Such messages are distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that for 10 years the West has been preparing Ukraine for a confrontation with Russia, and thus has set its sights on China. Like, the Russian attack was part of a plan to start a war, because the West will provide weapons to destroy first Russia and then China. However, this is not true.

Experts from the EU vs Disinfo project say that the United States, the EU and some NATO member countries are providing Ukraine with military assistance to repel unprovoked Russian aggression. Ukraine receives weapons for the sole purpose of restoring its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. That is, we are not talking about the destruction of a particular country. However, the entire international community is helping Ukraine to expel the invaders from its territory.

Propagandists spread this message to show Ukraine as a puppet of the West, undermining the statehood and sovereignty of Ukraine. At the same time, this statement was intended to justify the war of conquest by Russia, because it seems that all this is a conspiracy to organize the destruction of countries.

Russian telegram channels are spreading reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi “has officially abandoned the Christmas truce”, which, propagandists say, demonstrates the “inhumanity” of the Ukrainian authorities. But this is manipulation.

In reality, no one offered Ukraine a Christmas truce. Only the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kyryl (Hundaiev), called for a ceasefire on Christmas Day, and he addressed “all parties involved in the conflict”, that is, the military-political leadership of both Russia and Ukraine. And Russia did not respond to these proposals at all. But the adviser to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Polodoliak answered and called these calls of Hundaiev “a cynical trap and an element of propaganda”.

And he reminded: since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyrylo has supported this war, calls it “sacred” and “metaphysical”, promises forgiveness of sins for those who died in this war, and even blesses those who go to kill Ukrainians.

In addition to the fact that Kyrylo is one of the propagandists of this war (for which he was sanctioned by some countries), he also, together with state propaganda, divides Ukrainians into varieties on religious grounds since many people in Ukraine (Catholics, Greek Catholics, and part of the Orthodox) celebrate Christmas according to a different calendar, that is, on December 25. But two weeks ago, Kyrylo didn't care whether people would die under shelling on Christmas Day on December 25 or not. And the Russian army shelled the Ukrainians both on Christmas and New Year - massively launched rockets, drones, shelled infrastructure and destroyed houses, hospitals and kindergartens.

And, finally, it is known in advance that the Russian side that actually makes the decision (that is, the military-political leadership of Russia, and not the head of its church) is not interested in a truce for the holidays. This was announced on December 14 by Putin's press secretary Dmytro Pieskov. Then, answering the questions of propagandists, whether a truce is possible for the New Year or Christmas holidays, he replied: “No proposals have been received from anyone, and such a topic is not on the agenda”. That is, the very idea of a truce for the holidays was rejected by Russia back in December.

Russian media are spreading news reports that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is urging the West not to count on a Kyiv victory and to prepare for negotiations, although it is not known when they will begin. This is a manipulation brought to the attention of the StopFake fact-checker project.

Some of Stoltenberg's words were taken from his extensive interview with the BBC's World at One, Radio 4, but he did not say anything about the need to prepare for negotiations or about acknowledging Ukraine's imminent defeat in this war. On the contrary, he said that the West needs to prepare for long-term support for Ukraine because the war is on the verge of attrition, and it will not stop quickly. But both in this interview and in others, Stoltenberg repeatedly said that before sitting down at the negotiating table that ends any war, Ukraine must defeat Russia at the front. And the Ukrainian army has such plans and capabilities that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have repeatedly demonstrated.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Like, censorship has become the main tool of power for concealment of corruption, criminal orders or command errors. It seems that the situation with the shelling clearly demonstrated this - the Ukrainian authorities are “rejoicing” at the shelling of Makiyivka, but they are silent about Druzhkivka.

In the Russian information space and pro-Russian telegram channels, they are discussing the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Makiyivka at midnight on January 1, as a result of which up to 10 units of enemy military equipment of various types were destroyed. Also, according to preliminary data, it was the death of about 400 Russian servicemen and about 300 more wounded. According to the latest reports, the Russian General Staff acknowledged the death of only 89 soldiers.

Russian propaganda depicts the dead military as “innocently killed” and calls for revenge on Ukraine for the death of “sons and men”. At the time of death, the armed Russian military were in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and were directly involved in the war against Ukraine. That is, according to international law, they were a legitimate target for the Ukrainian army, defending its territory and its people.

Despite the fact that Russia started a war against Ukraine, Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages about revenge on Ukraine for any successful military actions and denies the right of Ukrainians to defend their state.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that the Americans are allegedly satisfied with the state of affairs in Ukraine, in particular, the course of the war. Like, the Americans understand that statistically there are four times more Russians than Ukrainians, but they “like everything”.

