In its report for January 13, 2024, ISW reported that Russia could form an assault force for landing in the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Hostomel is mentioned as an example at the beginning of a full-scale invasion. Russian and even Ukrainian resources picked up the news and began to disseminate information about possible similar operations, in particular near Kharkiv.

In fact, this information is not true. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council. In the ISW report, it referred to one Russian source, which may already indicate the falsity of what was stated. In addition, it states that Russian paratroopers do not even seem to need parachutes. Everything had to happen by landing helicopters in the near rear for the rapid deployment of personnel. However, since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has significantly strengthened its air defense, and the landing in Hostomel in February 2022 was not successful. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have weapons that are capable of quickly destroying any helicopters and aircraft. For example, the operation to destroy the A-50 aircraft over the Sea of Azov is a clear confirmation. Before this, there were other downings of Russian planes and helicopters.

Such rhetoric is intended to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt among the Ukrainian people. This is one of the propaganda tactics. There will probably be more information leaks on this topic, so trust verified resources. Earlier,  Detector Media analyzed the message of Russian propaganda saying that Ukrainian air defense is about to end.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the head of the Chernihiv state military administration, Viacheslav Chaus, at a press conference following the results of 2023, said that more than 50 thousand mobilized from the Chernihiv region have already died in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In fact, this information is not true, reports the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. At the press conference, Chaus reported on the demographic situation in the region and noted that the decrease in indicators by 50 thousand residents is due to displaced persons since the beginning of active hostilities in other regions of Ukraine or abroad. That is, the information about the alleged disclosure by the head of the Chernihiv state military administration of the number of people mobilized in the region is a fiction of Russian propaganda, since Chaus did not make any statements on this topic.

In addition, exact data on the distribution of those mobilized by region is not published in open sources, as well as information on the number of killed and wounded defenders of Ukraine. The last is a state secret that will be disclosed only after the end of the great war.

Russian propaganda continues to speculate on the topic of mobilization in Ukraine, which has become sensitive for Ukrainians, since this topic concerns almost every family. The purpose of spreading this disinformation is to intimidate the Ukrainian people, saying that compared to the Chernivtsi region, the numbers throughout Ukraine should be tens of times higher. More exposures of fakes and manipulations by Russians on the topic of mobilization in Ukraine can be found here.

Pro-Russian media disseminated manipulative messages that the Ukrainian military-political leadership allegedly does not have a backup plan in case of the end of aid from the allies. In asserting this, Russian propaganda refers to a statement by the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, in which he allegedly “recognized the absence of a plan B” in Ukraine in case the “military support for Ukraine from the countries of the collective West is completely stopped or reduced so the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be forced to stop fighting”.

This information is not true. Answering a question from a CNN journalist about how Ukraine will resist Russian aggression if financial and military assistance from allied countries is delayed, Kuleba noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will, in any case, continue to repel the Russian occupiers. Fact-checkers from the StopFake project write about this.

“We don’t have a plan B, we are confident in plan A - Ukraine will always fight with the resources it has”, Kuleba said in an interview with CNN. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also added that any officials who think that Putin will never dare to attack a NATO country if the Kremlin “sees the possibility of victory” in Ukraine are deeply mistaken. If Russian aggression expands beyond Ukraine, democratic countries will pay much more than the Russian-Ukrainian war, so Ukraine is confident in the support of its allied countries, Kuleba concluded.

Disinformation is spread by Russian propaganda as part of promoting the narrative about the “West prolonging” the war in Ukraine. They say that Western countries benefit from this war, since it exhausts Russia, which continues to pursue its imperialist dreams. In addition, the West supposedly has the opportunity to test existing weapons at a “testing ground in Ukraine”, and also, if necessary, modernize them and replenish stocks with new weapons and military equipment. In fact, it was Russia that started the bloody war in Ukraine and it is it who continues it, and not the collective West, because it sees a certain benefit in it for itself.

After each massive shelling of Ukraine, Russian propagandists claim that Ukrainian air defense is almost running out. They say this is due to the destruction of Western air defense systems by Russian “kinzhals” and the shortage of ammunition for them.

