American pro-Kremlin “expert” Scott Ritter, a former UN Armaments Inspector in Iraq, in an interview with journalist Garland Nixon, said that Russia’s high-tech air defense systems were able to completely destroy Ukrainian aviation. According to him, every time a Ukrainian plane, for example, a MiG-29, takes off, it is immediately shot down. Ritter also emphasized that the destruction of enemy aircraft gives the Russian army a great advantage. This is one of the important factors that makes a Russian military offensive possible.

Colleagues from the StopFake project began checking information about the “total liquidation” of Ukrainian aviation. When researching this topic, the fact-checkers referred to the Dutch independent project Oryx, which daily updates the loss of military equipment in Ukraine and Russia. According to it, as of October 27, Ukraine had lost 77 aircraft, while Russia had lost 93 aircraft during the war. For security reasons, Ukraine does not disclose information about the number of its combat aircraft, but at the end of March 2023, another propagandist Oleksandr Khramchykhin wrote that at that time Ukraine had about 350 combat aircraft remaining. Considering this, as well as the fact that Khramchykhin could very likely have underestimated the figures, it can be argued that Ukrainian aviation still did not suffer “crushing losses” on the battlefield during the war. In addition, in 2024, Ukraine's allies will begin delivering F-16 fighters to more effectively fight Russia.

Although Scott Ritter held high positions at the end of the 20th century, already in 2012 he was sent to prison on charges of pedophilia. In 2014 he was released. Since 2019, he has been collaborating with the Russian channel RT and has been making propaganda statements ever since. We previously wrote about how Ritter accused Ukraine of war crimes in Bucha.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that the burial ground in Odesa was allegedly used to dispose of hazardous waste associated with the activities of US military biological laboratories. They say this was discovered during the neutralization of 147 tons of dust that had accumulated due to the fact that a ship sank near Odesa in 1979. Already today, local authorities have decided to cover up the traces of their activities instead.

The fact-checkers of the VoxUkraine project decided to investigate this case. They found out that on October 20, 2023, work on the disposal of 147 tons of dust near Odesa actually began. In 1972, the Mozdok ship sank in the Gulf of Odesa, containing 900 tons of dust on board. Two years later, a storage facility was built near the village of Altestove, and the dust was preserved in concrete bunkers. Already in 2012, most of the chemicals were disposed of, but due to lack of funding, 147 tons of waste continued to be stored in storage. Over the years, local residents felt the stench, and chemicals penetrated the soil and poisoned the Khadzhibey Estuary. This year, funds were allocated from the local budget to eliminate hazardous substances due to fears that Russian shelling could lead to the release of chemicals into water and soil. The liquidators got to work on time, as some bags of poison were already on the verge of depressurization.

Russian propagandists are spreading fake news about American biological laboratories in Ukraine and discrediting the Biological Threat Reduction Program, in which Ukraine has been participating since 2005 and of which Russia was a participant until 2014. This program operates within the framework of another – the general program of joint threat reduction. Russian propaganda uses tactics of demonizing the enemy, claiming that in Ukraine there are biological laboratories with dangerous substances, the purpose of which is to harm Russia.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that an illegal “mobilization of scientific staff” is allegedly being carried out in Ukraine - and add to the publications a video from an eyewitness who says that her comrade was allegedly forcibly taken to the local territorial recruitment and social support center. And that person is a historian and supposedly teaches in a higher education institution. The authors sum up: no one can fight in Ukraine, it doesn’t need smart people, so everyone is being raked into the “Zelenskyi meat grinder”. It is not true.

Research workers, scientific-pedagogical and pedagogical workers are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization. According to the amendments to Article 23 of the Law “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Work” dated July 29, 2022, they are not subject to conscription, provided that this category of people works in scientific institutions and organizations, institutions of higher education, professional higher education, professional (vocational and technical) or general secondary education (at the main place of work with at least 0.75 rates of their salary).

Moreover, the heroine in the video did not provide any evidence, photo or video evidence confirming the arbitrary behavior of employees of the local territorial recruitment and social support center towards the man. Yet, cases where employees of territorial centers exceed their authority are still recorded. We are talking, in particular, about the use of physical force against those liable for military service. But the woman simply spread information and in no way confirmed either the thesis about the use of violence against the scientist, or the fact that, in general, a higher education worker was hypothetically mobilized.

A story allegedly from the European media Euronews is being spread on social networks in the Russian segment. It talks about the so-called 34-year-old Ukrainian refugee Petro Bondarenko, who was recently detained in Germany for committing a crime. He, according to the conclusions of the authors of the fake message, added the number 8 to houses with numbers 148. And then he divided the resulting number with the symbol / - thus forming the Nazi slogan 14/88. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project analysts investigated this case and found out that the news story about the Ukrainian refugee was compiled. At the same time, this news was also not found on the official Euronews website or on their pages on social networks. German media also did not come out with similar news.