To promote the message, the Russian propaganda took the words of US Senator Lindsey Graham out of context. Graham said that he likes the way the United States is now supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia and this is very important. It was about the fact that US assistance allows Ukraine not to give up. The propagandists are shifting the focus to the literal perception of Graham's words about “struggle to the last Ukrainian” and manipulate the reference to statistics.

Russian media write about it. Like, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken admitted that the US was preparing for war with Russia at the beginning of Biden's presidency, “leaving the Afghans to their own devices”. It is not true.

Anthony Blinken didn't say that at the press conference. These words were made up by propagandists. Blinken noted that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan should be considered in the future. In particular, the completion of the Afghan mission now allows the United States and partners to provide significant support to Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads disinformation messages that in Ukraine they are at war with the “collective West”, NATO or the United States, and not with Ukraine. 

Russian media write about it. Like, if the West helps Ukraine with weapons, it can “help” with strikes on Russian airfields. This is manipulation.

Ukraine did not take responsibility for the attacks on the Russian military airfield “Enhels”. The United States and the countries of the European Union are not parties to the clashes: Russia is waging war exclusively against Ukraine.

As StopFake notes, disinformation about “US coordination of Ukrainian strikes against Russia” began to spread against the backdrop of increased attacks on Russian military airfields. On December 5 and 6, unidentified aircraft carried out a series of attacks on three Russian rear air bases: Diahiliev in the Riazan region, Enhels in the Saratov region and an airfield in Kursk. A repeated series of explosions happened at the Enhels airfield on December 26.

Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack on the air bases from which Russia is bombing Ukrainian civilian cities. The White House and the Pentagon deny reports of US involvement in strikes on Russian air bases. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, commenting on the explosions at Russian military bases, noted that Ukraine is not coordinating with the United States any possible military operations against the occupiers.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that are at war in Ukraine with the “collective West”, NATO, the OSCE or the United States. In this way, they are trying to create the illusion that they are fighting a much stronger enemy than the Ukrainian army, which they ridiculed.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading reports that residents are allegedly leaving Kyiv en masse. Like, because of the actions of the authorities, the city is emptying, the real estate market is not working. Kyiv is in decline.

Russian propaganda once again gives out wishful thinking. Despite massive rocket attacks, problems with energy supply, the number of Kyiv residents is returning to pre-war levels. In Ukraine, there is indeed increased migration now, but it is not caused by “decline”, but by Russian aggression. StopFake notes that the message of Russian propaganda about the departure of people from Kyiv and the state of the real estate market is a fiction of propagandists.

In social networks, allegedly, a photo of the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated December 7 on the business trip of 1,796 doctors from state medical institutions of the “Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Uzhhorod” regions to medical institutions in Mykolaiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions is distributed. The reports claim that the decision was published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers, and a few minutes later removed. It is not true.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine did not make such a decision, and a photo of the document was created in a graphic editor. Fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project note that there are many errors in the fake document. For example, the Transcarpathian region is indicated as Uzhhorod region, the norms of official record keeping are not observed. On the website of the Cabinet of Ministers under the number 1363, a decree of December 6 is indicated with a completely different content.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that a period of “positional war” has begun in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Allegedly, there will be no serious “breakthroughs”, only “DRG-raids” (reconnaissance sabotage group raids) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian airfields. Russia “in response” will launch massive missile strikes on Ukraine. The Americans, on the other hand, will warm up the situation “from around the corner”. They say that in this situation, “ordinary” Ukrainians will lose the most as they will have to cope with the consequences of missile strikes.

Such messages are part of a disinformation campaign of Russian propaganda on aid from the US and other Western partners. Russian propaganda spreads the message of “retaliatory strikes” after any massive missile attack on Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to emotionally put pressure on the Ukrainians and convince them that “negotiating with Russia”, that is surrendering, is the only possible way to end the war. In fact, Russia is cynically attacking Ukraine's critical infrastructure, in particular the energy system.

Anonymous telegram channels write about this after the massive shelling of Kherson on the morning of December 24. According to one version of propagandists, the Ukrainian military fired at the center of Kherson from HIMARS, and according to another, they hit the city from “Grad” multiple rocket launchers. However, none of these versions is true.

The propagandists assure that impressive elements found in the form of shrapnel testify to the shelling from HIMARS and prove this with photographs. As the Stop Fake fact-checkers found out, along with a real photo with a car, propagandists published a photo with balloons taken in 2016 in Kuwait. It does show tungsten balls from the M30A1 multiple launch rocket system.

