Message The war in Ukraine is part of the world elites plan to destroy humanity

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric often publish messages that coincide with the position of conspiracy theorists on a number of world events. This time they claim that the war in Ukraine is the beginning of the third world war as part of the world elites' plan to destroy humanity. There have been more such messages after recent statements by Bill Gates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this case, conspiracy theorists are referring to the theory of a “secret world government” made up of businessmen and wealthy people of the world. They allegedly lead heads of state to spread their ideas and sometimes resort to “grand plans”. They are often called pandemics, wars, major natural disasters, etc.

Now fans of conspiracy theories put the coronavirus pandemic and the war against Ukraine in one chain, calling them “stages of the plan to destroy humanity”. Like, the planet was closed for a year, stuffed with vaccines, but this was not enough, so it was needed to finish everyone off with a war. As goals for such plans, propagandists refer to the theory of the “golden billion”: only one billion of the most hardy population should remain on the planet, which could survive all these ups and downs.

Thus, Russian propagandists devalue the tragedy of these events and try to shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of the aggression. Like, we are only on foot in this game, and the Western elites started the war. However, foreign experience shows that such a deepening of isolation from reality can be dangerous. In particular, in the United States, cases have been recorded when fans of conspiracy theories tried to kill their defendants.

Manipulation US National Intelligence says Ukraine has “no chance” of winning war

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. During a speech by U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Gaines, she allegedly called the war for Ukraine “already lost” and that it had “no chance” of defeating Russia. Like, the director recounted the results of the US intelligence report. The authors of the messages add that the US is preparing Ukraine for “the worst-case scenario”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and investigated that the propagandists distorted the context of the statement of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States, because there were no results on the “loss of Ukraine” in the report. As analysts explain, the document, on the contrary, notes that Russia is suffering heavy losses on the battlefield, and its stockpiles of weapons are being depleted - these factors make the Russian army vulnerable. That is, in the report itself, they emphasized the fact of the military weakening of Russia, the fact-checkers noted.

As to the statement by Avril Gaines, she did not speak about the loss of Ukraine either. She noted that indeed the Russian aggression against Ukraine is “exhausting and protracted”, but immediately cited facts indicating the weakening of Russia at the front.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to convince that Western partners are desperate in Ukraine and at the same time do not support it, because it will soon lose. Thus, the authors are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize moods and discredit Western partners in the eyes of Ukrainians.

We recall that Detector Media previously denied fakes designed to discredit the Ukrainian authorities or Western partners in the eyes of Ukrainians. For example, analysts refuted the statement of Bill Gates, who said that the current leadership of Ukraine is one of the worst in the world. They also explained the manipulation in which propagandists claimed that Ukraine would soon become uninhabitable due to losing the war.

Manipulation The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is convinced that Ukraine will not receive Western fighters

Such information appeared in the Russian propaganda media. Reports say that the fact that Ukraine will not receive planes from abroad was allegedly announced by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Like, Ukraine is already desperate and there is no optimism that fighters from partners will still arrive. However, this is manipulation.

As StopFake analysts found out, propagandists distorted Dmytro Kuleba's commentary to the German publication Bild am Sonntag.

In fact, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine, on the contrary, has no doubt that it will receive fighter jets from allied countries. However, he added that the acquisition process could take a long time despite the work being done.

Propagandists use such manipulation to reassure the audience that Ukraine will not receive weapons from Western partners to fight Russia. They say that even Ukrainian officials do not believe in new deliveries, so there will definitely not be weapons. Thus, Russia creates the appearance that Ukraine is allegedly losing the support of the West and will soon be left without any help.

Manipulation Because of Ukraine, the European defense system suffers

This thesis appeared in Russian propaganda media and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine has allegedly brought the defense of the EU countries to a “terrible state”. The authors of the messages refer to the publication of columnists for the American edition of Foreign Affairs Max Bragman and Sophia Bash. However, this is manipulation.

This media really published a publication with the title “Why European Defense Still Depends on America” dated March 7, 2023. However, as StopFake analysts note, the Foreign Affairs publication does not at all state that Ukraine allegedly “brought the EU defense capability to a terrible state”. In fact, the authors of the publication write that Russia's military aggression against Ukraine revealed already existing problems in the defense of European countries, and that these problems also remain unresolved even after a year of war.

