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.

A screenshot is being circulated online with an alleged article from Ukrainska Pravda, which contains information that the ICTV channel, owned by Victor Pinchuk, will air the series “Volunteer of the People”. Serhii Prytula should supposedly star in the leading role. However, this is a fake.

Experts from the VoxUkraine project analyzed this case. They managed to find out that the screenshot was fake, and there was no mention of the launch of this series in the Ukrainian media. There is not a single article about the series “Volunteer of the People” on the Ukrainska Pravda website, and the latest material by journalist Mykhailo Tkach, according to a screenshot of the author of the mentioned article, was published on November 17. The publication about the series is dated November 23. That is, here is yet another proof of the falsity of the information.

This case of disinformation is intended to sow discord among the Ukrainian people. Everything would be fine, but the fact that the main character of the series should be Serhii  Prytula - a man who runs his own charitable foundation and helps the army on a large scale - aims to outrage the Ukrainians and disabuse them of Ukraine's victory.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels and other social networks are spreading fake information that Poland is allegedly canceling payments to Ukrainian refugees from January 1, 2024. They say that Poland was Ukraine’s lawyer in the European Union, but Zelenskyi quickly managed to turn a friend into an enemy. As proof of this decision, users add a screenshot of the news from November 17, 2023, allegedly from the official website of the Polish government.

After disseminating such information, StopFake decided to check whether the Polish government really made a similar decision and reported it on the official website. As it turned out, the information disseminated is not true.

Project specialists went to the corresponding website of the Polish government, from which they allegedly took a screenshot distributed by propagandists. There is a separate page for citizens of Ukraine, containing official information for refugees in Ukrainian. Among the news published there, there is no information that the Polish government has decided to cancel social payments for refugees from January 1. The remaining publications are still relevant, in which you can familiarize yourself with all existing assistance programs. While researching this site, they also found the same picture with which Russian propaganda created a fake screenshot. The news “Living and working in Poland – 2022” uses the same image as in the false reports spread by propagandists. In addition, in the edited “announcement”, Russian propaganda made a mistake: the word “terminates” in Ukrainian should have been written in another way. This error indicates that the information may be incorrect.

The StopFake analysts note that the Polish government has indeed publicly announced a possible reduction in assistance to Ukrainian refugees. In October 2023, a representative of the Polish government, Piotr Müller, in an interview with the PAP agency, said that the decisions determined by the law on assistance to Ukrainians would probably lose force in the first quarter of next year and expressed the hope that “there is simply no need to continue them”. However, as of now, the Polish government has not announced that from January 1 all payments to Ukrainian refugees will be stopped.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to quarrel between Poles and Ukrainians, as well as to arouse mistrust of Ukrainians not only in the Polish government, but also in the Ukrainian one. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes involving Poland. The large number of Russian propaganda fictions about this country is due, among other things, to the high level of support for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels disseminated information that supposedly in Lutsk law enforcement officers exposed the activities of a drug laboratory in which, according to them, servicemen of the 14th separate mechanized brigade worked. It's fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that in the fake, propagandists refer to the original article from the Volyn News website for November 9, 2023. It says that on November 8, the Volyn region police exposed the activities of drug laboratories. However, firstly, this article makes no mention of the military personnel of the 14th separate mechanized brigade. Secondly, propagandists claim that the laboratories were exposed in Lutsk, although the head of the department for combating drug crime in the Volyn region, Oleh  Zubko, stated that the searches were carried out in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions. Thirdly, none of the sources confirms the involvement of servicemen of the 14th Mechanized Brigade in the identified laboratories.

They also found several publications in other media about this National Police operation, and none of them mentioned soldiers from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to discredit the Ukrainian armed forces. They say that soldiers cannot survive what they saw in the war and integrate into Ukrainian society. Detector Media also refuted other fakes with a similar message, including that the military was allegedly buying up antidepressants en masse.

Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating information that allegedly American bookmakers have recently accepted bets on political assassinations in Ukraine. Moreover, when claiming this, propagandists refer to “articles” from American online resources: MSNBC and NBC4 Washington. It's fake.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation examined this case. They found out that in fact, materials with relevant content simply do not exist on the official pages of the mentioned online publications. Taking this into account, that is about another IPSO of Russian propaganda.

