claimed that children in Ukraine were being administered an experimental vaccine under the guise of a flu vaccine. The fact-checkers contacted the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, where they objected that the heroine of the video works for them, and also did not confirm the information from social networks.

An employee of the Kyiv office of Pfizer, Anna Sakhno, claimed that children in Ukraine are being administered an experimental vaccine as an immunization against influenza without the knowledge of parents and medical personnel. In the video, the woman shows documents that show that during the second stage of trials, the mortality rate among vaccinated people was 4-5%. Considering that more than 1,000 children were vaccinated, the number of deaths must be at least 40-50 children.

However, Pfizer, at the request of StopFake, denied that Anna Sakhno works for them. In addition, Pfizer reported that it does not conduct clinical trials in Ukraine that could lead to the death of children. The main source of the allegation about the death of 40 children in Ukraine due to experimental Pfizer vaccination is a video on TikTok, where a woman in medical clothing and with a mask on her face claims that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and even President Zelenskyi personally closely cooperate with Pfizer know about this, providing the company all necessary data on electronic registers of Kyiv hospitals.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security of Ukraine also denied this information as false.

The dissemination of such information is part of an information war aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian authorities and misleading the public.

Fake 40 children have already died - Pfizer allegedly tests vaccines on Ukrainian children

Propagandists are spreading information on social networks that Pfizer, together with the Ukrainian government, is conducting research on Ukrainian children. Like, an employee of the Kyiv office of Pfizer reported this in her TikTok. According to her, a vaccine has been developed in Germany, which is being tested on Ukrainians as a flu shot, and more than 40 children have already died from it. Such tests are carried out in violation of moral and medical standards. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the video with such information was posted on a private channel in TikTok, so it was impossible to view it. However, a recording of Anna Sakhno’s story can be found on YouTube. It was posted by an anonymous user registered online in early February 2024. This is his first and only video. Anonymity and the absence of other content may indicate that the account is fake and specifically created to spread false information.

An appeal from an alleged “Ukrainian Pfizer employee” is also being spread in the English-language segment. The source there is, in particular, an article from the Chicago Chronicle. However, this resource is also fake, as evidenced by a number of signs. The Chicago Chronicle is a well-known local newspaper in Chicago, but it was published from 1895-1907. The site, it claims, has been around since 2021, but the first news appeared on it just two weeks ago. One can also see news categories on the site, but there are publications in only three of them: Business, Politics and Health, the other categories are empty.

There are other signs that a site is fake. For example, the “About Us” section is written in Latin, and the translation of the description shows that it is a set of individual sentences. All links below the page are inactive. Additionally, the study used an outdated Pfizer logo. If this was a current publication, it would use the organization's new logo, introduced in 2021.

So far, no clinical studies are being conducted at the Kyiv representative office of Pfizer. According to the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, not a single company in Ukraine is testing vaccines to prevent influenza.

Propagandists spread such fake news to intimidate society and cause panic. In addition, in this way they justify Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Fake Medicines were allegedly tested on Mariupol residents in the interests of Western companies

Russian media write that rheumatological drugs for large Western pharmacological companies were tested on patients at Hospital No. 7 in Mariupol. Everything happened between 2008 and 2016. In asserting this, propagandists refer to “documents that were found at the site of the reconstruction of the hospital”.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security analyzed this information. As it turned out, Russian propaganda did not provide any real evidence to support this news. The reference to the mythical “workers who found the test documents” cannot be an official source. The documents themselves have not been made public, so we can conclude that they simply do not exist.

In addition, a search for information about “drug research on patients in Mariupol hospitals” in open sources also did not yield results. It should be noted that in Ukraine no one has conducted or is conducting experiments on people. In particular, such cases were not recorded either in the Luhansk region or in the Donetsk region.

This fake propaganda piece echoes others like it about “the functioning of American biological laboratories in Ukraine”, “black transplantology”, “combat mosquitoes”, etc. The purpose of such information dumps is to demonize the West and Ukraine. On the other hand, propagandists are trying to once again assure everyone that “Ukraine is a puppet state”, so Western countries supposedly allow themselves to do whatever they want on its territory.