However, such messages are beneficial to Russian propaganda. Thus, propagandists create the appearance that due to the fact that the EU countries send weapons to Ukraine, they themselves are weakening.

Message The United States plans to hold peace talks with Russia, since it is America that is waging war side by side with Ukraine against Russia

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the US plans to hold talks with Russia in order to “somehow agree to achieve peace”. The authors note that the United States is allegedly at war with Ukraine against Russia, and then America will independently make decisions on negotiations with Russia.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to this case and determined that this thesis is unfounded and has no evidence. The West supports Ukraine with military and financial assistance and does not take a direct part in the war. In addition, Western partners act on the principle of not discussing issues related to Ukraine without Ukraine. That is, Ukraine is also a participant in all international processes, no one can make decisions on behalf of Ukraine without the knowledge of the Ukrainian leadership.

According to analysts, there are no significant differences between the United States and Europe in the position on Russia's war against Ukraine. In the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of February 9, 2023, it was unequivocally noted that the EU will support Ukraine for as long as necessary. Western countries, including the United States, are determined to help Ukraine in its victory.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to convince that Ukraine is supposedly a puppet in the hands of the West, which acts in its own interests and does not take Ukrainians into account. At the same time, Russian propaganda promotes the thesis of a truce as the only way to end the war, so that Russia in the international arena will be considered and tried to “somehow negotiate”.

Message Ukraine unleashed a war without rules

Russian and pro-Russian telegram channels began to circulate Ramzan Kadyrov's quotes that the “diabolical regime of Ukraine” is fighting against the “defenseless”, so this can be considered a “war without rules”. Kadyrov's statements are linked to reports of an alleged “Ukrainian reconnaissance sabotage group” (DRG) that allegedly attacked two villages in the Briansk region, took Russian civilians hostage and fired on a car.

Versions of the event in the Briansk region were specified several times both in terms of the number of victims, and the location of the so-called DRG (reconnaissance sabotage group), and the purpose of their stay in Russia. Despite this, the Russians immediately, without clarifying the circumstances, took advantage of the situation and accused Ukraine of terrorism. Like, the Ukrainian military commits crimes against peaceful Russians. The Ukrainian authorities called these statements a provocation and denied Ukraine's involvement in the events in the Briansk region. In the end, representatives of the “Russian volunteer corps” took responsibility and called the events an attempt to show that there are also free people in Russia who are ready to fight against the Putin regime.

Thus, Russia uses the tactics of reflection and shifts the responsibility for anything to Ukraine. Like, Russia does not attack first, but “strike back”. In fact, Russia is an aggressor state that started a war against Ukraine and commits war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, including against children.

Fake Zelenskyi called on the US to send Americans to fight for Ukraine

There are messages disseminated to both Ukrainian and foreign audiences that allegedly Volodymyr Zelenskyi believes that the United States is not helping Ukraine enough. Allegedly, America like Ukraine should send its daughters and sons to war. Allegedly, if NATO “does not want to give enough weapons”, they should take part in the war. They say Zelenskyi made such a statement during a press conference on the anniversary of the great war. It is not true.

The video circulating online is edited and taken out of context. Volodymyr Zelenskyi does not call on the US or NATO to enter the war. StopFake fact-checkers explain that the video shows a fragment of the President's answer to a question from a BBC journalist about what Volodymyr Zelenskyi would like to say to those Americans who do not support military assistance to Ukraine. The response stated that if Ukraine did not win the war, Russia would start a war with NATO countries, primarily with the Baltic countries. In this case, all NATO countries, including the United States, will have to send their military to war. From this answer, the propagandists compiled the text they needed. The fact-checkers of the MythDetector project came to the same conclusion.

Since the beginning of the war, Russian propaganda has been promoting the narrative that Ukraine is trying to draw other countries into a war with Russia.

Message Ukraine draws Moldova into the war

Reports are circulating on pro-Russian telegram channels that Ukrainians are building defensive structures on the border with Russian-occupied Transnistria. They say that Ukraine is justifying itself by strengthening its own security, but ‘in fact” it is preparing provocations to draw Moldova into the war.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that Ukraine is going to draw neighboring states into the war, including Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary or Belarus. The propagandists also wrote that in one way or another Ukraine was involving the USA, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia, etc. into the war. Propaganda claimed that military personnel of NATO countries or representatives of the OSCE are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russia uses the tactics of substitution of concepts in order to present itself as a victim of global aggression, and not as an aggressor state.