In an attempt to give more credibility to its lies, Russian propaganda spreads them on behalf of foreign online newspapers. The purpose of such disinformation is to create the illusion of a split between Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the top military leadership of Ukraine. They say that the “conflict” between the President and the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine is gaining momentum, so one can expect anything. As part of this information campaign, we also refuted the information that propaganda leaflets were allegedly being distributed in Zhytomyr calling for people to vote for Zaluzhnyi.

An eight-second video is being circulated on social networks in the Russian segment, allegedly showing a prayer for Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU being read in a Ukrainian church. “God, don’t send us to Heaven, but send us to NATO and the EU”, is allegedly written in the text of such a “prayer”. Anonymous telegram channels began to claim that the OCU was engaged in blasphemy and discrediting Orthodox believers. It is not true.

The StopFake analysts studied the case and found out that the video is not real, because there is no information that is located in Ukrainian churches about reading such a “prayer”. Moreover, information is disseminated only in pro-Kremlin media or anonymous telegram channels.

As experts explained, according to church rules, the texts of new prayers are approved by the Holy Synod of the OCU - this is the governing body of the OCU. All their decisions, including the texts of newly approved prayers, are published on the official website of the OCU. However, StopFake analysts did not find among the decisions of the Synod the statement of “prayer for Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU”.

They also contacted the press service of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The department told them that this was an obvious fake, and they did not approve such a prayer.

In the Russian segment of social networks, information is being disseminated that a quarantine has allegedly been declared in seven regions of Ukraine due to the spread of scarlet fever. Screenshots of the alleged TSN story about the introduction of quarantine are added to the publications. It's a lie.

The analysts of the VoxCheck project examined this case and determined that as of November 21, 2023, quarantine was not introduced in any region of Ukraine due to scarlet fever. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that the spread of the disease is not an emergency; scarlet fever is a seasonal disease, so infection is registered in Ukraine every year. For example, over 10 months of 2023, 375 cases of scarlet fever were registered in the capital, most of them among preschoolers and students.

As for the photographs of the news story, they are compiled. This is indicated by several elements: for example, the design of the text block and the font differ from the original one, which is used by TSN media workers to design news materials; and with the help of a reverse search on Google, it was possible to establish that the footage of the fake story actually belongs to a series of information materials about the introduction of quarantine in 2018 due to the flu outbreak and in 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Propagandists have long been speculating on the topic of health care, in particular lying about “disease outbreaks” in order to provoke panic and distrust of the authorities. It seems that the Ukrainian leadership is not able to cope with the provision of decent treatment or prevention of diseases.

By the way, the Ministry of Health explained that scarlet fever is an acute infectious disease, manifested by damage to the tonsils, an empty mouth and a characteristic rash. In most cases, scarlet fever begins suddenly. You can find out more detailed information and what to do if you  suspect scarlet fever here.

Read also: a series of epidemics will begin in Ukraine “due to cuts in medical funding”.

On social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, photos of campaign leaflets calling for “voting” for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi and against Volodymyr Zelenskyi are being distributed. The authors add that such leaflets are distributed in Zhytomyr. It's a lie.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated this case and explained that these leaflets are not real, because not a single local or national media has received such news. At the same time, information about the campaigns was disseminated only on social networks in the Russian segment. Moreover, there can be no official campaign under martial law. The fact-checkers add that according to the law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” it is prohibited to hold elections. And on November 6, Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that there was “no time” to hold elections.

But the absence of an official propaganda campaign does not indicate that anyone, including the Kremlin’s minions, is ready to create such a leaflet using graphic editors and then create news about the “distribution” of propaganda. Analysts have not determined the authenticity of the photo itself.

We recently analyzed the message of Russian propaganda, where they claimed that the West is allegedly preparing a coup against Zelenskyi: and they want to put Valerii Zaluzhnyi in his place, who is supposedly more favorable to Western leaders. Such stories are generally intended to convince consumers of disinformation that there is a split in the military-political leadership of Ukraine.