The version of the propagandists about the attack on the Grad multiple launch rocket systems was refuted by both the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko and foreign experts.

The propagandists spread an “analysis” of photographs of one of the Grad craters, which allegedly proves that the fire was fired from the north, from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Like, the funnel in the photo was cleaned up, but the furrows from the debris on the pavement were not removed. Behind them, you can easily establish where the shell came from, namely from the north, from where there are no Russian soldiers.

The photographs used by the propagandists were indeed taken at the site of the tragedy, and the analysis of the shelling itself was falsified. This is stated in the investigation of OSINT analyst DefMon.

The analyst argues that the projectile was fired from the southeast and most likely by the Russian military. His conclusions are confirmed by Bild journalist Julian Repke, who previously investigated similar cases of shelling in Donbas in 2015. Repke also calculated the direction of the projectile launch, coinciding with the results of DefMon: presumably, the projectile was fired from the left bank of the Dnipro, now under the control of Russian troops.

As a result of Russian shelling of the center of Kherson, 13 people were killed, 64 were injured with varying severity.

This is not the first time that Kremlin propagandists have tried to cover up the shelling of the civilian population and civilian facilities in Ukraine, calling them “another Ukrainian provocation” carried out in order to discredit the Russian military.

It was these fakes that propagandists spread after the missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station, Zaporizhzhia and other cities of Ukraine, where dozens of civilians were killed.

This was written by some Russian media and anonymous telegrams.

Allegedly, planned hospitalizations were suspended in Kyiv for an indefinite period, as hospitals are overflowing with wounded soldiers from the Bakhmut direction. This is allegedly evidenced by a report by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which says that “only one such hospital receives up to 100 seriously wounded soldiers per day”.

The suspension of planned hospitalizations in Kyiv is not at all connected with “overcrowding of hospitals”, but with continuous Russian shelling of the energy system and other critical infrastructure of Ukraine, which entails possible emergency shutdowns of electricity, heat and water supply.

In early December, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Mariia Karchevych announced that in case of a prolonged shutdown of electricity, heat and water supply in Ukraine, the Ministry of Health would suspend planned hospitalizations and operations in hospitals.

The statement of propagandists that hospitals in Kyiv are overflowing with wounded Ukrainian soldiers brought to the capital from the direction of Bakhmut has no evidence. The authors of such publications refer to a report in the newspaper Corriere della Sera, which allegedly confirms this thesis. The journalists of the publication do write that the hospital they managed to visit is overflowing with wounded soldiers, but the medical institution referred to in the report is not located at all in Kyiv, but near Bakhmut.

‘Yesterday afternoon we reached the Lyman hospital, a town about fifty kilometers east of Bakhmut, where dozens of seriously wounded were stabilized by doctors before they were rushed to the major medical facilities in Dnipro and Kyiv. The center is deserted, the destruction is enormous: perhaps, out of more than 30,000 inhabitants at the beginning, a few thousand now remain”, the Corriere della Sera article says.

Currently, Bakhmut in the Donetsk region remains the hottest spot along the entire frontline with more than 1300 km of active hostilities. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that medical facilities in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine are overloaded and unable to cope with a large number of wounded Russian occupation troops.

Russian propaganda deliberately spreads disinformation about the losses of the Ukrainian army in order to emotionally put pressure on the Ukrainians and divert attention from the losses in their own army. Earlier, they said that the Ukrainian authorities are lying to the Ukrainians, that there are no losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the losses near Bakhmut are colossal.

This information was spread by pro-Russian social networks. Allegedly, the Russian military during the night assault on Bakhmut captured a volunteer from the “Revansh” (Revenge) battalion, Stanislav Kolomiiets.

In the spring, Kolomiiets recorded a video in the village of Moshchun, Kyiv region, where, against the backdrop of dead Russians, he says that “these jackals” failed to plunder the property of Ukrainians. This video was used by Russian propagandists, saying that this soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was “found, taken and punished”. As evidence, they published a video in which he allegedly “apologizes” to the Russian occupiers while in captivity.

In fact, Stanislav Kolomiiets, who before the full-scale war led the municipal inspectorate in the Cherkasy city council, is still in Kyiv and cannot be on the other side of the front line in the Donbas. This was confirmed by the former people's deputy Ihor Mosiichuk, godfather of Kolomiiets.

Russian propagandists in this way intimidate the Ukrainians and, against the backdrop of their own defeats, create a deceptive effect that achieves success at the front.

