Analysts of the international project “Fireworks of Lies” analyzed about 18 thousand accounts (including channels and chats) related to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and identified the main trends of Russian disinformation on the Telegram of this region. Detector Media has highlighted the main points of the investigation published on investigaci.cz.

In the telegram space, the number of channels in Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian and German with pro-Russian narratives has increased. They also differ in the form of presentation of content - some of them try to provide information as seriously as possible, while the other part presents these problems subjectively or even on behalf of “clairvoyants” and “fortune tellers”. Russian propagandists are well aware of the level of trust in them among the ordinary population in the region and use this to spread their own narratives.

In particular, in such channels one can find a repetition of a number of Russian narratives about the war in Ukraine: they say that this is all the West, there will be nothing left of Ukraine, but that’s how they need it, because there are Nazis. But in addition to this, they intertwine concern about the domestic political situation in the countries of the region. It seems that this war is not our business, we do not want to suffer from its consequences.

In addition to matching Russian messages, these channels also play conspiracy theories. In particular, they contain a lot of materials on the topic of the “world destruction plan” of the “world government”, in which the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine are only “stages”. According to conspiracy theorists, Russia started the war to fight “this swamp”, as the world's political and economic elites are sometimes called.

Thus, Russian propagandists want to disorient the inhabitants of Central and Eastern Europe and shift the responsibility for Russia's crimes to the victims of aggression and those who help it. In addition, the destabilization of the situation in Europe helps Russia to carry out its aggression and build a platform for further spread. Detector Media has already examined the disinformation on the German telegram and highlighted its main narratives.

In the Czech segment of Telegram, the number of anonymous channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric in Czech has increased. This was researched by analyst Josef Shlerka from the Czech project investigaci.cz. Detector Media outlined the main theses from his article and found out why it is so important for Russian propagandists to maintain influence in the Czech Republic.

Shlerka says that such Czech-language telegram channels usually repost content from foreign sources that are considered conspiratorial and inaccurate. They often repeat conspiracy narratives, such as the “rigged” elections in the United States in 2020 or that earthquakes in Turkey are man-made. Moreover, most of the publications coincide with the news of “Sputnik” being blocked in the EU.

In addition, these telegram channels tried to destabilize the Czech domestic political situation. For example, one of the most popular of them posted a fake video of the then-Czech presidential candidate Petr Pavel, where he allegedly talks about the need to go to war against Russia.

The researcher also divides them according to the genre of news reporting: one category tries to seriously provide information, while the other expresses its support for Russia as informally as possible. All these channels have one thing in common: they openly sympathize with Russia, repeating the narratives of its propaganda.

Some of these channels contain grammatical errors in their Czech messages. From this, the researcher concludes that the authors are probably not Czechs and use machine translation to create content. Most of these channels also do not reveal the identity of the message authors and use Czech bank accounts to raise funds to keep the channels running.

Thus, Russian propagandists want to sow doubt among the Czechs about the appropriateness of supporting Ukraine. Like, don't let the West rule you, support your state brothers. This is of particular importance if to consider the historical past of the Czech Republic and its connection with the Soviet Union.

According to the State Service for Special Communications, Russian hackers distribute malicious files through free access to torrent trackers. In particular, if such files are installed on a computer, hackers gain access to the contents of the computer and remain invisible for a long time.

The department reports that hackers use Trojans to copy passwords from different services and find out any information. They trojanize ISOs and installation files and host them for free.

According to the State Service for Special Communications, in many post-Soviet countries, system administrators use unlicensed software distributed via torrent trackers in institutions and companies of various forms of ownership. Thus, they provide Russian intelligence services with access to the contents of working machines.

The State Service for Special Communications says that ordinary Ukrainians who install unlicensed software from unofficial sources and torrents can also become victims of hackers.

Such a document was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “document” states that young people between 15 and 18 years old are prohibited from traveling abroad.

