Message US recruits Syrians for terrorist attacks in Russia

Pro-Russian publications tell foreign audiences that the US is actively recruiting jihadists from ISIS and al-Qaeda to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia and other countries that were part of the USSR. “Recruitment” and “training” takes place at the Al-Tanf military base in Syria, mainly among militants from the Caucasus and Central Asia. They seem to be studying how to make and use improvised explosive devices, as well as explosive methods. Like, the US security forces are demoralized, and therefore obsessed with the idea of bleeding Russia in any way, even using terrorists.

EU vs Disinfo analysts drew attention to the spread of the message. They note that this is an unfounded claim, there is no evidence of the training of militants. In addition, the US is leading the global coalition to defeat ISIS and other international counter-terrorist initiatives.

Thus, Russian propaganda uses intimidation tactics and fuels narratives about the US as an enemy of Russia. Earlier, Russian propaganda wrote that a group of radical Islamists went from northeast Syria to Ukraine to fight as mercenaries on the side of Kyiv.

Manipulation Ukraine is preparing terrorist attacks in Crimea

Such messages are distributed in anonymous telegram channels and Russian media. They say that Kyiv began to openly threaten Moscow. Like, against the background of the victories of the Russian army, the West began to look for ways to turn the tide. Allegedly, Washington plans to seize the temporarily occupied Crimea. This is manipulation.

The propagandists used the words of Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Office of the President, as the basis. He said that Ukraine has begun negotiations with partners on the supply of long-range missiles and aircraft. Podoliak noted that aviation is needed to cover the military, and missiles are needed to destroy Russian weapons depots, including in Crimea. It was this thesis that the propagandists used for manipulation. Using the tactics of substitution of concepts, the Russians began to call attacks on warehouses with weapons terrorist attacks.

Russia systematically spreads messages that discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the inhabitants of the temporarily occupied Crimea. Earlier, they wrote that the Ukrainian army plans to “recapture” Crimea in Russia, and after the liberation, it will deport 800,000 Crimeans. Or propagandists claimed that Ukraine “changed its mind” about returning Crimea, and Ukrainians rejoice that war has come to the peninsula.

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 Ukraine accuses Russian intelligence services of threatening Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad

Anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels write that soon Ukraine will start “playing the card of the Russian trace” in cases of sending letters with explosives, packages with animal eyes, etc. to Ukrainian embassies and consulates. Like, Ukraine will tell that in this way they also tried to intimidate the Europeans so that they would not help Ukraine.

In early December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported on a targeted campaign of terror and intimidation of Ukrainian diplomatic institutions abroad. In 12 countries of the world, Ukrainian embassies and consulates received threats of various types, a total of 18 cases were recorded. Now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is cooperating with foreign law enforcement officers to identify the perpetrators.

Message Rocket attacks on Ukraine is revenge for explosions in the Russian rear

As soon as an air raid began almost all over Ukraine, Russian telegram channels, guided by the Russian GRU, began to spread the thesis that the shelling was a consequence of “Ukraine’s sabotage in Russia”, including explosions at military airfields in the Saratov region and near Riazan.

Today, the Russian media reported about the explosions at both military facilities. At the Engels-1 air base in the Saratov region, a drone fell on the runway, which caused damage to two Tu-95 bombers, and two soldiers were hospitalized with injuries. A fuel truck exploded at the Diahilevo airfield near Riazan. At least three Russian soldiers were killed. Ukraine has not officially confirmed its involvement in the explosions: Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, said that since the earth is round, and Russia launches a lot into the air every day, sometimes these objects return home. Ukraine officially does not have drones that could cover the distance to Engels (700 km) and Diahilevo (500 km).

In fact, Russia does not “retaliate” with missile strikes. Insider Project investigators have found that each massive missile strike requires a week to ten days of preparation, so there cannot be a "response" to any Ukrainian military action that occurred less than a week ago.

Message Ukrainian officials "ask" Russia to deliver a new blow to the Ukrainian energy system

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this. Like, in recent days, Ukrainian officials and opinion leaders have been so actively discussing possible missile strikes and “frightening” Ukrainians with their consequences that “there can be only two explanations for this.” Either they are trying to “repel” the desire of the Russians to strike, or, which is supposedly “most likely”, they are deliberately “provoking and asking for it”. Allegedly, this is how the Ukrainian authorities plan to hide their own mistakes and shift the blame to the Russians.

Russian missile strikes actually have worse consequences every time, because Russia deliberately hits the Ukrainian energy system with massive rocket attacks. In particular, those objects, the repair of which is long-term and requires significant financial costs. Naturally, officials and experts are trying to explain the consequences of the strikes already inflicted and analyze possible options for the further development of the situation. Understanding the real realities is necessary in order to prevent unnecessary panic and irrational actions of Ukrainians.

Message The European Parliament recognition of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism "has no consequences"

Russian media say that the resolution supposedly adopted on November 23 by the European Parliament recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism “has no consequences” for Russia. Also, propagandists accuse the European Parliament of "political bias". Like, the UN resolution "contributes to inciting conflict situations and humanitarian crises around the world," and is also designed to "legalize the robbery of Russia." The propaganda calls the European Parliament a rudiment that does not decide anything, but only incites enmity between countries. This is manipulation.

Now the EU really does not have a legal basis to introduce serious restrictive measures against a country recognized as a sponsor of terrorism. However, the essence of the resolution of the European Parliament is to create such an international legal framework. The adopted document is advisory in nature for implementation.

