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

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

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

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

Propagandists of anonymous telegram channels spread information that one of the largest Polish news portals, Onet Wiadomości, published an article according to which allegedly 95% of Ukrainian refugees will not return home. Like, the publication predicts three scenarios for the development of the demographic situation in Ukraine in the near future, according to which 20-30 million people will remain in Ukraine. It's fake.

 Although the message authors add a link to the portal, it leads to the main page of the portal. In addition, when searching for this material on Onet Wiadomości, it is impossible to find it. Moreover, upon request in Polish “Ukrainians do not want to return home”, Google search engine shows only a number of articles from Polish publications on the topic of how much Ukrainians want to return to their country, which contradicts the main idea of the fake. If the mentioned article really existed, it would definitely be found in the Polish media space.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists continue to try to discredit Ukrainian refugees and create a false impression that they no longer want to support Ukraine abroad precisely because of their behavior, and Poland is the main “target” because it accepted the largest number of refugees. Detector Media wrote about other fakes related to Polish media, in particular, about the fake cover of Dziennik Wschodni.

Anonymous telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric as well as the Polish segment of Twitter distribute a photo of the destroyed monument with the caption that a Ukrainian destroyed it because of Soviet symbols. The obelisk itself was erected in honor of the Polish partisans who fought against Nazism. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxVheck project drew attention to the case. They established that the monument was demolished on the basis of the decision of the Pomeranian governor Dariusz Drelich dated November 7, 2022. For the first time, the Polish publication Wizjalokalna.pl wrote about this and attached a document of the decision. The obelisk was erected at the site of the battle between Polish and Soviet partisans and German troops. The monument was demolished on the basis of the law “On the prohibition of propaganda of communism or another totalitarian system through the names of public buildings, structures and equipment” of 2017. The Institute of National Remembrance found that the obelisk symbolized the memory of communist partisans who were not part of the general Armed Forces of Poland, but were under Soviet command.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow discord between Ukraine and Poland, to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals. And thus reduce support for Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that the crime rate in Poland increased because of the Ukrainians.

A number of Ukrainian media, citing the Polish edition Rzeczpospolita, disseminate information that Poland is less willing to help refugees from Ukraine. This is manipulation.

The fact-checker of the InfoLight.UA project drew attention to the case. They examined articles from Rzeczpospolita and other Polish publications that contained publications of a “survey of public perception of Ukrainian refugees and migrants, conducted in late May - early June by the Research Laboratory of the University of Warsaw and the Academy of Economics and Humanities in Warsaw”. According to fact-checkers, the study has an unrepresentative sample, because only 584 people took part in it (in Ukraine, more than 1,000 people participate) aged 16-65 years, the survey was conducted using a mixed method. Also, the real number of respondents whose support for Ukraine has decreased is 26%. Only 85% of respondents believe that Poland should help Ukraine in the war with Russia - this is a rather big figure. According to the survey, “5% of respondents oppose the admission of refugees from Ukraine to Poland, and this percentage has not changed significantly since the beginning of the survey”.

Specialists draw attention to the fact that this study is called “Public perception of refugees from Ukraine, migrants and measures taken by the government of Mateusz Morawiecki”, and it has political and pre-election overtones. “Elections in Poland are in the fall and, obviously, this is artillery preparation”, fact-checkers note.

Propagandists of Polish social networks are spreading a video in which, according to its description, an alleged Ukrainian teenager beat up his Polish peer in a Polish school. Russian is heard in the video. Polish commentators have already accused Ukrainians of “dishonest attitude” towards Poles under posts with him. However, this is fake.

Analysts of the Demagog project drew attention to it. They found out that the original video was posted on telegram. According to the original post, the fight took place in a rural school in Turochak, Republic of Altai (Russia), over a dispute over the theft of a vape. 

Thus, propagandists want to turn the Poles against the Ukrainians and kindle artificial discord between them. Like, Ukrainian refugees are ungrateful and do not know how to behave in the countries where they migrated.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, in the Ukrainian segment of the telegram. The reports say that allegedly in connection with the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP) by the Russians, the EU countries provide material assistance and provide housing for all refugees from Ukraine. Like, housing will be provided urgently. In the publication, the authors add links to telegram channels, which supposedly contain step-by-step instructions on how to get help in eight European countries. It is not true. 

