Propagandists continue to claim that Russia allegedly adheres to international norms in its aggression against Ukraine. This time, propagandists spread disinformation about “Russia’s compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war”. Russian media claim that “Russia treats Ukrainian captives humanely” and “Ukrainians are surprised at the good treatment in Russian captivity”.

In fact, Russia has repeatedly violated the basic principles of the Geneva Conventions, attacking civilians, medical facilities and medical personnel, and disregarding the principle of humane treatment of prisoners of war. All these facts were re-recorded by independent commissions under the auspices of the United Nations, as StopFake reminds us.

At the end of March 2024, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine published another report (December 2023 - February 2024), which reports a sharp increase in cases of torture and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian occupiers. The 28-page document, consisting of 110 points, describes the facts of torture, abuse, sexual violence and executions of both civilian Ukrainians by the occupiers and prisoners of war, documented by UN experts.

The report emphasizes that torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners by Russians is very common and “commonplace”. According to the UN, 96% of Ukrainian prisoners of war (58 out of 60 respondents) became victims of various types of torture.

UN experts named beatings, electric shocks, threats of execution, mock execution, exposure to cold and water, and torture in which the victim is forced to remain in one fixed position for a long time as the most common methods of torture. Ukrainian prisoners of war told the commission about the practice of sleep deprivation, prohibition of the use of toilets, torture by hunger and thirst, loud noises and Russian songs. Captives interviewed by the UN reported that conditions in Russian colonies had improved a month before their exchange in order to hide traces of numerous tortures of Ukrainians.

A separate paragraph in the UN report describes Russian torture of a sexual nature. 65% of Ukrainian prisoners - 39 people out of 60 respondents - were subjected to sexual violence or threats of such violence from the occupiers. These included attempted rape, threats of rape and castration, beatings or electric shocks to the genitals, and repeated forced disrobing, the UN report said.

Pro-Kremlin media write that Russia allegedly adheres to international norms in its aggression against Ukraine. Russian media add that “Russia treats Ukrainian captives humanely - and Ukrainians are surprised at their good behavior in Russian captivity”.

StopFake analysts analyzed this case and explained that Russia has repeatedly violated the basic principles of the Geneva Conventions, attacking civilians, medical facilities and medical personnel, as well as neglecting the principle of humane treatment of prisoners of war. All these facts have been repeatedly recorded by independent commissions operating under the auspices of the United Nations.

For example, at the end of March 2024, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine published a report (December 2023-February 2024) which reported a sharp increase in allegations of torture and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war at the hands of Russian occupiers. The 28-page document, consisting of 110 points, describes the facts of torture, abuse, sexual violence and executions of both civilian Ukrainians by the occupiers and prisoners of war, documented by UN experts.

Russian propagandists are spreading claims about the “accuracy” of Russian airstrikes in Ukraine, interpreting the Financial Times article in their own way. They claim that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry allegedly acknowledged the “sharpness of Russian operations” aimed “against Ukrainian military targets” and again accused Ukraine of “blackmail for the sake of obtaining weapons from the West”. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found a Financial Times article cited by propagandists about Russia's use of Soviet-made guided bombs in the war with Ukraine. The article describes how these bombs are upgraded with the addition of cheap wings and a GPS system and released from Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft capable of hitting targets along the front line. The article quotes a comment from the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, who notes Russia's intensive use of these bombs to attack Ukrainian military positions, noting that damage to a bomber carrying such a bomb is the only possible defense. However, the Financial Times refutes the myth of the “high precision” of Russian attacks, pointing to their use against civilians and examples of significant destruction and civilian casualties.

The author of the article also criticizes Russian claims about the “precision” of strikes, recalling the large-scale use of missiles and kamikaze drones against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and emphasizes that such actions can be qualified as war crimes, considered in international courts. In the context of these charges, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian army officials.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to justify Russian attacks against civilians.

Russian media are disseminating information that a Member of the European Parliament from the Dutch right-wing party Forum for Democracy, Marcel de Graaf, said that the terrorist attack at Crocus City Holly was organized and paid for by Ukraine.

In fact, behind the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Holi near Moscow is the Islamic State Khorasan group, which took full responsibility for the attack. This has already been confirmed by US Presidential National Security Adviser John Kirby.