Propaganda resources began distributing a video in which an unknown man in the uniform of the Ukrainian Armed Forces “warns” residents of the Transcarpathian region that he and other military personnel were allegedly given an order to start mining the border areas bordering Hungary. It's fake.

The information was analyzed by the experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation. They asked the State Border Service of Ukraine to comment on the video. They replied that the information mentioned in the recording was not true. Probably, having taken possession of the uniform of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a result of one of the battles at the front, the Russians decided to take advantage of this and create a fake video.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow panic among the civilian population of Transcarpathia and resort to one of the propaganda tactics: using fear, uncertainty and doubt to achieve this goal. Previously, we denied information that the wife of the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs crossed the Ukrainian-Hungarian border with $13 million.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that special forces from the Kraken unit of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense will allegedly be sent to Transcarpathia to strengthen the mobilization of the men there. In addition, a separate task for the fighters will be to catch and torture Hungarians, and then mobilize them too. As evidence, propagandists attach “screenshots of correspondence” between two Kraken fighters. This is nothing more than a fake.

The specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation decided to study this case. They contacted the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine with a request to confirm or refute the “news”. They didn't have to wait long for an answer - the Main Intelligence Directorate says that the information disseminated by Russian propagandists is untrue. Today, fighters of the special forces “Kraken” are in the combat zone. There they carry out the tasks set by the highest military-political leadership of the country, facilitating the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories from Russian troops.

By spreading such disinformation, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and the Kraken special forces, as well as promote the message that Ukraine is allegedly seeking to destroy ethnic Hungarians and is recruiting them en masse into the army. Previously, we refuted information that NATO could allegedly attract the Azov and Kraken battalions to suppress protests in France.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that, according to the results of a sociological survey by Global Service and European Migration Support Bureau, a third of Ukrainian youth have migrated to Russia. In addition, the majority of Ukrainian refugees there allegedly recognized Russian aggression as “liberation”, and among the reasons for migration they named “better medicine” and “less unemployment” in Russia. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the companies supposedly conducting this survey did not exist, and the information about the survey itself was fictitious. The incorrect information also indicates that the name of the European Migration Support Bureau is misspelled (probably European instead of European). Structures with similar names that deal with refugee issues do exist (for example, the European Union Agency for Asylum and the European Asylum Support Office), but none of them published the data indicated.

In addition, the very fact of conducting such a study is questionable, since Russian media admit that the survey involved Ukrainians who “traveled to the territory of Crimea or former Ukrainian regions that later joined Russia”. This does not reflect the actual situation, since many refugees ended up in Russia due to the lack of alternative evacuation routes.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to justify Russia’s crimes by saying that it is allegedly ready to create a better life for Ukrainians, ignoring the problems of its citizens.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that the National Defense University of Ukraine is asking the Porsche Ukraine car dealership to transfer a 2022 AUDI A8 Long car to complete a military unit. Like, it needs a luxury car to interact with foreign delegations. As proof, they are distributing an image of a “letter” with a request. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the National Defense University of Ukraine denied the existence of such a “letter”. In addition, the “document” has errors; there is no seal, date or signature, which indicates that it is false. TSN journalists called the number indicated in the letter and confirmed that the person indicated in it did not make any relevant requests.

According to representatives of the National Defense University of Ukraine, propagandists created this fake news to discredit their activities. Since the educational institution is directly related to the training of personnel for the Ukrainian army, in this way propagandists are also trying to discredit the Ukrainian army as a whole. They say that it is corrupt, and therefore it is not worth risking one’s life in it.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Ukrainian porn actress Maia Konovalenko (Nancy Ace) has allegedly announced her candidacy for the presidency of Ukraine, explaining that the Ukrainian economy “stands solely on porn stars”. The fake is accompanied by a video where Konovalenko allegedly makes retaliatory statements during an interview for the British tabloid The Sun. However, this is fake.

