Spilnota Detector Media

Manipulation Ukraine “will have to cede territory to Russia”, said Petr Pavel

This thesis was spread in social networks, in particular in telegram channels and in propaganda media. Newly elected Czech President Petr Pavel said that Ukraine “will have to cede territory to Russia”, reports say. Like, he said this in an interview with the Suspilne (Public). This is manipulation.

In fact, the authors of the messages distorted the context of Petr Pavel's answer to the question about Ukraine's victory. In the original version of the interview, the Czech president says that the West should not push Ukraine to make concessions while there is still a real chance of winning. Therefore, Petr Pavel calls to support Ukraine by all means. At the same time, Petr Pavel says that the right to start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia should be left to Ukrainians and Ukrainian officials. That is, to negotiate or not is the business of Ukraine, no one will encourage it to do so.

He also says that the West will do everything for Ukraine to win in 2023. However, he warns of the result of the victory, which could turn into a “long war”. Some scenarios for unleashing war, according to the official, could be that Ukraine - not only the people, but also the political leadership - is aware that a high price will have to be paid for the return of territories. However, the President of the Czech Republic did not say that Ukraine would have to cede the territories, but only predicted different scenarios for the war.

Earlier, within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, Petr Pavel announced various scenarios for the development of the war in Ukraine. For example, if Russia falls apart into different “states”, each of them will have its own ambitions, according to Peter Pavel, this may add complexity in the future. That is why the President of the Czech Republic calls for a discussion of the various results of the war in Ukraine and the foresight  of each aspect.

Manipulation Ukraine and the West are responsible for mine contamination of territories

The Kremlin media say that the US, NATO, the EU and Ukraine allegedly caused mine contamination of the territories of Ukraine and Russia. The reports refer to the words of the head of the Russian delegation in Vienna on military security and arms control, Konstiantyn Havrylov. He claims that the supposedly “collective West” violates the norms of humanitarian law. This is not true.

Neither Ukraine nor its allies will be held responsible for the forced mining of Ukrainian territory due to a full-scale invasion. This is determined by international law, in particular, in Article 51 of the UN Charter. According to StopFake, at the UN World Summit in September 2005, all UN member states officially confirmed that they have the right to protect their citizens from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

In addition, Russian propaganda resorts to manipulation, claiming that Ukraine or the West are involved in the mining of Russian territories. From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian army has been protecting exclusively the territory of Ukraine. Only Russia is responsible for mining Russian territories.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to justify itself and shift the responsibility for the war and its consequences to Ukraine and the West. Previously, propagandists spread messages that Ukraine is a terrorist state, and Russia seeks to become a “safe harbor” for all people.

Fake Poles are urged to “protect the original Polish lands in Ukraine”

Russian propagandists spread information that in Poland, namely in the Warsaw metro, you can allegedly see public service announcements with a call to “protect the original Polish lands in Ukraine”. The authors of the messages claim that in this way Poland is preparing to seize the western regions of Ukraine. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project came to the conclusion that the posters are not real. This is indicated by the link posted on the poster. It is not valid because instead of the referenced WKU, according to the updated Polish law, it should be WCR. The reason for this is that the Military Commander's Offices (WKU) in Poland have been replaced by Military Recruiting Centers (WCRs) that recruit volunteers for military service. In addition, in a commentary for Ukrinform, Grzegorz Popielaž, director of the rental and advertising office for the Warsaw metro, said that the metro does not have such advertisements. The propagandists took the old 2018 announcement for the recruitment of volunteers for the Polish army as the basis for fake posters.

Russian propaganda often frightens with the “imminent attack” of Poland on the western lands, diverting attention from their own crimes with baseless accusations. Detector Media has already investigated disinformation related to this topic.

Fake Ukrainian army and authorities are evacuated from Kupiansk

Telegram channels and pro-Russian media are spreading messages that allegedly the Ukrainian army and authorities are leaving Kupiansk. Such messages also found their way into the English-speaking segment. It is not true.

The head of the Kupiansk military administration, Andrii Kanashevych, denied this information. He said that the employees of the district military administration, the Security service of Ukraine, the National police, the prosecutor's office of the Kupiansky district are at their workplaces and continue to do their job properly. The Ukrainian army, according to Kanashevych, keeps the situation under full control.

According to the Kharkiv anti-corruption center, Russians have recently been spreading fake reports about a new offensive by the Russian army on Kharkiv, Kupiansk, Dvorichna, Izium and other settlements. Propagandists also say that Ukraine allegedly does not restore the liberated settlements.

