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 US Department of Defense, pharmaceutical corporations and other representatives of the “civilized” West have been conducting horrific medical experiments on Ukrainians for almost two decades. According to the authors, these experiments were designed to change Ukrainians' worldview about the West and abandon friendship with Russia. The war is the result of the anti-Russian policy of the West and Ukraine.

Specialists of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case and found out that such a thesis has no evidence, because it is a conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. There are dozens of civilian health laboratories in Ukraine that work to research and reduce the threat of dangerous diseases, some of which receive financial and other support from the US, the EU and the World Health Organization (WHO). At the same time, Russian propaganda describes such institutions as military facilities, deliberately blurring the line between biological weapons and biological research.

Regarding the so-called experiment that will turn Ukrainians “to the right side”, this is a conspiracy theory. There are no such experiments in theory, because it is impossible to influence a person's worldview with the help of a drug experiment.

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.

Kremlin propaganda media spread information that if the Ukrainian counteroffensive fails, the West will allegedly stop helping Ukraine. They refer to an article on The New York Times website. This is manipulation.

 As experts from the StopFake project note, in fact, the New York Times article does not say that a hypothetical failure during the Ukrainian counteroffensive will lead to the refusal of the West to help Ukraine. In the original article, the authors note that assistance can only weaken for a while, and Kyiv will be under more pressure during this period and persuaded to negotiate with Russia.

 According to the authors of the article, if this happens, by the beginning of 2024 the West will again be able to help Ukraine in full as within this time the partner countries will develop a sufficient amount of ammunition and military equipment. Moreover, during his visit to Washington, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told reporters: “between this year and next year, I think Ukraine will continue to have the momentum with it”.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow discouragement among Ukrainian society and convince them that they should not count on the help of the West, as well as on victory over Russia. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Western tanks would allegedly not help Ukraine, but would be completely destroyed by Russia.

Propagandists spread the message in their media that Latvia sent its citizens to fight in Ukraine because the West forced it to do so. Accordingly, Latvia does not care about its people, and the “Western rulers” do not care about people in Europe as a whole.

Analysts of the EUvsDisInfo project drew attention to the message. They note that Latvia did not send its soldiers to fight in Ukraine. The Latvian Ministry of Defense claimed that the state sent several of its troops into the country, but only to secure the building of the Latvian embassy and their property. Latvia and other Western countries are not direct participants in the war, but help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Thus, propagandists want to present Latvia as a “toy” of the West. Like, the Latvian government actively supports Ukraine because it is supervised by the West. Such narratives, which concern not only Ukraine, could be seen in Russian propaganda before. In particular, earlier propagandists wrote that 20,000 Polish soldiers were fighting in Ukraine and that 2,500 of them had already been killed.

Propagandists spread the message in their media that the revival of militaristic Poland has become the main goal of the current Polish government. It seems that the West has long been pushing the country towards this, and in a few years Poland will receive American tactical nuclear weapons. Poland seems to be preparing to replace France and Germany in the role of “American observer” over Europe. In addition, there are already plans to increase the number of soldiers in the Polish army to 1.5 million and that in this way NATO is preparing the country to start a war against Russia and Belarus.

Analysts of the EU vs DisInfo project drew attention to the message. They note that the current modernization of the Polish army and the purchase of new weapons are Poland's response to Russian aggression against Ukraine. In addition, according to the 2020 National Security Strategy of Poland, the greatest threat to Poland is the “neo-imperialist policy of the power elites of the Russian Federation”, implemented by force. Polish officials in this case refer to Russian aggression against Georgia, Ukraine, as well as the annexation of Crimea.

Thus, the propagandists want to present Poland as an aggressive and militant “anti-Russia”, which is ready to go to war at any moment. In addition, they want not only to shift the responsibility for Russia's actions to third parties, but also to divert attention from the crimes of Russians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that people in the West lack the opportunity to succeed because local elites prevent it. Like, the prices for education, health care and childcare are “too high”. The authors of the messages refer to the material of the American Enterprise Institute, which also published a graph in the material, which allegedly shows that the West influences the economy badly. The graph shows the fall in prices for computer equipment, toys, televisions in the United States. On the other hand, one can notice an increase in prices for medicine, education, etc. Consequently, the authors conclude that “Western” elites create conditions under which it is “impossible for ordinary people to succeed”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated the case, they found out that the graph belongs to the economist Mark Perry. By it, he demonstrates the difference in pricing in selected areas, which is explained by the presence or absence of state influence. The material accompanying the chart does not say that the authorities are trying to restrict ordinary citizens from receiving services. That is, the propagandists distorted the context of the material and made up profitable graphics data.