As for Marcel de Graaf, the Dutch politician accuses Ukraine without providing any evidence. In addition, he is an open Russophile and a supporter of Putin. Graaf also advocated stopping aid to Ukraine and lifting sanctions from the aggressor country. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Security at Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Propaganda continues to spread fake news about the terrorist attack. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Moscow Region, Kyrylo Budanov, noted that the Kremlin had already changed the versions of events at the Crocus City Holi near Moscow three times, trying to somehow link the so-called “Ukrainian trace” to the terrorist attack. It is obvious that Russian propaganda also attracts European lobbyists with a pro-Kremlin position. In addition, in order to blame Ukraine, the Kremlin launched a discredit campaign using bots.

• Read also: The Russian NTV channel showed a fake video where the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine “confirmed the involvement of the Kyiv regime” in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Holi (ADDED).

Propaganda telegram channels write that on the morning of March 25, 2024, Russia launched a strike on Kyiv with Zircon hypersonic missiles. As a result, two Patriot air defense systems were allegedly destroyed in Zhuliany, at the Kyiv airport. The Russians also seem to have managed to strike the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate and the “decision-making center” of the SBU.

In fact, this information is not true. Propagandists have not decided among themselves what Russia “destroyed” during the morning attack on Kyiv - one false version contradicts the other, they write in the Center for Strategic Communications at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

In reality, air defense forces destroyed both of the two ballistic missiles that the Russians launched at Kyiv from temporarily occupied Crimea. The debris of one of the downed missiles destroyed part of the Boichuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative-Applied Arts and Design.  The building containing the gym, assembly hall and congress hall was damaged, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine reported. In general, destruction as a result of the attack in Kyiv was recorded in the Pecherskyi, Solomianskyi and Holosiivskyi districts. According to the mayor of Kyiv Vitalii Klychko, ten victims are known, two of them were hospitalized.

Russian propaganda deliberately exaggerates Russia's achievements in the war against Ukraine, trying to spread another victory story for Russians. That is, propagandists engage in eye-catching activities and publish fake information. Previously, we refuted the report that the Russians allegedly destroyed a batch of missiles for the Patriot air defense system and warehouses with Storm Shadow missiles.

Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating information as if the Ukrainian military is planning to blow up the Dnipro hydroelectric station in order to cause a “large number” of victims and subsequently shift responsibility for these actions to Russia. They say that it does not resort to shelling of civilian infrastructure and such a step may be the work of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation write that these falsehoods only serve to escalate the situation around the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. The point is that none of the Ukrainian military plans to blow up the Dnipro hydroelectric power station, this is just an element of the Russian disinformation campaign.

In reality, Russia is shelling critical infrastructure, residential buildings and killing civilians. And all it is trying to do by spreading such messages is to intimidate Ukrainians and create in them a sense of distrust of the state and the defense forces of Ukraine.

Back in early March 2024, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal reported that Ukraine went through the winter without “blackouts or shutdown schedules”. Due to the reliable protection of Russian energy facilities, it was most likely not possible to damage them. However, the terrorist country does not give up its attempts to destroy Ukraine, including threatening future “shelling”. And he demonstrates this as a so-called response to the Ukrainian military.

For example, Bloomberg journalists write that the Russian-Ukrainian war has entered a new phase. Ukrainian drones are beginning to attack Russia's Soviet-era energy infrastructure. Since the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has carried out about 15 drone attacks on oil refineries in 9 Russian regions.

That is, Ukrainian attacks demonstrate Russia’s vulnerability and at the same time the inability to effectively counter them. In order not to demoralize the Russians, the Kremlin is building different theories regarding “retaliation strikes”. For example, the Russian Ministry of Defense on his telegram channel called the massive attack on March 22, 2024 a “retaliation strike” against Ukraine for its “illegal” shelling.

And even earlier, on the night of December 30, 2023, there was shelling of military facilities in the Belgorod region, but as a result of the unprofessional work of Russian air defense, fragments of Ukrainian missiles fell on the center of the city of Belgorod and on the housing sector.

That is, the Kremlin is looking for ways to enrage Ukrainian society by churning out scare messages like this.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading information that the “Kyiv regime” is allegedly preparing a terrorist attack in Kupiansk in order to blame Russia for it. According to propagandists, this is evidenced by the opening of the local market. In addition, the “news” notes that the Ukrainian military will use residential buildings as shelter, and local residents as “human shields”.