Message “Remains” of Ukraine will not become “South Korea”

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels, based on the words of Dmytro Medvediev. The Russian politician posted a message to his telegram channel allegedly criticizing the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war according to the “Korean scenario”. Like, such a development of events is only a “whim” of Ukraine to become “South Korea” after the war. According to him, the “remnants” of Ukraine will never reach such a level of development as South Korea. Moreover, according to the “Korean scenario”, two independent states were formed. At the same time, Ukraine allegedly will never be independent, because it is “controlled by the West”.

Dmytro Medvediev's message is manipulative. The “Korean scenario” involves the distribution of territory between the warring parties along the conditional “38th parallel”, that is, along the front line. That is, the Russian politician is trying to create the impression that Ukraine is considering the possibility of giving up part of its territories in favor of Russia. He also notes the “post-war” future of Ukraine, which supposedly will be difficult. They say that the temporarily occupied territories will “finally” become part of the “strong, independent state”, which allegedly is Russia. At the same time, the “remnants” of Ukraine will “remain” under external control.

In fact, Ukraine does not consider the “Korean scenario” of ending the war. This was confirmed by National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Secretary Oleksii Danylov. He noted that the message about the “probable” “Korean scenario” is deliberately promoted by Russian politicians and pro-Russian resources.

Russia did not achieve the original goal of the so-called ‘special operation”, that is, the rapid capture of Ukraine, therefore, now in this way it is trying to realize the most acceptable option for ending the war. At the same time, Ukraine seeks to return the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

Fake Volyn and Rivne regions will be affected by an earthquake from Turkey

After the earthquake in Turkey and Syria in the Ukrainian segment, the telegram began to spread messages that an earthquake with an amplitude of 8-9 points was allegedly moving to Ukraine. Reports say that the Vrancea zone in Romania could become its epicenter. Like, the residents of Volyn and Rivne should prepare for a natural disaster, in particular, teach children how to behave in such a situation. These messages are improper.

So far, there are no weighty arguments that an earthquake with a magnitude of 8-9 points can occur in Volyn and Rivne. The Vrancea zone is a seismically active zone located at the junction of the Southern (Romania) and Eastern (Ukraine) Carpathians. However, as the fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Lier) project explain, the southwestern part of Ukraine, which is directly affected by the Vrancea zone, is potentially classified as a zone with an intensity of 6 to 7 points. In general, on the territory of Ukraine there are no such deep faults in the earth's crust as in Turkey, so local earthquakes cannot reach 8-9 points on the Richter scale. Most of the territory of Ukraine is located in a zone with an earthquake intensity of 4-6 points.

According to Constantin Ionescu, a managing director of the National institute for Earth physics (INFP), the earthquakes in Romania and Turkey on the same day is a coincidence. The surface seismic zones of these countries are not interconnected.

Probably, these messages were spread to telegram channels in order to further provoke a feeling of fear and panic among Ukrainians. Like, now you need to be afraid not only of rocket attacks, but also of natural disasters. Previously, they tried to intimidate Ukrainians with inevitable hunger and mass deaths due to the supply of heavy weapons.

Message Until February 23, 2022, there were no Russian military in Ukraine

Russian propaganda spreads the message to a foreign audience that before the start of a full-scale invasion, there were no Russian military personnel on the territory of Ukraine. Like, before the start of the special operation, Russia did not offer military assistance to Donbas. But Moscow noticed the militarization of Ukraine and the mood for a forceful resolution of the conflict. EU vs Disinfo analysts drew attention to the spread of the message.

This narrative is not new. It has been periodically distributed since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea and part of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. A new round of its distribution should once again present Russia as a victim of the “collective West” and emphasize to the Russian audience that “the motherland is in danger - it must be defended”. Russia systematically uses the tactics of substitution of concepts to distort reality and advance its own interests.

Message Ukraine lost Crimea and part of the East due to Poroshenko, and the loss of territories is even bigger due to Zelenskyi

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels in the context of the fact that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized that Russia's aggression against Ukraine began in 2014. Russia, thus, uses the tactics of substitution of concepts and shifts the responsibility for the events in Ukraine to the Ukrainian authorities.

Russia in 2014 sent troops to the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Russian President launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. This has been recognized by the whole world. Russia is trying to divide Ukrainians with such messages, sow internal discord, playing with sympathies or antipathies for the current and former president.

Russian propaganda is systematically trying to shift the responsibility for the full-scale invasion and war crimes of the Russian army to Ukraine. They say that it is not Russian missiles that are guilty of civilian deaths, but the work of Ukrainian air defense; the Americans are guilty of provoking Russia to attack Ukraine; Ukrainian officials are to blame, because they are allegedly “asking” Russia to deliver a new strike to the Ukrainian energy system.