Russia launched a new wave of disinformation messages about drawing Moldova into the war after Russian missiles violated Moldovan airspace. Thus, Russia is trying to be proactive and absolve itself of responsibility for war crimes. Like, Ukraine provokes other states and draws them into the war, not Russia. The Russians recently shared a “document” allegedly confirming that Ukraine was preparing to attack Transnistria.

Fake Romanian troops are already on the border with Moldova

Propagandists spread information that Romania is accumulating troops and equipment on the border with Moldova and is preparing to attack it at any moment. Such messages were especially active on Twitter. It's fake.

Radio Svoboda (Liberty) writes about it. The publication received a comment from the speaker of the Romanian Ministry of Defense Constantin Spânu on this matter. A senior official said that “there were no changes in the deployment of Romanian forces and air defense systems”. This is an important detail, since in a number of messages the propagandists also mentioned the alleged deployment of Romanian air defense systems. Spânu added that the Romanian military has been following the wave of fakes since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine using its own Inforadar platform.

Thus, propagandists are trying to destabilize the situation in Europe. Like, Moldova should be more prudent and loyal towards Russia, otherwise it will be like in Ukraine. In particular, such messages are part of a large-scale information campaign of Russian propaganda against Moldova. Detector Media wrote about the tactics of intimidation that are actively used within its framework.

Fake Ukrainian banks acknowledged the loss of territories

Propagandists distribute photos that allegedly show a loan agreement of one of the Ukrainian banks. According to it, “the transfer of the territory to the jurisdiction of another state does not release the borrower from obligations”. The authors of messages with photos in Russian telegram channels add: they say, in this way even Ukrainian banks admit that Ukraine has lost or will lose its own territories forever. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found the original contract belonging to Alliance Bank. It does not contain clauses on the transfer of territories to the jurisdiction of another state. In this version of the contract, the paragraphs with numbers in the photo have a different content. Also, VoxCheck analysts did not find similar provisions in loan transactions of other Ukrainian banks.

Thus, propagandists want to demoralize Ukrainians. They say that Ukraine is losing on the battlefield and losing its territory, so the war is meaningless and it must be ended on Russia's terms. However, such fakes are also created in order to hide Russia's failure at the front.

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.

Fake The first tank “Leopard” destroyed by Russians on the battlefield

Such a message was circulated on social networks, including telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that the Russian military on the battlefield has already destroyed the first Leopard tank with the help of Russian equipment. The authors attach to the publication the testimonies of the so-called “foreign mercenaries” who were allowed to drive the tank. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council explains that this statement is not true, since not a single Leopard is even on the battlefield yet. Accordingly, the testimonies of “foreign mercenaries” are also false.

By spreading this fake, propagandists want to distort reality and show that Ukraine is constantly losing and even powerful equipment does not help, because the Russians are successfully destroying it. In addition, Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. Thus, propaganda wants to create an appearance that is actually at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called collective West.

We recall that earlier Detector Media refuted the fake about the destruction of the American M1 Abrams tank near Soledar and explained the message in which they claimed that only the foreign legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses foreign equipment on the field of battle.

Message West wants to draw Belarus into a war with Ukraine

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say that the West is provoking Belarus to war. Like, the leaders of Western countries have a clear secret plan, recently revealed by Russian intelligence. At the same time, the authors of the messages add that Russia has never involved Belarus in the war, because they are sister countries.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case and determined that the Western countries have no “secret: plans, since the leaders of the countries are not at all interested in the escalation of the war. Analysts are sure that this is a hoax and another conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda. In the conditions of the Russian aggressive war against Ukraine, European countries are forced to strengthen their borders, build up the defense capability of their armies in order to resist any external aggression. Therefore, the security of Ukraine means the security of the countries of Europe.

At the same time, Russia is trying to convince that Belarus is not an accomplice to the war, although it is not. Belarus serves as a springboard for Russian troops, missiles and aircraft both before and after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The American Institute for the Study of War says that Russia is trying to “put pressure on Belarus so that it officially supports Russia in the war”. That is, Russia is the aggressor, but by no means the countries of the West. Moreover, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Lukashenko, acknowledged the participation of Belarus in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Propagandists systematically discredit the West and other international partners of Ukraine and accuse them of resolving and prolonging the war. Like, the West wants the escalation of the war, while Russia is defending itself. Thus, propagandists use the tactics of reflection, attributing their actions to opponents.

