After the de-occupation of the right bank of Kherson, Russian media are spreading reports about “provocations” that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are allegedly preparing in the territories liberated from the invaders. In particular, the pro-Kremlin media claim that the Ukrainian government “forbade visiting Kherson” allegedly because “a new provocation like Bucha is being prepared there”.

According to StopFake, the “new Bucha” is a Russian propaganda message that emerged after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. With such messages, the Russian media react to every fact of the crimes of Russian soldiers against civilians, which can be considered as war crimes.

Russian media made the "news" that Zelenskyi "refused to let people into Kherson" by manipulating the President's words about the need to clear mines and check objects before allowing civilians into the city. According to propagandists, this allegedly indicates the "preparation" of some "provocations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine".

Proceedings have begun in the Kherson region. As of November 13th, investigators have documented more than 400 Russian war crimes, and continue to uncover the bodies of those killed - both civilian and military. First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Yenin said that torture dungeons were found in the liberated part of the Kherson region, in which the invaders probably abused and tortured the Ukrainians.

Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels once again spread information that supposedly Poland wants to return "its territories". They say that Kyiv and Warsaw agreed on the occupation of Western Ukraine, and the plan should be implemented by Polish mercenaries, a large number of whom are fighting for Ukraine.

Stanislav Zharyn, a spokesman for the Coordinating Minister of the Polish Intelligence Services, drew attention to this on his Twitter.

He noted that Russian propagandists spread misinformation, allegedly "the Polish government approves of such participation of these mercenaries".

According to him, Russian propaganda has actively worked to introduce these messages into the Western information environment, and these hostile efforts are "perfectly in line with the Kremlin's attempts to portray Poland as a warmonger and isolate Warsaw on the international stage".

"Russian propaganda is activating the information war in order to break the will and readiness of the allies to continue to support Kyiv, and comes up with far-fetched pretexts for striking civilian and energy infrastructure in Ukraine", Zharyn added.

Russian media write about it. Allegedly, Ukraine plans to "launch an offensive" on Russian territory with the onset of cold weather, so that "it would be easier to drive with military transport". As proof, they published a video in which this information is allegedly confirmed by a Ukrainian prisoner of war. It is not true.

Propagandists often use prisoners of war who, under pressure, are forced to say fictitious things on camera in order to then spread fakes in the information space.

The Ukrainian army is not an occupier unlike the Russian one. Ukraine seeks to liberate only Ukrainian territories from the occupation of Russians, and there is no talk of any “invasion” of Russian territory.

The military-political leadership of Ukraine has repeatedly spoken about reaching the internationally recognized Ukrainian borders in 1991 as the main goal, and Ukrainian soldiers are doing everything possible to achieve it.

Russia regularly claims that someone wants to attack it. In particular, one of the reasons for the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia calls the threat of an attack from Ukraine. Like, if they had not started the war, Ukraine would have attacked first.

Russian media write about this with reference to the words of collaborator Rohov. They say that as a result of new EU sanctions, enterprises located in the part of the Zaporizhzhia region controlled by Ukraine also “suffer from sanctions”. Allegedly, after the introduction of the 8th package of EU sanctions, European banks refuse to transfer money to companies and entrepreneurs from Zaporizhzhia, explaining this by the fact that the Zaporizhzhia region is included in the sanctions list. Rohov says that supposedly EU officials know something about the future of the city of Zaporizhzhia and have already come to terms with the fact that this is Russia. This is not true.

The new package of sanctions adopted by the European Union against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, refers to a ban on the import of goods from non-government-controlled parts of the regions. In particular, a ban was introduced on imports from the temporarily occupied regions of the Zaporizhzhia region. The European Union continues to constantly support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

According to StopFake, the EU has approved extending the ban on the import of goods from non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions to non-government controlled areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. We are not talking about individual enterprises in Zaporizhzhia, as well as about enterprises located in the controlled areas of these regions. The sanctions refer only to a ban on the import of goods from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Russian information resources and social networks are circulating reports that Ukraine is allegedly going to sign a bill on the association of Poland and the Lviv region. The messages allegedly quote Volodymyr Zelenskyi saying that “Poland will come to Ukrainian land not as an occupier, but as a brother and ally” and that “it doesn’t matter who formally is the host of the land, what matters is the well-being and prosperity of the people living on it” . It is not true.