In addition, the probable plot consists of numerous cuts of various videos that are not related to each other. For example, fakers used fragments of videos from different seasons, and this can be seen in the changes in natural phenomena: in one fragment, the leaves of the trees are green, and people are walking in light clothes while another part of the video depicts a completely different time of year, where people are dressed in warm clothes, and the leaves are no longer there, although, hypothetically, journalists cover events for one period of time, namely the moment of the “detention” of a Ukrainian refugee. The story also showed a law regulating the ban on the display of Nazi symbols in Germany, although in fact the propagandists illustrated the Australian law.

The image of the so-called Ukrainian refugee was used from the website “We face painting”, which published the photo back in 2011. Obviously, this photo has nothing to do with Ukraine.

Finally, propagandists are trying to show that Ukrainian refugees are supposedly a total threat to the sovereignty and security of EU countries. Russian propaganda, first of all, seeks to demoralize Ukrainian refugees in the eyes of Europeans and pass them off as supporters of Nazi ideology who are ready to resort to vandalism and violation of laws for their own purposes. All this contributes to a decrease in assistance to Ukraine from EU countries; and also leads to the victimization of Ukrainian refugees - when they are the only ones to blame for all the troubles.

We recommend reading our previous cases on this topic as the Kremlin systematically speculates on this:

- the Poles allegedly declared that they “don’t want to see” Ukrainian refugees in their country; 

- how a Ukrainian refugee barista “showed off his Nazi inclinations” by seeming to paint Nazi symbols on his coffee. 

And in our weekly review of disinformation, we talked on how propagandists lied about the mobilization of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian branch of McDonald's allegedly released a cherry McPie, the packaging of which states that the product “may contain the bones of Russian babies”. Photo evidence is added to publications. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and came to the conclusion that the note about “Russian babies” was added in a photo editor. At the same time, McDonald’s did not change the packaging and recipes of the products; such information was not published either on the company’s official website or on their pages on social networks. Experts add that most likely the original source of the stuffing was Ukrainian users who jokingly distributed the photo on the social network X (formerly Twitter). But propagandists picked it up and passed it off as real McDonald's products.

At the same time, the photo itself has been edited. The checkers checked this fact using a special tool called FotoForensics. Moreover, the original font and the inscription “may contain bones” differ from the phrase “of Russian babies”, so it was simply superimposed using a special photo editor.

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.

In the Ukrainian segment of Instagram, a video is being circulated with information that the Estonian Council allegedly provides financial assistance to children for winter clothes in the amount of $250. “Today, the Estonian Council provides assistance for winter clothes to all children in Ukraine who are under 10 years old (...) Or one can choose a box with clothes”. To receive it, you need to follow the link and fill out the form. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Brekhunets (The Liar) project. The page that distributed the video on Instagram has more than 20 thousand subscribers, and the link, where one can supposedly find a form to fill out, leads to the “Kyi City” telegram channel, which one needs to subscribe to.

Moreover, the fact-checkers checked the official information resources of the Estonian Refugee Council and determined that there was no such message. So, information about cash benefits from international organizations should be found on the organization’s official pages on social networks or on the official website.

On Ukrainian telegram, against the backdrop of the latest news about minors committing suicide in Kyiv, false information about such cases continues to spread. News about the alleged suicide of several teenagers in different areas of Kyiv appeared on October 24. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. The National Police of the city of Kyiv on its official Facebook page called on the media and Telegram channels not to disseminate false information and not to abuse clickbait headlines, and to trust Ukrainians only to trusted sources.

“The Metropolitan Police immediately informs citizens about emergency events and crimes that may cause a stir among the population and is open to communication with the media”, the statement says.

Russian telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umierov allegedly “gave consent to same-sex marriage in Ukraine”. Russian propaganda also reports that because of this decision, a “blue brigade” consisting of LGBT+ representatives will be created in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Strategic Communications and the BezBrekhni (No Lies) project. They note that Article 51 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that “marriage is based on the free consent of a woman and a man”. That is, the president cannot give permission for marriage, and the minister of defense has nothing to do with legislative initiatives.

Russian propaganda presents people belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community as something wrong, unacceptable, which is coming from the West. Russian propagandists justify a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by arguing that they are fighting for traditional values and protecting our country from Western propaganda of LGBT culture. Previously, we conducted a study of the Ukrainian segment of social networks, where we identified the key trends in rhetoric directed against LGBTQIA people and their sympathizers: “Homophobia in social networks: about values between Russian propaganda and Ukrainians’ disputes”.