The Center for Strategic Communications at the National Security and Defense Council writes that in fact, air defense systems in Ukraine successfully destroy the majority of Russian missiles and UAVs, including hypersonic “daggers”. This is confirmed by the fact that ten out of ten “daggers” launched into Kyiv on the morning of January 2 were shot down. Ukrainian air defense is capable of repelling massive attacks using various types of weapons (ballistic and cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, etc.). Moreover, the protection of Ukrainian skies is constantly strengthened through cooperation with Ukraine’s international partners. In this regard, Russia is nervous and is trying to pass off wishful thinking.

The purpose of promoting such a message is to sow panic among the population of Ukraine in the face of new Russian shelling and despondency among Ukrainian defenders. Previously, we analyzed the message of Russian propaganda that all air defense systems seemed to be installed in Kyiv, so other cities of Ukraine are not protected.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels disseminate information that NATO member countries, including the United States, are not against the Armed Forces of Ukraine “hitting”  Russia with all available weapons, that is, foreign ones, and not just Ukrainian ones. Based on the results of an emergency telephone conversation between representatives of the United States, NATO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which followed another massive Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities on January 2, 2024, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin allegedly promised to satisfactorily respond to Ukraine’s requests regarding medium- and long-range missiles. In arguing this, propagandists cite an article by The New York Times. However, this is a fake.

The truth is that The New York Times never published such a story, and their reporter at the Paris bureau of Constant Méheut, the supposed author of the fictitious article, did not actually write the story. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. The Western countries arming Kyiv demanded that Ukraine use only its own weapons to attack Russian territory. In addition, neither on the NATO website nor on the official Pentagon channels there is any mention of the supply of missiles to Ukraine without range restrictions. This information is also not available on the website and communication channels of the US Embassy in Ukraine.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda seeks to demonize NATO, including the United States, saying that they are starting to openly fight against Russia and are even ready to destroy the civilian population of Russia. Thus, the propagandists also want to justify the bloody war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and, according to them, against the entire West and NATO, which allegedly want to destroy Russia. Previously, Detector Media analyzed the Russian manipulation that NATO would allegedly invade Russia “after the war in Ukraine”.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are creating an advertising campaign to “promote” women into the army. And they explain this initiative by saying that women should “encourage” men and get to know them. “Do you want a “real man”: strong, courageous, responsible? You know the answer. All the “real men” are here now - join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, the video says.

The VoxCheck analysts investigated the case and found that such a video does not belong to the official campaigns of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. For example, this video is not on the official website or on the social media pages of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moreover, using a reverse search on Google, it was possible to find out that the video was compiled using frames from stock videos. In addition, the video was distributed exclusively in the Russian segment of social networks.

Russian propaganda is once again speculating on the topic of “mobilization of women”. But only doctors and pharmacists must register with the military from October 1, 2023; however, military registration does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on travel abroad. The Ministry of Health notes: registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. The travel of this category of women is unlimited. To register for military service, this category of women will have three years - until December 31, 2026.

Propagandists also repeatedly appealed to the provisions of the bill, previously promulgated by People’s Deputy Marianna Bezuhla. Possible legislative norms published state that women who are fit for military service will be registered as liable for military service. At the same time, during martial law, women are recruited to combat positions only voluntarily. But during a big press conference that Volodymyr Zelenskyi held on December 19, 2023, he said that he would not sign a bill with clauses on the mobilization of women.

Among other things, we recommend reading another of our documented cases, in which propagandists claimed that Ukrainian doctors and pharmacists were supposedly “escaping” from Ukraine en masse through the so-called mobilization.

Russian propagandists are distributing a photo of an advertising billboard showing a military man and woman in uniform, presumably in a combat zone. The billboard also features two slogans in the foreground: “together at home, together at the front” and “a military family is a special family”. That is, a man and a woman are allegedly calling on Ukrainians to mobilize into the army as families, and not alone. Russians claim that similar advertising appeared in Sumy. However, this is another fake.

The Center for Countering Information decided to contact the Sumy city military administration to confirm or deny this information. As it turned out, billboards with such content do not exist in the city or even its region - this is an invention of Russian propaganda. In addition, the photo taken by the Russians to spread this fake was taken back in 2021. It depicts married couples who began defending Ukraine back in 2016 as part of the 16th separate motorized infantry battalion.