Fake In Kharkiv, a hospital was allegedly closed for the hospitalization of civilians, because Polish soldiers were being “treated” there

Anonymous Telegram channels are distributing screenshots of correspondence allegedly in which a doctor at Kharkiv Hospital No. 3 talks about how the surgical department provides medical care to wounded foreign military personnel, in particular Poles. The authors of the fake publications conclude that the facility is “isolated” for civilian patients.

The VoxCheck specialists contacted the hospital department, where they were told that the information about the treatment of Polish or military personnel of other nationalities was not true. Moreover, there is no surgical department in this hospital, the propagandists simply made it up.

And the screenshot of the “correspondence” is extremely dubious. It does not include the user's name or photo to potentially identify the likely identity of the doctor. The Kremlin’s minions could easily simulate and invent this dialogue, just like the fake itself.

Fake Documents confirming black transplantation in the Ukrainian Armed Forces were allegedly found in Sievierodonetsk

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading a story about allegedly black transplantation in temporarily occupied Sievierodonetsk, when it was under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Propagandists claim to have found consent forms for the removal of organs and body tissues, allegedly filled out on behalf of Ukrainian army soldiers in 2022. The plot also features witnesses to black transplantation who seem to talk about how it all happened.

In fact, this plot has been staged. It contains fake heroes and evidence. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation. In general, Russians have been spreading the message about black transplantology in Ukraine, in particular in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since 2014. 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.

To promote its lies, Russian propaganda systematically uses staged stories, fake articles and news distributed by Kremlin-controlled resources. More information about the propaganda campaign of information influence “Black Transplantology” can be found in the study of the Center for Countering Disinformation.

• Read also: The medical mission of FRIDA Ukraine is allegedly engaged in the transfer of organs

Fake Greek Catholics were allegedly freed from mobilization

Users of social networks are disseminating information that allegedly Greek Catholics of Ukraine were exempted from mobilization. They say that proof of this is that the Kyiv Three Hierarchs Theological Seminary received a license from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to conduct higher education in the Theology specialty. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that indeed, by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated January 15, 2024, the Kyiv Three Hierarchs Theological Seminary of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) received a state license and was registered in the Unified State Electronic Database of Education. However, this does not mean that members of the Greek Catholic Church are exempt from the obligation to serve in the army according to constitutional requirements.

Lawyer of the Miller law firm Andrii Novak notes in a commentary to Ukrainska Pravda that, according to the legislation of Ukraine, religious beliefs do not exempt an individual from the obligation to defend the state. The country's constitution guarantees the equality of all citizens before the law and prohibits discrimination on religious grounds. The current version of the laws on mobilization preparation and mobilization does not provide for any exceptions for believers. The obligation to serve in the army is the same for both believers and non-believers.

At the same time, Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine provides for the possibility of replacing military service with alternative (non-military) service if the performance of military duty contradicts the religious beliefs of a citizen. There is a list of religious organizations whose supporters are prohibited not only from using, but even picking up weapons. The Greek Catholic Church is not included in this list. However, this rule applies only to conscript service in peacetime.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to arouse public distrust in government decisions and discredit the mobilization process in the country. Detector Media has already refuted other Russian fakes on mobilization.

Message Disease X is allegedly another experiment on Ukrainians

Russian telegram channels continue to talk about the unknown disease X and claim that Ukraine is preparing to confront the virus in close cooperation with Washington. In addition, propagandists are calling on Ukrainians to rethink the potential pandemic, which they claim could be another commercial project of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health for further human experimentation. However, this is not true.

The message was noticed by specialists from the VoxCheck project. They found out that Disease X is not a commercial project; it was first mentioned back in 2018. In addition, Ukraine is collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to prepare for the possible spread of an unknown disease.