The Center for Strategic Communications investigated this case and found out that the document was fake. As analysts explain, the “document” includes a number of inaccuracies, in particular:

The authors refer to Cabinet Decree No. 57, although according to this decree, such restrictions during martial law apply only to men from 18 to 60 years old;

The authors of the “document” made grammatical and spelling errors, in particular, they used russianisms.

We recall that Detector Media previously denied a fake, which said that Ukrainian underage boys were supposedly not allowed to go abroad, because “they will soon be mobilized”.

Such a document was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “document” states that Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, forbade the evacuation of the military “if they have minor injuries”.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found out that the document is fake. As the fact-checker explains, the “document” includes a number of inaccuracies, in particular:

The “document” does not specify its type. If the text contains the phrase “I order”, this means that the main text should be preceded by the word “ORDER”, indicating the type of document - an order;

The fake document is addressed to the operational command “East”, and above it the Ministry of Defense is mentioned. However, OC “East” is a structural subdivision of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, not the Ministry of Defense;

At the end of the document it says “A. Syrskyi”, although it is correct - “O. Syrskyi”, O means Oleksandr. Analysts are sure that this letter equivalent indicates a translation from the Russian language, because the Russian name Oleksandr is “Aleksander”.

According to the Center for Strategic Communications, fake information is being disseminated online, allegedly on behalf of the Red Cross. Allegedly, people can receive payments from the organization to a bank card. The information is spread from the fake website of the Red Cross.

“The fake website of the International Red Cross was created by scammers to steal money from Ukrainians and their personal data. The Red Cross of Ukraine has nothing to do with this site, does not pay such payment, and, moreover, never charges for legal services”, the organization said.

They add: all relevant programs, including those regarding financial support, are published exclusively on the official website.

Radio “Svoboda” (Liberty) journalists came to this conclusion in their study of Russian disinformation on social networks. In particular, during the study, media workers discovered fake accounts disguised as profiles of the Ukrainian military.

One of the tiktok accounts masqueraded as the personal page of a sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who actually keeps his war diary. The clone page had over 19,000 subscribers, with some videos reaching millions of views. The account, which was a clone of the profile of a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, contained real videos shot by real soldiers, but the messages superimposed on them were not at all the messages that the author of the real tiktok account had in mind. According to journalists, these messages inspired despair and mistrust. For example, such messages were promoted: “Bakhmut cannot be kept”, “We leave Soledar”, “Military are tired”, etc. Later, a real sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was found, who confirmed that his video was used by Russian propagandists.

The journalists also investigated the fake telegram channel of the 46th airmobile brigade, created back in September. The propagandists have gathered a fairly large audience on this channel, up to 15,000 subscribers. That is, it allows the dissemination of various manipulative or fake news from there that are beneficial to Russian propaganda. It was also a clone of the real telegram channel of the 46th brigade. The official authors stated that there was nothing to do with the creation of the clone page.

Journalists from a group of international publications exposed the Russian strategy of political and economic takeover of Moldova. They are talking about the document “Strategic goals of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova”. According to Dossier journalists, it was developed by the presidential administration for cross-border cooperation of the Presidential administration and coordinated with the Russian special services.

The authors divided the goals in the document into several groups: military-political, trade-economic and humanitarian. However, it is precisely the realistic goals for the next ten years that the authors of the strategy consider:

• opposition to the influence of NATO and the EU in Moldova;

• forcing Moldova to participate in the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization, which includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan), the Eurasian Economic Union and other Russian international projects;

• settlement of the Transnistrian conflict on the basis of the special status of Transnistria (of course, with the participation of Russia);

• building up pro-Russian sentiment in society through propaganda and educational programs.

The journalists add that, according to the exposed document, by 2022 the Russian Presidential administration planned to prevent the Moldovan authorities from excluding Russia from the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict and wanted to maintain the Russian military presence in the unrecognized territory. It is reported that the tasks of the Presidential administration also included the support of Moldovan pro-Russian politicians.

The document also refers to Russia's plans to exploit Moldova's dependence on Russian imports in order to neutralize the republic's policy, which is contrary to the interests of the Kremlin.

