Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading information that Germany will never hand over Tornado fighter jets to Ukraine. The messages are based on a quote from the German politician Gauke Schulz. It seems that he said that these fighters protect Germany and should not cause a war with Russia. He also allegedly said that fighter jets in Ukraine would be used inappropriately. This is manipulation.

According to StopFake, Gauke Schulz is a representative of the pro-Russian German party Die Linke. He does not have a mandate, he does not stand for federal state, federation or EU bodies. Moreover, Schultz has nothing to do with making decisions on arms supplies to Ukraine.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine with weapons, relying on non-authoritative sources of information or distorted quotes. Thus, Russia is trying to undermine the authority of Ukraine at the international level, to show the weakness of the Ukrainian government.

Earlier, Russian propaganda spread messages that NATO was supplying “scrap” instead of weapons. The propagandists argued that the supply of weapons to Ukraine would increase the number of victims and prolong the “conflict”. They also wrote that allegedly 30-40% of the weapons supplied to Ukraine reach the front, or that the weapons provided by the United States do not reach Ukraine.

Russian media are spreading the news that the United States seems to be in for a “gloomy future” due to the “catastrophically devastated military depots” of the American army after military assistance to Ukraine. Propagandists write that the US “will not be able to restore its stocks for at least five years”. This is manipulation.

Russian propaganda refers to an analytical publication by the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The author analyzes the number of shells and weapons systems that the Americans have already supplied to Ukraine and makes predictions about how and with what the US will have to replace them. And in some cases, indeed, according to analyst Mark Kanchian, it will take years. But there are conclusions in the article that clearly explain: “Most inventories are okay. These six systems do not represent the full spectrum of U.S. inventories. Most items provided to Ukraine have been in small numbers, or from areas that have large inventories or production capacities. For most categories of weapons and munitions, the United States can provide support indefinitely”. The only thing that confuses the analyst is the lack of transparency of data that can be used to evaluate stocks of weapons and the insufficient speed with which the US Department of Defense purchases aid to Ukraine outside the United States. That is, there are no “threats to national security” due to a decrease in the number of weapons or a crisis in the supply of weapons to Ukraine in the article - these are all inventions of Russian propaganda who for almost a year have been trying to destroy or weaken Western support for Ukraine through disinformation. Propaganda spreads several messages on this topic: Ukraine sells weapons to other countries; Western weapons are not enough for Ukraine to win the war; Western weapons are scrap metal that cannot be used to fight. At the same time, propaganda calls Ukraine a testing ground for the latest weapons. Despite these efforts, Western partners are supplying more and more needed modern weapons to Ukraine.

This is the message propagandists use on social networks and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. It says the war provided an opportunity for the US and Ukraine's other allies to study how their weapons system performs under heavy use. They say that Ukraine is used as a testing ground and in fact the partner countries are only worried about their own benefit. The authors of the messages add, as evidence of the publication, a likely material from CNN, which allegedly talks about this. However, this is manipulation.

In fact, the propagandists changed the title of the article using a graphical editor. Here is the original title of the material “How Ukraine became a testbed for Western Weapons and battlefield innovation”, but the propagandists distorted the title and called it a “laboratory”. However, the material does say that Ukraine is testing the latest weapons and many countries can determine its effectiveness. In contrast, the authors of the article describe how the inventive Ukrainian army maintains and repairs weapons. That is, the enemies distorted the context of the entire material and singled out theses that are beneficial to propaganda.

Propagandists are spreading this manipulation to undermine the confidence of Ukrainians in Western countries that help Ukraine in the war with Russia. Allegedly, their goal is not to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but only to test their weapons for their own benefit. Enemies want to distort reality and show that everyone seems to be indifferent to the fate of Ukraine.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Allegedly, the Pentagon has reservations regarding the transfer of weapons to Ukraine. The reports claim that the samples received by Ukraine always work under the control of American instructors, since there is a threat of disclosure of technology. There is also allegedly a risk that the weapon will fall into the hands of a third party or in the hands of Russia.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine with weapons. In fact, the United States has been transferring weapons to Ukraine since the beginning of the great war, just like other states. The lendlease mechanism has not yet started working, but this depends not only on the “desire” of the United States, but also on the financial capabilities of Ukraine.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads rumors that Western weapons are resold on the black market, but so far there is no evidence of this. The United States really controls how the weapons provided to Ukraine are used, for this they created an Interim special commission.

Previously, propagandists argued that the supply of weapons to Ukraine increases the number of victims and prolongs the “conflict”.

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 and pro-Russian resources write about this. Like, in the Pentagon, a weapons check was carried out, provided to Ukraine as military assistance. Allegedly, only 10% were able to confirm the presence in Ukraine, the location of the remaining 90% is unknown. It is not true.

Russian propaganda is based on the words of Brian Dean Wright, who worked at the Pentagon until 2015 and now opposes the provision of assistance to Ukraine. Officially, the US Department of Defense has not made any statements about the weapons provided to Ukraine. According to official information, the Pentagon is checking the stocks of delivered military equipment in Ukraine and there is no evidence of the “redirection” of American aid.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading messages that military aid provided to Ukraine is being stolen or resold on the black market. Thus, they are trying to discredit Ukraine and level out international support. 

Such information was disseminated by pro-Russian telegram channels. Allegedly, in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, people went to a rally against the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and the police dispersed them with NATO water cannons. As proof, propagandists published a video that actually turned out to be a story about an action during the coronavirus pandemic two years ago.

The only true thing here is that the video is really from Bratislava.

A reverse Google image search and Google Streets can be used to determine that the events are taking place under the office on Freedom Square.

A Google search for the keywords "protest", "Bratislava", "water cannon" gives messages about an anti-government rally in Bratislava in October 2020 due to dissatisfaction with the measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic.

Advanced search on the Twitter social network for the phrase Bratislava protest, as well as for the dates from October 16 to October 19, 2020, shows several messages about the protest.

In a screenshot from the video posted by a ZNeveri user, one can see the same man with a phone in front of a water cannon, who appears in the video of the alleged protest in December 2022 against the supply of weapons by Slovakia to Ukraine.

In addition, according to the same search on the social network Twitter, there is also a link to Youtube, although the video has already been deleted. But it can be viewed using the Wayback machine online archive. It shows the same man with a telephone in front of a water cannon, and an operator in the background. It appears that the propagandist's footage was filmed on his camera.

This video is also dated October 17, 2020, when an anti-government action using a water cannon took place in Bratislava, and not a protest against arms supplies to Ukraine in December 2022.

And the weather is far from winter. In the video, you can see trees that are full of green and some purple leaves. In reality, the picture is different as the online camera from Bratislava shows almost bare trees.