The Russians' statements are manipulative. Ukraine does not have “close” cooperation with the United States regarding possible cases of disease X, as propagandists write about it. In addition, unknown pathogen X is not a new phenomenon; WHO first mentioned it in 2018. Disease X is the conventional name for a pathogen that is not yet known to people, but may cause a pandemic in the future. At the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 17, 2024, the threat of a possible pandemic from disease X was discussed. WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the need for joint measures by countries to prepare for this scenario.

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine is working together with WHO to prevent the spread of dangerous pathogens. In Ukraine there are national and regional laboratories that diagnose infectious diseases and study antibiotic resistance. Health Minister Viktor Liashko notes the importance of working on new strategies to prepare for a possible pandemic and the problem of antibiotic resistance.

By supporting such conspiracy theories, propagandists want to intimidate society and cause people to distrust international institutions. Detector Media has repeatedly written about other conspiracy theories that are spread by Russian propaganda against Ukraine.

Fake The Times allegedly indicates that after the war, half of Ukrainians will suffer from mental illness

Propagandists are actively disseminating information that The Times predicts that after the end of the war, half of the Ukrainian population will face mental illness. In addition, social networks are spreading the claim that Uliana Suprun, who served as the acting Minister of Health of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019, led to the death of Ukrainian medicine by destroying hospitals and rehabilitation institutions in the country. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. They found out that in an article dated January 27, journalist Anthony Lloyd talks about the psychological problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, the statistics that 50% of Ukrainians face mental problems are not mentioned. According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, between 3 and 4 million people in Ukraine (including military and civilian) require mental health care. It is estimated that up to 15 million Ukrainians may need psychological help after the war ends.

There are public and private centers in Ukraine that provide assistance to military and civilians with psychological trauma. Also, the state budget for 2024 provides 2.6 billion hryvnia for activities for mental, sports, physical, psychological rehabilitation and professional adaptation of military personnel and members of their families. In addition, Ukraine’s partners are ready to help overcome the psychological consequences of the war. For example, NATO member countries are exploring the possibility of funding recommended measures to improve the health care system in Ukraine in the area of mental health.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to intimidate Ukrainian society into accepting Russia's conditions. Detector Media has previously written about how Russian propaganda stigmatizes the topic of mental health.

Fake Russians allegedly overcame the “medical collapse” in Melitopol thanks to doctors from St. Petersburg

This information is published by pro-Russian resources and supported by “evidence”: a fragment of a video with an alleged comment by the head of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, on the air of a telethon. Basic Russian-made medicines are also imported into the territory of the Zaporizhzhia region in large quantities.

In fact, the Melitopol mayor did not say anything like this during the telethon, because such a video simply does not exist, and there are no comments on this topic on his official communication channel. This was brought to the attention of the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. The video itself was made using the deepfake method. It can be viewed here. The video shows facial expressions that are not typical for humans, a lack of speech pauses, and desynchronization of lips and direct speech. In addition, the video is of low quality, the date and time of inclusion are blurred. The last broadcast, where Fedorov commented on the medical situation in Melitopol, was on December 16, 2023. There he spoke, in particular, about the fact that the Russians are conducting medical experiments on Melitopol residents.

Thus, propagandists strive to assure that “Russia will come and restore order”. However, the reality is somewhat different. Considering the atrocities of the Russians in Bucha, Hostomel and Izium, it can be argued that this war is genocidal in nature, and Moscow’s ultimate goal is the complete destruction of the Ukrainian people.

• Read also: In Italy, a propaganda exhibition about Mariupol “revived” by the occupiers was banned.

Fake Viral pneumonia is allegedly spreading in the Kharkiv region

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that viral pneumonia is “massively spreading” in the Kharkiv region. As evidence, they add a photo allegedly from a Ukrainian military doctor in an ambulance with people who “get pneumonia”. And they claim that local doctors cannot fully determine what kind of disease it is: they suggest that it may be a form of COVID-19 or another disease. It is not true.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated the case and found out that there are no statistics yet on the number of people infected with any type of pneumonia. Moreover, in the Kharkiv region, influenza and COVID-19 diseases do not exceed the epidemic threshold. And using a reverse search on Google, analysts found the original source of the photo - on Facebook, a military man posted a photo of an ambulance and wrote that he pulled a fellow soldier from the battlefield who had a fever due to pneumonia. According to the author of the message, after treatment the guy recovered and returned to service.