In the article, the author mentions that this chart has been updated regularly over the past few years. It really notices the rise in prices in the field of medicine, education, etc. There is also a depreciation in technology, software, clothing. Perry attributes this to the impact of globalization: the more competition in the international arena, the lower the price of a product. Therefore, the cost of toys, equipment, and computer technology is cheaper. At the same time , the greater the degree of state participation in the provision of a good or service, the more the price rises over time. However, it is not about the fact that the Western leadership limits services for its citizens, the economist talks about general market trends and how high competition generates low prices for products and vice versa.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the “collective West” forced the Serbian leadership to sign an agreement to normalize relations with Kosovo. Allegedly, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that Serbia “undertook a lot of pressure during the negotiations”.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated the case and found out that the European Union presented both sides with a proposal to normalize relations, with which the leaders of the countries agreed. Kosovo and Serbia agreed to be guided by the purposes and principles set out in the UN Charter, especially the principles of the sovereign equality of all states, respect for their independence, autonomy and territorial integrity, the right to self-determination, the protection of human rights and non-discrimination. At the same time, they promise to resolve any disputes among themselves exclusively by peaceful means and refrain from the threat or use of force. According to analysts, all the proposals of the Serbian and Kosovo sides were considered. So, there was no “coercion” at all.

By spreading this message, propagandists want to discredit Western leaders who allegedly resort to blackmail and open threats. At the same time, they nourish the narrative about the existence of the so-called “Collective West”, which has united against many countries, for example Serbia.

We recall that earlier Detector Media analyzed a manipulation in which it was claimed that the President of Serbia said that the West was “threatening and blackmailing” forcing him to join the sanctions against Russia.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić allegedly claimed that Western countries were threatening him and trying to “sway him to the right side”, reports say. The authors of the reports refer to an interview by Aleksandar Vučić with the Serbian television company RTS. This is manipulation.

Analysts of The Insider project investigated this case and found that the authors of the messages distorted the context of the interview. In the original version, Aleksandar Vučić said that both Russia and representatives of Western countries are trying to drag the Serbian president “to their side”. The West, for example, calls for supporting sanctions against Russia, because the security of Ukraine means the security of Europe. At the same time, Russia probably wants Aleksandar Vučić not to support sanctions. He added that now there is no pressure on Serbia to impose sanctions against Russia.

By spreading this manipulation, the propagandists want to discredit Western leaders who allegedly resort to blackmail and open threats. At the same time, they nourish the narrative about the existence of the so-called “Collective West”, which has united against Russia in order to destroy it.

Russian propaganda builds an imaginary curtain between the whole world and Russia, saying that there are enemies on the other side. That is why propagandists use the term “collective West” to hint at the alleged hostility of other countries towards Russia, especially the West.

Primarily in Putin’s public rhetoric, the “collective West” first appeared in the 2021 address to the Federal Assembly. Since then, Russian propaganda has used the term “collective West” to refer to all the alleged dangers that the West can bring to Russia. It is noteworthy that under the “collective West” Russian propaganda means both the leaders of European countries and Europeans who are carriers of “hostile Western values”.

However, using this term, propagandists most often appeal to European officials or to large organizations, such as NATO. Thus, Russian propaganda wants to show as if all countries are united against Russia and yearn for its destruction. However, in fact, it is Russia that instills in Russians hatred and hostility to other countries, intolerance towards peoples, and legitimizes xenophobia. At the same time, it calls itself a “safe haven” - a country that is able to protect its people from “all troubles and hardships”.

