This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that draft law No. 7114, allegedly declaring a state of war, registered on February 24, 2022, has disappeared from the website of the Verkhovna Rada. The authors argue that mobilization is illegal. They add a screenshot to messages that show a citizen's request for public information. In response to a request, the Verkhovna Rada stated that the draft law No. 7114 was not in the database.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, and they found that Volodymyr Zelenskyi submitted the draft law “On declaring a state of war” for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada on February 24, 2022, and it was indeed not approved. However, this does not mean that we are not at war. For example, back in March 2022, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar explained that it was not necessary to adopt a special law or decree declaring war. She cited Article 3 of the UN Resolution “On Aggression” of 1974 and stressed that an invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state on the territory of another state, bombardment or blockade of ports is qualified as an act of aggression.

In addition, after the start of Russia's full-scale aggression, Volodymyr Zelenskyi issued a decree “On the introduction of martial law in Ukraine”, adopted on February 24 by the Verkhovna Rada. This document empowers military administrations to assist in the organization of mobilization and communicate to the population the order of the military commissar to announce mobilization.

By spreading this message, Russian propaganda wants to prove that, as they say, the war is staged in Ukraine, but in general the state of war has not been declared. Like, there is no war, and mobilization is also impossible. Thus, propagandists deliberately hide the fact of a full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine.

This message is circulating in the Russian segment of Facebook and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. As proof, they cite Stephen Bryen’s article What happened to Ukraine’s General Valerii Zaluzhny? posted on the Asia Times website. Zelenskyi seems to have doubts, despite the Ukrainian Armed Forces being equipped with American and European weapons, including Leopard tanks, because “Ukraine will have to go mostly without air cover for any advance and will face a heavily electronically jammed battlefield where Western smart weapons may not work”, as the article notes. This is manipulation.

Stop Fake experts drew attention to the case, noting that this article in Asia Times is an outright manipulation. The author of the article, Stephen Bryen, is spreading fake Russian propaganda about the allegedly missing Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Earlier Detector Media denied this information.

Bryen also writes that the United States is allegedly pressuring Zelenskyi to launch a counteroffensive, and then adds that “There are other rumors pointing to an ongoing struggle in Ukraine between military and civilian leaders”. The opinions expressed in the article spread Russian narratives.

Detector Media found out that on May 13, 2023, in an interview with Italian media, Zelenskyi said that the issue of a counteroffensive is the most popular in Ukraine, but the president cannot disclose details so as not to do harm.

And on May 29, he wrote on his telegram: “I just finished the Headquarters. Important questions. Important decisions. The main thing is timing. And most importantly, there are answers regarding the timing”.

Russian propagandists continue to spread narratives about an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive that is supposedly doomed to fail. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to demoralize the Ukrainian military, discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and sow discouragement among Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that NATO military experts are confident in the failure of the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian military, and also that the West is allegedly preparing for the loss of Ukraine in the war.

The Kremlin propaganda media spread an article with the headline “The West has lost. The US revealed the truth about the Ukrainian counteroffensive”. In the text, military experts Michael Kofman and Rob Lee commented on the war in Ukraine. They allegedly stated that “The event pins hopes on a Ukrainian counter-offensive, but its outcome is unlikely to live up to expectations, instead giving Russia an advantage” and noted that “Putin may assume that this offensive is the highest point of Western assistance to Ukraine and that subsequently Russia will be able to deplete the Armed Forces”. It's fake.

The Insider drew attention to the case. In fact, the article by Kofman and Lee states that the future offensive of Ukraine, no matter how successful, will not lead to an immediate end to the war and that one must prepare for a protracted conflict.

“Ukraine may well succeed on the battlefield, but it will take time to turn military victories into political results”, the article says. Experts also noted that even if Ukraine wins a military victory or a series of victories, this does not mean that the war will end there. However, there is no question of Russia's advantage on the battlefield or recognition of the defeat of the West.