In fact, this information is not true, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. The purpose of this fake is to create an information alibi for the Russian military before the likely chaotic shelling of Kupiansk, which they carry out almost every day. Also, according to the head of the Kupiansk city military administration, Andrii Besedin, measures are being taken on the territory of the community for the mandatory evacuation of the population to safer places, which, in particular, contradicts the words of propagandists about a “human shield”.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda fuels its narrative about the alleged “crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, resorting to one of the propaganda tactics called “reflection”. That is, propagandists seek to divert attention from the real state of affairs. We previously wrote that Russia is trying to disrupt the process of evacuating children from the Kharkiv region by spreading disinformation messages.

Propagandists on anonymous Telegram channels are distributing a video where the executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights, Oleksandr Pavlichenko, allegedly stated on the Kyiv TV channel that many children rescued from Russian abductions want to return to Russia. However, this is manipulation.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights itself reported about it on its telegram channel. The organization claims that propagandists cut the video and took it out of the context of Pavlichenko’s interview. In fact, answering one of the presenter’s questions during the broadcast on March 11, Oleksandr Pavlichenko emphasized that the Russian authorities are conducting criminal ideological propaganda among Ukrainian children, actually zombifying them. He noted that this could lead to children who are later rescued being tempted to return to Russia, where they were abused. However, Russian propaganda presents a cut-out piece with its own interpretations.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to justify Russia's actions against Ukrainian children. Like, it saves them. Detector Media previously wrote about how propaganda justifies the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

Russian telegram channels are distributing a video in which allegedly soldiers of the Third Separate Assault Brigade (3rd Separate Assault Brigade) shot Russians in a trench who were trying to surrender.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine stated that this video recording was obviously staged. Firstly, in the video one can trace the artificial Ukrainian actors - “fighters”. Secondly, the “killed man” suddenly began to move. In fact, Ukraine adheres to the Geneva Conventions and treats prisoners humanely. The Russian army has repeatedly shot Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered.

Thus, propagandists encourage the Russian military to kill every Ukrainian, even unarmed ones, without hesitation, they say, “look, they do this!” In addition, in this case, Russian propaganda uses tactics of reflection, that is, they bring forward the same accusations against Ukraine as it does against Russia. Only the Ukrainian side has real grounds for this, unlike Russia, because, for example, only on February 18-20, 2024, cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian occupiers near Avdiivka, Vesele and Robotyne were recorded.

Read also: While studying in Germany, Ukrainian soldiers allegedly boast about the atrocities they commit against Russians

A video is being distributed online in which a former freelance adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, Oleksii Arestovych, allegedly accuses Valerii Zaluzhnyi of shooting down the Il-76 aircraft in order to frame the Office of the President. The video also states that there were supposedly Azov brigade prisoners of war on board of the plane. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that Arestovych never made such statements, and the video was a deepfake made with the help of artificial intelligence. No evidence or comments from Arestovych on social networks were found to support this story. In addition, incorrect facial expressions and the discrepancy between the term “Azov Regiment” and the actual name of the brigade indicate falsification. The results of testing the video using tools such as Deepware and AI Speech Classifier confirmed the possibility of creating it using AI. In addition, experts discovered that the footage used to create this fake was taken from a live broadcast on Arestovych’s YouTube channel, but the speaker did not mention the Il-76, and the reticence occurred the day before the event.

Propagandists create and spread such fake news to divert attention from the crimes of the Russians and incite controversy among the political elite of Ukraine.

Propagandists do not stop trying to justify Russian aggression against Ukraine, the motives of which are hidden under the narrative of “the need to fire Russians in Ukraine”. To promote this message, Russian media again claim that the residents of Kherson are supposedly waiting for “Russian liberators” and “supporting” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this.

Russian media used the statements of the governor of the occupation authorities, collaborator Volodymyr Saldo, who cannot be considered a reliable source of information. Although the Kremlin calls him “the governor of the Kherson region of Russia”, this position is fictitious. In Ukraine, Saldo is wanted for high treason and violating the territorial integrity of the country. In addition, Volodymyr Saldo is under numerous sanctions from Ukraine, the EU, Great Britain, the USA, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

After massive shelling of peaceful cities, destruction of civilian infrastructure and mass murder of civilians, the level of self-identification of Ukrainians reached its highest level in all the years of the country’s independence. According to an all-Ukrainian sociological survey by the Rating group, published on January 29, 2024, very high rates of a sense of Ukrainian identity were registered in the Kherson region - the majority of respondents called themselves convinced Ukrainians from a European nation. At the same time, respondents most often noted Ukrainian identity as a conscious choice, aggravated by the war.