There is no draft law on the association of Poland and the Lviv oblast. Zelenskyi's quote was also made up. At the same time, there is a law in Ukraine that establishes the rights and guarantees for Polish citizens who are on the territory of Ukraine. The law was developed in gratitude to the Polish people for their solidarity and support for Ukraine in the face of a full-scale Russian invasion.

The Russian media spread this information. The Russians assured that the book was published in Barcelona, ​​the capital of Catalonia. This action also hints at Catalonia's desire to separate from Spain through referendums. It isn't true.

Stopfake analysts found that the Russians distributed a map from a sixth-grade geography textbook, not published in Spain, but by the Ministry of Public Education of Mexico and published in 2016. The original map shows that Ukraine is depicted within the boundaries of 1991. In Russia, an ordinary map was edited with the help of a photo editor for propaganda purposes. Russian propagandists try to convince that the EU allegedly recognized the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

In fact, the EU didn't recognize the so-called referendum. In response to the annexation of the Kherson Region, Donetsk Region, Luhansk Region, and Zaporizhzhia Region EU introduced sanctions for its organization.

The Russian propaganda media spread this thesis. Reports say that Poland allegedly continues preparations for the division of Ukraine and, for this purpose, has started the construction of an energy bridge.

The reports' authors claim that the energy bridge construction is taking place within the framework of the project of reintegration of "historical" Polish lands. The Poles have allegedly been working for a long time to take control of the energy infrastructure of the western regions of Ukraine.

They believe this will allow Poland to strengthen its influence in Ukraine significantly. Online media Ye.ua drew attention to the message. It isn't the first time Russia has leaked information about Poland's so-called plans to occupy part of Ukraine. Propagandists have already spread information that Poland is trying to annex part of Ukraine and are preparing for this in every possible way. In particular, Poland is allegedly preparing a referendum in the Lviv region.

However, it is a fake, as is the case with the power system. It isn't Poland that wants to destroy the Ukrainian energy system and take it under control, but Russia, since October 10, has been systematically shelling energy facilities throughout Ukraine.

Kyrylo Stremousov, a Russian collaborator and representative of the occupation administration of the Kherson Region, published a video message on his Telegram channel, where he presented his version of events as of the evening of October 23, 2022, against the background of a map of Ukraine with occupied cities.

Pro-Russian bloggers spread Stremousov's map as a real map of military operations in Ukraine and concluded: "Ours made serious progress in a day." Russian troops are allegedly again near Kyiv, as of the beginning of March 2022, and have captured the entire territory of the border regions with Russia and partly with Belarus. Stremousov promised that "soon Mykolayiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk regions will be freed from Ukrainian Nazis." In addition, the collaborator Stremousov fled from Kherson to the temporarily occupied Crimea. When the Ukrainian army is successfully advancing in the counterattack in the Kherson direction, the Russian occupiers and collaborators are fleeing, taking away the loot.

Stremousov passes off wishful thinking and spreads fakes about a "stable front in the Kherson region" and an impossible plan. Such "news" is aimed at diverting attention from the defeats of the Russian army and the failure of the mythical "sacred duty of Russians to liberate Ukraine from neo-fascism."

Such information is promoted in anonymous Telegram channels. Poles, Romanians, Slovaks, and Hungarians allegedly want to destroy a piece of Ukraine for their purposes. Fresh evidence of this is that Poland allegedly moves military equipment to the border with Belarus. According to propagandists, if Belarus officially takes part in the war against Ukraine, then the USA and Britain will allow the territories of Ukraine to be divided between the neighboring countries - Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Russia's mission is supposed to protect Ukraine from division. For the sake of this goal, Russia is ready to use "not only tactical nuclear weapons but something stronger" against Ukraine.