StopFake specialists drew attention to it. They found out that Konovalenko did not make any such statements, and the video was fake. It is indicated that it was created from a stream on the YouTube channel Rocco's World, where Konovalenko talked with porn actor Rocco Siffredi in April 2020. No statements by Konovalenko about his intentions to go into politics were found on the official resources of The Sun and other English-language publications. Also, the fakeness of the video is indicated by the fact that the actress’s lips move differently in the original and fake videos, which, according to StopFake, indicates the use of neural networks to create it.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists mock Ukrainian politics and reinforce the unfair treatment of Ukrainian women within the framework of the stereotype of “Ukrainian prostitutes”. Detector Media has already explained how Russian propaganda is trying to humiliate Ukrainian women.

Propagandists broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks are distributing a video allegedly filmed recently at protests against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in Zhytomyr. Like, slogans such as “Get out!” were heard on them. But in fact this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the video being distributed was recorded during a protest on Independence Square in Kyiv on October 1, 2019. In particular, analysts point out that in the video one can recognize the architectural ensemble of Maidan Nezalezhnosti. In addition, StopFake specialists found in the Russian search engine Yandex a video from the then Kyiv protest, where protesters can be seen chanting “Get out!” and holding the same posters and flags as in the video distributed by propagandists. This all confirms that both recordings show the same Kyiv action from four years ago.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to create internal tension and conflicts in Ukraine. Detector Media also noted the intensification of this narrative and refuted a number of fabrications of Russian propaganda aimed at personally discrediting Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Ukraine is preparing a film “The History of the Black Sea”. They say that this film will show the Ukrainian myth that the Black Sea was dug by the ancient Ukrainians, who, according to assumptions, inhabited the territory of Ukraine. However, this is fake.

Analysts from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that Ukrainian scientists had never put forward such a theory. Moreover, already 9 years ago they refuted a fake paragraph from a Ukrainian textbook, according to which the ancestors of Ukrainians allegedly dug up the Black Sea. Then the project specialists noted that the textbook and its author, to whom the propagandists referred, did not exist. Russian propaganda is trying to spread new narratives on this topic, using fake images and information, including fictitious data about the film's budget and ratings.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to create a false image of Ukrainians as a nation that does not have its own history, but invents it. They say that this is why such projects as a film about the dredged up Black Sea are being made, supposedly financed at public expense. Detector Media has already explained how else Russian propaganda instrumentalizes Ukrainian history for its own purposes.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that in Ukrainian schools there is campaigning for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi for the post of President of Ukraine. They say this is confirmed by photographs where schoolchildren write on sheets of paper “Zaluzhnyi is our president” in classrooms with similar inscriptions on the board. However, this is fake.

The StopFake project specialists conducted an investigation and found that the photographs used for the fake were taken from the pages of Ukrainian users on social networks. However, they have been edited to add the necessary false inscriptions. One of the photographs was published on the volunteer page “Olia Olkyna” a few days before propaganda began distributing fake materials. In her message, she talked about volunteer activities in one of the schools, but nowhere did she mention Zaluzhnyi or campaigning for him. The real signatures on the photo, as it turned out, were in support of Ukraine, and not the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Propagandists spread such fakes to strengthen their false message about the conflict between individual representatives of the Ukrainian government. They say that a fierce struggle for the presidency has begun in Ukraine. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted a number of other fakes and manipulations aimed at personally discrediting Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Pro-Kremlin resources are disseminating the words of Russian Defense Minister Serhii  Shoihu, who stated that in October the Russian army allegedly managed to destroy 37 Ukrainian combat aircraft. This is almost 2 times more than the promised number of F-16s for Kyiv. Despite the supply of new types of “NATO” weapons, Ukraine seems to continue to lose. However, this is a fake.

The specialists from the Vox Ukraine team analyzed this case. They found that OSINT analysts did not record large losses of the Ukrainian Air Force in October 2023. The Dutch open-source reconnaissance site Oryx found only one destroyed Su-25 during this period. In addition, according to the agreements of the Ukrainian authorities and partner states, Ukraine should receive more than 18 F-16 aircraft - propagandists are manipulating information. On August 21, 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that Ukraine would receive 42 aircraft from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark. Later, a clarification appeared: the Netherlands will transfer some of the mentioned 42 aircraft to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and some will be left for pilot training. On August 24, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stør also announced the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine. In the end, Belgium will also join the supply of equipment of this type from 2025. It should be noted that Norway and Belgium still did not specify the number of aircraft that they are ready to transfer.