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, and determined that the heads of the EU countries did not make such statements. That is, it's just stuffing the authors of the messages. Probably, this is how telegram channel administrators seek to increase the number of subscribers by publishing false information. Also, fact-checkers were unable to find reports from European or Ukrainian officials about the provision of housing or other additional assistance to Ukrainian refugees in European countries. 

We recall that we have already analyzed several cases of the Russians blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. Among such cases, we have created a selection of propaganda messages in which Russians justified themselves and denied their crime. Also, analysts denied the message that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant allegedly self-destructed.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Poles seem to accuse the Ukrainian refugees of manifestations of Nazism. They say that anti-Ukrainian billboards have appeared in many Polish cities, and rallies against Poland's involvement in the war in Ukraine are increasingly taking place in Warsaw. The authors refer to the publication Myśl Polska. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found that such theses are unfounded and have no evidence. As they explain, Myśl Polska, referred to by the pro-Russian media, consistently spreads pro-Kremlin rhetoric. For example, in their materials, the authors of Myśl Polska accuse the West, and not Russia, of “unleashing” a war in Ukraine. That is, the likely “material” about the anti-Ukrainian sentiment rally may include a number of fakes and manipulations. At the same time, fact-checkers add that the Polish media do not have any mention of billboards with anti-Ukrainian appeals or mass rallies against Ukraine. They are convinced that this is a stuffing of propagandists.

By spreading this fake, the authors seek to demonize Ukrainian refugees and show that Europe does not support Ukraine and Ukrainians in general. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU, in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own investigation.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian refugees are dissatisfied with life in Europe and are generally surprised that they still need to earn money. The authors add that the refugees are gradually destroying the “sovereignty of European countries” because they do not want to work. As proof, they added a video from a TikTok, in which an alleged Ukrainian “refugee” complains about life in Europe. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and found that the author of this video actually shot a satirical video on her TikTok account, which has nothing to do with real life, since the blogger regularly shoots videos and sketches. At the same time, the propagandists used this video as ostensible evidence that Ukrainian refugees were “dissatisfied” with life in Europe and did not indicate that this video was of a humorous nature. That is, they defiled the meaning and wishful thinking. Moreover, as the fact-checkers explained, the blogger is Ukrainian, and she permanently resides in Ukraine, even after February 24. Analysts turned to Tiktoker for comment, and she confirmed the exclusively humorous nature of the video.

Despite the fact that the video turned out to be humorous, propagandists regularly spread fakes and manipulations regarding Ukrainian refugees. They portray the image of the Ukrainian refugee as being lazy and dissatisfied with everything. Allegedly, Europe should support the Ukrainians, because they strive for this. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU, in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own investigation previously.

Anonymous telegram channels, where pro-Russian rhetoric is spread, say that in Poland Ukrainians are allegedly divided into “types”. They say that the first two “privileged” groups are Ukrainians who lived in Poland before the start of a full-scale invasion or who came to stay with relatives already living in Poland. And the third “type” is Ukrainians who had no previous contacts with the Poles. Allegedly, such a division is also taken into account during employment, so residents of Western Ukraine are given priority. It's fake.

In such reports, the propagandists refer to a comment by the Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Warsaw, Professor Maciej Duszczyk. However, his comment had a very different meaning. In particular, he commented on the results of a survey recently commissioned by two major Polish media - the radio station RMF FM and the newspaper Dziennik Prawny. The topic of the survey is assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainians. In particular, Professor Duszczyk mentioned to the aforementioned radio station that at the moment, according to the results of the survey, the two most popular types of assistance among Poles to Ukrainians are humanitarian and military. None of the original (Polish-language) publications on the subject and Duszczyk's comments mention any of the divisions that the propagandists talk about.

Thus, propagandists want to create the illusion that Poland despises Ukrainians, and does not help them. Like, the Poles mock the Ukrainians, so they can't be our friends. In addition, for the use of such fakes, propaganda wants to increase the fear of an “attack” by Poland or the gradual “polonization” of Ukraine, which Detector Media has already written about.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Estonian authorities are forcing Ukrainian refugees to join the local army, threatening deportation. Like, if the Ukrainian refugees do not stand up in defense of Estonia, they will be returned back to Ukraine. The authors allegedly refer to the statement of the Embassy of Ukraine in Estonia - this is not true.

The case was noticed by the experts of the StopFake project, who determined that Ukrainian refugees in Estonia are not mobilized or sent to the front. The propagandists simply came up with such information. Fact-checkers turned to the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia for comment, where they were also told that the information about the mobilization of Ukrainian refugees into the Estonian army is not true. In addition, analysts checked a special website in Estonia created for Ukrainian refugees. Among the published information, they did not find any evidence of mobilization into the Estonian army.