Earlier, propagandists repeatedly spread fakes about Poland's intention to annex Lviv Oblast. In particular, they wrote that Poland had begun an "economic takeover" of Ukraine and the western regions of Ukraine and that a referendum would be held in Lviv Oblast regarding the region's accession to Poland. Disinformation about the intention of Western countries to take over Ukraine is aimed at destroying Ukraine's unity with the European Union and canceling support for Ukraine.

This way, propagandists divert attention from illegal pseudo-referendums in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia and convince them that they aren't taking over Ukraine but protecting it from Western invaders.

According to the Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security Council, such a message is spread by Russian propagandists in the information space.

In particular, referring to the article of the former US ambassador to the USSR, Jack Matlock, in the publication Responsible Statecraft. The Kremlin media writes, "if Ukraine tries to return the territories by force, and such actions are encouraged by the USA and NATO, then Russia is very likely to destroy Ukraine in response."

According to the Center's message, with the help of such messages, Russia seeks to intimidate Ukrainian society. In addition to intimidation, according to analysts, such messages are intended to induce Ukraine to negotiate with Russia and agree to the aggressor's terms.

Russian propaganda on social networks spreads fakes about the alleged emergency power outage in the Khmelnytskyi region on October 17, when missiles and drones hit Ukraine. In general, several versions of reports about alleged explosions in the Khmelnytskyi region and emergency shutdowns are being distributed. But this is not true. According to the fact checkers of the "Site Ye" project, even during the air alert on October 17, fake news began to spread on some Telegram channels. An emergency power outage allegedly began in Khmelnytskyi due to a missile strike. Also, in some reports, the Khmelnytskyi region was confused with the Rivne region. Some of the messages contained references to the leadership of DMA. However, in reality, there were no such messages from the administration. The fake was soon refuted by the head of Khmelnytskyi DMA, Serhiy Hamaliy.

By spreading such messages, propagandists try to increase panic among Ukrainians and influence the work of the Ukrainian energy system, which was damaged by missile strikes from the inside. For this purpose, the propagandists again began to spread the old fake about the need to turn off all electrical appliances at night.

Russian media and some users on the Internet spread the news that the German state TV channel ZDF used a new map of Ukraine in its news broadcast — without the territories annexed by Russia. The plot was allegedly devoted to the disconnection of water and electricity. Behind the presenter was a screen with a new map - without Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk regions, Crimea, writes Stop Fake.

However, the shared image was edited because a map of Ukraine was deliberately added to the background without the territories of Ukraine annexed and temporarily occupied by Russia, the ZDF channel reported on its Twitter page. The message says that the photo shared on the network is an edited frame from the Heute Journal news program from October 10, and the plot is related to the investigation of sabotage at gas stations. ZDF also assured: they have never used such a "map" of Ukraine.

Russian propagandists used this fake to confirm the alleged "recognition" by the German state TV channel of the annexed territories being part of Russia. Thus, they want to show that the international community accepts the "new reality" and is gradually putting up with Russia's occupation of parts of Ukraine. It is not the first case of editing screenshots from the TV screen. Thus, propagandists distort reality by inventing facts that don't exist to support their messages.

In the program of Russian propagandist Armen Hasparyan, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada, Volodymyr Oleynyk, talked about how "Governor of the Mykolaiv Region Vitaliy Kim" allegedly gave an order to go around the apartments of residents of the region to check the presence of "Russian phone numbers" to identify separatists among Ukrainians. It is part of measures "to intimidate the population," and Ukraine has "turned into a concentration camp" for dissidents over the past 8 years, Oleynyk said.

Neither Vitaliy Kim, the head of the regional state administration, nor other representatives of the state administration can order someone to "search for separatists." It is the responsibility of the SSU, which also can't arrange a "house-to-house inspection" of residents of the Mykolaiv Region. Besides, now, during the war, there were no separatists. There are traitors to the state, collaborators, or helpers of the occupiers.

By the way, Hasparyan is suspected by Ukraine of calling for genocide and the overthrow of the state system, and Oleynyk is suspected of treason.

It is reported by pro-Russian Telegram channels and resources concerning an article by the German publication BILD.

Journalists of the publication allegedly exposed and refuted "fake Ukrainian propaganda about "torture house" and "golden teeth" in the village of Pisky-Radkivski, Kharkiv region." It is manipulation.