In the Russian segment of Facebook, a statement is being circulated allegedly by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba that Ukraine should participate in the formation of the US state budget for 2024. “As a country that relies on part of this budget in the form of military or other assistance, we have the right to participate in its discussion. We may not be satisfied with the numbers, and we should be able to influence the final decision”, Kuleba said. It's fake.

As the VoxCheck project specialists note, Dmytro Kuleba has never made such statements. On social networks, on the official pages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in authoritative Ukrainian and foreign media there is no mention that the Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about this. Russian propaganda took this news from the satirical telegram channel “Here is my Yandex wallet” and spread it on social networks as regular news.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and turn Western partners against Ukraine, which could lead to a decrease in aid. They say that Ukraine is trying to influence processes within another state. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake that the European Union will not provide military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion euros in 2024.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that a rally of Ukrainian refugees took place in Spain, allegedly holding signs saying “Hands off military aid to Ukraine” and “F*ck Israel”. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They checked the photo distributed by the propagandists through an online image search tool and found out that the real photo was taken at the Israeli Friends of Ukraine rally in support of Ukraine, which took place in the summer of 2022. In the original version, the protest participant holds a poster with the inscription “Russia is a terrorist country”, but there is no poster with the inscription about Israel at all.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukrainian refugees abroad and create artificial competition for receiving military assistance from the West. Detector Media wrote how Russian propaganda is also manipulating the topic of Israel’s war against Hamas.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that problems with Swedish Westinghouse brand fuel have begun at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. They say that there is a risk that one of the power units will be completely shut down, and the station workers are panicking and don’t know what to do. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. They found out that the general director of the Rivne NPP, Pavlo Kovtoniuk, noted on October 4 that the station was operating in a steady state, and after messages from propagandists on the NPP page they reported a normal and stable radiation background. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine also denied Russian statements about problems with Swedish fuel.

By spreading such fakes, according to project analysts, propagandists want to take revenge for the fact that Ukraine refused to use Russian fuel for its nuclear power plants. In particular, on September 10, non-Russian nuclear fuel was loaded into the VVER-440 reactor of the Rivne NPP for the first time, which led to a wave of disinformation messages about the plant. Detector Media has already refuted fakes about the shortcomings of Swedish assistance to Ukraine. By resorting to them, Russia wants to create distrust in its Western partners.

The network of propagandists began to distribute allegedly screenshots of an article allegedly published in the American publication The American Insider about the head of the National Bank Andrii Pyshnyi. The material seems to contain information that there are no grounds for the dismissal of the head of the NBU and no favorable reviews of his work. Enemy resources claim that Andrii Pyshnyi ordered an article from an online resource for money. It's fake.

Colleagues from the Center for Countering Disinformation analyzed the original source and found out that the site to which the propagandists refer was registered as recently as October 2023. That is, it is fake. Another confirmation of this is that the first publications on the same site are dated September 2023. It can be argued that at least one of the purposes of creating this resource is to spread misinformation for one's own purposes.

It should also be noted that in the United States there is a publication called America Insider, which has a similar name, but it uses the “org” domain, while on the fake site one  can see the “live” domain.

In this case, Russian propaganda uses discrediting tactics, that is, it undermines the authority of Andrii Pyshnyi in order to reduce the population of Ukraine towards him and the institution he heads. At the same time, propagandists hope to provoke panic among Ukrainians and reduce international support for Ukraine in order to weaken our state's ability to finance defense needs. This fake is a continuation of the information campaign against the National Bank of Ukraine, which Russia began back in March 2023.

In the Ukrainian segment of TikTok they are spreading information that starting from October 25, 2023, the curfew schedule in Ukraine is supposedly changing. The authors seem to refer to the statement of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk. The publications claim that this decision is due to “population control” during the winter period. In addition, such videos encourage people to follow a link to find out the curfew in a particular region. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers at the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council examined this case and explained that there are no new curfew schedules. And the links that fake bots add lead to anonymous telegram channels and third-party sites. Accordingly, this is the work of scammers who are trying to artificially increase the number of audiences on their pages on social networks. Moreover, Ruslan Stefanchuk also did not make such statements, this is simply a Russian propaganda fiction.

Actually, the decision on the curfew schedule falls within the competence of the heads of regional military administrations, and depending on the region, the schedule may vary.