Fake Russia is to attack places with Ukrainian top security officials because of the explosion in a restaurant in Donetsk with Rohozin

On December 21, an explosion occurred in a restaurant in the temporarily occupied Donetsk, as a result of which the former head of “Roskosmos”, the head of the Russian military advisers group, Dmytro Rohozin, and the head of the so-called “government” of the Donetsk occupied territory, Vitalii Khotsenko, were injured. After that, Russian propagandists began to intimidate Ukrainians with new shelling in telegram channels.

They say that American satellites track high-ranking officials of the Russian leadership and bring in the Ukrainian military, who only follow their instructions. Allegedly, such explosions ignite a war and now Ukraine will be hit in response. It seems that Russia will begin to strike at the places where the Ukrainian top officials of law enforcement agencies are located. As a result, civilians will also suffer.

Russian propagandists use such messages to increase the ideological informational pressure on Russian society so that they want to destroy Ukraine with even greater cruelty. On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine with massive attacks throughout the territory, including law enforcement agencies. Russia doesn't need a reason to launch hundreds of missiles in one day into Ukraine. At the same time, by presenting Ukraine as the executor of American instructions and that these actions of the Ukrainian military provoke the outbreak of war, propagandists shift responsibility for their crimes and unleashing the war.

Manipulation Residents of Kherson complained about the worsening of life after the arrival of Ukrainian troops

This information was disseminated by the Russian media and propagandists. Allegedly, local residents of Kherson told the journalists of the British edition of Sky News about this.

From the article “Ukraine war: Freedom comes at a price as Russia switches from occupier to attacker of Kherson” propagandists singled out from several stories of the townspeople the words of only one woman, who believes that it has become “worse, they give help, but not everyone”.

The propagandists used the quote without context and presented it as if it reflected the position of the entire population, saying that it was better in Kherson under Russian occupation.

According to Myth Detector project analysts, the Kremlin propaganda media is trying to create the impression that the terrible living conditions in Kherson are the result of the liberation of the region by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In fact, most of the Kherson residents mentioned in the Sky News story told reporters they were happy that the city was back under Ukrainian control, even if they now expect more trouble from Russian shelling. It was the daily rocket and mortar attacks by Russian troops that led to the death of more than 40 civilians, including at least one child, which affected the stability of the city's infrastructure.

Message Poland considers the West of Ukraine its “colony”

This message is spread by the Russian media. They say that in Poland the western part of Ukraine is considered its territory. The propagandists also cite an article in The Conversation and “own sources” in Russian intelligence who have repeatedly warned of Poland’s “occupational intentions” in Ukraine. This is not true.

In the Conversation article, there is no mention of the fact that Poland allegedly calls the Western part of Ukraine a colony of Warsaw. As StopFake writes, such messages are an invention of propagandists. The authors of the article discuss the historical context of Polish-Ukrainian relations, in particular, that when part of the Ukrainian lands were part of Poland, however, they were not ethnically considered Polish.

Message "Points of invincibility" kill people

Users of telegram channels and social networks write about this, commenting on fake information about the fire allegedly in one of the “Points of invincibility” in Kyiv on December 12.

The Kyiv police denied the information about the fire at the "Points of invincibility". The video circulating on social media was actually filmed in Russia. The police say that the purpose of distributing such content is probably to whip up worrying moods among Ukrainians.

Fake Ukrainian army shelled Ukrainian-controlled Lysychansk to blame Russia

This information was disseminated by Russian resources. Like, the residents of Lysychansk told a Russian propagandist about this. Allegedly, according to them, the Ukrainian military shot at civilians from March to May 2022 in order to film propaganda materials. It is not true.

According to The Insider fact-checkers, from March to May, there were Russian troops near Lysychansk that could have shelled the city.

From the 20th of March, Russian troops tried to take the city of Rubizhne, located 18 km from Lysychansk, that is, they were directly on the outskirts of it. On May 13, the city was completely occupied. The effective range of the Russian Grad multiple launch rocket system is 21 km, the Msta-S howitzer is 24.7 km, and the Giacint-S is 28.4 km.

Message Poland needs the territory of Ukraine without Ukrainians

This message is spread by Russian propagandists in telegram channels. Allegedly, the Poles need Kyiv, Lviv, Uzhhorod, the Carpathians, but they can’t stand the Ukrainians. Like, they have a much better attitude towards the Russians.