Earlier, Dossier journalists published a similar document on Belarus. It is known that both “strategies” were developed in the same department.

A group of publications worked on exposing the document: Dossier (Russia), RISE (Moldova), Delfi (Estonia), Kyiv Independent (Ukraine), Belarusian Investigative Center (Belarus), Yahoo News (USA), Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), West Rundfunk (Germany), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (Germany), Expressen (Sweden), Frontstory (Poland) and VSquare (Visegrad Group (V4)).

The Security Service of Ukraine exposed eight pro-Kremlin agitators in Kyiv, Zakarpattia region, Cherkasy and Vinnytsia regions. In particular, they distributed materials and narratives of Russian and Belarusian propagandists, especially concerning the “church theme”. Also, some of them called for a violent seizure of state power and a change in the administrative borders of Ukraine.

Among the publications of agitators, one can find the spread of a fake about a “juvenile Ukrofascist from Aidar”, who allegedly wrote “Death to the Orthodox” on the projectile. Agitators express open support for the Russian army in the fight against the “Nazis” using this example. There is no mention of such a case in the public domain, which indicates that this is fiction. Thus, propagandists are again trying to discredit the Ukrainian army and justify their aggression against Ukraine. Like, that's who Russia is fighting against - against the Nazis, who are destroying peaceful Orthodox.

Also, agitators published articles that tried to explain the use of the symbols V and Z in the framework of the war against Ukraine with the “Old Russian alphabet”. Like, Z is a Slavic letter meaning “land” and “a symbol of unification”. In fact, the use of the symbol was primarily practical and aimed to help avoid “friendly fire” among Russian troops. The propagandists of the Russian state media did not attach much importance to the roots of the symbol.

The Center for strategic communications researched the anti-Ukrainian campaign on Facebook and identified the main messages disseminated through advertising on Facebook pages.

In particular, analysts found the following messages:

The thesis that “the battle for Bakhmut has already been lost”, as experts say, is unfounded. The Russian army does not leave attempts to capture Bakhmut, but, according to the conclusion of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, this significantly weakens the Russian army in other directions. The messages that “the West does not believe in Ukraine” and that “the Command of the Defense Forces fled, and in the Bakhmut direction “the guys are fighting back alone”” are also untrue. Analysts say the Defense Forces are firmly in Bakhmut, and the commander of the Ground Forces, Syrskyi, constantly comes to the positions. At the same time, the West continues to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment that will soon be used during the counteroffensive.

Analysts explained that the disinformation campaign is spread through newly created Facebook pages, without a specific description and content. Usually these pages have neutral titles. According to analysts, in this way the authors avoid additional moderation by Meta, which owns Facebook. Analysts urge to complain about such manifestations of advertising.

Specialists of the Center for strategic communications are convinced that such a disinformation campaign is designed to demoralize Ukrainians, and at the same time undermine their confidence in the authorities and Western countries.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, in the German and Russian TikTok segments. Reports say Ukrainian refugees who have recently confirmed their status will be given 500 “greeting” euros. Like, this is an initiative of the Bundestag, which recently adopted a resolution and issue funds to Ukrainians “from the pockets of the Germans”.

The German group of fact-checkers Correctiv decided to check the information and contact the official representation in the Bundestag for a comment. The Bundestag denied such information and stressed that Ukrainian refugees do not receive any additional payments, including “greeting” money. The Bundestag also stressed that they are not creating a procedure for receiving cash payments; such a bill has not been submitted to parliament.

The Kharkiv regional military administration reported that the invaders could broadcast under the fake name “Slobozhanske FM”. Ethers are on a wave of 100 MHz. They are not led by Ukrainian journalists. The enemy is misinforming the population of the Kharkiv region, using FM frequencies, on which it broadcasts fake news.

The Kharkiv regional military administration notes that all official information is broadcast on the following waves: Balakliia - 104.9 MHz; Zmiiv - 90.8 MHz; Blyzniuky, Lozova - 100.1 MHz; Barvinkove - 103.4 MHz.