By spreading such a fake, propagandists want to undermine the authority of Ukraine's brother countries. Allegedly, they really use the Ukrainians, for example, by mobilizing them into their own army. Thus, Russian propaganda demonizes Ukrainian partners and seeks to cause mistrust towards them.

We recall that earlier we refuted a fake, which also had the goal of defiling the vision of Ukrainian partners and exposing them with bad intentions. We are talking about the case that the Polish authorities allegedly would use Ukrainians as cheap labor in order to subsequently provide a good life for the Poles.

On April 13, a text appeared on the Facebook page of the Polish organization Kancelaria LEGA ARTIS, according to which “38% of Ukrainians who, under the cover of the “war” came to Poland and have “groundlessly granted them rights”, in particular to receive social assistance, they want to stay in the country and not return to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the Polish project Demagog drew attention to it. They note that in the text one can find doubts that the war in Ukraine is real, and the refugees are called ones who “have come in large numbers”. However, the war continues, and its effects are a large number of deaths and material losses. The term “come in large numbers” is part of a disinformation campaign that wants to show the migration of Ukrainians as a threat to the Poles. Demagog experts argue that such a narrative is part of a conspiracy theory called the “Big replacement theory”, according to which the influx of migrants is a conspiracy in which white Europeans should be replaced by migrants. Usually, Muslims appear in this theory, but in the Polish context, their role was given to Ukrainians.

The text also contains information about “unreasonably provided” funds in the framework of social payments for Ukrainian migrants. However, analysts have found that the concept of social payment is clearly defined in Polish law. According to it, a social benefit is a cash benefit provided to persons who are unfit for work due to age or disability (Article 37 of the Law on social assistance). This cash payment cannot exceed PLN 719. According to article 5 of the same law, citizens of Poland, as well as foreigners (not only Ukrainians) residing in the state, have the right to receive social assistance payments. According to Article 31 of the Law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine, Ukrainians who have received a PESEL identification number can receive a lump sum payment of PLN 300. Therefore, this payment is not regular.

In addition, in the text you can see the stereotype that the majority of Ukrainian refugees in Poland came from the western regions, so they allegedly do not need help. However, it is not like that. Project analysts interviewed people who are actively involved in the affairs of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and found out that most of them eventually came from the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.

Thus, the propagandists want to show that the Ukrainian refugees are supposedly swindlers and pose a threat to Poland as a whole. They say that Ukrainians in Poland are ungrateful for help, but actually help does not reach those in need.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in the Polish segment of Facebook. Reports say that Ukrainians will be able to vote in the upcoming elections, because they have the corresponding PESEL document. The authors of the messages add that the result of the elections is predetermined, and that “real Poles” should no longer go to the elections. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Polish project Demagog took up the case, they explained that the presence of PESEL does not give people the right to participate in elections: both to choose and to be elected. Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności (PESEL), that is, the Universal Electronic Population Registration System, is an eleven-digit numeric character that identifies an individual. However, the possession of PESEL does not guarantee the citizenship of the country, and the person does not acquire it upon receipt of this document. And only citizens of Poland can vote in parliamentary or presidential elections.

A foreigner can obtain Polish citizenship after fulfilling a number of conditions, in particular, a certain period of continuous residence in Poland. And only under this condition, when a person acquires citizenship, he or she can vote. No other way exists.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that with the influx of Ukrainian refugees, the crime rate has risen significantly. Like, among the criminals in Poland there are many Ukrainian refugees. The authors of the messages refer to the research of the local analytical center UCE Research, as well as supposedly to the data of the Polish police. The authors argue that free entry into the European Union “became a good opportunity to realize their criminal intentions”. However, this is fake.

The case was noticed by experts from the StopFake project, they studied that from the reports published on the UCE Research platform, there is no information that the increase in crime in the country was due to the appearance of refugees from Ukraine.

Another source allegedly confirming the thesis about the increase in crime in Poland because of the Ukrainians is the police. However, the Polish police do not provide such data. Ukrainian refugees are mentioned in the annual reports only in the context of the fact that the tasks of the police officers were to protect the places where refugees were staying, the Polish police officers “led and helped organize a meeting for Ukrainians, organized numerous meetings with Ukrainians, and some of them provided them with their homes and helped them find themselves in a foreign country and in a new situation”. None of the police reports talk about the fault of Ukrainian refugees in the increase in the number of crimes in 2022.