That is, the anonymous people used a reliable photograph that illustrates a military man suffering from pneumonia, but distorted the context in their own way. Allegedly, disease epidemics are approaching in Ukraine.

Fake From January 1, 2024, it is allegedly impossible to get to a doctor in Ukraine without a military ID

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are distributing a photo of an “announcement” allegedly posted in one of the Kyiv hospitals. It says that from the beginning of 2024 it seems impossible to get to a doctor “without a military ID”. The “announcement” refers to the so-called Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 147 of December 26, 2023. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck analysts investigated the case and found out that such a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers simply does not exist. There are only three documents on the government portal for the specified period (26.12.2023). However, they in no way relate to the procedure for visiting medical institutions. Moreover, only those liable for military service have a military ID. That is, this is a person who has served in the military, has a military education, or has reached 27 years of age. In other cases - if the man has not reached the specified age, and also without military service or education, is a conscript and has a registration certificate. At the same time, after 60 years of age, men no longer become liable for military service - they are removed from the register. That is, it is illogical to demand a military ID from men during an appointment with a therapist, because everyone has such a document. Therefore, the announcement photos were most likely compiled using image editors.

But according to the director of the Department of Health of the Ternopil Military District, Olha Yarmolenko, for planned care (long-term treatment or planned surgery), military registration documents, including a military ID, may be requested from men of military age. The VoxCheck specialists add: according to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of December 30, 2022, this is necessary for the timely maintenance of military records.

Moreover, men do not need a military ID to sign a declaration with a family doctor. All one needs is a passport, identification code and telephone number.

Fake A Ukrainian charity organization allegedly urged “not to keep a Russian inside”

Russian anonymous telegram channels report, with reference to the Ukrainian charitable organization Future for Ukraine, that in Ukraine they are allegedly “brainwashing Ukrainian women with the aim of committing abortions in case of pregnancy from a Russian”. “You don’t have to keep a little katsap (a Russian) inside you: this is not an abortion, but the elimination of the Russians”, propaganda quotes its  advertising campaign. However, this is fake.

StopFake contacted it for comment and received a response that this was a fake publication. The GIDNA project, also listed in the fake ad, “in no way advocates for abortion or decisions related to the personal choice of a survivor of sexual violence at the hands of Russian occupiers”. The GIDNA project provides exclusively professional anonymous psychological assistance to women and is designed to help overcome the consequences of the trauma of violence. All official information is posted on the website www.gidna.org.

The fact that such advertising does not exist can be seen using the advertising library in Meta. The foundation did have an advertisement for the GIDNA project, launched in December 2023, but there was no call for abortion in the text of the advertisement - it was invented by propagandists.

They spread such fake news to ridicule the problem of sexual violence by the Russian army and devalue its scale. Detector Media has previously written about how else Russian propaganda uses this topic.

Fake Medical mission FRIDA Ukraine allegedly deals with organ transplants

Accusations have appeared on the Internet regarding the FRIDA Ukraine medical mission project, which receives support from the UN Development Program and the Japanese government. The accusations are that the mission, instead of providing medical care to people in the front-line territories, is allegedly engaged in “organ transplants”. The underlying assumption behind these accusations is that Japan needs donors, while Israeli doctors are recognized as the best transplant surgeons in the world.

However, these accusations are unfounded. Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. The Ukrainian-Israeli medical mission FRIDA Ukraine was founded by Israelis Roman Goldman and Mark Nevy; it unites 980 doctors from Ukraine and Israel. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, they have been providing medical care to children, people with disabilities and the elderly in the hottest spots of Ukraine. It is important to note that they do not perform organ transplants.