Thus, Russian propagandists continue to promote the narrative that Ukraine is dependent on the West and its interests in the war and wants to demoralize Ukrainians. Like, take a look, even American military experts do not believe in the victory of Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is a tool of the West to undermine Russian statehood.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the cancellation of the upcoming elections is an expected move from Zelenskyi who wants to stay in power longer. According to the authors, Zelenskyi understands that he will not be able to secure a victory in the presidential election, since society is “extremely unhappy” with him. Like, Volodymyr Zelenskyi is losing Ukrainian lands and at the same time the support of Ukrainians. The authors argue that Zelenskyi wants to seize all power in Ukraine.

However, this thesis is unfounded. According to Ukrainian law, elections cannot be held under martial law. That is, Zelenskyi will remain president until the end of the war. This is not his desire, but a forced step in order to avoid violations of the law and various conflicts. Moreover, no one “drags out” the war if the Russians shell Ukraine every day. Recently, the head of PACE Tiny Kox spoke about the possibility of holding Ukrainian elections. He explained that elections should be held in Ukraine, however, most likely after the end of active hostilities, when martial law will still be maintained. He acknowledged that it is difficult to hold elections under such conditions. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities at the PACE event said that the elections should be held in 2024. The head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Mariia Mezentseva, said that the Ukrainian authorities are now striving to adhere to the usual calendar. That is, 2024 is the year of presidential and parliamentary elections as planned, and 2025 is the year of local elections.

The Ukrainian government does not refuse to hold elections, but rather seeks ways to hold them. However, politicians consider all the risks associated with the war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine. Under such conditions, Russia is preventing the elections from being held, as they shell Ukrainian cities and villages on a daily basis, and the Russians kill Ukrainian civilians.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric have reported that Western partners are tired of the war in Ukraine. And this is confirmed by the fact that a large number of requirements are allegedly “missed by foreign politicians” or they refuse to fulfill them at all. Also, the authors of the messages call Zelenskyi's visits to Rome, Paris and Berlin unsuccessful. According to anonymous telegrams, the only confident partner of Ukraine remains the United Kingdom.

In fact, such conclusions are unfounded. During a visit to Berlin on May 14, 2023, the President of Ukraine and the Chancellor of Germany issued a joint declaration. Germany also announced a large aid package. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted that Germany is providing a new military aid package worth a total of 2.7 billion euros, including further Leopard -1 battle tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Iris-T air defense systems.

On May 13, during a meeting in Rome, the President of Ukraine and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic made a joint declaration. “Within NATO, Italy continues to focus on direct support to Ukraine, contributing to a significant expansion of NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package to Ukraine”, the declaration says.

During the meeting in Paris on May 14, 2023, France also signed a declaration of support for Ukraine's move to NATO. In particular, the declaration states that “France continues to provide strong support for strengthening Ukraine's ability to defend itself and recalls that Ukraine has the right to choose its own security measures”.

However, by spreading such messages, propagandists want to show that the support of international partners has weakened, they are tired of helping Ukraine and devalue the results of a foreign visit. Russian propaganda needs such rhetoric to demoralize Ukrainians; to convince Ukraine that soon no one will help it, so that it will be left alone in the fight against Russia.

Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Zelenskyi sold Ukraine to a Western fund.

This thesis was spread on social networks and in the propaganda media. The report says that the United States is the main sponsor of the Russian-Ukrainian war, because in Washington they are afraid of the possibility of Russia rising again as a world leader. Therefore, the US is using Ukraine as a buffer for its own security. However, American officials don't give a damn about the fate of Ukraine. Therefore, they are waging an “indirect” war with Russia through Ukraine.

The fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case and determined that such a thesis is unfounded. The US is not at war with Russia because it has not declared anything to it. On the contrary, Russia, having carried out a large-scale offensive on the territory of Ukraine, is committing war crimes every day. Therefore, Russia attacked Ukraine, and it only defends itself with the help of internal resources and Western assistance.