We recall that earlier Russian hackers penetrated the air of several Ukrainian radio stations and spread a fake about “Zelenskyi in intensive care”. More details.

The public of Georgia actively opposes the adoption in the first reading of the law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, called the “Russian law”. It is considered analogous to the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and ruled out the possibility of the presence of international monitoring missions inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. The authorities will create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%. The Ministry of Justice will have the right to “observe” the work of potential “foreign agents” and receive the necessary information, including personal data. It is noteworthy that the voting was held in violation of the rules of parliament without public discussion. There is still a second and third reading, but since the law has the support of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the parliament will probably approve the document.

The law marginalizes key international organizations that monitor rights and freedoms in Georgia. This is exactly what happened in Russia after the adoption of the relevant law in 2012. Also, due to the adoption of the law, funding for opposition media, whose work is supported from abroad, will potentially decrease. In addition, the adoption of the law may indicate the actual departure from the European integration course, which Georgia announced together with Moldova and Ukraine (Associated Trio). The law could deal a blow to the Georgian economy. Georgian entrepreneurs are being helped by a European program to support traditional small and medium-sized businesses (for example, in the distilling industry), and the new law will put this program in jeopardy.

The state has come to the so-called “Yanukovych crossroads”, when society and the authorities have diametrically opposed visions of Georgia’s development, and contradictions peaked after the missed chance for EU membership in July 2022. Against the backdrop of these upheavals, a number of messages appeared on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric aimed at discrediting the Georgian protest movement. We consider them in more detail below.

The events in Georgia are the beginning of the “color revolution”, the “beautiful life” will soon come, as happened in Ukraine. The term “color revolutions” refers to the most civilized disintegration of the 20th century - the “velvet divorce” of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where, as a result of the bloodless and democratic Velvet Revolution, the post-communist elites of both parts of Czechoslovakia headed for independence, announced a transition from socialist relations. Currently, “colored” or “velvet” refers to peaceful protests that result in certain political changes. Despite the non-violent nature of the protests, Russian propaganda interprets such revolutions negatively, they mark a departure from the communist course, the dismantling of the socialist system and the transition to democratic governance. Propaganda uses this term in a negative sense, assuring that such protests advocate false values. The mention of Ukraine in a disparaging way reproduces the narrative of condemning the Revolution of Dignity and devaluing its positive consequences. Propaganda claims that due to the removal of Yanukovych from power and following a new pro-European course, the life of Ukrainians has worsened, so they “warn” the Georgians that if the protesters succeed, their society will expect the same thing. Yes, Ukraine had to endure a deep economic crisis in 2014, but at the same time managed to take a confident course towards Euro-Atlantic integration and strengthen its democracy. Russia is afraid of a “velvet divorce” with Georgia, because it does not want to lose it from its field of influence for a number of geopolitical and economic reasons.

Local “Sorosiata” (Soros’s supporters) are trying to prevent the cessation of foreign funding. This message discredits representatives of Georgian civil society who stood up for democracy and ascribes a far-fetched mercantile goal to their actions. The protests in Georgia are not about funding, but about protecting democracy and freedom of speech. Similar assessments were made about the events of the Euromaidan. It seems to be, in particular, a struggle for the opportunity to receive Western “handouts” and grants in exchange for sovereignty. With such statements, propagandists are trying to substitute  concepts, calling the struggle for values a struggle for money.

“Verkhniolarsivtsi” (Russins who fled to Georgia through the border crossing point “Verkhnii Lars”)  join the ranks of the protesters and chant anti-Russian slogans. With this neologism propagandists call Russians who fled to Georgia in order to avoid mobilization or to avoid reprisals for their anti-war position. In autumn, the line at the “Verkhnii Lars” checkpoint stretched for tens of kilometers, because there were hundreds of thousands of people who wanted to leave Russia. Propaganda claims that the “Verkhniolarsivtsi” have settled down well in their rented apartments, and having lost any sense of shame and dignity, these “traitors” went to the “Georgian Maidan” and chanted slogans insulting to Putin and chanted “Sa-kart-ve- lo”*. This message rather works for the internal Russian audience, forcing once again to condemn those who are hiding from the mobilization.