The purpose of spreading disinformation of this type is to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine. Moreover, these lies nourish the propaganda narrative that “the war will continue until the last Ukrainian”. Under the #mobilization tag, read more materials on this topic from Detector Media.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that in the near future Ukrainian troops will supposedly begin to retreat from the left bank of the Kherson region, from the village of Krynky, since the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces there can be calculated in the dozens. They say that since the end of autumn 2023, the Ukrainian military has been “pushed” there not to expand the bridgehead, but to inevitable death. In the Russian army, supposedly in Krynky there are only a few wounded. In asserting this, propagandists refer to Putin’s statement made during the “direct line” on December 14, 2023. However, this is not true.

The experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security analyzed this case. They found out that in fact the situation in the village of Krynky, which is described in propaganda publications, referring to Putin, is significantly exaggerated, as are the “tactical successes” of the Russian occupiers in this direction. In addition, a cemetery of broken Russian equipment has already accumulated near Krynky, which is confirmed by video recordings of precise strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the occupiers. By the way, presumably, in the area of the village of Krynky in the fall of 2023, the deputy of the 14th Army Corps of the Russian Armed Forces, Major General Zavadskyi, died.

It should be noted that on December 14, 2023, the day of Putin’s “direct line”, the British Ministry of Defense reports specifically on the problems of the Russian military on the left bank of Kherson, and not the Ukrainian army. They write there that the newly formed 104th Guards Airborne Division of Russia with a high probability suffered extremely heavy losses when trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Krynky.

Speaking about the successes of Russians on the left bank of the Kherson region, Russian propaganda is trying to create the idea that the Russian army has a great advantage there. In addition, in this way, propagandists once again exceed the achievements of the Russian military in the war in Ukraine. Previously, we analyzed the propaganda message that Ukraine is allegedly preparing for the surrender of Kherson.

The Russians are promoting a message about the alleged appearance of “two armies” in Ukraine: one under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the other under the Commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi. Arguments allegedly confirming this thesis boil down to the fact that President Volodymyr Zelenskyi had personal communication with Syrskyi.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council explains that the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is working, so personal meetings between Zelenskyi and Zaluzhnyi, and Zaluzhnyi himself with Syrskyi are regular. In Ukraine there is a clear vertical: Supreme Commander-in-Chief (President) - Ministry of Defense - Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The message itself about “two Ukrainian armies” is beneficial primarily to Russia. In this way, Russian propaganda is trying to sow discord among the military-political leadership of Ukraine, Ukrainians and weaken us. Previously, Detector Media denied information that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was allegedly calling for a military coup.

Pro-Russian resources accuse the Armed Forces of Ukraine of preparing an alleged anti-Russian provocation using toxic military substances. At the same time, world structures will allegedly blame Russia for this - following the example of “false accusations of Russia in chemical attacks in Syria”. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project investigated this case. In fact, Ukraine is a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty that entered into force in the country in 1998. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been closely monitoring the state of Ukrainian chemical industries and any threats to use toxic chemicals as weapons in the country. Ukraine adheres to its international obligations on the non-use and non-proliferation of chemical weapons; this fact has been repeatedly confirmed by the OPCW, which operates under the auspices of the UN. All Russian accusations that Ukraine is preparing so-called “provocations” are cynical, and the narratives have no factual or evidentiary basis.

The statement about “falsely accusing Russia” of carrying out chemical attacks in Syria is also disinformation. Russian fakes on this topic have been repeatedly refuted by the world's leading experts on toxic chemicals, including the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Propagandists are once again trying to present Ukraine, which is defending itself from Russia, as an aggressor. Thus, they also want to justify the crimes of their own army in Ukraine, saying that Russia is resisting evil and has come to the neighboring country to “restore order”.

• Read also: The Ukrainian army allegedly used chemical weapons.

Users of social networks spreading pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information allegedly from servicemen of two separate mechanized brigades in eastern Ukraine, namely the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after. Hetman Ivan Mazepa and the 14th OMBR named after Prince Roman the Great were infected with rabies. It is noted that they were hospitalized due to consumption of meat from infected animals. However, such statements are false.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated the case. They claim that the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and local media have not recorded any cases of rabies among the military men mentioned in the post or any other military brigades. As of December 2023, there were no cases of rabies infection in humans in the Kharkov region. At the time of writing, only one case of rabies was confirmed in Ukraine in a resident of the Vinnytsia region. Despite the fact that the mentioned brigades do participate in the defense in the Kharkiv region, there is no evidence of rabies infection among their military personnel.