On social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, videos are being distributed with information about the so-called mobilization of Ukrainians to Israel. In the video, the hero shows a “draft notice” issued allegedly by the local territorial center of recruitment and social support. The draft notice notes that, in accordance with Article II of the Law of Ukraine “On Refugees and People in Need of Additional or Temporary Protection”, the man was allegedly drafted into the “volunteer battalion” of Israel. It is not true.

The StopFake analysts investigated the case and analyzed that, in fact, the draft notice depicted in the video is fake. After all, the design of the document does not correspond to the current model. Both the draft notice and the procedure for maintaining military records of conscripts and those liable for military service are regulated by a specific legislative initiative. In particular, we are talking about the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated December 7, 2016 “On approval of the Procedure for organizing and maintaining military records of conscripts and those liable for military service”. And documents of this type have the same design; they cannot differ from each other.

Actually, the official form of the draft notice can be seen in Appendix No. 24 to this Resolution. The draft notice form was last changed on January 26, 2022, when the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced appropriate changes to some resolutions on the performance of military duty.

As for the law that propagandists refer to, it has nothing to do with military service. Article 2  generally deals with the legislative framework regarding refugees and persons in need of additional or temporary protection.

The fact-checkers also recorded numerous errors in the “draft notice”. For example, in the column where one needed to write the name of the territorial center of recruitment and social support, the authors of the fake message indicated the Security Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region. The SBU’s competence apparently does not include any mobilization actions.

This information was disseminated by pro-Kremlin media. In the messages, the authors wrote that the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance recognized “the West’s tiredness of driving Ukraine into debt”. Allegedly, this was stated by the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii  Marchenko. The authors refer to material from the Reuters news agency following the meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Marrakech (Morocco). It's a lie.

The case was examined by analysts from the StopFake project. They found out that the quote about the “pit of debt” was completely made up. The head of the Ministry of Finance did not make such statements. At the same time, the Reuters story states that Serhii Marchenko told the meeting how it is becoming increasingly difficult for Ukraine to receive financial support as the attention of donor countries is now focused on their upcoming elections. And he added that as the war with Russia continues, Ukraine needs to enlist financial support from Western countries to cover the budget deficit of about $42 billion by 2024.

On October 17, 2023, in an interview with Ukrinform, the head of the Ministry of Finance noted that Ukraine really depends on international support because of Russian aggression, which is precisely what hinders the country’s economic development.

According to experts from the International Monetary Fund, despite the Russian-Ukrainian war, the financial system of Ukraine has survived. The IMF also acknowledged that the sharp economic downturn in 2022 has now given way to a gradual economic recovery. For example, Ukrainian GDP growth in 2023 increased to 1-3%, and the Central Bank's reserves strengthened.

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.

Russian information resources, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, are distributing the cover of the supposedly German satirical publication Titanic, which depicts the President of Ukraine and people wearing Zelenskyi masks, with the headline “This time there won’t be enough candies for everyone”. This is a hint that the world's attention is focused on Israel, and not on the war in Ukraine. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. They determined that there was no actual issue of Titanic magazine with such a cover. On the publication's website one can find the latest issue for October, number 10, with a different cover. On the cover, which is distributed by Russian propaganda, the number is indicated - 11, the magazine itself is published once a month, so this is another confirmation that it is fake.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to promote the message that the West is tired of the war in Ukraine and has reduced support and will supply less weapons. All this is to sow panic among Ukrainians. Previously, we refuted the fake that the French magazine Charlie Hebdo dedicated its cover to the Hamas movement.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, are disseminating information that in Kyiv it is forbidden to communicate with residents of the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian propaganda in this news refers to the so-called “representative of the local administration” of the Zaporizhzhia region, collaborator Volodymyr Rohov. Rohov claims that the “Zelenskyi regime” allegedly “imposes sanctions against people who communicate with those already living in Russia”. This is allegedly due to the fact that Kyiv “is afraid that the residents of Ukraine will understand that the Cossacks in Russia live better than they do”. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. In Ukraine there are no sanctions on communication with residents of temporarily occupied territories (TOT). Information about the ban is the invention of Rohov’s collaborators. Interference in communication is poor communication on the TOT and lack of security guarantees. All this is a consequence of the Russian invasion.

Also, the Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine published rules for life under occupation, among which Ukrainians are advised not to lose contact with family and friends in the free territories under any circumstances.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to create the illusion that in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, life is allegedly becoming better than it was under Ukraine, with high salaries and low prices. They also seek to show that Ukrainians are allegedly not interested in liberating the occupied territories. Previously, we talked about how Russia blurs reality with the help of a newspeak: new regions of Russia.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris allegedly thanked Ukraine for weapons for Hamas to attack Israel. An article allegedly appeared about this in the French publication RFI, Russian propaganda refers to it and seems to cite screenshots from it. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. There is no article with similar content on the resources of the French publication RFI. Ukraine does not resell weapons from Western partners to Hamas militants.