This is the eleventh text for the new section “Newspeak”, which Detector Media launched as part of the “Disinformation Chronicles” project. In it, we will tell and explain new lexemes used by propaganda to distort reality.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on Telegram broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that all operators of foreign weapons, such as the Challenger 2 tanks or the AS90 artillery mount, are “foreign mercenaries”. They say that Western countries do not trust Ukrainians and entrust their equipment on the battlefield only to foreigners. The authors of the reports note that the Ukrainian army is only engaged in “protecting equipment” and in some cases, according to them, “foreigners allow Ukrainians to steer”.

Such a thesis is unfounded, because the Ukrainian military use foreign weapons on their own. For example, recently a group of Ukrainian military arrived in the UK to train to use the AS90 self-propelled artillery mount. Earlier, the British government announced that it would transfer Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine for use. This indicates that the Ukrainian army and Ukrainians in particular are entrusted with the use of weapons. This is not the only case when the Ukrainian army is sent for training and taught to use foreign weapons.

As for the so-called “foreign mercenaries”, Russian propaganda replaces the concept and calls the foreign legion mercenaries. The Foreign Legion is legally part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the exact number of its members is not reported, like all other fighters. In theory, both the Ukrainian military and members of the foreign legion can use weapons. The ban does not apply to Ukrainians or the foreign legion, since they are all part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Accordingly, foreign countries, sending their weapons for use to Ukraine, give the Armed Forces of Ukraine the right to operate them.

Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. 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%. Thus, propaganda wants to create an appearance that is actually at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called collective West.

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.

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”.

Russian propaganda spreads the message to the Western audience that allegedly Poland can receive part of the Ukrainian territories as “compensation” for paying the “Ukrainian debt” to the United States.

This message has no legal basis and is an invention of Russian propaganda. Thus, they are trying to promote the narrative about Poland's plans to seize part of the Ukrainian territories. EU vs Disinfo analysts drew attention to the spread of the message.

Earlier, as part of this narrative, propagandists spread messages that Poland considers the West of Ukraine to be its “colony”, that Poland needs the territory of Ukraine without Ukrainians. The propagandists also spread fakes about the referendum on the accession of the West of Ukraine to Poland and photos of voting ballots for the secession of the Lviv region from Ukraine and joining Poland.

Russian propaganda media disseminate information that supposedly the Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, in an interview with Newsweek, acknowledged the “colossal losses” of the Ukrainian army and noted that people were dying “in the interests of the West”.

In fact, the enemy media refer to a quote taken out of context. The diplomat said that people are dying from Russian shelling and rocket attacks. There were no words of military losses “in the interests of the West” at all.

According to StopFake analysts, the quote, manipulated by the Russian media, was about the destruction and deaths from a full-scale invasion that has been going on for almost a year. In addition, he meant not only the military, but also civilians suffering from Russian occupation. Russian propaganda writes about the “interests of the West”, although in fact the diplomat did not mention them. This is a manipulation aimed at blaming Ukraine's allies for its losses.

Russian media often write about the West and its involvement in the war in Ukraine. In particular, they manipulate the topics of arms supply and call Volodymyr Zelenskyi a “puppet” in the West's war against Russia. Recently, the media of the enemy also wrote that allegedly Kyiv is not allowed to negotiate and stop the war, although Russia is trying to put ultimatums on the terms of the negotiation process.

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 media and pro-Russian resources are spreading messages that Europe will get tired of supporting Ukraine if the Ukrainian army fails to demonstrate new successes on the battlefield. Allegedly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi understands that prolonging the conflict will entail criticism and therefore signals to the West that in 2023 he will be “ready for peace talks”. Like, that's why Zelenskyi initiated the convening of a special peace formula summit this winter.

To spread such messages to an international audience, the propagandists used the words of the former national security adviser to former US President George W. Bush, Michael Allen, who has repeatedly spoken out in support of Russia.

Russian media write about this with reference to Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Serhii Vershynin. It seems that the European Union, initiating the creation of a tribunal over Russia, is allegedly trying to “hide its involvement in war crimes in Ukraine”. They say that the creation of such a court allegedly “is at odds with the UN Charter”, and the world community “does not have an evidence base” for Russia’s crimes against Ukraine. Allegedly, this is a manifestation of russophobia of Western countries, ready to “violate the UN Charter”.

The EU has not committed any illegal actions against Ukraine and its citizens. Russia, on the other hand, systematically violates the norms of international law, stirs up wars on the territory of sovereign states, and commits crimes against the civilian population.