With the support of the Government of Japan and the UN Development Program, the organization is implementing only one of its projects - “Strengthening awareness of the acceptance and understanding of mine victims among volunteer doctors, members of territorial communities and the general public”. The project does not involve any operations or transplants, and its goal is to raise awareness among volunteer doctors and community members about the rules of working and interacting with victims of mine-explosive activities, purchasing equipment and attracting public attention to this problem. The implementation of the project includes training and an information campaign on the Internet.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit Ukrainian doctors and the government in general. This is not the first time they accuse the Ukrainian side of “black transplantology”, as Detector Media has already written about.

Manipulation 200-500 thousand Ukrainians allegedly lost limbs due to the war

Propagandists spread information that, according to various estimates, in Ukraine, supposedly from 200 to 500 thousand people have already lost limbs, and 50 thousand Ukrainian military personnel have turned to the Ottobock company, which develops prosthetics. This is manipulation.

This case was studied by specialists from the VoxUkraine project. It turned out that the information mentioned was being manipulated. Firstly, Russian propaganda does not cite a single source from which the figures about 200-500 thousand people who lost limbs come from. There is only a link to the Ottobock company, which allegedly ordered prosthetics for 50 thousand Ukrainian soldiers. Secondly, presumably, the propagandists had in mind an article by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which directly quoted the German company Ottobock, providing data on the number of prosthetics ordered by Ukrainians. However, the article is talking about 20-50 thousand Ukrainians, and not just military personnel who lost limbs, and by no means hundreds of thousands. In addition, 50 thousand is a rough estimate based on data from the state and medical partners of the total number of amputees, but not the number of Ottobock clients.

Russian propaganda is trying to scare Ukrainians and encourage us to oppose the current government by exaggerating the number of compatriots who have had one or two limbs amputated. In this case, propagandists are manipulating a sensitive topic. Previously, we analyzed the Russian manipulation that in Ukraine they allegedly want to abolish disability in order to send more people to the front.

Fake A drug laboratory where military personnel allegedly work was exposed in Lutsk

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels disseminated information that supposedly in Lutsk law enforcement officers exposed the activities of a drug laboratory in which, according to them, servicemen of the 14th separate mechanized brigade worked. It's fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that in the fake, propagandists refer to the original article from the Volyn News website for November 9, 2023. It says that on November 8, the Volyn region police exposed the activities of drug laboratories. However, firstly, this article makes no mention of the military personnel of the 14th separate mechanized brigade. Secondly, propagandists claim that the laboratories were exposed in Lutsk, although the head of the department for combating drug crime in the Volyn region, Oleh  Zubko, stated that the searches were carried out in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions. Thirdly, none of the sources confirms the involvement of servicemen of the 14th Mechanized Brigade in the identified laboratories.

They also found several publications in other media about this National Police operation, and none of them mentioned soldiers from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to discredit the Ukrainian armed forces. They say that soldiers cannot survive what they saw in the war and integrate into Ukrainian society. Detector Media also refuted other fakes with a similar message, including that the military was allegedly buying up antidepressants en masse.

Manipulation Volyn residents seem to need to collect at least 200 liters of blood due to “colossal losses”

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Volyn residents supposedly need to collect at least 200 liters of blood for the wounded in the 14th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighting near Kupiansk. The regional media Volyn Post allegedly wrote about this. However, it was discovered that the data was fake, and speculation about “colossal losses” was not confirmed.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. They found out that in early November, VolynPost actually published an appeal for Volyn residents to donate blood to support military personnel. In particular, the Volodymyr Territorial Medical Association reported that the Volodymyr department of transfusion assistance really needs donor blood of all groups and the Rh minus factor. However, the original message did not indicate the blood volume or weight of the donor, and the screenshot of the news was edited.

In fact, the donor may weigh at least 50 kg, not 200 kg as stated in the fake message. In addition, the minimum dose size for blood collection from one donor is 450 ml, and this figure does not indicate the real need of the military. Therefore, the conclusions about “400 wounded” and “colossal losses” are unconfirmed.