One of the materials that really reveals the topic of crimes committed by foreigners in Poland is an article in the publication Rzeczpospolita, which analyzes what crimes were committed by migrants in Poland in 2022. The Main Directorate of the National Police has prepared statistics on crimes committed by foreigners in Poland especially for the publication. So, in total, in 2022, 15 thousand crimes were committed by representatives of different nationalities, most often Ukrainians, as the largest group, as well as Belarusians and Georgians, were included in the statistics. The most common type of crime among foreigners, notes Rzeczpospolita, is driving while intoxicated. In second place in popularity is possession of drugs.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU, in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own investigation.

Analysts of Detector Media denied a number of fakes and manipulations on the topic of Ukrainian refugees in Poland. For example, we analyzed the manipulation of increasing thefts in Polish stores by a third allegedly because of Ukrainian refugees. And we also explained another manipulation, using which propagandists claimed that the attitude of many Poles towards Ukrainians had worsened.

Such information appeared in the Polish segment of social networks, in particular, on Twitter. Reports say that Poland's annual budget for helping the homeless in 2023 is PLN 5 million. Like, for Ukrainian refugees, Poland “spends” such an amount “in 5 minutes”. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the Polish fact-checkers of the Demagog project, who found that in 2023 the implementation of the government program “Overcoming homelessness” is PLN 5.5 million. However, these are not the only funds allocated in Poland to combat homelessness. The government program is an additional bonus, payments for organizations working in the field of social protection. This is not the general budget of the country. For example, in the budget of Gdansk for 2023, more than 11.7 million złotys are provided for “the development of a support system for homeless people and those at risk of being left without a home”. Moreover, this is only the local budget, significantly exceeding the amount indicated as stable (5 million) by the authors of the messages. 

By spreading such a fake, the authors of the messages seek to convince that Ukrainian refugees are treated better than Poles. Allegedly, Poland does not care about its inhabitants. Analysts of Detector Media denied a number of fakes and manipulations on the topic of Ukrainian refugees in Poland. For example, we refuted the manipulation of increasing the level of theft in Polish stores because of Ukrainians. We also explained another manipulation, saying that the attitude of many Poles towards Ukrainians has worsened.

Such information is disseminated in pro-Kremlin propaganda media and on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say last week Ukrainian refugees allegedly burned down a historic 400-year-old hotel in Midhurst, West Sussex, England. Like, the Ukrainians are criminals, and if it had not been for them, the building would have survived. It is not true.

The fire on North Street in Midhurst did indeed occur on March 16, and it did not only affect the Angel Inn, which the propagandists write about. Ukrainian refugees also really lived in a hotel. According to local authorities, 30 people were evacuated from the hotel due to the fire, including “several” Ukrainian refugees. However, claims that it was the Ukrainians who set the fire are unfounded.

The fact checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. They found out that local media wrote that the fire first started in the early morning in a nearby house on North Street, and only then spread to the roof of the nearby Angel Inn. “But not only this fact, but also the preliminary findings of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service do not confirm any involvement of Ukrainian refugees in the fire”. A spokesman for the fire service told the BBC: “Preliminary investigations indicate that there are no suspicious circumstances associated with this fire, but our investigation is ongoing”, the fact-checkers wrote.

This is not the first fake of Russian propaganda about “bad” Ukrainian refugees. For example, propagandists have already claimed that Ukrainians burned a forest in Germany. By spreading such fakes, propaganda wants to create for Ukrainian refugees the image of criminals who can, for example, set fire to the house they live in. This is how propagandists try to convince the audience that Ukrainians should not be supported. Read more about disinformation regarding Ukrainian refugees in the Detector Media investigation.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the level of shoplifting has increased significantly in Poland. Like, it's all because of the Ukrainian refugees, who “neglect all the laws”. The authors of the messages refer to the material of the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, in which they allegedly investigated the issues of thefts involving Ukrainian refugees. This is manipulation.

The propagandists distorted the context of the entire material, because it was about the general trend of thefts in Poland. According to the data of the Police Headquarters, published by the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, in 2022 the number of shoplifting increased by 31.1%. Journalists explain that people steal mainly basic food products from small shops. They also stressed that organized crime groups are predominantly responsible for these thefts. At the same time, there was no mention of “Ukrainian refugees”. Although the material itself is titled “Poles are stealing goods from shops more and more”, the journalists investigated the general issue of thefts without appealing to specific people or age groups.