Since the beginning of the war, Russia has been spreading all sorts of disinformation to quarrel Poland and Ukraine and create the image of tension between the countries supporting each other. Propagandists constantly repeat the narrative that Poland seeks to annex part of Ukraine and has already begun to prepare for this. In particular, they wrote that Poland began the "economic seizure" of Ukraine and the western regions of Ukraine.

Message Ukraine is not engaged in the restoration of sacked settlements

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this. Like, the government prefers stabilization measures, rather than the restoration of populated areas. In particular, allegedly recently liberated Kherson is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. Allegedly, there is no water and energy supply in the city, there is not enough medicine, fuel, etc. Like, the situation is the same in the de-occupied Kharkiv region. Allegedly, this is how the Ukrainian authorities “thank” the Ukrainians who were waiting for the de-occupation.

Russian propaganda continues to manipulate information about the de-occupied territories of Ukraine. Kherson was on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe during the Russian occupation. After the de-occupation, life support systems are being restored in the city, despite daily shelling from the Russian army. As of December 4, Kherson resumed power supply by 85%. Also, “Points of invincibility” were opened in the city and additional centers for issuing humanitarian aid were deployed. Gradually in Kherson, the work of a supermarket chain is resumed.

Fake Explosions heard in Lviv region

Russian propagandists and anonymous telegram channels spread information that there were explosions in the Lviv region. According to the head of the Regional military state administration Maksym Kozytskyi, this is a fake. “I officially declare that as of 15:00 the information is untrue”, Kozytskyi wrote and urged people to stay in shelters.

Message Citizens of Ukraine are divided into Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians

Such a message is promoted by pro-Russian telegram channels. Allegedly, the division of Ukrainians will take place thanks to the draft law “On national minorities (community) of Ukraine” and that people’s deputies consider this to be more important than solving the issue of supplying water and electricity to homes.

The requirement to reform legislation on national minorities is one of the conditions that the European Union puts before Ukraine on the way to full membership. The bill was finalized on the basis of the opinion of the Council of Europe and in close cooperation with its experts.

People's deputies pass laws, but do not supply water and electricity to homes. Problems with this arose due to Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities. Blackout is another Russian war crime for which it should be held accountable.

Message The vast majority of those who had the opportunity to compare the Ukrainian and Russian authorities do not want to go to the territory of Ukraine

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this. They say that only 28 people from Kupiansk applied for evacuation, despite problems with heating and electricity. As if the same situation was in Izium. They say that only a “few dozen residents” also wanted to evacuate there. The propagandists conclude that people allegedly do not want to “move to the territory of Ukraine” because they had the opportunity to compare the Ukrainian and Russian authorities.

Disclosure A fake letter about preparations for a referendum on the accession of the Ukrainian western regions to Poland is being distributed on the network

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation reports that another fake letter is being distributed on Twitter, allegedly on behalf of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine. The letter refers to the holding of events "aimed at studying the public opinion of the residents of the Lviv and Volyn regions of Ukraine", which "they propose to implement according to the previously established plan".

A photo of the fake letter is being circulated with comments that allegedly Polish diplomats are trying to seize the Western regions and are preparing to hold a referendum.

The representative of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Lukasz Jasina, denied the existence of such a letter and noted that the message about preparations for a referendum on the accession of the western regions of Ukraine to Poland is disinformation and another attempt to foment disunity between Poland and Ukraine.

Manipulation All schools in Zaporizhzhia switched to Russian standards

This information was disseminated by Russian TV channels. Like, the students told reporters that it was hard for them to study when the teachers spoke to them in Ukrainian. Now teachers explain in class that Ukrainian language is inconvenient and how Ukrainians themselves get confused with it.

As an example, the TV report shows one of the schools in the temporarily occupied Melitopol, which has been under the control of Russian troops since February 25. Since then, the inhabitants of Melitopol, who stay in the city, have been persecuted by the Russians. For a blue and yellow ribbon or the Ukrainian language, Russian invaders can shoot them, and if, while checking the phone on the street, they find Ukrainian content in instant messengers or somewhere else, they punish people with a fine or imprisonment.

Schools in the Zaporizhzhia region continue to work online. In schools that began to work offline in the occupied territory of the region, children are taught according to Russian textbooks, where history is rewritten according to the KGB manuals, many teachers are brought from Russia, as the locals refused to cooperate with the occupiers. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that all schools in Zaporizhzhia have switched to Russian standards; rather, operating schools have been forced to switch to Russian standards.