The VoxCheck experts note that the donation system works more efficiently when donors donate blood regularly, and not just in case of emergency. Currently, Ukraine has a system of planned donation to maintain a sustainable level of blood supplies. The need for donated blood may vary depending on the circumstances, so the Ministry of Health, the Ukrainian Transplant Coordination Center and blood centers may use different communication mechanisms with citizens.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to create the false impression of Ukraine's failure on the battlefield. All this in order to force Ukrainian society to agree to end the war on Russia’s terms.

Fake Quarantine was allegedly declared in seven regions of Ukraine “due to an outbreak of scarlet fever”

In the Russian segment of social networks, information is being disseminated that a quarantine has allegedly been declared in seven regions of Ukraine due to the spread of scarlet fever. Screenshots of the alleged TSN story about the introduction of quarantine are added to the publications. It's a lie.

The analysts of the VoxCheck project examined this case and determined that as of November 21, 2023, quarantine was not introduced in any region of Ukraine due to scarlet fever. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that the spread of the disease is not an emergency; scarlet fever is a seasonal disease, so infection is registered in Ukraine every year. For example, over 10 months of 2023, 375 cases of scarlet fever were registered in the capital, most of them among preschoolers and students.

As for the photographs of the news story, they are compiled. This is indicated by several elements: for example, the design of the text block and the font differ from the original one, which is used by TSN media workers to design news materials; and with the help of a reverse search on Google, it was possible to establish that the footage of the fake story actually belongs to a series of information materials about the introduction of quarantine in 2018 due to the flu outbreak and in 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Propagandists have long been speculating on the topic of health care, in particular lying about “disease outbreaks” in order to provoke panic and distrust of the authorities. It seems that the Ukrainian leadership is not able to cope with the provision of decent treatment or prevention of diseases.

By the way, the Ministry of Health explained that scarlet fever is an acute infectious disease, manifested by damage to the tonsils, an empty mouth and a characteristic rash. In most cases, scarlet fever begins suddenly. You can find out more detailed information and what to do if you  suspect scarlet fever here.

Read also: a series of epidemics will begin in Ukraine “due to cuts in medical funding”.

Disclosure The Ministry of Health of Ukraine allegedly sends emails to Ukrainians about the shortage of medicines in the country

According to such reports, the shortage of medicines allegedly arose against the backdrop of Ukraine’s refusal to use medicines produced in Russia or Belarus, as well as due to complicated logistics. In addition, the letters contain advice on how traditional medicine can help in this case. This is the Russian IPSO.

The case was worked on by the Center for Countering Disinformation and noted that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine itself had already managed to refute this information. They reported that in fact there is no shortage of medicine, and added: Ukrainians have access to original and high-quality medicines both in pharmacies and in medical institutions.

The purpose of this pseudo-mailing is to discredit the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and sow panic among Ukrainians. Previously, we analyzed the message of Russian propaganda that expired medicines are allegedly being imported into Ukraine, which is why people are allegedly  dying.

Fake A third of young Ukrainians allegedly went to Russia because of “better medicine” and “less unemployment”

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that, according to the results of a sociological survey by Global Service and European Migration Support Bureau, a third of Ukrainian youth have migrated to Russia. In addition, the majority of Ukrainian refugees there allegedly recognized Russian aggression as “liberation”, and among the reasons for migration they named “better medicine” and “less unemployment” in Russia. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the companies supposedly conducting this survey did not exist, and the information about the survey itself was fictitious. The incorrect information also indicates that the name of the European Migration Support Bureau is misspelled (probably European instead of European). Structures with similar names that deal with refugee issues do exist (for example, the European Union Agency for Asylum and the European Asylum Support Office), but none of them published the data indicated.