Russia regularly shells every district of the city, killing civilians in Kherson and causing enormous damage to critical infrastructure. It was the actions of Russian troops that led to significant material and human losses in Kherson, which caused negative emotions among the vast majority of local residents. According to a survey by the Protection Kherson Society Foundation (2023), only 8% of Kherson residents noted that they were not injured as a result of enemy shelling. Every third Kherson family lost property due to Russian aggression. A third (35%) of Kherson residents had their apartment or private house damaged, 27% of respondents noted that their apartment building was damaged, and another 23% had their property damaged. Significant damage has also been caused to the health of Kherson residents: 35% testify that in their families there are people who have begun to suffer from mental disorders, 3% in the family are injured. However, the worst thing is that people are dying due to shelling of the city. During the survey, 2% of Kherson residents said that there were deaths in their families.

The majority of respondents believe that the restoration of Kherson should occur primarily at the expense of the aggressor state (79%), which should be punished for its criminal actions.

The Russian myth about the “originally Russian southeast” of Ukraine, which, according to the occupiers, should include the Kherson region, has never been confirmed by facts. It should be recalled that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, during the all-Ukrainian referendum on December 1, 1991, 93.13% of the residents of the Kherson region voted for the independence of Ukraine. Thus, they confirmed their desire to live in an independent and sovereign state - Ukraine. And during the 2001 All-Ukrainian Population Census, the majority of Kherson residents (82%) considered themselves Ukrainians.

Detector Media wrote that Russian propaganda is trying to create the impression that life is thriving and being restored in the temporarily occupied territories, while disorder reigns in those controlled by Ukraine.

Propagandists spread information in communities on Facebook that disguise themselves as Ukrainian ones, which allegedly discovered bags with the remains of Ukrainian military personnel near Dnipro. However, this is fake.

Specialists of the NotaYenota project drew attention to it. They found out that the source disseminating this information is a Facebook page created on February 24, 2022. It imitates Ukrainian and, between patriotic content, places enemy stuffing.

The information about military belongings (not the bodies of military personnel, but their belongings) found on the territory of a fish farm in the Dnipropetrovsk region is true. But this happened in 2018. Then the police began to investigate this case. The photo illustrating this news on the page was actually taken in Bucha on April 8, 2022, where the exhumation of bodies buried in a mass grave during the Russian occupation began.

Propagandists are spreading this fake news against the backdrop of other enemy propaganda with staged videos allegedly about neglecting the bodies of Ukrainian military personnel. They do this in order to discredit Ukraine.

Russian media are actively distorting the decision of the International Court of Justice, adopted on January 31. Propagandists said that the Court rejected all of Kyiv's demands. Pro-Kremlin “experts” also claim that the Court’s decision supposedly confirms that “Russia honestly fulfilled its obligations to cooperate in the fight against the financing of terrorism”, and the Court itself “refused” to recognize Russia as an “aggressor state”. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that Ukraine, as a plaintiff, did not demand that the International Court of Justice recognize Russia as an aggressor, therefore all propaganda statements about this are disinformation. The court considered the case not on whether Russia is an aggressor state, but on whether it finances terrorism and promotes racial discrimination in the occupied Ukrainian territories. In particular, Ukraine accused Russia of violating the Conventions for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Prohibition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. We are talking about the beginning of Russia’s occupation of parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea in 2014. The lawsuit did not directly address a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. On January 31, 2024, the International Court of Justice announced its decision on this claim. The court indeed rejected most of the Ukrainian arguments, among which was the payment of compensation to Ukraine. But he admitted that Russia violated the provisions of both Conventions. Thus, Russia is, at the highest possible level, officially recognized as a state violating international law. Although the Court rejected most of Ukraine's claims that Russia financed terrorism, this decision in no way confirms the “honesty of Russia”, as Russian propaganda claims. The court ruled that Russia refused to investigate allegations that funds were flowing from Russia to Ukraine for possible terrorist financing.