Local Georgian authorities are out of control. The US State Department is concerned about this fact, therefore it supports the protesters in every possible way, and wants to “calm down” the elite with their hands and direct it to the true path. This message is a classic reproduction of the “external control” narrative carried out by “Western curators” to please the US State Department and powerful international corporations. Propaganda assures: all the events of the Revolution of Dignity were orchestrated from the outside and successfully implemented by local actors from the “Soros structures”. Now Russian propaganda is convincing that the same thing is happening in Georgia: representatives of grant structures allegedly actively oppose the “legitimately elected” government, undermining its authority and the legality of its decisions. The purpose of this message is to disregard the sovereignty of Georgia, leveling the independence of decision-making and discrediting any actions of civil society.

* Sakartvelo is the name of Georgia, which is used by its inhabitants themselves. The name “Georgia” is used by Russia and 20 other states, including Ukraine; in most countries of the world, the name “George” (or its derivatives) is adopted. Against the backdrop of deteriorating relations with Russia and the Russian-Georgian war of 2008, official Tbilisi calls on other states to abandon the name “Georgia” in favor of Sakartvelo or “Heorhia”. Lithuania, Japan, Israel and South Korea have already abandoned the name “Georgia” in official documents.

There are reports on the network that Nova Poshta has launched a drawing where it offers to take a survey and win 6,000 hryvnias “as a gift for Women's Day”.

VoxCheck fact-checkers checked the messages and found out that the company never hosts such events. The official website and Facebook page of “Nova Poshta” denied the message about the drawing.

The site referred to by the fraudsters does not belong to the Nova Poshta company. To convince users to take part in the draw, theн added “joyful” comments from those who had already allegedly won money. Nevertheless, these users resemble bots, because they have uncharacteristic names for Ukraine or significant grammatical errors can be noticed in the comments.

To “win a gift”, users must answer a few questions. These questions are also misspelled. After that, the user has the opportunity to win a cash gift from 3 attempts. The fact-checkers managed to “win” the money on the first try. To “receive a gift”, one needs to share the information about the draw in 5 groups or with 20 friends and complete the registration. After that, the site prompts you to enter the code and wait for the administrator to consider the application. However, when you try to enter the code, a third-party site opens, access to which is restricted.

Detector Media has repeatedly talked about such schemes, when users were offered to “win”: five thousand hryvnias of assistance from Ukrposhta and Nova Poshta, five thousand hryvnias of assistance from PrivatBank, six thousand hryvnias of “New Year's” assistance and so on.

Such a “postcard” was distributed on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “postcard” states that the so-called Department of cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine under the Orthodox Church of Ukraine of the Kyiv Patriarchate calls on Ukrainian soldiers to kill Russians. Allegedly, the metropolitan himself signed the postcard, which means that the Ukrainian church calls for murders on its own behalf.

Analysts of the NotaYenota project took up this case and determined that the postcard was fake. Analysts analyzed this “postcard” and found a number of inaccuracies in it, in particular:

There has been no Kyiv Patriarchate in Ukraine since 2018;

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine does not have a “Department of cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine”. Instead, there is such a department in the Russian Orthodox Church;

Varsonofii, whose name the “postcard” was signed with, is in fact the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, emphasized that it is not a sin to wish death on the enemy and to kill the Russian occupiers. However, there were no calls to “kill on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine”.

Such a “document” was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The “document” states that the people's deputies of Ukraine are turning to the head of Energoatom with a request to provide a list of Ukrainian NPP workers to be mobilized.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the document was fake. As analysts explain, the “document” includes a number of inaccuracies, in particular:

The fake document does not meet the standard design that people's deputies use when writing an appeal;

The wording used in the “document” is not typical for official business correspondence;

The authors of the “document” made grammatical and spelling errors.

In addition, as analysts note that some people's deputies who allegedly signed the “document” have already resigned and are not fulfilling the duties of people's deputies.