This message is being spread by Georgian pro-Russian resources with reference to German ex-chancellor Angela Merkel. Like, the belligerent position of the West in relation to Russia has existed for decades - the United States and NATO have been planning a war against Russia for years. In addition to Merkel, the article also quotes pro-Russian “expert” Scott Ritter, who said that Berlin's policy provides for gaining time for Ukraine before the war with Russia.

In the article referred to by the propagandists, there is not a single quote from Merkel that confirms the thesis of planning a war. MythDetector fact-checkers note that the article contains only one Merkel quote, taken from an interview with Der Spiegel, where the former chancellor says that 2008 was not the right time for Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO. The words of Scott Ritter echo the statements of Russian officials regarding the Minsk agreements.

On December 19, after another nighttime mass drone attack on Ukrainian territory, Russian propagandists began to praise the effectiveness of drones. They say that the Ukrainian authorities hide the real scale of damage to the energy system of Ukraine and are silent about the hit, forbidding Ukrainians to publish photos / videos from the places of “arrivals”. It seems that this is due to the fact that there is no panic and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi could address people with a victorious accent on New Year's Eve.

Russian propagandists distribute such messages after virtually every attack on Ukraine in order to provoke them to take pictures and immediately publish the consequences of hitting energy systems and other strategic facilities. Such evidence would become for the Russians a "report" of their aggression and an opportunity to correct subsequent hits. This time, the propagandists emphasized that the consequences of the hits are hushed up because of the need to record Zelenskyi's “heroic” speech on New Year's Eve.

Such messages are distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. They say that US officials are inciting Serbia to take military action designed to protect Serbs in the territory of Kosovo, a partially recognized state. However, this is not true.

According to the EU vs Disinfo fact-checkers, there is no evidence that Serbia is preparing for a war under the US protectorate.

A recent tension between Kosovo and Serbia in 2022 was that the Kosovo government wanted those living in Serbian areas to change their Serbian-issued license plates to Kosovo-issued license plates. About 50,000 people refused to change the license plates of their cars, and this increased the tension between the Serbian and Kosovo governments. With the assistance of the EU, Serbia and Kosovo agreed on measures to avoid further escalation.

The United States welcomed the agreements reached between Kosovo and Serbia to avoid further escalation. That is why the US is not inciting Serbia to escalate.

This news is spread by propaganda and hostile telegrams. The message states that from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, the British marines are involved in the war. As evidence, propagandists cite an article in The Times that allegedly mentions this. However, this is not true.

According to VoxCheck experts, the propagandists distorted the words about the activities of the British Marine Corps in Ukraine. In fact, the British military was engaged in the protection and evacuation of the British embassy in Ukraine, but did not participate in the war with Russia.

On December 13, the publication published an article about the covert operations of British forces in Ukraine. The Times, citing a British lieutenant general, writes about the use of Marines to evacuate the British embassy in January 2022 and to protect embassy staff in April 2022.

The article is not talking about the fact that the Royal Marines carried out operations against Russia. There is no evidence of the participation of the British military in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

This news was spread online by propagandists in their telegram channels. In Ternopil, a soldier of Ukrainian Armed Forces killed his wife and two children after seeing a children's trampoline painted in the colors of the Russian flag, reports say. As evidence, the propagandists attach screenshots, add a screenshot of the likely TSN material dated December 7, 2022. However, this is not true.

According to VoxCheck experts, this is fictitious news, and the screenshot itself was edited in a graphics editor.

On the screenshot of the news, you can also see the time of publication (10:14) and the author (Oksana Zinchenko). There is no news with such content on the TSN website. However, we managed to find the material “Invaders hit the Zaporizhzhia region: a lot of destruction, among the wounded there is a child (photo)” by Oksana Zinchenko, and it is with the same publication time. In addition, the tags for the publication (indicated before the title) coincide: “weapons and the army”, “current requests''. The screenshot of the real post was probably edited to create fake news.

Pro-Russian resources write about this. They say that the leadership of Moldova will draw Moldova into the war between Russia and Ukraine, opening a “second front” in Transnistria under the orders of “external curators”. To do this, they seem to have increased the country's defense budget by 50%. The funds will be used to purchase weapons and equipment, and increase salaries for the military. This is manipulation.

The defense budget of Moldova has indeed increased by 50%. They really provide for both the purchase of military equipment and an increase in the salaries of the military. However, this is not a sign of preparation for military action. As the EU vs Disinfo fact-checkers note, according to the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state. This status can only be changed by referendum. However, such a referendum is not planned, moreover, it is not even discussed.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu noted in the summer of 2022 that Moldova remains a neutral country, but will strengthen its defense system as now it is in a very bad state, so the Russian aggression against Ukraine has highlighted the need to re-equip the army.