Message No one needs “invincibility points”: they were opened for the sake of PR and they provoke the enemy into missile strikes

This message is spread by anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels. In particular, by those that, according to the Security service in Ukraine (SSU), are controlled by Russian intelligence. The reports say that the “Points of Invincibility”, in which Ukrainians can stay warm in the conditions of emergency power and heat outages and charge electrical appliances if necessary, is an absurd invention of the Office of the President. Reports state that these points are not protected by anything at the time of missile strikes. Like, they even provoke the enemy to launch a missile attack, because they become a place of mass congestion of people. The authors of such messages even suggest that if an enemy missile hits one of the points, this will be a good informational occasion. In fact, the “Points of Invincibility” are needed by people who, due to rocket attacks on infrastructure, were left without electricity, water supply and communications. Such points were deployed in most cities of Ukraine, so that residents in the conditions of long blackouts could warm up at these locations, recharge gadgets or warm up food or drink tea.

Fake The Hague court recognized the events of 2014 in eastern Ukraine as a "non-international conflict"

Russian media write about it. Like, during the announcement of the verdict on the downing of the MH17 Boeing, the judge stressed that it was a "non-international armed conflict in Ukraine." This is not true.

An international court judge said that in April 2014, Ukrainian troops fought against separatist groups controlled by Russia. The judge also stressed that the defendants do not have the right to use the immunity granted to the soldiers of the warring parties, since the representatives of the separatist formations are not soldiers of the Russian army. The Insider fact-checkers drew attention to the spread of the fake. Fact-checkers of the NatoYenota project recorded the spread of and refuted the fake that allegedly Ukraine was recognized as the “main criminal” in the case of downing the MH17.

Disclosure The Russians shot a staged video about the detention of "Ukrainian saboteurs" on the territory of Russia

The Center reported it for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the NSDC. On October 12, the Russian FSB said the "prevention of two acts of sabotage" allegedly committed by "Ukrainian agents" who entered Russia through Estonia. One was "detained" in the Bryansk region after seizing an improvised explosive device, the other in the Moscow region with two "Igla" MANPADS.

The video about the detention of "Ukrainian saboteurs" is a production. The Center drew attention to the fact that the "Ukrainian saboteur" allegedly drove around the Moscow region in a car loaded with weapons and Ukrainian license plates. This video was shot simultaneously from several angles to make it look more dynamic; they probably had to do several takes. It is indicated by the difference in the distance between the cars in different frames.

The FSB also announced the "opening" of the case of sabotage on the Crimean Bridge. As evidence, the Russians showed an X-ray of a truck that was allegedly mined, but the truck was missing one of its rear axles.

Unlike the rest of the wheels, the spare wheel shines through as if an empty tire had been glued to the bottom.

Russian propaganda systematically uses staged videos about the involvement of "Ukrainians" in crimes already committed on the territory of Russia or about preemptive arrests. Earlier, propagandists filmed a film about the "exposure of SBU agents" in the temporarily occupied Kherson region.

Message The "Anglo-Saxons" are behind the explosions on the Crimean bridge and the leaks of the Nord Stream gas pipelines

In this way, the USA and Great Britain "revenge" Russia for the events in Ukraine. Foreign pro-Russian media write that allegedly after the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines and the "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge, it "became clear" that Washington was "planning large-scale terrorist acts" that would give Moscow a "pretext" for a nuclear strike. The publications write that "Anglo-Saxons" are behind both events. The spread of this misinformation a few hours after the explosion on the Crimean bridge, when no details of this event hadn't yet known, was noticed by fact-checkers of the EUvsDisinfo project.

Fake Russia found "evidence" of Ukraine's involvement in "sabotage" on the Crimean bridge

Reports spread on social networks that Russia allegedly established the identity of the man who committed the "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge. He turned out to be a Ukrainian. His passport allegedly evidences it. Photos are added to messages. This photo is fake.

The photo of the passport of the "terrorist" actually turned out to be a photo-edited image illustrating a sample passport of a citizen of Ukraine (ID card) on Wikipedia. The authors of the fake changed only the name, photo, and gender, and all other "document details" remained the same as in Wikipedia. Fraudsters also added alleged blood stains or damage "due to a terrorist attack" with the help of a photo editor. The same picture was also used for a fake Twitter account.

In fact, there is no objective evidence of Ukraine's involvement in the explosion on the Crimean Bridge. The Ukrainian authorities also rejected any accusations in this regard.

Message Ukraine is being "prepared" for a nuclear accident, which will be arranged by "third parties," but they will blame Russia

Pro-Russian Telegram channels write about it. He said that the very fact of a nuclear attack on Ukraine would be important, and they would not be able to figure out who would carry it out. Because of this, allegedly, the Ukrainian authorities issued a manual on the rules of behavior during a nuclear threat. Some anonymous Telegram channels are spreading rumors that the Americans will strike at the spent nuclear fuel storage in the Chornobyl zone.

Since February 24, Russia has systematically threatened Ukraine and the world with the use of nuclear weapons. At the beginning of a full-scale invasion, the Russians put the nuclear forces on special combat duty. During a speech on September 21, Putin again threatened the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the event of a "direct threat to Russian territory," saying that this was "not a bluff."

Considering the seriousness of the danger, the Ukrainian authorities developed appropriate recommendations for citizens, which agitprop immediately called "preparation for a nuclear accident."

Russian propaganda conducts informational terrorism to induce Ukraine to negotiate on the Kremlin's terms.

Message Ukraine engages in "nuclear terrorism"

Russian propaganda systematically accuses Ukraine of striking the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. At the same time, the "commander" of the occupying garrison of the nuclear power plant, Russian General Vasiliev, threatened that "the station will be either Russian or nobody" and "there will be either Russian free land or scorched earth".