Fraudsters spread messages in the Ukrainian segment of social networks that supposedly the Safari special forces regiment of the National police of Ukraine was raising funds for thermal imagers and other military ammunition. The swindlers claimed that they were fellow soldiers from the Korosten region. Like, the regiment works not only at zero front, but also “behind enemy lines”, so it needs help to purchase the necessary equipment. The purpose of the collection is almost six thousand dollars.

In fact, the Safari special forces regiment does not and did not collect funds for ammunition. This was reported in the national police of Ukraine.

The department urges everyone to carefully check the messages about the fundraising, so as not to become victims of scammers.

Earlier, Detector Media talked about letters received by entrepreneurs from Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Dnipropetrovsk regions from scammers who allegedly raised funds for the alleged needs of the Ukrainian army.

Specialists of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National security and defense council have published a report on the Russian disinformation campaign aimed at the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. They analyzed the foreign and Russian segments of social networks and came to the conclusion that disinformation was spread from Russia. Some fakes originated in the Russian segment of social networks, and then they were picked up by an international audience.

In general, experts identified in the report three fakes directed against Olena Zelenska and their further distribution in social networks:

Allegedly, the first lady spent 40 thousand euros on shopping in Paris. The authors of the reports referred in their publications to the material of the French edition of La Dépêche, although this was not discussed in the material;

On the misuse of funds for the Olena Zelenska Foundation. The authors claimed that Poland was providing financial assistance to Ukraine, and the first lady was embezzling public funds. Analysts denied this information, because, as they explain, Poland does not provide a fixed amount of assistance;

About humanitarian aid, which was given to Ukrainians allegedly in bundles from Louis Vuitton Paris. The authors claimed that after a successful shopping trip, Olena Zelenska was handing over “the cheapest packaged pasta from a global brand” to those in need. Analysts denied this information, because the video was first published in the Russian segment of social networks.

Specialists of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation are convinced that such a disinformation campaign is designed to discredit Olena Zelenska, and at the same time deprive Ukraine of international assistance. In addition, they also published a report on Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

We recall that earlier Detector Media also refuted the fake, which claimed that the first lady of Ukraine spends tens of thousands of euros on accessories.

The telegram channels of the Russian segment spread the information that the US consulate in Milan published on Twitter a photo with Ukrainian and Nazi flags, signing the publication “we all know the truth”. The authors of the messages add that the publication is not deleted, and therefore this is the official position of the United States regarding Ukraine.

In fact, the account of the US Consulate in Milan was broken and an unauthorized post was published allegedly on behalf of the consulate. After some time, the consulate representative commented on the situation and noted that the Twitter account had indeed suffered from a hacker attack by unknown persons, and the published post does not at all indicate the official position of the United States. The consulate also noted that they are working to establish the causes and bring to justice those responsible for the attack.

Such a document was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The document says that the Ukrainian leadership sends fighters to the cities of Ukraine bordering Moldova. Before the publication of the so-called document, the authors add that the Armed Forces of Ukraine “intend to carry out an armed provocation in Transnistria”. 

Analysts from the Center for strategic communications and information security investigated this case and found that the document was fake. As analysts explain, the “document” includes a number of inaccuracies, in particular:

The fake document does not conform to the standard format used by the Ukrainian military command;The wording used in the “document” is not typical of official business language;

The authors of the “document” made grammatical and spelling errors.

Transnistria is a self-proclaimed unrecognized state located between Ukraine and Moldova. According to the legislation of Moldova, Transnistria has the status of an Autonomous Territorial Unit with a special legal status. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognizes the territory of Transnistria as occupied by Russia. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that Russia plans to carry out a coup d'état in the country. At the same time, against this background, Russian propaganda was spreading messages that it was Ukraine who wanted to make provocations on the territory of Moldova.

Information is being disseminated on social networks that due to the difficult energy situation in the country, the so-called “state fuel subsidy” is provided for Ukrainians with the assistance of the national network of WOG gas stations. To receive a subsidy, they say, you need to follow the link and take a short survey, followed by the opportunity to choose a prize, and then share the results with friends.

Fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Liar) project checked the information and found that it was a scam. By clicking on the link, the fact of the checkers was transferred to a fake site that has nothing to do with the official WOG site. Subsequently, they offered to take a survey and choose a winning bundle, which contains a “state fuel subsidy” in the form of seven thousand hryvnias. Then you need to share with 20 friends to “receive” the reward.

The WOG official website also denied such information and published a warning about scammers who distribute fake pranks in instant messengers. At the same time, company employees note that the purpose of such actions is mainly to steal personal user data from social networks.

Such information is disseminated in social networks of the Ukrainian segment, including Facebook. Reports say that a “missile radar” has been introduced in Ukraine that monitors the flight path of an enemy missile and reports it to the Ukrainians. To connect such an application to your smartphone, the authors of the messages offer to follow their telegram channel.

Analysts of the NotaYenota project investigated the telegram channels of the Ukrainian segment and determined that community administrators are speculating on the topic of air alerts, in particular, to increase their audience.

In fact, no such application exists. In Ukraine, it is not yet possible to accurately track the trajectory of a missile using a “radar”. However, Ukraine will soon be testing the Israeli air raid system, which consists in increasing the power of radars. The Ukrainian alert system works like this: when Russian planes take off, for example, in Belarus, the alarm spreads immediately in all the northern regions of Ukraine. The Israeli system, on the other hand, calculates where the rocket is flying, and the siren turns on sectorally at a specific location. The siren also gives a special signal indicating how many minutes people have to go to a  shelter.

However, the “Israeli air raid system” refers to the modernization of existing equipment, no applications need to be downloaded for this. It is beneficial for telegram channel administrators to parasitize on socially important and emotionally complex topics, such as air raid alerts or the “repeated offensive” of the Russian army in order to achieve their goals and intimidate Ukrainians.

This was reported in the Center for counteracting disinformation. According to the “document”, the participants of the “Housing for Ukraine” initiative must provide information about the residence of Ukrainian male refugees aged eighteen and over. Also, allegedly, the British are urged to report the possible stay of adult Ukrainians after changing their place of residence. Homeowners are allegedly obliged to encourage Ukrainians to visit the Embassy of Ukraine in the UK to clarify their personal data.

This “document” is fake. UK officials and departments did not send such a letter. In addition, there are lexical and grammatical errors in the text. The domain “report@levellingup.gov.uk”  mentioned in the letter is real, but it was never used for official correspondence.

Recently, a fake was spread that supposedly the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia and other European countries received a letter with a request to provide information about people of military age. Thus, propagandists once again parasitize on the topic of mobilization and try to demoralize Ukrainians. Like, you can’t hide from mobilization either in Ukraine or abroad.

Against the backdrop of news about the arrival of US President Joe Biden to Ukraine, a lot of disinformation stuffing appeared in anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. In particular, the propagandists broadcast their vision of events and voiced a number of messages about the visit of a high-ranking official.

The team of analysts of Detector Media identified the main ones.

Biden came to report that he is “merging” Ukraine

Like, the reason for the sudden visit was “secret agreements” with Moscow, which Biden seems to want to tell Zelenskyi personally. Propagandists insist that the United States and the “collective West” are tired not only of the topic of Ukraine, but also of its “unwillingness” to sit down at the negotiating table.

However, all this is unfounded assumptions, because the authors of anonymous telegram channels do not provide any facts or evidence indicating that Biden is “merging” Ukraine. So far, there are no signs of secret negotiations between the United States and Russia on the situation in Ukraine, even in a behind-the-scenes format. Moreover, the topic of support for Ukraine continues to be a priority for US foreign policy: both for Biden's party (Democrats) and his opponents, Republicans in particular. The next package of military assistance to Ukraine announced during the visit is a confirmation that the United States is not withdrawing from the issue, but rather is strengthening support.