According to StopFake, the creation of a body investigating the crimes of the aggressor state does not contradict the UN Charter. But the attack on a sovereign country, the occupation of Ukrainian territories and the holding of illegal pseudo-referenda in Ukraine at gunpoint is a direct violation of the UN Charter by Russia.

Such information is disseminated by the Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels. Reports claim that after Ukraine began to supply Western weapons, a problem arose in African countries. Like, all these weapons are increasingly falling into the hands of bandits.

All pro-Kremlin media cite the statement of Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasyl Nebenzia. In particular, he claims that the President of Nigeria said that the war in Ukraine is the main source of weapons for terrorists in the area of the Lake Chad basin. However, this is manipulation. The statement of the President of Nigeria about weapons in Africa really was claimed.

However, he did not say that it was specifically about weapons supplied to Ukraine from partner countries. According to The Insider, speaking at the summit of heads of state of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, Nigerian President Mohammad Buhari said that Russia's war with Ukraine, like other modern armed conflicts, is a source of arms smuggling. “Unfortunately, the situation in the Sahel and the turbulent war in Ukraine are the main sources of weapons and militants who swell the ranks of terrorists in the Lake Chad region.

Much of the arms and ammunition purchased for the war in Libya continues to flow into the Lake Chad region and other parts of the Sahel. Weapons that are used for war in Ukraine and Russia are still starting to seep into the region”, he said. However, it is beneficial for propagandists to manipulate the statements of politicians and claim that Ukraine supplies weapons to terrorists around the world. The thesis that Western weapons go to the wrong places is not new to Russian propaganda. Thus, Russia discredits Ukraine and tries to make it guilty of creating terrorist threats in the world. Also, with the help of such manipulations, Russia seeks to quarrel Ukraine with partner countries, allegedly demonstrating that Ukraine is using their assistance for other purposes.

This is the thesis that pro-Russian users share in social networks. It was also distributed by a number of pro-Kremlin propaganda media. Reports say EU High Representative Josep Borrell has called on all Europeans to turn off the heating in their homes.

Like, the Europeans were actually asked to freeze to death so that “democratic ideals” would not suffer. “We are faced with a choice between freedom and comfort. We talked a lot about the willingness to die for the ideals of democracy, it's time to prove it”, propagandists quote Borrell. And they add that, allegedly, according to him, the temperature in apartments above +18 degrees is a crime against European values.

However, this is not true. EU vs Disinfo analysts found that EU High Representative Josep Borrell did not make such a statement. It spread from the @lastoppo telegram channel of political and satirical content, the information about which indicates that satirical and false information is published on the channel. However, Russian propagandists picked up this fake and decided to pass it off as the truth.

At the same time, several EU governments have indeed urged their citizens to lower their heating temperatures in order to reduce gas dependence on Russia. However, it does not mean that people are encouraged to freeze to death for the sake of the ideals of democracy. In fact, Russia is systematically spreading the thesis that the Europeans will not survive the coming winter because of the sanctions imposed against Russia. In this way, propagandists nourish two Russian narratives: about a decaying Europe and about sanctions that allegedly harm the EU more than Russia.

Also, due to such theses, Russia intimidates Europeans and creates the appearance that without the help of Russia itself, European governments cannot provide comfort and protection for their citizens.

Messages of such content were shared by the Russian propaganda media. Like, “the head of the Ukrainian junta, Mr. Zelenskyi”, during the G20 demanded guarantees of food security for Ukraine. Like, Kyiv does not want to be responsible for the fact that there is not enough food in Ukraine, because, according to propagandists, it was necessary to immediately stop the export of grain across the country's borders if Ukraine does not have enough food. The reports added that Russia, in turn, would certainly help Ukraine with food, but only within those territories that it allegedly recognized as its own - in the temporarily occupied territories.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case. On November 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke at the G20 summit and said that Ukraine had taken part in the World Food Security Program and launched the Grain from Ukraine initiative to help countries facing famine. He did not ask for help from Russia and did not declare a famine in Ukraine in 2022/2023. However, he mentioned the energy security plan, because Russia is methodically destroying the Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter.