Russian propaganda systematically manipulates the issue of Ukrainian refugees abroad. Thus, they are trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, which is a cultural and economic threat to the EU in order to reduce support for Ukraine and Ukrainians. We wrote about this in our own investigation.

We recall that Detector Media previously also analyzed a manipulation in which propagandists claimed that, allegedly because of the Russian language, the attitude of many Poles towards Ukrainians worsened.

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.

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.

This thesis was spread in social networks and in the media of the Polish segment. Reports say that Poles' attitude towards Ukrainians has worsened. Like, the majority of Ukrainians speak Russian and boast of expensive cars, which is typical for the “Russian world”. Therefore, the Poles allegedly feel hostility towards certain categories of Ukrainian refugees and say with confidence that the attitude has indeed changed for the worse. Later, the material was picked up by users and the media of the Ukrainian segment. The authors of the original article for Rzeczpospolita refer to a likely study conducted by the University of Warsaw, which allegedly refers to the deterioration of attitudes, and cite the words of the President of the Union of Ukrainians in Poland, which allegedly confirm these studies. This is manipulation.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the NotaYenota project, who found that there was absolutely nothing about the “Russian world” or expensive cars in the study. The quote taken by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita for their article belongs to the President of the Union of Ukrainians in Poland Myroslav Skorka. That is, this quote belongs to one person, although an official representing the interests of both Poles and Ukrainians, but this was not in the study and the quote does not represent its results. In the material itself, they are talking about the deterioration of the attitude of Poles towards Ukrainians, which was noted by Rzeczpospolita at the beginning of the article: “Many Poles are changing their attitude towards them [ed. Ukrainians] for the worse, research shows”.

According to the study, in January 2023, 80% of respondents had a positive attitude towards refugees from Ukraine. 8% of respondents perceived Ukrainians negatively, and 12% - presumably neutrally. When asked if the attitude towards refugees from Ukraine has changed over the past 6 months, that is, since June 2022, a quarter of Poles surveyed (25%) answered yes. Accordingly, for 75% the attitude towards Ukrainians has not changed. These 25% of respondents answered that the attitude has changed, without specifying how. That is why of the one quarter of those surveyed who further answered that their attitude had changed, 68% said that the attitude had changed in a negative direction. However, this is not representative, because in general nothing has changed for 75% of the respondents.

So, Rzeczpospolita journalists manipulated the data and used a quote from the President of the Union of Ukrainians as justification for their thesis, although according to the study, 75% of Poles have not changed their attitude towards Ukrainians.

Such a message is distributed in anonymous telegram channels. They say that many Ukrainians who were forced to move abroad fleeing away from the war do not want to return home and plan to stay forever in the EU countries. Propagandists cite various data as “evidence”. For example, allegedly Ukrainian migrants in Poland, primarily those who do not live in state aid centers for refugees, are guaranteed to receive a payment equal to 200 euros. That is why, according to propagandists, Ukrainian refugees will not want to return to Ukraine, where the economy is already teetering on the brink.

The authors of such reports deliberately miss the root cause of Ukrainian migration, namely Russian aggression, without naming it. In addition, the provision of payments for Ukrainian refugees in Poland does not depend on whether the person lives at the state aid center. Although the practice of guaranteed issuance of social benefits for Ukrainian refugees is widespread in Poland, these payments do not reach the level of 200 euros and are one-time.  

Moreover, practice shows that Ukrainians, despite all the difficulties, are ready to return home and see their future in Ukraine. According to a survey by the Rating sociological group, 85% of Ukrainians have such intentions.

Russian propaganda spread such messages to demoralize Ukrainians and cause panic, as well as to create the illusion that Ukrainians really left only for a better life. Read more about the messages of Russian disinformation related to Ukrainian refugees in the Detector Media investigation.

Russian propaganda in Lithuania is spreading a fake that due to the number of refugees in the country, the level of criminal offenses is growing. In general, the majority of refugees in Lithuania from Ukraine are criminals, representatives of organized crime. But this is fake.

Data on the number of crimes in Lithuania is provided by the Delfi publication: in 2021, the police recorded 42,525 cases, and in 2022 the number of criminal offenses increased to 45,710. At the same time, such fluctuations have nothing to do with war or refugees since in 2020, when there was neither war in Ukraine nor refugees in Lithuania, the Lithuanian police recorded even more crimes than in 2022 - 46,306 cases.