In terms of racial discrimination, Ukraine focused on accusations against Russia of committing illegal actions against the Crimean Tatars, the Mejlis, culture and religion. However, Ukraine’s arguments regarding the recognition of violations by Russia in Crimea of the right to assembly and freedom of speech, as well as Russia’s participation in the persecution, abductions and murders of Crimeans, did not satisfy the Court. However, it ruled that Russia had banned teaching in Ukrainian since its occupation of Crimea in 2014, limiting the rights of Ukrainians and thus violating the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The decision also states that Russia, with its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, violated the Court’s 2017 decision, which prohibited any action that could “worsen or prolong the dispute before the Court or complicate its resolution”. According to the Court, these actions “seriously undermined the basis of mutual trust and cooperation and thus made the resolution of the dispute more difficult”.

It should be noted that Russia manipulated the provisions of the Court’s decision in its favor, although previously Russian propaganda actively tried to discredit not only this international body, but also a number of other institutions. In particular, by spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to create the false impression that the international community has recognized Russia’s actions as lawful.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Ukraine allegedly deserved the shelling of military infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv on January 2. They say that this is an equivalent response to the attack on Belgorod by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on January 1. In addition, they say that the information about the downing of Russian hypersonic missiles is allegedly untrue, since this is not technically possible. None of this is true.

First, a number of visual materials confirm that Russia is once again targeting civilian infrastructure. This is a violation of international humanitarian law and contradicts official statements of the Russian authorities. Moreover, even from the point of view of war tactics, an attack carried out in self-defense in response to numerous rocket attacks on Ukraine on New Year's Day and a targeted mass missile attack using 99 missiles, including 10 hypersonics, are not equivalent phenomena. Moreover, back in May 2023, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that they were using the American Patriot system to successfully shoot down Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. In the English-language segment of the Internet one can find a large amount of information about the downing of hypersonic weapons, in particular about methods for determining them in space and neutralizing them.

Propagandists continue to justify the crimes of Russians in various ways. They want to create a false impression that their actions are fair. However, in reality we are talking about searching and creating reasons for the continuation of the aggression that Russia started. In particular, under far-fetched pretexts, such as the fight against the Nazis and US biological laboratories in Ukraine.

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.

According to Russian propaganda, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have allegedly regularly committed war crimes since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014. For example, propaganda resources blamed the Ukrainian side for the downing of a civilian Boeing 777 passenger plane near Donetsk in the first year of the war, while denying Russia’s guilt. Then 298 people died - all on board.

In conditions of a full-scale war, propagandists continue to use “reports” and “interviews of residents” who allegedly managed to leave the combat zones as evidence of “crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. They say that the Ukrainian military, for example, is firing at the cars of people who are trying to evacuate along humanitarian corridors, or they say that civilians are allegedly being used as “human shields”. Or, say, when in March 2022, the online publication Sky News took a comment from the Kremlin Ambassador to the UN Vasyl Nebenzia about the overthrown air bomb on the drama theater in the center of Mariupol, he denied Russia’s involvement in this.

The court in The Hague concluded, in particular, that the Boeing 777 aircraft mentioned in the text was shot down by a missile from the Buk anti-aircraft missile system and belonged to the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces. As for Mariupol, investigations by a number of foreign organizations unanimously indicate that it was a Russian plane that dropped an aerial bomb on the Drama Theater in the center of the city on March 16, 2022, where about 600 people could have died. The atrocities of Russians in Bucha and Gostomel in the Kyiv region, in Izium in the Kharkiv region and in other de-occupied territories have been confirmed and documented by journalists from the world's leading newspapers - and these are war crimes that Russia commits in Ukraine every day.

The October 2023 UN report on war crimes by Russia and Ukraine in the war for the period from February 1 to July 31, 2023 contains information that during this time six murders of Ukrainian prisoners of war and not a single murder of Russians in captivity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. There is also no confirmed information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired at civilians trying to leave dangerous territories.

By resorting to newspeak, in this case, Russian propaganda aims to shift responsibility for the war crimes of the Russian army onto the Ukrainian army. Like, “evil in the form of the Ukrainian Armed Forces must be punished”, and “peaceful Ukrainian citizens must be protected”. Deportations of civilians, their torture, massacres, the use of cover for the Russian military (“human shields”) - these and other violations of international humanitarian law by Russia are documented in the 50-kilogram book “Crime Without Punishment”, created in Ukraine and already represented in NATO and the European Parliament.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Ukraine stated that it was the military personnel who came to the reburial, and not civilians, who died in the village of Hroza during Russian shelling. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that civilians were killed in the attack in the village. Among the 59 victims was even a young child, 8-year-old Ivan Kozyr. Claims that about 100 military personnel attended the commemoration are also untrue.

Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko stressed that the Russians killed 59 civilians with a direct hit from an Iskander missile, including pensioners, doctors, farmers, teachers, and entrepreneurs. Entire generations of families were victims of the tragedy. It was established that two traitors were behind the crime, who corrected the attack on the cafe. These are the brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon, who went over to the enemy side.

Targeting civilians is a war crime under international humanitarian law. The UN believes there is sufficient evidence of Russia's involvement in the strike, although Russia has not admitted direct responsibility for the crime.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to shift responsibility for the crimes of the aggressor onto the victim of aggression and justify the Russian military.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that on the night of October 18, a house in Zaporizhzhia was damaged, allegedly as a result of the work of Ukrainian air defense forces. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. According to the Secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council Anatolii Kurtiev, at night the Russians fired 6 missiles at Zaporizhzhia, “apartments in 2 entrances of the building were partially destroyed”. As of 16:47, four people are known to have died, and search and rescue efforts are continuing.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to shift responsibility for the crimes of Russians into Ukraine and cause panic among Ukrainians, saying that air defense forces do not protect, but destroy civilian objects and kill people. Previously, we wrote about manipulation, supposedly the Ukrainian Air Force admitted that “Ukrainian air defense missiles are hitting” residential buildings.

Propaganda resources are disseminating information that Kyiv is preparing a provocation at the Kremenchuk hydroelectric station “according to the Kakhovka scenario”. They say that Ukraine replaced the station in order to create public tension and blame the Russian army for the attack on the hydroelectric power station.

The information was processed by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. They found out that there is no evidence of the mythical mining of the Kremenchuk hydroelectric power station by the Ukrainian military. Russian propaganda is based on its previous lies that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up by Ukraine. All critical infrastructure facilities, which include hydroelectric power plants, are constantly under the protection of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the police in wartime. After the Russian terrorist attack with the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the Ukrainian Defense Forces tightened patrolling of the stations.

It is Russia that attacks the critical infrastructure of Ukraine - as a result of massive shelling of the occupiers in the autumn-winter period of 2022-2023, not a single thermal or hydroelectric power station remained undamaged in Ukraine.

This thesis was spread on social networks and in pro-Kremlin media. The reports say that no one notices the humanism of the Russian army, because it supposedly wages war according to all customs while Hamas kills civilians. The authors add that the West should consolidate forces against other forces, and not Russia, which is supposedly “nobly”  defending itself.

But Russia is once again promoting the thesis about “countless NATO headquarters” in Ukraine and hinting that Western officials have an allegedly unhealthy interest in Ukrainian territories. Allegedly, Ukraine is already governed from the outside, and Ukrainian deputies, military personnel and other actors in the political process are generally incapable of making any decisions without prior approval.

Moreover, the Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that suffer from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities and civilian infrastructure. In addition, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. The Kremlin’s baseless rumors about “shelling of military targets” exist to fuel the narrative of the West’s struggle against Russia.

For example, Russia recently shelled the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region. The missile attack on the village was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest during the entire period of a full-scale invasion in the region. And this is just one of dozens of cases in which Russia kills and terrorizes civilians. And with comparisons about Hamas, propagandists are trying to whiten themselves against the background of another armed conflict.

On October 5, 2023 at 13:24, Russian invaders attacked the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region. The Russians hit a local store and café, where a funeral was being held for a fellow villager who was a military man. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko said that in total there were 60 people on the territory, and at least 52 people died, including a child. Also recorded were seven victims who were seriously injured - they were at a distance of at least 50 meters from the café itself. On the air of the national telethon, the minister also said that 330 residents lived in the village and “from every family, from every yard, one person was present at this memorial dinner”. Anonymous telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric are spreading messages that Ukraine struck the village, and this happened, supposedly, at the request of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Propagandists convince people that in fact the tragedy is “beneficial” for the Ukrainian leadership for its own profit. In particular, we are talking about receiving additional humanitarian assistance and increasing financial support. In addition, they wrote that there were Ukrainian soldiers in the café, which means that the Russian army was allegedly targeting military and military targets. But they finally explain: “The West has reduced its negativity towards Russia, so Ukraine is obviously increasing it”.

However, the head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration, Oleh Syniehub, said that there were civilians and cars at the scene of the strike. Subsequently, the chief of police of the region, Volodymyr Tymoshko, confirmed this to the Suspilne. The Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that are suffering from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities, villages and civilian infrastructure. Moreover, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. Among the dead was the son of a military man, who was reburied that day. The son was also a military man. He was in a café with his wife and mother - they died from a rocket hit. But the memorial site is not a military target, and the son of a fallen soldier did not perform military duties during the memorial dinner.