Russian propagandists spread speculation about the so-called “new peace conditions” supposedly brought in by Biden. Russian propaganda is actively using this message to transfer responsibility for the continuation of the war from the aggressor to the victim.

The air raid sirens were turned on for the sake of a “picture” to scare President Biden

At the moment when there were official reports that the US President had flown to Kyiv, air raids continued in the capital, as in other cities of Ukraine. Therefore, a message appeared in anonymous telegram channels that this was, they say, “another performance” for Biden. Allegedly, the Ukrainian authorities specially staged a performance for the US president to suppress pity and intimidate a little.

This is not a new propaganda message. Russian propaganda always uses it when Western partners come to Kyiv on working visits. Also, propagandists from time to time claim that the Ukrainian authorities use the air raid signal as a lever to intimidate Ukrainians, or vice versa - do not turn it on so as not to frighten. In addition, such messages should deceive the significance of the announcement of alerts - to warn of danger from Russia.

In fact, only a limited circle of people has information about the reasons for triggering an air raid alert.

Biden's visit is only self-promotion for Biden and Zelenskyi.

Like, the visit of the President of the United States to Ukraine is just an attempt “to save Biden’s dead rating” in his country and “calm down Ukrainians disappointed in Zelenskyi”. Although this information is available only to those involved in such measures, a number of important issues of interaction between the two countries are often discussed during state visits, namely economic, cultural and security initiatives. The results of such conversations can be seen within a few weeks after the end of the visit.

Propagandists actively use the natural lack of information about conversations during meetings to spread their own, unsubstantiated fabrications.

Biden came to “punish” the Office of the President

Propagandists continue to spread the narrative about “external governance” and the non-subjectivity of Ukraine. They say that the “owner” came to Ukraine because his “subordinates” “failed to fulfill the basic instructions” of the United States. As a “consequence”, no additional assistance is expected. In fact, the “instructions” of the United States and various Western institutions are advisory in nature. And the level of assistance provided by the West and the United States can be influenced by Ukraine's fulfillment of its obligations, and not by the presence of recommendations. Also, we note that now, during the war, a decrease in aid may cause more condemnation towards Biden than support, especially from his political opponents. There is also no evidence or facts to support this propaganda message. However, by spreading it, they are trying to establish the opinion that the US and other Western partners are disappointed in the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, so the propagandists create the appearance that Ukraine will soon allegedly be left without external support.

Biden “cripples churches” with his presence

The authors of anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric also claimed that Biden is “antichrist in human form”, destroying Ukrainian spirituality with his visit. Like, that's why you can't “save” Ukraine from “Western satanic networks”.

Such messages should be considered in the context of conspiracy theories regarding the President of the United States. According to them, Joe Biden is a satanist and a pedophile. In fact, the President of the United States is a catholic and often mentions his faith in speeches.

Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv has already acquired historical significance, as it is the first visit by a US leader to Ukraine in 15 years. We recall that earlier Detector Media prepared a selection of messages about the visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the United States.

A fake document was circulated on the network, allegedly sent from the Department of education and science of the city of Kyiv. It says that educational institutions in Kyiv are allegedly preparing to transfer the premises to the use of the defense forces for the further creation of military field hospitals. Like, the threat of escalation in the Kyiv direction is “high”. In addition, the “document” contains a clause on the transfer of a list of contact details of young men who have reached the age of 17.

The Department of education and science of the city of Kyiv says that no orders have been issued to transfer educational institutions to the capital under the leadership of any other bodies. Employees of the Department also stated that all educational institutions in Kyiv are working as usual, and employees are at their workplaces performing their duties.

The Department is convinced that the spread of a fake document indicates an attempt by the Russians to sow panic among Ukrainians on the eve of the anniversary of a full-scale invasion. At the same time, propagandists are trying once again to nourish the narrative about the mobilization of teenagers, including in a fake document. Allegedly, there is no one to fight anymore, so the Ukrainian leadership is mobilizing even young men.

Detector Media has previously refuted the fake, in which, they say, underage boys are not allowed to go abroad, because they will soon be mobilized.