In addition, the very fact of conducting such a study is questionable, since Russian media admit that the survey involved Ukrainians who “traveled to the territory of Crimea or former Ukrainian regions that later joined Russia”. This does not reflect the actual situation, since many refugees ended up in Russia due to the lack of alternative evacuation routes.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to justify Russia’s crimes by saying that it is allegedly ready to create a better life for Ukrainians, ignoring the problems of its citizens.

Manipulation Pregnant Ukrainian women will allegedly be forced to work until they give birth

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that employers can now force pregnant Ukrainian women to work until the child is born through a new bill passed by the Verkhovna Rada. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that such information was untrue. According to the new order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, women can independently decide whether to go on leave from the 30th week of pregnancy, or choose another date to start their maternity leave. Previously, women who were 30 weeks pregnant and under the supervision of a doctor received from them a medical certificate of temporary incapacity for work in the category “pregnancy and childbirth”. After receiving it, the woman was obliged to go on maternity leave. Pregnant women could continue working if they wished, but then the number of days on maternity leave was reduced by as many days as they worked. The size of the benefit in this case also decreased, because it depended on the number of days of vacation. In July of this year, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill according to which, if desired and in case of medical contraindications, part of the maternity leave, namely the 70 days provided before childbirth, can be postponed and used after it. The total duration of maternity leave should be no more than 126 calendar days and 140 days for the birth of two or more children or complicated births.

Propagandists extend such manipulations to create a negative impression of the healthcare system in Ukraine. In addition, in this way they also want to create distrust in the Ukrainian government regarding changes in the country. They say that this government is not worth fighting for, because it harms the people. Detector Media also refuted other manipulations related to the healthcare system in Ukraine.

Message Expired medicines are allegedly being imported into Ukraine, causing people to die en masse

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that a shipment of humanitarian medical aid, namely anesthesia drugs, was allegedly delivered to Ukraine; their expiration date has supposedly expired. The authors of the reports claim that due to the use of expired drugs, “in one day in Dnipro, 12 people died after anesthesia”. And in Kharkiv, five deaths seem to have been registered as a result of using the drug.

Analysts from the StopFake project took up the case and explained: the authors of the fake publication did not provide any confirmation regarding the information about the expired batch of humanitarian aid medicines. However, experts suggest that the basis for creating this stuff was the situation in Dnipro, when in one of the clinics, after planned operations, 11 patients ended up in intensive care. According to the regional prosecutor's office, one of the patients, an 11-year-old boy, died. The State Service of Ukraine for Medicines and Drug Control then reported that patients suffered a severe adverse reaction to medications used during surgical interventions. Doctors were unable to save two patients.

However, this case has nothing to do with the import of low-quality medicines into Ukraine through humanitarian aid. The civil service has temporarily banned the sale and use of several batches of medications that are likely to have caused severe adverse reactions during operations. The pre-trial investigation is currently ongoing.

By speculating on this situation, propagandists seek to demonstrate that in Ukraine as a state, supposedly, no one is interested and even partner countries are ready to supply expired medicines. At the same time, the authors hint at the contrived inability of the Ukrainian healthcare system to conduct audits of supplied medicinal products. After all, this is how the Kremlin’s henchmen nurture mistrust of Ukraine among consumers of disinformation.

Read our other documented case: Ukrainian soldiers allegedly suffer from HIV en masse because they are offered free testing.

Message A series of disease epidemics will begin in Ukraine “due to cuts in medical funding”

This thesis was spread by pro-Kremlin media. The reports say that Ukraine does not care about the medical field and it is gradually “declining” - and then epidemics of various diseases will soon begin. They wrote that outbreaks of hepatitis A were already allegedly observed in five Ukrainian cities and recognized that this was an epidemic. They also refer to the statement of the general director of the Kyiv City Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Serhii Chumak, who stated a high probability of a measles outbreak in Ukraine in 2023.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project analyzed this case and explained that in the 2024 budget, funding for medicine, on the contrary, was increased, and the highlighted facts about measles and hepatitis A contain manipulations or lies.