There is no refutation of the information about torture camps for residents in the territory of the village of Pisky-Radkivski in the Kharkiv region in the BILD materials.

On the contrary, the BILD article confirms this fact. As StopFake notes, the question arose only about the container with the removed dentures, photos of which were published along with other evidence. The materials state that the local dentist recognized his box of dentures.

But this fact does not deny the authenticity of other tools for torture, as well as the existence of the "Kativen" themselves in the territory of the village. BILD journalists write: "One thing can be said for sure: in the village - as in many other places occupied by Russia - brutal torture was used." Residents said that they constantly heard cries for help from various buildings.

The article also includes the testimonies of victims of Russian torture. Russian propaganda tries to justify the crimes of the Russian army and deliberately manipulates information.

In anticipation of the events, they claimed that the Ukrainian authorities were preparing for a fake "Buchi-2" in the direction of Kharkiv and were convinced that the exhumation of bodies in the places of mass burials in Izyum was a desecration of the remains of the dead. 

Such information is spread by pro-Russian Telegram channels, speculating on Russian shelling and the operation of air defense systems.

The day before, anti-aircraft defenses were allegedly taken away from the Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions, leaving these regions without adequate protection. Now, these systems are "urgently" returned. Instead, according to reports, Kyiv and Dnipro are "excessively" protected because they are "more strategically important" to the authorities. The same speculations were previously observed in local telegram channels of Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv regions, etc. Propagandists deliberately spread messages as "insides" or "rumors" after shelling, manipulating the victims' emotions and taking advantage of the fact that the location and number of anti-aircraft warning systems are not disclosed. In this way, the propagandists also advance the narrative about the division of Ukrainians by place of residence.

Such messages are spread by propaganda telegram channels, backing up their words with a fake document. It says that the regional administrations allegedly receive draft budgets for 2023 that do not include Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions.

A photo of the alleged Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1051 of September 25, 2022 “On some issues of financing the purchase of durable goods under martial law” is added to the messages. However, this document is fabricated.

The Center for Countering Disinformation reports that this document is fake for a number of reasons:

Resolution No. 1051 was published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers on September 27, 2022 under the title “On Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of July 19, 2022 No. 812”, and not dated September 25, 2022, as indicated in the “document”;

The resolution entitled “On some issues of financing the purchase of durable goods under martial law” has No. 528 and was published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers on May 03, 2022.

And in accordance with this resolution, subventions (monetary assistance from the state budget to local budgets) are also provided for the temporarily occupied territories.

The Center for Countering Disinformation urges to check suspicious documents and remember that the reckless expansion of such fabricated documents plays into the hands of infidels.

The Kremlin media reports this regarding collaborator Volodymyr Rogov. Ukraine allegedly blocked entry to the "liberated" part of the Zaporizhzhia region, so now residents can`t leave the territory controlled by Kyiv. People are allegedly not being released for various imaginary reasons and are being threatened. It is not so.

In fact, entry is blocked from both sides. The head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh explained that the entrance to the temporarily occupied part of the region was closed after the Russian military fired on a humanitarian convoy in Zaporizhzhia. A safer algorithm for the passage of vehicles to occupied territories is currently being developed. Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, announced the closure of exits to the temporarily occupied territories through Zaporizhzhia due to the tragedy with the humanitarian convoy.

The information that the occupiers don`t allow Ukrainians to leave the temporarily occupied territories of the region is also confirmed by the local mass media. Now, to leave the occupation, the Russian military requires filling out applications, which must contain all personal data, copies of documents, information about the location at the time of departure, etc.

So the Ukrainian authorities have restricted entry for the safety of citizens, but instead, the occupiers are blocking passage to obtain personal information. Earlier, propagandists spread fakes about the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired upon refugee columns in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv Region. And they also manipulated that Russia would "consult with the population" of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region regarding determining "borders". More details.

The Russian media write about this regarding the words of Vasily Nebenzya, the permanent representative of Russia at the UN.