Russian propaganda exaggerates the achievements of the Russian army, trying to spread another “victorious” story from the front line among ordinary Russians. That is, propagandists engage in eye-catching activities and publish fake information from the combat zone. After all, we previously published information that Shoihu “knocked down”  a bunch of planes and ATACMS in five days.

Pro-Russian resources claim that Olena Zelenska’s foundation is allegedly involved in various child trafficking schemes. They say that the foundation of the first lady of Ukraine, under the pretext of saving children, allegedly systematically sent orphans into the hands of pedophiles in different European countries - France, Great Britain, Germany. However, this is a fake.

The fact-checkers from the StopFake project analyzed this case. They investigated that one of the sources of disinformation picked up by the Russian media is the online publication The Intel Drop, which has already repeatedly disseminated fake news. In addition, the website of the mentioned online resource was created only in September 2022, presumably by Russian intelligence services to make the propaganda more credible. Another source of misinformation was the online newspaper The DC Weekly, which publishes a lot of conspiracy theories. The author of the article about the Zelenska Foundation on this resource is allegedly journalist Jessica Devlin. However, no information at all could be found about this author. Moreover, using a reverse Google image search, it was discovered that the photo purportedly of Jessica Devlin was an image of Canadian writer Judy Batalion.

Many first ladies around the world are involved in the protection of children, orphans, their education and healthcare. Olena Zelenska is no exception. Children are a vulnerable category of the population that needs special protection, especially in conditions of armed confrontation. The Kremlin aims to discredit Olena Zelenska, as well as Volodymyr Zelenskyi, because these people have influence in Ukraine. To blow up the people's trust in the spouses means to deal a powerful blow from within the country. We also analyzed previous attempts to discredit Olena Zelenska as disinformation, that allegedly the Russians found the Russian passport of the first lady of Ukraine in Crimea or Olena Zelenska spends tens of thousands of euros on accessories.

Pro-Kremlin resources disseminated information that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi allegedly gave the order to begin preparations to repel enemy attacks between Mykolaiv and Odesa. He is allegedly confident that Russia is preparing a new offensive, which could potentially lead to the loss of Ukrainian territories. It's fake.

This case was processed by specialists from the BezBrekhni (No Lies) project. They found out that the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not publish such information and could not do so, since such topics are secret. Also, the propagandists did not cite a single source, which indicates that the “news” was made up.

Russian propaganda nourishes the narrative that there is a conflict between Zaluzhnyi  and Zelenskyi, the military and political leadership, but in fact this assumption has never been confirmed. By spreading this type of disinformation, propagandists are trying to sow discord in Ukrainian society and demoralize it. Previously, we refuted the information that Valerii Zaluzhnyi was supposedly being dismissed.

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”.

Russian media are disseminating information that Ukraine is allegedly going to “reduce assistance” to people with disabilities in order not to pay them social assistance. As evidence, Russian propaganda cites a proposal to remove the concept of a “person with disabilities” from the legislation. It's a lie.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project took on this case and explained that the Ministry of Health had actually prepared a bill proposing to replace the disability status with an assessment of loss of functionality. However, the bill does not talk about canceling the status of a person with a disability or reducing any social benefits.

The goal of such an initiative is for Ukraine to abandon the post-Soviet model of defining disability, providing a person only with “benefits and compensation”. And the task of the state should be “to return a person to an economic state”. However, benefits and payments will not be canceled. And the changes themselves are planned to be implemented in 2025. The bill has nothing to do with mobilization. Russian propagandists are simply speculating on this topic.

By the way, in our recent review of disinformation, we also explained why Ukraine is not going to abolish the status of individuals with disabilities: then propagandists convinced that the Ukrainian leadership supposedly wants to mobilize everyone to the front without exception. This also turned out to be a lie.