It is noted that in Ukraine there has been an increase in cases of rabies among animals, especially in September-October. However, infection due to consumption of meat from infected animals is unlikely because the virus does not persist in meat for long periods of time outside the body.

Propagandists spread such fake news in order to desecrate the image of the Ukrainian military and cause distrust of them among the Ukrainian population. Detector Media has repeatedly written about other inventions of Russians aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly silent about the “colossal losses” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Propaganda media write about this with reference to a video from the YouTube channel of Oleh Soskin, a former adviser to the ex-president of Ukraine Kuchma. However, this is a fake.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security undertook to analyze this case. The fact is that information about the number of killed and wounded Ukrainian military personnel during martial law constitutes a state secret. This is at least due to the fact that Russia can use this data to calculate possible further actions of the Defense Forces. That is, we are talking about the military’s demand, and not about Zelenskyi’s personal desire to hide important information from society.

By spreading disinformation on a sensitive topic for Ukrainians, Russian propaganda is trying to once again discredit the current President of Ukraine and undermine the trust of Ukrainian society in him. After all, the approximate number of Ukrainian military deaths in the war against Russia will only be known after its end. Previously, we analyzed the propaganda message that the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly lying to the Ukrainians, that there are no losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks are publishing an article by the author of the British publication The Telegraph, Lewis Page, claiming that he allegedly writes about the misuse of Western equipment by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) during the counteroffensive. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that such an article by The Telegraph really exists, and its author actually writes about the difficulties of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but does not claim that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are using Western equipment incorrectly. The article notes that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is a difficult task. The author rather criticizes Western experts who say that “properly used” Western tanks will help quickly end the war.

The article also reveals some facts about the supply of tanks to Ukraine, noting that as of August 2023, only a limited number of tanks had been transferred. The journalist adds that criticism of the use of Western equipment by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is unfair, since the West has limited the use of equipment for attacks on Russian territory and delayed the supply of tanks to Ukraine. The article notes the success of the Ukrainian army in conditions of limited access to Western equipment and reveals the essence of the circumstances that determined the development of the situation at the front.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to create a myth that Western media consider the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be insufficiently competent compared to the Russian army. They say that this is why the peoples of Western countries must resist military aid for Ukraine. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted fakes and manipulations of Russian propaganda directed against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is in fact “staged”. The authors of the fake message convince readers that there is no action on the part of the Ukrainian army, and they have been “defeated”  for a long time. As evidence, they allegedly refer to a news story filmed by Ukrainian media professionals. It explains that “war occurs in our minds”. It's a lie.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security explains that the story is compiled: it was assembled from different pieces of video, and not a single Ukrainian media outlet has produced such a video. Moreover, it is distributed only in the Russian segment of social networks.

Thus, the authors resort to typical conspiracy theories and seek to deny everything that is happening around them. Russian propaganda operates on this principle, for example, when it says that Ukraine supposedly does not exist, which means there are no wars, they are all theatrical. After all, the Kremlin's minions are trying to obscure reality.

By the way, in our Newspeak section we also analyzed how Russia seeks to deny the existence of Ukraine and blind the eyes of Russians and other peoples who do not perceive the Ukrainian state as an independent, sovereign state. Propagandists do this using the term “country 404”.

In the Russian segment of the social network X (formerly Twitter), information is being spread that the speaker of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, allegedly received a positive test for HIV. Users of the social network allegedly refer to an article by Breitbart News, where they note that Sarah Ashton-Cirillo was previously under investigation due to accusations of pedophilia and rape of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the VoxCheck project. They found out that the article about HIV that Russian propaganda refers to is not on the website, social networks or web archive of Breitbart News. Moreover, the primary source of this publication is the Russian telegram channel. Breitbart News wrote an article that the speaker was suspended pending an investigation into her statements about Russian propagandists. So Russian propaganda created a fake photo based on this publication.