The head of the Kharkiv region police also explained that it has already been established precisely that the hit was made by an Iskander ballistic missile. This is the type of missile in service in Russia. The head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration said that it was a “targeted strike” and the hit was in the very center of the building, which resulted in so many casualties.

The authors resort to conspiracy theories when they write that Zelenskyi seeks to profit from the war in Ukraine and personally gives orders to shell Ukrainian cities and villages. These attempts indicate the demonization of Ukraine and the creation of an erroneous impression about it among partner countries. For example, similar rhetoric is used on anonymous telegram channels in response to the arrival of foreign politicians in Ukraine. Then propaganda systematically promotes the thesis that the worries in Ukraine are not real, but only attempts to intimidate foreigners and get as many weapons as possible.

The missile attack on the village on October 5 was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest since a full-scale invasion in the region.

Propagandists try to explain current events using conspiracy theories, distorting the original meaning of certain terms. An example of this is the “false flag operations” theory.

Its original definition is used to describe operations that the enemy is falsely accused of committing in order to initiate or revive hostilities. Such operations have indeed occurred throughout history, especially during World Wars I and II, and historians use the term “operations under false flag” in professional literature. Conspiracy theorists have distorted its meaning by using it to describe almost every event in the world. For example, conspiracy theorists argue that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States were allegedly carried out by the American government, and not by terrorists, in order to begin and justify their “War on Terror”, including the invasion of Iraq.

Russian propagandists used the “false flag operations” theory to launch their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A few days before February 24, 2022, Russian state media claimed that Ukraine was allegedly preparing an attack on Russian territories in order to start a war against Russia. After Russia attacked Ukraine, conspiracy theorists and propagandists claim that Russia was allegedly framed and the invasion was allegedly staged. Like, it was not Russia that attacked Ukraine, but the West that attacked Russia in Ukraine.

By using the theory of “false flag operations”, Russia wants to erase the sense of reality and make people doubt everything that is happening around them. In addition, in this way they are trying to shift responsibility for military aggression onto others in order to reinforce the image of “Victim Russia” cultivated by propagandists. This theory is an example of how Russian propaganda distorts the meaning of terms to obscure the information space.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the shelling of Ukraine on September 25, 2023, the Russians allegedly entered the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in the Odesa region. According to propagandists, the headquarters was created in one of the Odesa hotels. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers processed this case and explained that it was Russia that attacked Odesa on September 25, 2023 with nineteen Shahed-type drones. According to the investigation, damage was caused to port infrastructure facilities, granaries, and warehouses of a private enterprise. The Odesa sea terminal and the hotel nearby were significantly damaged. At the same time, the propagandists did not provide any evidence to defend their thesis about the presence of the Ukrainian leadership in civilian infrastructure facilities. Here they usually use rhetoric about “NATO headquarters/Ukrainian military leadership” to simply whiten themselves.

That is, they are trying to deny their own shelling and hits on civilian infrastructure. They distort reality and convince people of their “truth”. And they claim: wherever they went, there were definitely military men there. However, the authors do not provide any facts. They just reject any reproaches in their direction.

But documented cases of Russian terror tell a different story. By the way, one can read the chronology of Russian shelling of residential and civilian targets here.

Also, check out the fakes on similar topics, in which Russian propaganda denied shelling of civilian infrastructure, justifying it with “NATO headquarters”:

For example, when the Russians allegedly fired at a meeting of Lithuanian and Polish NATO officers in Chernihiv, but in fact the occupiers hit the local drama theater. Or a case where propagandists tended to believe that the terrorist shelling of Odesa in July was a shelling of weapons production sites. And not according to the cultural sites of Ukraine included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, as it actually is. Or, let’s say, how the invaders “destroyed” an ammunition warehouse in Uman. We found out that the Russians got into an industrial facility and a car wash. And finally, how a propaganda shelling of the residences of “NATO instructors” in Kramatorsk turned out to be a terrorist attack on a local cafe - read here.