The article, which blamed Ukrainian refugees for the rise in crime, was published in the Russian-language edition of Baltnews, owned by the Russian state agency “MIA Siohodni” (MIA Today), which includes, among others, propaganda resources Sputnik, RT and Ukraina.ru.

Since the first days of the war, Russian propaganda has been trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU, in order to reduce support for Ukraine and Ukrainians. Read more about it in the Detector Media investigation.

This was stated by a Russian propagandist in one of the TV programs. According to her, from the territory of Ukraine, where the Russian army entered, orphans and children with disabilities were massively taken to Europe, who were without caregivers and disappeared without a trace in the hundreds. Like, Ukrainian children disappeared in Poland, in the UK, in the Netherlands, where in particular 170 Ukrainian teenagers disappeared in the spring and allegedly they most likely became victims of transplantologists or pedophiles. The propagandist refers to information from dutchnews.nl. 

StopFake journalists found a publication on dutchnews.nl, which became a primary source for Russian propagandists. In the publication of DutchNews, referring to the news of the Dutch TV channel NOS, they are not talking about the disappearance of 170 teenagers from Ukraine.

Russian propagandists significantly distorted the reports of the Dutch media, which discussed the issue of registering children from Ukraine who arrived in the country unaccompanied by their parents.

Some of the children received their guardians, many minors arrived in the country accompanied by distant relatives, adult sisters, brothers, etc. The publication says that human rights organizations insist on mandatory registration and provision of guardians for such children, since refugee children from Ukraine without registration and guardians can become victims of violence, abuse and exploitation. However, none of their reports refers to the mass disappearance of minors from Ukraine in the EU.

According to Russian propaganda, Ukraine does not protect children and condemns them to organ trafficking during the evacuation. Like, Russia is not an aggressor, it wants to save Ukrainian children from the crimes of the Ukrainian authorities and “evacuate” to the territory of Russia, where it is safer than in Ukraine and Europe. Thus, Russia justifies the war with Ukraine and the forced removal of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories in an unknown direction and without the possibility for relatives and guardians to get in touch with them.

Reports are circulating on social networks that allegedly the German Bundestag has urgently adopted a decision according to which Ukrainian refugees will receive a “welcoming” bonus of 500 euros at Caritas offices. Such assistance is allegedly funded by German taxes. The video gained thousands of views and caused discontent among the Germans. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Correctiv project asked for clarification from the office of Caritas and the Bundestag and received confirmation that the video was fake. The Caritas Association does not pay or offer any “welcoming” payments. The Bundestag did not make such a decision; moreover, there was not even such a project. The fact-checker also notes that the primary source of the video is an account from which false information about financial assistance to Ukrainian refugees was also previously shared.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads fakes to discredit Ukrainian refugees. In particular, fakes were circulated earlier in Germany, allegedly social services pay for the services of a hairdresser instead of Ukrainian refugees; as if Ukrainians go to Germany, draw up social benefits and immediately return home; and as if Ukrainians resell items received in Germany as humanitarian aid.

A video is circulating online in which an elderly woman allegedly complains to the Polish authorities that she was “robbed” by Ukrainian refugees, whom she settled in her apartment. In different versions of the story, either the woman’s children or the city authorities persuaded the 73-year-old Polish woman to give shelter to a Ukrainian family. It seems that the Ukrainians robbed a woman, smashed the apartment, ran into debt for housing and disappeared. The victim allegedly vainly demands compensation from the authorities. It is not true.

The video has nothing to do with Ukraine. StopFake fact-checkers found out that this video first appeared online on April 24, 2018. An elderly woman in the video complains that she was not provided with the promised services - the replacement of all equipment with the Internet and television. The video was probably filmed at the customer service office of the company "Vectra", which provides telecommunications services in Poland.

Kremlin information resources are distributing a publication stating that supposedly Ukrainian women who have gone abroad refuse to provide sexual services to African Americans and Asians. They seem to be showing racism.

According to StopFake, the publication referred to by the Russian media does not exist. A photo-edited screenshot of a Vision Times publication published on March 24 is being circulated online. It talks about the high risks of sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women who were forced to move to the EU after a full-scale Russian invasion. The propagandists changed the title of the article “War in Ukraine puts refugee women at risk of human trafficking and sex maniacs” to “Ukrainian refugee women involved in sex work refuse to sleep with blacks and people of color: the new face of European racism”. They also changed the author and the release date of the article.

Russia systematically discredits Ukrainian refugees. Read more about gender disinformation in the Detector Media study.