Manipulation Ukrainians are less likely to watch TV because of “Ukrainian propaganda”

The Russian media write that allegedly now Ukrainians watch less television because of the “media policy of the “Kyiv regime”” and Ukrainian propaganda. The messages refer to the results of a survey by the Rating sociological group. Allegedly, compared to November 2021, the share of television in the segment of information sources fell from 55% to 43%, while the share of social networks (including Telegram) increased from 11% to 41%. This is manipulation.

According to the results of a study by the Rating group, today national TV channels and instant messengers really have almost the same popularity as a source of news for Ukrainians. However, the study does not conclude that the current situation is the result of Ukrainian propaganda on television. Moreover, over the past year, trust in the news content of national TV channels has increased from 43% to 72%, and local media - from 43% to 62%. As StopFake writes, the Russian media added to the results of the study the opinions of unnamed experts, distorting the general context.

Russian propaganda uses the tactics of substitution of concepts and tries to give out information to Ukrainians about state propaganda. Thus, they also nourish the narratives about censorship in the Ukrainian information space and the absence of independent media in Ukraine.

Manipulation Ukrainian teenagers undergo combat training

There are reports in foreign media that allegedly youth organizations like the Nazi Hitlerjungend (Hitler youth) are being created in Ukraine. Like, Ukrainian girls and boys are taught to shoot and prepared to kill Russians. It seems that they wear uniforms with crosses, very similar to those that were during the Second World War. The messages refer to the American news channel News Nation. This is manipulation.

Chris Cuomo's report for the American news channel News Nation is about Ukrainian teenagers studying at a military academy, not about youth organizations. Russian propaganda laid out the plot and gave it a second context. EU vs Disinfo analysts note that there is no evidence that Ukraine involves minors in hostilities. This is confirmed by international human rights organizations.

Russian propaganda constantly nourishes the narrative about Nazism and fascism in Ukraine with various fakes. Like, even the Germans are already asking Ukrainians not to use Nazi symbols. They also systematically manipulate the topic of adolescent mobilization. Thus, propaganda uses the tactics of the inhuman enemy and justifies the war in Ukraine.

Fake In Poland, they amend legislation to send troops to Ukraine

Pro-Russian and occupation telegram channels are circulating reports that Poland is amending legislation to send 10,000 to 40,000 troops to Ukraine under the guise of mercenaries and employees of a private military company (PVK). Like, the Polish military would like to go to the front under their own flag, but NATO will not allow this, because then the North Atlantic Alliance will become a participant in the war. It is also alleged that Poland is adopting a law to legalize “mercenaries” who are already fighting in Ukraine and compensation to the families of the victims. It is not true.

There are no foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. The law on the legalization of Polish mercenaries in Poland is also not being prepared. According to VoxCheck, the authors of the messages refer to the so-called “military” expert and editor of the “Arsenal of the Fatherland" publication Oleksii Leonkov, who systematically promotes Russian and Belarusian propaganda narratives. Leonkov does not provide any evidence to support his words about the arrival of the Polish military in Ukraine under the guise of mercenaries and PVK employees.

Fake stories about foreign mercenaries in Ukraine have been repeatedly refuted. The propagandists claimed that the military from the EU countries fought on the territory of Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion, or the number of foreigners in the Ukrainian army would soon exceed 50%. To confirm the message about Polish mercenaries in Ukraine, Russian propaganda disfigured the quote by the Minister of Defense of Poland. The Russians claimed that in Poland they began to openly recruit Ukrainian tank troops. It was also said that Polish professional soldiers were dying in Ukraine, and a special cemetery had allegedly been created for them. Thus, propagandists are trying to downplay the combat effectiveness of the Ukrainian army, which has been resisting the Russians for a year now, and explain their own failures by the fact that they are allegedly fighting against a stronger enemy than they expected.

Manipulation In Poland, Biden promised Ukrainians “difficult times”

Information is spreading on social networks and on Russian resources that US President Joseph Biden promised Ukraine “difficult times” during his speech in Poland. Like, Biden's speechwriters tried to build his speech in Warsaw as a winner's speech, but they only succeeded in fixing the intermediate results of the “conflict” between the West and Russia, in which Ukraine was assigned the role of a tool. This is manipulation.