Pro-Russian resources began to disseminate information that supposedly on one of the buildings in New York there is a banner hinting at the darkening of the topic of the war in Ukraine by the situation in the Middle East - the war in Israel. They say that on the banner the slogan “Stand with Ukraine” is gradually being replaced by another: “Stand with Israel”.

This case was analyzed by experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. They found that the information was not true. Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoors, which has the right to place materials in the mentioned location, said in a comment to Reuters that the banner is fake.

This is not the first time that Russians have fabricated banners at different places around the world with the aim of weakening support for Ukraine from its partner countries. Previously, we refuted the information that an advertising banner was placed in New York with the inscription: “No Zelenskyi - no war”.

Russian propagandists claim that in Ukraine they have begun distributing advertisements for homosexuals calling for them to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The first half of the 10-second video shows heterosexual and homosexual couples kissing, while the second half features footage of military personnel. The footage is accompanied by a male voice saying: “It doesn’t matter at all whether you love women or men. It is important that you love Ukraine. Join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. However, this is fake.

This case was analyzed by the fact-checkers for the StopFake project. They found out that the video is fake for a number of reasons. Firstly, the kissing footage was taken from a report published on the iD YouTube channel back in 2020. The second part of the video already uses footage from the social advertising of the Ukrainian Ground Forces “The Ballad of the Infantry”, published back in 2016. Secondly, the use of the word “love” in relation to Ukraine in the video indicates that its authors probably have poor command of the Ukrainian language. The word “love” describes specifically romantic love, while Ukraine or, for example, animals or colors can be “loved”.

With this fake video, Russian propaganda nourishes the narrative that supposedly Ukrainian troops will suffer huge losses on the battlefield and, as a result, they are running out of people. Therefore, “even” homosexuals are now being mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, attempts to discredit the Ukrainian army are in vain, since the Armed Forces contain representatives of different gender and sexual identities who defend Ukraine along with other military personnel. Previously, we analyzed disinformation that supposedly Ukrainians are dying for the right to be homosexual.

Propaganda telegram channels are disseminating information that Russian soldiers captured the pregnant Ukrainian military. Moreover, pro-Kremlin resources publish a video as evidence in which the Russian military demonstratively shows that this allegedly happened. It's fake.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation began to analyze this case. They found that the video distributed by propagandists contained a number of disinformation features. For example, the woman is wearing ordinary sneakers, which are not standard shoes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, the “prisoner” has a blue ribbon on her leg, while the Ukrainian military does not put identification marks on her legs. In addition, on the military shoulder one can see the chevron of the 65th Missile and Artillery Arsenal, which probably fell to the Russians during the occupation of part of the Kharkiv region.

By spreading information about a pregnant woman in the Ukrainian army, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the mobilization process. They say that people don’t want to fight, so the authorities have to indulge in extremes and send even pregnant women to fight. With this case of disinformation, propagandists are also nourishing the narrative of “grabbing” in Ukraine or “war until the last Ukrainian”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine had created body armor for pregnant women because they were going to be sent to the front.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information that protesters are allegedly being recruited in Kyiv for a rally in order to support the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. As proof, the manipulators share a fake screenshot, which was allegedly taken on a Ukrainian website for searching for various services. It's fake.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation drew attention to this case. They point out that there are no such announcements on Ukrainian websites, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or anyone from the military leadership does not gather extras for events. Such statements are a series of falsehoods aimed at discrediting Valerii Zaluzhnyi, an attempt to create the erroneous impression that there is a split in the Ukrainian military-political leadership, and President Zelenskyi is trying in every possible way to get rid of the commander-in-chief because of the latter’s disloyalty.

A week ago, a deepfake was spreading on social networks, allegedly Valerii Zaluzhnyi called on the population of Ukraine to take to the squares of their cities, and the military not to obey “criminal orders of the authorities”. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine really did not make such an appeal and did not call for a military coup. At the same time, fake news appeared that the current Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umierov, recently proposed the dismissal of Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In response to this, Umierov responded that this was a fake. Shortly before this, swindlers created a fake telegram channel for Valerii Zaluzhnyi and sent out discreditable messages.