On the other hand, to date, about 80% of the Zaporizhzhia region has been occupied by Russians. The city of Zaporizhzhia has never been under occupation, so no one has taught schoolchildren of Zaporizhzhia city and is not teaching now according to Russian standards.

Message In Kyiv, there are kilometer-long queues at ATMs and taped outlets in restaurants

Such messages have been spread by Russian propagandists in telegram channels over the past few days. As proof, they use screenshots of posts from the telegram channel "Kyiv Dvizh" (Kyiv movement).

They say that Kyiv was left without electricity, people are panicking, it is impossible to withdraw cash and there are no places where you can recharge phones or other gadgets. In fact, propagandists would like an atmosphere of despair and helplessness to prevail in the capital of Ukraine. But the real picture is quite different. Among the dozens of reports on the impact of a power outage on the city on the Kyiv Dvizh channel, there are only two pessimistic photographers: on one of them, after rocket attacks, people began to queue up at one of the ATMs, because the other ATMs did not work without a power outage, and in supermarkets they accepted only cash; one of the establishments in Kyiv really taped the outlet. At the same time, all the other messages on this channel were about how people support each other, how cafes, restaurants, supermarkets and even pharmacies allow the use of sockets and electrical cords, how the people of Kyiv pay for each other in cash so that no one is left without the necessary thing. Propagandists filed isolated cases for mass ones in order to show a paralyzed Kyiv, sow panic among Ukrainians and cause people to revolt against the government, which allegedly led to a blackout due to the fact that it did not agree to Russia's ultimatum.

Fake Ukrainian military detain people in the liberated territories to increase the exchange fund

Russian propagandists write about this on social networks. Allegedly, citizens of Ukraine are being detained and accused of collaborating with the Russian occupiers.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that such information is not true.

Message Russia withdrew from Kherson because Ukraine wanted to blow up the Kakhovka dam

This is the message Russian propaganda is spreading to Western audiences. Allegedly, Russian troops retreated from Kherson due to fears that Ukrainian forces would blow up a dam at the nearby Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. The flood could have caused the death of many military and civilians.

The fact-checkers EU vs Disinfo drew attention to the spread of the message. In fact, Ukrainian military intelligence reported on October 21 that the Russian army had placed two military vehicles loaded with explosives on the road crossing the dam. The dam of the Kakhovska HPP is 30 meters high and holds back 18 million cubic meters of water. Undermining the dam could lead to huge flooding of Kherson and smaller settlements around. It would also have a significant impact on the operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, since this facility is inextricably linked with it. After the retreat of the Russian army from Kherson on November 11, the US satellite company Maxar reported that significant new damage to the dam in Nova Kakhovka in southern Ukraine was visible.

Fake Ukrainian authorities prevent the departure of the population from Zaporizhzhia

Russian media write about this with reference to the words of collaborator Rohov. Like, the Ukrainian authorities use people as a human shield to cover military facilities. Allegedly, even large families, the elderly, and students were banned from leaving. Allegedly, in Zaporizhzhia, the Armed Forces of Ukraine use the “layer cake” tactics, when the military live surrounded by civilians, and the military depots are surrounded by civilian objects. It is not true.

There are no restrictions for residents of Zaporizhzhia to travel within Ukraine or abroad. For example, there are available tickets on the Ukrzaliznytsia website. For the security of Ukrainians, there are restrictions on leaving for the occupied territories after the shelling of a column of civilians at the checkpoint on October 2. Propagandists also systematically report that supposedly Ukrainian servicemen are hiding behind the civilian population. However, such information is denied every time by local authorities.

Fake EU countries seek to take control of part of Ukrainian territories

Such news is spread by propagandists and anonymous telegrams. The reports say that the European Commission is moving military forces to the east, to the borders of Ukraine, which indicates that the EU allegedly seeks to take control of part of the territory of Ukraine because of economic interests. Like, all EU countries will divide a part of Ukraine among themselves. However, this is not true.

In fact, according to EU vs Disinfo experts, the assertion that other EU countries will take Ukrainian territories is unfounded. EU member states respect international law regarding state borders, fully support the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and do not put forward any claims to Ukrainian territory.

The very statement about the transfer of military forces to the eastern borders of the European Union, distorted by propagandists, was announced during the development of the Action Plan for military mobility, which regulates a simplified procedure for the response of the Armed Forces on the territory of the EU.

Пропагандисти поширюють цей меседж, аби залякати українців та продовжувати підсилювати наратив про те, що ніхто не зацікавлений в Україні як повноцінній державі. Мовляв, усі країни лишень хочуть її розділити. Однак активна підтримка європейської спільноти свідчить про інше.