The propagandists took the words of the American president out of context. During a speech in Poland, Joseph Biden said that the next five years are likely to be decisive for the world and the world's democracies. He expressed the same thesis during a speech in Kyiv the day before. Moreover, Biden stressed that Ukraine will never be Putin's victory and he will lose. At the same time, propagandists ignored the part of the speech in which Biden spoke about the plight of Russia.

Thus, Russian propaganda nourishes narratives about “external control” in Ukraine and “Russia’s war with the West on the territory of Ukraine”. Russian propaganda systematically uses quotes from politicians, distorted or taken out of context, to publish wishful thinking. Detector Media highlighted the key disinformation messages about the visit of the American president to Kyiv. More details.

Manipulation WHO recommends preparing for nuclear war

A video is circulating on social networks in which two men say that the World Health Organization (WHO) allegedly called for preparations for a nuclear war due to a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Allegedly, WHO urges countries to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances or events. Also, allegedly, the organization provided a list of medicines that need to be prepared for use in the event of a radiation hazard. This is manipulation.

The distribution of the manipulative video was noticed by the fact-checkers of the Maldita.es project. WHO has indeed updated the list of medicines needed to overcome the consequences of a possible nuclear emergency. But this update is a permanent practice and has nothing to do with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The previous document was prepared in 2007, so over time it has lost its relevance. The recommendations of the WHO generally consider any cases of radioactive contamination, in particular due to accidents or the use of nuclear weapons.

Propagandists systematically spread various fake news about the possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Previously, Russian propaganda spread false claims that allegedly the UK supports Ukraine in the decision to use a dirty bomb or Zelenskyi uses a “dirty bomb” at the request of the United States. They also wrote that allegedly Ukraine calls for the start of a nuclear war. Thus, propagandists are trying to intimidate Ukrainians and force them to surrender.

Message No safe places left in Donbas

Such a message is spreading in pro-Russian telegram channels in the context of the announcement of a new military aid package from the United States. They say that after the Ukrainian army receives GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb) precision bombs with a range of more than 150 kilometers, there will be no “safe” areas in the temporarily occupied territories.

In fact, for Ukrainians, the danger is Russia and the Russian army, which occupied part of Ukraine. After the start of a full-scale invasion, the entire territory of Ukraine is only relatively safe, because Russia can launch missile strikes at any time in any area. The shelling was carried out on residential buildings and critical infrastructure facilities, which are a war crime. The Ukrainian military is using precision weapons to destroy Russian warehouses and against the Russian army, not against Ukrainian civilians living in the temporarily occupied territories.

By spreading such messages, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army, military assistance from partners and nourish the narrative that “Ukraine has bombed Donbas for 9 years”. Russian propaganda also meekly resorts to dividing Ukrainians according to their place of residence.

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.

Message War in Ukraine escalates into World War III

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Like, Ukraine and Russia are attracting support: Biden is leaving for Kyiv, and Xi Jinping is going to Moscow.

However, this message is built on manipulation. Joe Biden did visit Kyiv, but the visit of the Chinese leader to Moscow is still scheduled for the coming months. Despite the unprecedented military assistance Ukraine has received since the start of the full-scale invasion, Western partners have repeatedly said that their military does not and will not fight in Ukraine. Reports of Xi Jinping's possible visit to Moscow also speak of a more active Chinese role in ending the war.

The message about the beginning of the Third World War is not new, it was promoted at the beginning of a full-scale invasion. Also recently, an edited video from a speech by Joe Biden was distributed on the network, in which he allegedly confirms the beginning of the Third World War. Thus, Russian propaganda uses intimidation tactics. Also, this message is used to explain the duration and failures of the so-called “special military operation” - they say, Russia is at war not only with Ukraine, but also with the “collective West”.

Fake Macron confessed to trying to overthrow the government in Kremlin

Russian media and officials are spreading reports according to which French President Emanuel Macron allegedly admitted that he wanted to “overthrow” the government in Russia. Propagandists are sure that he said this during the Munich security conference.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to this message. They analyzed Macron's speech at the Forum and found out that he did not say this. In fact, he emphasized that regime change in Russia seemed to him an unrealistic idea, since the previous experience of regime change in other countries, in his opinion, did not bring an effective result. At the end of his speech, Macron said that he did not understand who the next leader of the regime would be and how to do it.