“You can see what the Russian terror is aimed at now. This is an attempt to turn the cold into a weapon. A weapon against millions of people”, Zelenskyi said. In fact, the fact that Ukraine could potentially have a problem with food is not the fault of the Ukrainian authorities or the West, but of Russia, which started a war on the territory of Ukraine, stole Ukrainian grain and vegetables from the temporarily occupied territories, and so on.

The problem due to the lack of Ukrainian grain may also arise in other countries, and Russia is also to blame for this. However, it is beneficial for Russia to promote the thesis that Zelenskyi and the leaders of the so-called Western countries are driving Ukraine and other states to a food crisis.

Like, it was they who with their policies brought people to troubles, because they do not care about the lives of ordinary Ukrainians and Europeans. From this angle, Russia is no longer an aggressor, but a savior of peoples, because it is ready to “help” and correct the mistakes of the leaders of other countries. This is a common tactic of propagandists: shifting responsibility for their actions to others.

Such a message came from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The report said that allegedly the West was deliberately supplying weapons to Ukraine in order to keep the country in its sphere of influence. They say that's why the West can resort to using nuclear weapons.

In fact, Russia is engaged in nuclear blackmail, it wanted to intimidate the West so that it would not supply weapons to Ukraine. In fact, after Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive, the propagandists intensified their disinformation campaign about the nuclear threat. Also, after an unsuccessful attempt, the occupiers resorted to a different rhetoric, namely the one that the West allegedly “wants to flood the whole world”, therefore it is trying to supply weapons and bring death everywhere. However, the Western community is helping Ukraine with weapons and is supporting the country in every possible way in protecting its territories from Russia that has unleashed a war in Ukraine.

Almost every day since the beginning of the war, Russian officials shout from the stands that the West is "pumping" Ukraine with heavy weapons.

The last such statement was made on October 5 - the Russian ambassador to the USA said that the "decision to prolong the pumping of Kyiv" with heavy weapons makes the USA a party to the conflict. Interestingly, at the same time as this statement, a study by The Wall Street Journal was published, which indicated that the number of weapons left by the Russians during the last "regroupings" now makes Moscow the largest supplier of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

For example, the West supplied Ukraine with 320 tanks - and Russia kept 460; The West provided 210 BMPs, and Russia - 448. Moreover, there are even 40 units of missile systems, while Western supplies provide 70 units.

However, the researchers write, not all equipment is caught on video, so the real number of Russian (working) weapons may be more.

This is claimed by Russian state television and pro-Kremlin telegram channels.

Allegedly, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sells Javelins, NLAWs, machine guns, and even tanks with armored personnel carriers from NATO and Europe on the so-called dark Internet - a deep part of the global network where users can remain completely anonymous. This is not true.

A team of BBC journalists investigated and found that ads that offer to buy American weapons are fake. In particular, photos of weapons from ads do not match the description. They were taken many years before the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, or photoshopped.

Journalists noticed, while corresponding with supposedly Ukrainian arms dealers in Ukrainian, that they did not speak Ukrainian, and used a lot of Russianisms in their correspondence. Obviously, they translated their messages from Russian into Ukrainian using an online translator.

At the same time, KELA, a company specializing in the analysis of cybercrime threats, believes that the advertisements for the sale are distributed by pro-Russian propaganda sources, and may have been created by them.

Russian propaganda conveys to Russians the impression that the Kremlin is moderately optimistic about economic performance as a result of anti-Russian sanctions. Russia accuses the West of “irrationality and illogicality of the sanctions that provoked chaos and destabilization of world economic relations” and insists on their cancellation. Russian Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov accused the West of failing to fulfill its promise to lift sanctions on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers to world markets as part of the “grain agreement” with Ukraine.

As the Center for Countering Disinformation writes, because of the war the Russian economy is heading towards one of the longest recessions in its history. Several scenarios of a long-term depression of the Russian economy are probable. The first option is “inertial”: the bottom will be reached in 2023 by 8.3% below the level of 2021. The second is “stressful”: the maximum drop in GDP in 2024 by 11.9% from the pre-war year. The third is “targeted”: in 2022, a fall of 2.9% and a resumption of economic growth of 16.9% in 2030.