Moreover, the fact-checkers did not find information about the official being accused of pedophilia and rape. And HIV testing results are confidential, so if Sarah Ashton-Cirillo actually tested positive, the results would not be disclosed.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the speaker of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Troops Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community. Russian propagandists nourish false information that LGBTQ+ people are the main carriers of HIV and AIDS, pedophiles and rapists. This is all part of a Russian campaign to discredit the LGBTQ+ community and Ukraine, which has allegedly moved away from traditional values. Previously, Detector Media published research on Russian LGBT disinformation on social networks and explained how Russian propaganda is trying to use LGBTQIA issues in the context of the war against Ukraine.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that the Ukrainian military is allegedly fighting under the influence of “combat chemicals” obtained in the form of chocolates and injections. Russian military officers report that it is psychotropic drugs that are behind the courage of the Ukrainian military and therefore they are not afraid of death. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project. Russian propaganda has been systematically spreading fake news about drug addiction among Ukrainians since 2014. Russian propagandists have repeatedly stated that psychotropic substances were added to the food of Euromaidan participants and that they were used by ATO participants. Russian propaganda also accused the Ukrainian military of using drugs at the end of March 2022, when the Russians, under pressure from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, left the north of Ukraine. After the start of the counteroffensive, these topics re-emerged in the Russian information space.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to demonize the Ukrainian military and sow fear among Ukrainians about them. Also, Russian propagandists seek to justify Russian aggression - they say, Ukrainians need to be saved from aggressive Ukrainian fighters and the failures of the Russian military on the battlefield. Previously, we refuted the fake that the United States supplies drugs to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are calling for the destruction of all people in the de-occupied territories, since anyone can turn out to be a traitor. The authors of the messages refer to the telegram channel allegedly of the 35th Ukrainian brigade. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, and they found out that the 35th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not have an official page on  Telegram. Therefore, the channel itself, from where the information was disseminated, is fake. The military unit confirmed that the information page of their brigade was not on  Telegram. And all the messages spread on their behalf are fake. Fact-checkers checked the fake Telegram channel itself and found that the authors often spread panic: they talk about the huge losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the impossibility of victory, ineffective actions of the command, etc. They also discredit Ukrainian officials. In addition, a recent fake about the death of Kyryl Budanov was circulated.

We recall that earlier we explained how and why Russian propagandists create clone pages of the Ukrainian military or even an entire brigade. Thus, they want to win the loyalty of the Ukrainians who can believe in the authenticity of the messages.

The Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous telegram channels spread information that in Ukraine they are allegedly distributing announcements with the inscription “Join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, and below the abbreviation ZVO (institution of higher education) is crossed out. Also, in the announcement there is an inscription “To be a student in Russia or to be a defender in Ukraine”, a pink emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a phone number. It’s fake.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. The number indicated in the photo (0800507028) belongs to the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and not to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, the experts turned to the Forces Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for comment, and they said that “there are no such messages in any outdoor advertising in Ukraine ordered by the Troops”.

Also, this announcement was not found by searching Google Images. However, such a picture can be found on the site of stock photos, as well as through VPN on Yandex Images, which is banned in Ukraine. In Ukrainian online stores one can find paintings by numbers and posters with this pattern. As for the call to join the Ukrainian army, it was posted on the official Facebook page of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and in video format.

Russian propagandists systematically spread fake news about mobilization in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to demoralize the Ukrainians and convince them that there is no one to fight, the army is weak and Ukraine will not win. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that dogs are being mobilized in Ukraine, and mass mobilization of students is being carried out at Ukrainian universities.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric report that Ukraine allegedly lost 300,000 soldiers in the war with Russia. And that is why the Ukrainian Football Association posted a video with the announcement to hold “for 300 thousand heroes who died for Ukraine” “three matches with empty stadiums so that the souls of the dead would be with them on this day”. It's fake.

The case was noticed by the Ukrainian Football Association. On the eve of 200,000 “demilitarized” Russian soldiers, according to the information of the General Staff, a fake appeared about “the UAF and three memorial matches of the UPL clubs in empty stands”.  As the UAF notes, “to divert attention from their own large-scale losses in the war of conquest against Ukraine”.