For example, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine actually reported an outbreak of hepatitis A in Vinnytsia. But the situation was defined as an emergency at the regional level; there was no talk of an epidemic at all. And, as experts explained, cases of hepatitis A are recorded in Ukraine every year - this is a seasonal disease that most often spreads in the cold season. The disease is usually spread by unwashed hands or by using or drinking contaminated water.

As for a possible measles outbreak, Serhii Chumak actually talked about it. In general, the disease is cyclical, and the last outbreaks were recorded in 2018-2019. Over the nine months of 2023, 46 people fell ill with measles in Ukraine - this figure is four times more than was recorded for the entire 2022. Analysts note that the risk of an outbreak is not due to a lack of funding or doctors, but to the low level of measles vaccination.

Message Ukrainian female doctors are running away from mobilization to temporarily occupied territories

This thesis was spread on social networks in the Russian segment. Reports say that female doctors are leaving Ukraine en masse for the temporarily occupied territories. In support of this thesis, a video is cited: a recording of a telephone conversation with a so-called doctor, a woman, from the Lviv region, who allegedly wants to go to temporarily occupied Mariupol and is looking for an apartment to live in. The authors argued that the woman allegedly received a draft notice and therefore she wanted to leave.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project dealt with this case. They explained that female doctors and pharmacists should indeed register with the military from October 1, 2023, but registration with the military does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on traveling abroad. The Ministry of Health notes: registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. The travel of this category of women is unlimited.

Therefore, most likely, the video is staged. After all, women are not mobilized in Ukraine  although the heroine of the video, during a telephone conversation, used the argument about mobilization as one of the main reasons for her irresistible desire to “escape” from Ukraine. In addition, this video is distributed only in the Russian segment of social networks. Experts cited other points from the telephone conversation:

For example, a woman said that she was only interested in an apartment in a new building and thus hinted that Russia was rebuilding Mariupol - a city that the occupiers really destroyed to the ground. Read in our Newspeak section how Moscow actually “rebuilds”  captured and destroyed cities and villages, calling them “a piece of paradise”.

Of course, it is almost impossible to verify the authenticity of the recording of a telephone conversation, since we can only refute the facts listed during the conversation. And this information includes false facts that, most likely, the Kremlin can use for its own purposes. For example, spread panic among Ukrainian women.

Fake In Vinnytsia, an outbreak of hepatitis A occurred due to “the work of biolaboratories and destroyed medicine”

Russian propagandists spread information that there was an outbreak of hepatitis A in Vinnytsia and note that “the reasons are simple - biolaboratories and destroyed medicine” in Ukraine. This is a fake.

As noted by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project, people with hepatitis A are indeed hospitalized in Vinnytsia, since October 16, 280 cases of infection have been recorded. However, the cause of the outbreak of this disease is currently being investigated, and the necessary measures are being taken. It was for this purpose that the team of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine headed by Ihor Kuzin arrived in Vinnytsia on October 28.

Outbreaks of hepatitis A are not a sign that medicine is “destroyed” in Ukraine, because such outbreaks were recorded in 2022 in the USA in the following states: California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. In 2023, it occurred in California, Arizona, Minnesota, and North Dakota. And the cause of the outbreak was strawberries imported from Mexico.

Tetiana Bondarenko, deputy director of the Department of Health Care and Rehabilitation of the Regional Military Administration, reported that the situation is under control. Moreover, the Vinnytsia region received from the Ministry 1,060 doses of vaccine for vaccinations of doctors involved in the elimination of the outbreak, and 1,100 doses of vaccine for vaccination of children. And if necessary, the necessary amount of vaccines from other regions will be redirected to Vinnytsia. This fact shows that the health care system works in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads fakes about biolaboratories in Ukraine. In this way, propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians, saying that biolaboratories are now not only harming Russians, but have also destroyed Ukrainian medicine. And as a result - diseases that cannot be cured. Earlier, we wrote about the manipulation that the authorities are destroying traces of US military biological laboratories in Odesa.