  Such messages are distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. Reports say that there is a constant shortage of donated blood in Ukraine, that schoolchildren are involved in its collection. Propagandists attach a fake ad to the message, in which allegedly schoolchildren are called to surrender. Like, starting from the sixth grade, children donate blood for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: one only needs to bring a birth certificate. However, this is not true. According to NotaYenota analysts, Ukraine fully provides itself with donor blood. Liudmyla Linnyk, a coordinator of the all-Ukrainian DonorUA platform, said: “Since February 24, there has never been a shortage of blood and its components in Ukraine. These needs have been and are being covered with the help of volunteers and regular donors”. In addition, only adults can donate blood, and it is impossible to do it with a birth certificate, as a passport is only needed. And it is worth noting that the fake ad already has the 12th grade of the school. However, it will only appear in 2029. Propagandists have repeatedly manipulated the issue of blood donation. For example, they previously wrote that NATO was supplying infected blood. However, this turned out to be untrue. The fake is aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and NATO member countries. 

In the Georgian-speaking segment of social networks, information is being disseminated that due to the war in Ukraine, an illegal business has significantly developed - the trade in human organs. First, this message was voiced by the host of the program, Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, on the air of the Georgian pro-Kremlin Sezoni TV.

He stated that the "organ trade business" was started in Ukraine, and the organs of the victims are exported to different countries of the world. Mzhavanadze also said that "there were serious allegations" of organ trafficking against the family of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in particular his ex-wife Sandra Roelofs. However, this is not true. According to Myth Detector analysts, allegations of organ trafficking in the conditions of the war in Ukraine are disinformation that has been spreading across Russia almost since the beginning of the big war, since the spring of 2022. Such information was disseminated by the Kremlin media in May.

In fact, organ transplantation is a complex and time-limited medical procedure that cannot be performed in the field. Unfounded accusations that after the start of the war in eastern Ukraine, military organs are actively traded in the country and various political leaders involved in this process have spread at different times since 2014. The International Committee of the Red Cross responded to a video circulated on May 31 that alleged new cases of human trafficking. The statement notes that the video contains false accusations. The organization explained that, as part of their work, they did not collect data on the health of children, noting that allusions to the involvement of the Red Cross in organ trafficking are "definitely false statements".

Such messages are spread by the Russian propaganda media. The same thesis is spread by pro-Russian users in social networks. Allegedly, Ukraine is preparing a fake attack organized by British special forces to prevent Moscow from exporting ammonia again through the Togliatti - Odesa pipeline. Allegedly, Kyiv wants to disrupt the UN initiative to resume the export of Russian fertilizers.

However, such reports are not confirmed by anything. In fact, the export of Russian fertilizers does not occur due to sanctions. According to EU vs Disinfo project analysts, the authors of such reports do not provide any evidence confirming the fact that Ukraine is preparing an attack. Analysts say that through such messages, Russia is trying to portray Ukraine and the UK as responsible for preventing the re-introduction of Russian fertilizers to world markets. As both the US and EU sanctions rule out fertilizer and food exports, propagandists resort to unsubstantiated accusations to mask what is largely the result of Russia's lack of willingness to compromise in UN-backed negotiations on the issue, and finally a consequence of the invasion of Russia in Ukraine.

This is not the first time Russia has accused Ukraine of provocations. So she transfers responsibility for her actions to Ukraine. For example, the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly been accused of wanting to verify the grain agreement and so on.

Such messages are spread by the Russian propaganda media. They refer to the German politician Oscar La Fontaine. They say that it is not Ukraine that is at war with Russia, but NATO, and the United States should withdraw their troops from Germany; also, that the war in Ukraine and the “coup d'état” in 2014 is also the work of the Americans. According to Russian propaganda media, Germany allegedly admitted that it was the United States that prepared Ukraine for war with Russia. However, this is not true.

Such messages are distributed by pro-Russian telegram channels. Like, not only the Ukrainian authorities, but also Western politicians know the truth about the “shocking” losses of the Ukrainian army. However, this truth is hidden from Ukrainians. Like, Ursula von der Leyen let slip about the losses, but the video of the performance was immediately corrected.

Thus, Russian propaganda uses the tactics of reflection. In practice, the expression " No losses in the armed forces of Russia" from the very beginning of the great war became a meme. It was Russia that for a long time did not recognize its losses, and subsequently significantly underestimated them. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities have never denied the losses, moreover, they emphasize the price that Ukraine pays every day, although they do not clearly state the number of dead.