Thus, propagandists are trying to divert attention from their own losses and sow discouragement among Ukrainians. Neither the president nor the military leadership of Ukraine are voicing figures and will not estimate the number of dead. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that, according to the Red Cross, Ukraine is suffering huge losses of fighters.

Kremlin propaganda media are spreading information citing American reports that the Ukrainian army is allegedly preparing to blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The US military gave Ukraine sensors that help detect a surge of radiation, and, according to propaganda, this confirms that “the Americans are afraid of the explosion of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. It's fake.

As the fact-checkers of the StopFake project note, the Russian propaganda used the New York Times article, took the information out of context and built its own fake on it. There is no information in the NYT publication about the “blowing up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”, however, the United States did indeed transfer sensors to Ukraine. The Nuclear Accident Support Team (NEST), affiliated with the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, has deployed sensors in Ukraine to warn of an emergency or report a radiation disaster. It has to do with Russia's nuclear blackmail.

Moreover, this equipment will be able to decipher the so-called atomic signature, which is formed after the explosion. If Russia wants to stage a provocation, hiding behind the Ukrainian flag, the US will be able to expose it.

Thus, propaganda is trying to intimidate not only Ukrainians, but the whole world with nuclear weapons. And also to shift the responsibility for Russia's crimes to the victim. Previously, Detector Media described how Russian propaganda uses intimidation tactics.

Such information was disseminated in Russian propaganda media, referring to the head of the Kharkiv military garrison, Serhii Melnyk. He believes that Ukraine “will never have enough people and equipment to defeat Russia”. Russian propaganda also stated that “the combat-ready part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed, and the professional military was out of action”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. Russian propaganda media used an interview with General Serhii Melnyk for the Spanish edition of El País. Melnyk spoke about the defense of Kharkiv in 2022 and the upcoming counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023. The general noted that Ukraine needs not only a large amount of equipment and ammunition, but also the military, so that rotations can be carried out more often. It was this statement that took the propaganda out of context and created the manipulation that the Ukrainian army had “already been killed”.

After the Russian propaganda media began to spread this manipulation, Serhii Melnyk explained his words. He noted that although the fighters are heroic, however, they are exhausted, some are injured, and someone dies. He also noted that Ukraine has enough resources for a counteroffensive, but the most important thing is to get enough weapons to save the lives of the fighters.

This is not the first time Russian propaganda wants to undermine the reputation of the Ukrainian military leadership and cause discouragement among Ukrainian society by manipulating the topic of a counteroffensive. Like, even the military leaders do not believe in the victory of Ukraine over Russia. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that if the Ukrainian military fails the counteroffensive, the West will allegedly stop supporting Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Lviv regional state administration “ordered” employees of budgetary institutions to donate blood for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Like, if they don’t donate blood, they “remain without a bonus”. As evidence of the publication, the authors of the messages cite an announcement-order, which, they say, is placed in state institutions for workers. In addition, propagandists add a screenshot of the correspondence on the telegram, where the user comments on the message of the local telegram channel and claims that “Lviv residents are forced to donate blood”. It is not true.

The specialists of the VoxCheck project worked on the case, and found that the order itself did not mention forced blood donation. It notes that blood can be donated voluntarily, not forced. Fact-checkers did not verify the authenticity of the order itself, however, reliable and relevant information is posted there. The authors of the messages simply came up with a different content for the “forced” order. According to Ukrainian legislation, blood donation is exclusively voluntary. That is, a person cannot be forced to donate blood, since the patient gives written consent before the procedure. The questionnaire can be completed online, however, according to fact-checkers, many blood centers do not accept such applications. In most cases, the patient must fill out the consent to donate in the presence of a doctor.

As for the message itself from the user in one of the local telegram channels, the fact checkers did not find this comment. As they explain, one comment is obviously not evidence that “Lviv residents are forced to donate blood”. Probably, it was forged and distributed in the Ukrainian telegram segment, and then deleted.

There is no significant shortage of blood in Ukraine, which means there is no need to force people to donate it either. At the same time, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine indicates that sometimes there is a need for a rare blood type, but there is no critical shortage. In April, the agency also said that thanks to donors, the daily supply of erythrocyte blood components has increased, but there is a shortage of donors with negative rhesus blood.