For example, Western delegations demonstrate double standards by denying residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine the right to self-determination. This situation allegedly has no difference from the exit of Kosovo from Serbia. Nebenzya referred to the decision of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations in 2008. He also said that annexing Ukrainian territories to Russia is more legal because of "referendums".

The referendum in Kosovo was held from September 26 to 30, 1991. It was boycotted by the Serbian minority living in the region. The turnout of Albanians was 87%, and 99% of them voted "for" independence. Kosovo Albanians were not in danger at that time. Yugoslavia no longer existed, and there was a foreign peacekeeping contingent in Serbia. Instead, in Ukraine, Russia held "referendums" in violation of international law and under the pressure of armed soldiers.

So there is no question of the legitimacy and voluntariness of the expression of will. Democratic countries unanimously declared their non-recognition of the results of the illegal "referendums" held by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories, even on the eve of their holding.

Since 2020, 97 states out of 193 (50%) UN member states have recognized the independence of Kosovo; 22 out of 27 (81%) member states of the European Union; 26 out of 30 (87%) NATO member states. Among those who didn`t recognize the independence of Kosovo were Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Ukraine.

The UN International Court of Justice has never recognized the independence of Kosovo. The court ruled that the declaration of independence adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo didn`t violate international law. At the same time, the court didn`t consider the legality of unilateral secession and the question of Kosovo's independence.

It is not the first time that Russia uses manipulative statements about the Western "policy of double standards", although it actively uses them itself. Earlier, propagandists wrote that accusations against Russia regarding the violation of the Budapest Memorandum are "impossible" because "Russia's opponents have repeatedly disrespected the fundamental norms of international law, the principles of the UN and the OSCE." The message was noticed by the fact-checkers of The Insider publication.

The Russians spread such rumors and intimidate people who, for various reasons, remained in the temporarily occupied territories. All of them allegedly will eventually be punished for collaborationism.

Currently, there is no law on collaborationism in Ukraine. Since March 15, certain regulations regarding responsibility for cooperation with the occupiers have entered into force, and a single punishment in this regard has not been provided for yet. Depending on the circumstances, it can be different: from a ban on holding certain positions to life imprisonment. But it is precisely about cooperation, and not about staying in the temporarily occupied territories for various reasons.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also responded to this message in his daily address. "If a person did not serve the occupiers and did not betray Ukraine, then there is no reason to consider such a person a collaborator," the president said.

The occupiers deliberately spread such rumors to intimidate the inhabitants of the temporarily occupied territories and induce them to cooperate. Earlier, they claimed that Ukrainians would be punished for receiving Russian humanitarian assistance in the temporarily occupied territories.

Russian media and pro-Russian Telegram channels write it regarding the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmytro Peskov.

They said that there is no final decision on the extent to which the region will be "joined" to Russia, so the opinion of the residents will be asked. It is manipulation.

Before the illegal pseudo-referendums, the collaborator Rogov said that the Zaporizhzhia region would "join" Russia within the current administrative borders. Moreover, the Russian media deliberately coined the term "territories occupied by Kyiv", which is a technology for replacing concepts. Carrying out the so-called "expression of will" in violation of legal norms and "under the muzzles of machine guns" shows that Russia is not interested in what the residents of the temporarily occupied territories want. The situation at the front changes daily, so propagandists manipulate and leave room for an information retreat.

There can be no question of "joining" the temporarily occupied territories to Russia. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the decision on territorial integrity is made exclusively by the citizens of Ukraine in an all-Ukrainian referendum.

Russian propaganda tries in every way to justify the occupation of Ukrainian territories. To do this, they create the illusion of support for their actions by the residents of the occupied territories. They previously wrote that the turnout for the pseudo-referendum in the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region "exceeded 50%." Foreign "observers" also allegedly confirmed the "transparency" of Russian pseudo-referendums in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The message is spread by the Russian media concerning the deputy of the Russian Duma Serhii Mironov.

The Russian official called to "destroy" the entire infrastructure of Ukraine: traction substations, power plants, all bridges, and roads. He said it was necessary to "liberate" the territories and protect the lives of civilians. The message got into the Ukrainian information space through pro-Russian media.