The West, including the United States, supports Ukraine with military and financial assistance for the effective self-defense of the country, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, in order to stop Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine. And not because “the West is waging war against Russia”.

By spreading this message, propagandists feed the narrative of the existence of a so-called “collective West” united against Russia to destroy it.

The allegation that the war in Ukraine was staged was circulating in the American segment of Facebook and Twitter. As evidence of the so-called staging, the authors of the message published videos in which armed men in military uniform with yellow ribbons on their hands enter the building, and a film crew is standing nearby and filming the scene. It's fake.

According to Reuters analysts, the video circulating on social networks is from the filming of the film “Nadia” in Latvia. This film is based on the story of a woman who lost her parents and partner and gave birth to a child during the war. On the Latvian channel RUS.LSM, they filmed a story about the tape, and also uploaded an additional video on YouTube with footage from the filming, where the cameraman and the bomb explosion are visible (36 seconds). Also, the director of the film, Artem Kocharian, posted a video from the filming process on TikTok with the hashtags “cinema”, “backstage”. In a few seconds, his video was being circulated by social media users and they wrote that “the war in Ukraine is like a Wag the Dog movie”.

Propagandists use such fakes to deny the war in Ukraine and discriminate against the Ukrainian authorities. Detector Media has already talked about the fabrications that the massacres in Bucha near Kyiv were allegedly staged by the Ukrainian military.

The Kremlin websites disseminate information that in Ukraine, due to the war with Russia, there are allegedly almost no people of twenty years old left. Propagandists attribute this to “the West's order to Zelenskyi to fight to the last Ukrainian”. Like, precisely because the Ukrainians are forced to fight, the number of twenty-year-old boys and girls in Ukraine “has decreased by four in just a year”. It is not true.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated this case. They determined that the Russian propagandists were referring to “official statistics from the annual World Population Prospects published by the UN Secretariat”. Thus, Russian propaganda claims that last year in Ukraine there were about 200 thousand boys and 200 thousand girls of twenty years old, and this year's data show that in the age category of 21 years (these people are now 21 years old) there are only about 60 thousand boys and 50 thousand girls left.

However, the data presented in the World Population Prospects differ from the figures voiced by the propagandists. In 2023, about 133 thousand boys and 118 thousand girls aged 21 live in Ukraine, and not 60 and 50 thousand, respectively. And in 2021, when they were 19 years old, the number of boys was about 190 thousand, and girls - 180 thousand. That is, over the specified period, the number of young people in Ukraine has indeed decreased somewhat, but not by several times, as Russian propaganda claims. According to StopFake experts, the main reason for the decline in the population of Ukraine in 2022-2023 was emigration abroad due to Russia's armed aggression.

Russian propaganda spreads such fakes in order to discredit the Ukrainian authorities, demoralize Ukrainians and show the inexpediency of further resistance to Russia. They say that Ukraine is losing its youth because of the opposition to Russian aggression, and the authorities are not able to ensure the safety of their people. We note that this is not the first time Russia has manipulated figures on the population of Ukraine. Detector Media has already told how Russian propaganda counted Ukrainians by the amount of bread consumed and claimed that there are 5 million fewer Ukrainians every year.

Propagandists distribute a video allegedly filmed in one of the shopping centers in Vienna. It shows a TV screen, which shows the inscription “Nicht unser Krieg” (Not our war) against the background of the Austrian flag. Like, the Austrians do not want to support Ukraine. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the photo with the inscription contained traces of inept editing. In particular, the pixels on the “screen” are uneven and moved out, which is impossible in a real screen. Moreover, on other screens shown in the video, you can see an advertisement for a waste reduction project in the Turmstraße residential center of the Mitte district in the city of Berlin. In addition, one of the Twitter users found out that the shopping center where the photo was taken is not in Vienna, but in Berlin.

Thus, Russian propagandists want to convince Ukrainians that Europeans are war-weary. Like, the Austrians do not want to help Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian diaspora in Vienna is actively implementing a number of projects that are of high interest among ordinary Austrians.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.