Propagandists systematically spread fakes and manipulation about the alleged lack of blood in Ukraine. Thus, the authors of the messages are trying to convince that everything is bad in Ukraine and that there are many wounded who are not being given worthy assistance, since there is no blood. We managed to refute several fakes on this topic. For example, one of the fakes said that Ukraine forbids all foreign citizens from becoming blood donors. We also verified the authenticity of a message on social networks that a Ukrainian woman left her husband because he was “transfused with the blood of Russians”.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the military of the 128th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine beat a man with his hands tied with a stick on his back. Like, it was a Brazilian volunteer who tried to escape from the position. A bound man in military uniform asked in Portuguese “not to beat him”. As proof, the authors add a video showing the process of beating an allegedly Brazilian volunteer with the participation of the Ukrainian military. At the same time, the authors of the messages note that the video was found on the phone of one of the prisoners of war of the Ukrainian military. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and they investigated that the video was not real. As analysts explain, this is another production of Russian propaganda because the Brazilians are indeed among the volunteers but do not serve in the 128th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Like other volunteers from other countries, the Brazilians serve only in the Foreign Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, StopFake analysts checked the video using language detection tools. That's how they figured out that the bound man in the video was speaking Portuguese. In Brazil, the official language is Portuguese. However, later the fact-checkers turned to Brazilian colleagues to clarify whether it was possible to determine from the pronunciation of the man in the video that he was Brazilian. They were told that the man was definitely not a native speaker and that he was studying European Portuguese, not Brazilian Portuguese. Actually, European Portuguese is spoken, in particular, in Portugal, and not in Brazil. These two varieties of Portuguese, for example, have a significant difference in phonetics that can be easily heard and recorded.

Such information appeared in the Russian propaganda media. In particular, the reports said that The Times allegedly published information about the losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine that shocked the public. Like, the losses are so great that they shock not only the public, but also NATO instructors. It seems that the Alliance has not encountered this before. The authors of the reports also add that the British publication allegedly claims that the nature of the injuries is severe, and doctors need to constantly choose “who would live and who would die”. However, this is fake. The publication did not publish materials of this kind.

The fact-checkers of The Insider drew attention to the case. In fact, The Times published an article entitled “Putin’s forces will face a dead end in Donbas, Kyiv vows”. The article says Zelenskiy said his soldiers kill hundreds of Wagner fighters every day as they try to outflank the city in a frontal attack. “In less than a week, starting on March 6, in the Bakhmut direction alone, we managed to destroy more than 1,100 enemy soldiers, an irretrievable loss of Russia right there, near Bakhmut”, Zelensky said. The article also said that Ukrainian forces would also suffer losses, in particular, the Russians reported that more than 220 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in 24 hours. “But none of these figures can be independently verified”, the article said.

That is, The Times did not write about excessive and shocking losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The journalists only described that Ukraine and Russia report enemy losses. However, Russia needs such fakes to create the appearance that the situation at the front is constantly deteriorating, and the Ukrainian army is weak and incapable of combat.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this. They say that Ukraine itself does not take any decision on military operations. Allegedly, the Ukrainians are assigned the role of “cannon fodder”. Like, this is confirmed by the visit of CIA Director William Burns to Kyiv to give instructions to Zelenskyi. The United States is slowly “pushing through” the decisions they need, affecting the speed of military assistance. Allegedly, sanctions against Russia are introduced gradually as an element of bargaining with Russia.

These messages nourish the “outside governance” narrative in Ukraine that has been going on since before the full blown upheaval. Also, Russian propaganda has repeatedly distributed memes that in Ukraine Russia is at war with the United States, NATO or the “collective West”. Thus, propagandists are trying to undermine the credibility of both the Ukrainian authorities and Western partners and destabilize the situation in the country. The United States is helping Ukraine resist Russian aggression, so Russia is trying to discredit the aid in every possible way.

Earlier, for this purpose, they wrote that the United States is using Ukraine as a testing ground for the development of weapons and the law on lend-lease involves huge debts, and that America is not profitable for Ukraine's victory. Like, Ukraine should fight on behalf of NATO. They also wrote that allegedly the United States is pushing Europe into the abyss.