Thus, Russia again wants to shift the responsibility for its failures to “external forces”. In addition, propagandists often resort to conspiracy theories and in this case we are talking about the theory in which the West wants a power coup in Russia, knocking the country off a successful course. However, this is how the Russian government is trying to make up for its failures, namely the demographic crisis, terrible poverty and the absence of a number of freedoms.

Message Europe and the United States are pulling Ukraine to the “bottom of spirituality”

For a long time, Kremlin publications have been spreading the message that the “collective West” is mired in its own lack of spirituality and attracts Ukraine. As “evidence” propagandists come up with different stories, such as, for example, the legalization of pedophilia and bestiality in Spain. They also take decisions and ideas out of context, as if the Church of England had decided on a gender-neutral definition of God. The message was repeated by Russian President Volodymyr Putin in his annual federal address. In particular, he stated that “only a man and a woman can be a family”, “moral degradation” does not exist in Russia, and that one of the reasons for the war against Ukraine is “protection of world morality”.

Such reports are obviously speculation, since the concept of spirituality is subjective, but the problem of discrimination on any grounds, including sexual and gender identity, is not. If to talk about fakes on pedophilia and bestiality, in this case we are talking about the recently adopted package of progressive laws in Spain. In particular, they ensure women's rights to go on paid “menstrual leave” and remove a number of restrictions on abortion. However, these laws do not cover bestiality or pedophilia. In the story of a gender-neutral definition of God, the main institutions of the Anglican church have only announced their desire to address this issue this spring. In addition, the appeals of Europe and the United States in this context are only advisory in nature, and the government of Ukraine has the final say on whether to implement them or not.

In such a way, Russia is again turning to the point of humiliation and ridicule of representatives of the LGBT community. Moreover, such a method of propaganda renews its true aggression against Ukraine. However, it shows that if one analyzes the statistics on the level of sexual violence in the countries of the EU and Russia, Russia itself is in a worse condition. Detector Media has previously explained why the topic of Russian disinformation is important for representatives of LGBT communities.

Message The West created Ukraine as “anti-Russia” in the 19th century

Kremlin publications spread the message that Ukraine and its statehood are in fact an artificially created project of the “collective West”, which has the informal name “Anti-Russia”. This message was echoed by Russian President Volodymyr Putin in his annual federal address. In particular, he stated that the so-called “anti-Russia” was created in Austria in the 19th century and that Russia is fighting precisely against this “anti-Russia”, since the Ukrainian people are “occupied by the West”, especially the United States. Earlier, the President of Russia said that Ukraine was artificially created in Austria-Hungary or other Western countries.

Journalists of the Ukrainian news service BBC drew attention to this message. They note that there is a number of historical evidence that refutes the above claims.

Thus, Russia again wants to shift the responsibility for its crimes to the victim. In addition, this is how the propagandists want to justify their aggression against Ukraine: because of the fight against the “external enemy”. It seems that Ukraine does not matter, because it is “controlled” from the outside. Detector Media has previously explained how Russia devalues Ukrainian statehood with the phrase “Kyiv regime”.

Message Moldova provokes Russia to aggravate relations with the “collective West”

Russian media are spreading the message that Ukrainian President Zelenskyi and Moldovan President Sandu have conspired to escalate the situation in Transnistria. Propagandists claim that it is they who are trying to provoke Tiraspol to aggression, and it is for this that Maia Sandu wants Moldova to join NATO. In addition, the Russian media are convinced that the ex-Prime Minister of Moldova was replaced precisely at the direction of the US State Department and Zelenskyi.

Analysts of the EUvsDisInfo project drew attention to the message. They note that the pro-Kremlin media continue to perceive Moldova as part of the sphere of Russian influence. With this in mind, they are spreading narratives that criticize the current pro-Western government of Moldova. In particular, Russia accuses the Moldovan government of ending the dialogue with Russia on the discount on gas supplies, as well as supporting Ukraine. Last July, President Sanda announced her intentions to strengthen Moldova's combat capability while maintaining neutrality.

Thus, the Russian propaganda wants to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to use it to escalate the situation in Transnistria. Also, because of such messages, propagandists want to convince Ukrainians that even the closest allies have turned their backs on Ukraine, but reality proves the opposite.