Russian propaganda systematically promotes the narrative that Ukraine resells the weapons provided to it by the West. Thus, Russian propagandists seek to discredit Ukraine and reduce the support of Western partners. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake news that Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that on the night of October 18, a house in Zaporizhzhia was damaged, allegedly as a result of the work of Ukrainian air defense forces. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. According to the Secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council Anatolii Kurtiev, at night the Russians fired 6 missiles at Zaporizhzhia, “apartments in 2 entrances of the building were partially destroyed”. As of 16:47, four people are known to have died, and search and rescue efforts are continuing.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to shift responsibility for the crimes of Russians into Ukraine and cause panic among Ukrainians, saying that air defense forces do not protect, but destroy civilian objects and kill people. Previously, we wrote about manipulation, supposedly the Ukrainian Air Force admitted that “Ukrainian air defense missiles are hitting” residential buildings.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are distributing a video according to which street advertising allegedly appeared in New York calling for support for Ukraine rather than Israel. The video was captioned as follows: “In New York, an advertisement appeared from disgruntled Ukrainians: Helping Jews = burning money”. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. In fact, such advertising was not placed in New York. And the video used by propaganda appeared a month ago on the YouTube channel The NYC Walking Show, where the author gave a virtual tour of the streets of New York.

Russian propagandists seek to discredit Ukraine and worsen its relations with Israel and Western partners. Detector Media refuted the fake that the Turkish magazine Le Man published a cover with Zelenskyi “enraged by the whole world”.

Russian telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are allegedly distributing the cover of the Turkish magazine Le Man with the image of Volodymyr Zelenskyi “furious at the whole world”. The President of Ukraine is irritated allegedly because the attention of the world media is focused on the conflict between Palestine and Israel, while there is also a war going on in Ukraine. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Strategic Communications and the BezBrekhni (No lie) project. They found that there was no such cover either on social networks or on the official website of the publication. Moreover, the last issue of the magazine was published on October 11 (No. 1646), and the date on the fake binding is October 16 (No. 1647).

Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and create the illusion that the whole world is tired of the war in Ukraine, and therefore has switched to the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Previously, we refuted the fake that the French magazine Charlie Hebdo dedicated its cover to the Hamas movement.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social media claim that Ukraine has used the Black Sea Grain Initiative to smuggle weapons. In particular, Western weapons allegedly reached Hamas through the “grain corridor”. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found that the statement was not true. The Black Sea Grain Initiative (Initiative for the Safe Transport of Grains and Food Products from Ukrainian Ports) consists of two agreements that constitute one “grain agreement” - between Ukraine, the UN and Turkey and between Russia, the UN and Turkey. According to it, under the auspices of the UN, a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) was created in Istanbul (Turkey), which had representatives of all parties to the agreement. A team of inspectors, including representatives of Russia, on behalf of the SCC inspected each vessel “for inappropriate cargo and crew on the way to and from Ukrainian ports”. During the entire period of its work, the JCC never reported that Ukraine was allegedly using the Black Sea Grain Initiative to smuggle weapons to the Middle East or other territories.

Also, to date, there is no confirmation that Hamas militants are allegedly using weapons transferred to Ukraine as military aid from Western countries. The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine draws attention to the fact that Russian intelligence services have already handed over to Hamas representatives “captured weapons manufactured in the USA and EU countries”, that is, acquired in battle. The department emphasizes that it can be used against Ukraine, accusing it of selling Western weapons.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukraine and reduce the scale of military assistance from its partners. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted other Russian fakes and manipulations regarding Western weapons.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media and social networks claim that Mazur Mecheslav, a Polish citizen serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has been put on the wanted list in Ukraine. He is allegedly suspected of committing a number of crimes, in particular “arbitrary escape from a military unit, murder, causing harm to health and bullying of minors”. As evidence, they are distributing a photo of a wanted notice for this person. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They noticed a number of grammatical errors in the “announcement”, which are not typical for native speakers of the Ukrainian language and representatives of government agencies. For example, the official abbreviation of the police agency, the proper word “police”, the use of the Russian word “department” and the phrase “poses a threat”. They also tried to find this person in open databases of all people wanted in Ukraine on a separate website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Among the persons found on the site there is no Mecheslav Mazur, and other persons with the same surname do not match the parameters specified in the “announcement”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to once again discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They say that only criminals fleeing responsibility abroad serve them. Detector Media has already refuted a number of fakes and manipulations of Russian propaganda about the “Foreign Legion”.