According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, such statements are associated with defeats on the front line. The Russians, under the guise of rescuing civilians, openly call for the destruction of civilian objects. In this way, Russian propaganda exerts emotional pressure on Ukrainians — it tries to intimidate them, force them to surrender, and sow distrust in the actions of the authorities. Leaving people without light, heat, and means of livelihood is not "care" for the lives of civilians, but genocide, which Russia is trying to blackmail against the background of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

It is not the first time Russian agitprop has spread such messages. Similar calls were made during the liberation of the Kharkiv region. Moreover, on September 11, the Russians attacked the Kharkiv CHP plant and left several regions without electricity: Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and partially Donetsk. At that time, the propagandists claimed that the Ukrainian energy system was under "self-fire."

Russian mass media spread such information. This happened allegedly after the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions "joined" Russia.

The so-called "referendums" were held in the four temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine and were not recognized by any democratic country in the world. People who didn`t evacuate from these regions were forced to participate in pseudo-referendums by blackmail and threats, and sometimes at gunpoint. Their "results" don`t reflect the will of the Ukrainians.

These pseudo-votes don`t change the borders of Ukraine, and the "temporarily occupied" status of several Ukrainian territories doesn`t deprive Ukraine of the right to use the internal seas.

Such messages are spread by Russian propaganda media and telegram channels against the background of news about illegal referendums that Russia held in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The authors of the messages claim that after that other neighboring countries of Ukraine will want to take away part of the Ukrainian territory. They say that in the Lviv region they are already preparing a referendum on the accession of the region to Poland. They even add photos of the so-called ballots, which allegedly prepared a referendum, to the messages.

However, all this is not true. The fact-checkers of StopFake drew attention to the fake. In fact, no such referendums have been held in Ukraine and will not be held. As StopFake writes, the Constitution of Ukraine clearly states that questions about changes in the territory of the country are decided exclusively by an all-Ukrainian referendum, and not among residents of a separate region.

In addition, Poland constantly notes that it respects the borders of neighboring countries, respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. In Poland, in particular, they do not intend to recognize the results of the pseudo-referenda that Russia held in the temporarily occupied territories by holding voters at gunpoint.

Such information is disseminated by Russian propaganda media, and the thesis is also circulated in anonymous telegram channels.

Reports say Western puppet Volodymyr Zelenskyi is using Ukrainians in his fake political campaign, and there are alleged similarities between South Africa's apartheid regime and Zelensky's.

Like, they have the same sponsors and the same tactics: they tend to separate people by ethnicity. In such reports, they add that the "peoples" of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions have the right to self-determination, because "human rights are not only for Americans".

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the message on the network. According to them, such misinformation fuels the ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that Ukraine discriminates against Russians living on its territory and that the legitimate government of Kyiv is a puppet in the hands of the West.

However, Ukraine is a sovereign state. Only Russia denies its sovereignty and existence, declaring that Ukrainians and Russians are one people.

Also in Ukraine, Russians are not discriminated against on the principle of apartheid. In Kyiv, they adopted the Law on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language without discrimination of any languages. Russian and other minority languages ​​can be freely used in private communication, religious ceremonies, book publishing, the media and education. Ukraine is not a Russophobic, anti-Russian country. Relations between the countries escalated after the occupation by Russia in 2014. In addition, the fake referendums that Russia held in September 2022 have nothing to do with the right to self-determination, human rights and the rule of law.

This statement is spread by Russian propagandists in the media and telegram channels. Such reports stated that the referendums were organized in order to realize the people's right to self-determination. Propagandists assured that during illegal referendums, their organizers observe the same rules as in France. Like, no one puts pressure on people, they vote absolutely voluntarily. Recall that during September 23-26, Russia really held illegal referendums in four occupied regions of Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson). Illegal referendums condemn Western countries and will not recognize their results.

“The European Union strongly condemns these planned illegal “referendums”, which contradict the decisions of the legitimate and democratically elected Ukrainian authorities, violate the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and are a gross violation of international law. The results of such actions will be invalid and will not be recognized by the EU and its Member States”, Borrell said.