“40 to 60” or “60 to 40” is a propaganda method in which 60% of the information is true, and 40% is manipulative. Propagandists create media that work on this principle and position themselves as an objective, independent or alternative source of information. By spreading true news, propaganda media ingratiates themselves with the reader, which encourages him or her to turn off critical thinking and swallow the other 40% of misinformation. It is often presented as something that the authorities are hiding from society and conspiracy theories. The proportion of truth and misinformation can vary in one direction or another depending on the media.

During World War II, this method was used by Joseph Goebbels, who headed the Ministry of Propaganda and Public Education of the Third Reich. On his instructions, an “anti-Nazi” English-language radio station was created, the announcer of which was William Joyce (a British man who supported Nazism and fled to Germany with his wife). At the time, radio was vital to the British public and the BBC was heavily censored, so English-language radio was seen as an alternative. William Joyce began broadcasts with the phrase “Germany is calling, Germany is calling”, read out genuine news from newspapers purchased in neutral countries (60%), and disseminated information about the dizzying successes and victories of Germany (40%). He reported that Germany wanted peace and was not going to bomb women and children in Great Britain, but the British left no choice and forced the Reich to violence. He also ridiculed Winston Churchill and tried to convince the British public that only the destruction of the British Prime Minister would save them from violence and give them a chance to reach an agreement.

This method is used by media that position themselves as independent, but from time to time they disseminate Russian propaganda. Meduza, which positions itself as an independent and reliable international Russian-language publication registered in Latvia, does not support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and provides truthful news. However, in July 2022, analysts at the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy conducted a study of Meduza media publications for the presence of pro-Russian narratives, and they were found in 47 publications (more than 55%). The online publication disseminated messages that “Ukraine has betrayed the residents of Donbas”, “The Ukrainian army is shelling civilian targets in the occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”, “The drama theater in Mariupol was blown up from the inside”, and also repeated statements by the Russian authorities about a “preemptive strike on NATO”  and the narrative “not only Putin, but also Western politicians are to blame for the war”. Such statements were balanced with actual true news. So, consciously or unwillingly, journalists from the Latvian media help Russia justify its crimes. Consumers of the content that Meduza creates may have the feeling that “everything is not so simple” and they will not try to find a truthful version of reality.

Just like the media, some opposition Russian bloggers and politicians, whose content is consumed by Ukrainians, also pose a danger. Maksym Kats, a politician and blogger who left Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion and posts supposedly counter-propaganda videos on YouTube every day, expressed the opinion that “the Russian opposition does not owe anything to anyone, especially the Ukrainians” or “we need to share blame and responsibility. The one who shot and who gave the orders is to blame. The one who did not overthrow Putin is not to blame”. His colleague, politician and blogger Illia Varlamov, who is also watched by Ukrainians, denied Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Luhansk region and Donbas, traveled to occupied Crimea and filmed videos from the annexed peninsula, and made a film against Ukraine, where he distorted historical facts.

Bloggers in opposition to the Putin regime appeal to emotions and create the false impression that they were persecuted by the regime, they are for justice, against war and support Ukraine. For external audiences and some Ukrainians, they look like victims of global injustice, but they continue to broadcast, in measured doses, like supposedly independent media, consciously or unconsciously Russian narratives that can be picked up by content consumers.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine provoked Russia and decided to “attack Ukraine”. They say that Ukraine’s constant European integration course harms Russia, because its enemy, the European Union, was approaching Russian borders. The authors conclude: Russia has carried out a large-scale offensive on the territory of Ukraine and is legitimately defending its values.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project analyzed the case and explained that Russian aggression is aimed at the destruction of Ukraine as a state and the destruction of Ukrainians as a nation. The Russian army is committing genocide in Ukraine. The message about the destruction of Ukraine was expressed in early April by Russian political strategist Tymofii Serheitsev in an article on the website of the propaganda news agency RIA Novosti. The author proposed to destroy everything that makes Ukrainians Ukrainians, as well as to eliminate those who cannot be broken and conquered. The existence of Ukraine was denied, because “history has shown the impossibility of creating a state in Ukraine”.

In addition, Russia argues that Ukraine's desire to join NATO or the EU is a direct threat to Russia's security. However, Ukraine’s membership in any international organizations is the choice of Ukraine and its people, and not the imposed will of third parties.

In the end, the Kremlin, with the help of this message, is trying to justify Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine and finds third parties, blaming them for all the troubles. However, any political decisions in Ukraine are made by Ukrainian officials. Ukraine is ready to join any organization and support European initiatives, if there is the will of the people. Invading Ukraine was the decision of Russia and the Russians, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence.