The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine finds out that the Russian media, citing UN data, accuse Ukraine of increasing the number of starving people. According to the UN, due to Russia's war against Ukraine, the number of starving people will increase by 13 million.

The leadership of the Kremlin declares that they are supposedly ready for dialogue and want to resolve the food issue as quickly and painlessly as possible, but words differ from deeds.

The Russian military is destroying Ukrainian grain elevators, blocking ports, and setting farmers' fields on fire to undermine food security. The Russians continue to steal and export Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories.

The food crisis is another Russian blackmail lever they need to influence countries independent of Russia's energy resources. Thus, the Russians have created a global problem that they are trying to blame on Ukraine, terrorizing the civilized world.

The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine refutes the main fakes about the return of customs duties and taxes on imports.

The Center explains that cars from the EU do not become more expensive, but customs clearance costs return because many people have abused the "zero" rate. That is why the Verkhovna Rada returned customs duties and taxes on car import and customs clearance.

Information about products from Europe. In connection with the restoration of logistics systems, from July 1, the Verkhovna Rada resumed taxation for goods imported by taxpayers of the single tax's first, second, and third groups. This step will help cheaper goods from domestic producers to compete in the consumer market.

They are spreading a fake that returning customs duties and import taxes will do nothing but corruption. In fact, it is expected that the return of the customs duty will allow replenishment of the budget by at least UAH 3.5 billion every month. These funds will support the Armed Forces and create new jobs for citizens who lost their jobs during the war.

The Kremlin media justify the war crime of the Russian occupiers, who attacked a residential building in Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut district, Donetsk region, on the evening of July 9, at the address of st. Pivdenna, 4a, as a result of which two entrances were completely destroyed, at least 30 people were under the rubble, including a child, and rescuers found 15 dead.

Russian propaganda assures that it is a fake as if it is not a residential building but a dormitory with military and foreign mercenaries. As evidence, they cite a photo from Chasiv Yar, published on the channel in a Telegram from the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko. Allegedly, in the photo, you can see a man lying on a stretcher in a military uniform, and in the video, you can hear the English language.

As you know, despite numerous testimonies and evidence, Moscow always declares that it does not fire on civilians in Ukraine. When Russian missiles attacked residential buildings, they spread the lie that the Ukrainian military was there and used the residents "as human shields."

The Kremlin media spread this "news" regarding Yevhen Balytskyi, a deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council from the "Opposition Bloc" party, who went over to the side of the Russian occupiers. The Russians appointed a Zaporizhzhia collaborator as the so-called "head of the temporary civil administration" in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region. Remind you that it is a fictitious authority and "position," and they have nothing to do with the official Ukrainian authorities in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Today, the Zaporizhzhia region has real problems with the gas supply, without which, as of July 8, 101,768 subscribers in 137 settlements of the region are without it. 48 settlements of Berdyansk and Melitopol districts remain disconnected from gas supply due to damage to the main gas pipeline in the Donetsk region.

On July 7, the gas supply to 26 settlements (16,760 consumers) in Vasylivskyi and Pologivskyi districts was wholly cut off due to damage to the main gas pipeline. But this happened not because Kyiv cut off the gas supply to the Zaporizhzhia region. Still, because of hostilities on the part of the Russians, the occupation of part of the territory, and the refusal of the regional utility workers to carry out emergency restoration work at the damaged sites due to enemy shelling, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reported.    

This message was spread by several Russian propaganda media, including TARS, Life, EADaily, RIA Novosti, OSN, Fifth Channel, and others. According to Stopfake fact-checkers, the propagandists refer to an interview of Vitaliy Ganchev, a Kharkiv collaborator appointed by the Russian occupation authorities as the so-called "head of the temporary civil administration" in the occupied part of the Kharkiv region.

No authorities of the Kharkiv region have made statements about the region's desire to join Russia. The Russian mass media spread the quote only by supporting the occupiers, a collaborator, Vitaliy Ganchev. The Russian authorities appointed him "the head of the temporary civil administration of the Kharkiv region." However, it is a fictitious body, just like the "position," and they have nothing to do with the official Ukrainian authorities. Vitaliy Ganchev is accused of treason and collaborative activity (Part 2 of Article 111, Part 5 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) - on April 21, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office notified him of the suspicion in absentia. The press service of the prosecutor's office reports that the man voluntarily went to cooperate with the occupiers.

The statement that residents of the occupied part of the Kharkiv region want to join Russia has no factual basis. The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleg Synegubov, reported at the beginning of July that the occupiers temporarily control approximately 30% of the region's territory - part of the border areas in the north and the eastern provinces from Volchansk to Izyum. After a part of the region was occupied at the beginning of spring, people wanted to leave the territories temporarily under the control of the Russians and return to the cities under the supervision of Ukraine, Kharkiv RSA reports.

A recent sociological survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), which was conducted on May 13-18, 2022, showed that the absolute majority of citizens who continue to live in the occupied territory after February 24, 2022 - 82% - have a negative attitude towards Russia and only 6% have a positive attitude.    

It was announced on July 8 by the head of the Russian National Defense Management Center, Colonel-General Mykhaylo Mizintsev. According to him, the operation will be aimed at identifying and further public repression of residents who are dissatisfied with the politics of Kyiv and generally pro-Russian residents of Mykolaiv and the region. Allegedly, SSU employees and up to 500 fighters of the Nazi battalion "Tsunami" were transferred from Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv to Mykolaiv to carry out this operation.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia dispelled a similar fake in April. At that time, Russian propagandists invented that the territorial defense was already carrying out punitive raids to detect any signs of pro-Russian views among residents.

The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine emphasizes that it is false.

In the spring, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitaliy Kim, answered a question about pro-Russian sentiment in the city: "in Mykolaiv, there are those who showed their love for Russia solely to achieve their political goals, in fact, a tiny percentage were ideologically for Russia. Now all forces have united in the city, and pro-Russian narratives are a thing of the past."    

Russian mass media cite the statement of Thierry Mariani, a member of the European Parliament, who is known for his pro-Russian views and visits to the occupied Crimea as part of a fake EU delegation that wrote the StopFake project. Fact-checkers drew attention to the fact that a different position does not reflect the position of the entire European Parliament and the EU, and generalization is a technique for manipulation. Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, the EU has mobilized about 4.1 billion euros in emergency aid. In addition, in May, the European Commission offered to provide Ukraine with additional macro-financial assistance: 25-year loans with a 10-year grace period for the return of the principal amount, writes Bloomberg regarding three EU officials. EU funds will also cover the interest on these loans. More details.    

Russian mass media and social networks spread this message concerning Politico. The site, which allegedly published this news, does not contain any material about the possibility of peace between the West and the Russian Federation, the fact-checkers of the StopFake project write after checking the publications of the publication. On the contrary, they added that Politico cites politicians' statements about the EU and the US setting up long-term support for Ukraine. More details.    

Pro-Kremlin mass media and social networks reported that the Indian edition of The Economic Times wrote that Western weapons supplied to Ukraine by allied countries will not help it win the war with Russia. The Russian media also reported that the Armed Forces might repeat the fate of the Afghan army: get large amounts of resources but ultimately be defeated. Propagandists also hint that there are fewer and fewer personnel in the Ukrainian military, and morale is significantly falling because the mobilized soldiers practically do not resist the Russian military. However, all this is not true.

As VoxCheck writes, The Economic Times reported problems with developing Western weapons but did not say that Ukraine would repeat the fate of Afghanistan. There is no resource that purports to be an article from The Economic Times that cites the original material. More details.

Russian propaganda media spread this information. They refer to the statements of the Russian Ministry of Defense. They said that during the battles for Lysychansk, the Armed Forces of Russia allegedly destroyed 14 "mercenaries" fighting for Ukraine, including fighters of the Georgian Legion. However, it is not true.

Some propagandists even stated that the Russian military allegedly succeeded in destroying the entire volunteer Georgian National Legion, which has been fighting in Donbas since 2014. As StopFake writes, this information is refuted by the commander of the Georgian National Legion, Mamuka Mamulashvili, and the Georgian fighters fighting in Ukraine. Members of the Legion claim that it is another disinformation campaign by the Kremlin against Georgian fighters who are fighting against Russian aggression. The mass death of Georgian Legion fighters is also not confirmed by other sources, particularly the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More details.    

The Russian propaganda media spread this information regarding the words of the head of the national defense management center of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Mykhailo Mizintsev. Reports say that in Kharkiv, territorial defense fighters have equipped firing positions on the lower and upper floors of residential buildings on Rymarska Street. At the same time, locals are not allowed to leave their apartments because they are held hostage. Russian propagandists add that local radicals harshly stop any attempts to move civilians through the territory of Kharkiv. However, all this is not true.

Journalists of the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center turned to the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Kharkiv City Council for a comment. They refuted the information spread by the propagandists and explained that the city council had not received any complaints from the residents of Kharkiv about there being held hostage by the armed forces. The city council also denied a fake about the arrangement of armed forces firing positions in residential buildings on Rymarska. We will remind you that it is not the first time propagandists have reported that the military is firing positions in residential buildings, hospitals, and schools in various cities, including Kharkiv and Odesa. However, all these cases of "capture of civilian objects by the Ukrainian military" were not confirmed.    

Russian propaganda media spread information that French self-propelled guns, which Ukraine received as military aid, were sold to the Russian army by the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for nothing. All propagandist media refer to the publication Bulgarian Military, which claims that "French and Ukrainian [from Donbas] sources assure that in the hands of the Russian army, and more precisely in the production workshops of the Russian manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, there are two 155 mm Caesar self-propelled howitzers, donated by France to Ukraine as military aid against the Russian invasion on February 24."

It is alleged that Ukrainians sold two Caesar self-propelled howitzers through an intermediary for $120,000 each. However, as The Insider writes, there is no evidence that the French self-propelled guns were sold to the Russians. The publication Bulgarian Military, which did not write about it, cites only the comments of experts, particularly a lawyer, who claims, referring to his own observations, that the Ukrainian military sold self-propelled guns to the Russians. Since no proper evidence has been found, such facts cannot be believed for sure; it is only assumption. More details.    

The information that the Russian army captured a trophy German howitzer was spread by Kremlin propaganda media. In materials, they allegedly refer to the publication of the German magazine Bild. Propaganda media reports that the howitzer had reportedly been damaged by a trophy German grenade launcher, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine also received from Germany. However, it is not true.

According to the fact-checkers from StopFake, the Bild publication did not publish the information that the Russian Armed Forces allegedly took possession of the German PzH 2000 howitzer, which was previously given to Germany as military aid to Ukraine. Also, the German publication Welt journalists could not find any confirmation of the information distributed on the network. Also, the Russian side did not provide any photo or video evidence that this self-propelled gun ended up in their military's hands. More details.

Russian propaganda media spread such information. In their reports, they refer to the Polish mass media, claiming that Ukrainian refugees come to Poland only for financial gain and perceive it as a "cash cow." However, the Kremlin media in their texts regard only one article in the Polish press — Myśl Polska. It is said that Ukrainians allegedly came from peaceful regions to receive help. "Millions of refugees from Ukraine are just people who want to use Poland as a cash cow," writes Myśl Polska, adding that Poland is allegedly even forced to limit access to medical services for its citizens to ensure the "maintenance" requests of Ukrainians. However, it is not true.

As the fact-checkers from StopFake write, the publication also claims that many resources allegedly go to "numerous interventions with the removal of children from drunken Ukrainian mothers." According to the author, such violations have become almost massive, but the local mass media do not write about it because "censorship works properly" in Poland. Such information is not confirmed in other Polish media and official sources. However, such material in the Polish mass media served as an excuse for Russian propaganda to discredit Ukraine and Ukrainians. StopFake writes that the financial component is not the most crucial reason Ukrainians go to Poland. Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Poland after February 24 are entitled to a one-time allowance of 300 zlotys ($66) and a monthly child allowance of 500 zlotys ($110). The average salary in Ukraine in December 2021 was $641, 9 times more than the allowance in Poland. The minimum fixed wage in Ukraine is $233. It is almost four times more than the aid for which, according to Russian and some pro-Russian Polish media, Ukrainians go to Poland. Ukrainian refugees are looking for a safe environment in Poland, which, unfortunately, is not currently available in Ukraine due to the Russian military aggression. More details.    

Information was spread on social networks that on June 22, the anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Ukrainian activists pasted over the walls and fences of the Memorial in Auschwitz with anti-Russian stickers. Along with these posts, there were also circulated photos of a red, white, and black sticker with such words "Russia and Russians, the only gas you and your country deserve is Zyklon B (poisonous gas used in Nazi death camps - Edit)."

According to Reuters Fact Check, the Auschwitz Memorial said that no such stickers were found in the places depicted in the photo: "Everything points to the fact that the photos are simply manipulation, and this incident should be seen as primitive and crude propaganda." A museum representative said security cameras also did not catch anyone applying the stickers in June 2022 or earlier. However, Hani Farid, a computer science professor specializing in image analysis and digital forensics at the University of California, Berkeley, said he believes the images were likely faked. So this fake is part of the message about alleged "Russophobia." The US State Department has previously said that claims of "Russophobia" appear in several threads and are used whenever the Russian government wants to portray itself as the victim when it is the aggressor.    

Russian and Ukrainian mass media and social networks spread a fake that a section of the railway connecting Russia and Belarus with Kaliningrad had been dismantled in Lithuania. At the same time, it is noted that "very motivated in this matter" refugees from Ukraine allegedly helped dismantle the railway. This fake is part of the information campaign against Lithuania, which Russia launched after blocking the transit to Kaliningrad.

StopFake writes that, in fact, the original source of this news was the site of satirical, fictional "news" "Panorama." The publication warns its audience that all texts on the site are not real news. Transit to Kaliningrad has been restricted for some freight since June 17 due to sanctions imposed by Brussels. The customs department of Lithuania reported that the ban on the transit of cement, alcohol, and other products would come into effect on July 10, on coal and other solid fossil fuels - on August 10, and Russian oil - on December 5. But there is no information about disassembling railway tracks. In particular, Lithuanian Railways denied halting transit between Russia and Kaliningrad after Russian officials expressed anger over the alleged decision, which ostensibly interrupted the flow of goods to the region.    

Russia spread information on social networks that Pentagon spokesman, US Army General Robert Jefferson, allegedly demanded to exclude Lithuania from NATO due to the blockade of the Kaliningrad region.

Representatives of NATO and the Pentagon denied this information by Check Your Fact. "It is complete nonsense. Lithuania is a valuable NATO ally, and the United States has not called for Lithuania's exclusion from NATO," said a NATO representative. The fact-checkers also reported there is no "Robert Jefferson" officer in the US Army's Office of the General Officer Database. Earlier, the Russian media spread a fake that Lithuania allegedly intends to annex the Kaliningrad region and provokes Russia into a military conflict with NATO. Russian propaganda often messages that Western countries are allegedly "attacking the territorial integrity" of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, etc. In fact, despite the Kremlin spreading similar messages and conspiracy theories, Russia occupied parts of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Japan, and Chechnya.    

A fake image of an alleged cover of Money magazine with Volodymyr Zelensky, on which the Ukrainian president was supposedly called the "King of Western Corruption" and accused of "laundering the dollars of American taxpayers," is being circulated on social networks among foreign audiences. In the fake image, Zelensky sits on a horse made of 100-dollar bills.

Reuters Fact Check reported that it was a photoshop of a 2016 cover featuring comedian John Oliver. A representative of Money also confirmed to fact-checkers that the magazine never published this cover with Zelensky on the website or social networks. Moreover, since 2019, Money has not posted a printed edition. 

Russian mass media spread information that Polish President Andrzej Duda allegedly stated that after Sweden and Finland joined NATO, the Baltic Sea would become the "internal sea" of the North Atlantic Alliance. Russian politicians then used this fake statement to accuse again Poland and other European countries of allegedly "provoking a confrontation between NATO and Russia."

In fact, Duda did not make such statements. As StopFake writes, at the NATO summit in Madrid, he expressed support for the entry into the North Atlantic Alliance of Sweden and Finland and spoke about strengthening the flank, the border of which with Russia will stretch for more than 1,600 kilometers. "The fact that Sweden and Finland are states of the Baltic Sea basin does not mean that the Baltic Sea allegedly became NATO's internal sea, the Russian media wrote. As Kremlin propaganda portrays, NATO is not a supranational organization claiming to seize territories. The North Atlantic Alliance is a military-political bloc, the main purpose of which is to deter possible military aggression against its member countries," the fact-checkers explained.    

Such information is disseminated on social networks and Russian media. They said there would be forced mobilization of women, so they could not go abroad. It is not true.

Currently, there are no grounds for the mobilization of women; therefore, there are no restrictions on them traveling abroad. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported this. "In the Russian media space, a fake about the mobilization of women in Ukraine was once again launched. We picked up this fake. Yes, it is a topic that will give many views, but there is no need to speculate on it during the war," Deputy Minister Hanna Malyar noted. The official also added that there is not a single forcibly mobilized woman in the Ukrainian army. Since 2014, they have served exclusively voluntarily.    

Such information is disseminated in the media and social networks. It is not true.

The Center for Combating Disinformation refuted several theses spread by propagandists regarding the new requirements for transport connections between Ukraine and the EU. In fact, the European Union will recognize Ukrainian driver's licenses, but they must be of a modern design. Therefore, only those who have not done so will have to replace their certificates. Also, within the framework of the agreement, Ukrainian carriers no longer need to issue permission documents for entry into EU countries. The agreement on "transport visa-free" with the agreement on "cargo transportation" and the adopted EU decisions on the abolition of customs duties and tariffs on Ukrainian goods allow Ukrainian businesses to save on paperwork and open up new opportunities for Ukrainian products on the EU markets.    

The Russian propaganda media spread this information, saying that the USA is convinced that Ukraine will have to give up its territories to end the conflict. In such reports, they refer to a Reuters article about a speech by Avril Haines, who allegedly said that "Russia will achieve all the goals of its special operation." It is not true.

MythDetector fact-checkers refuted the fake. In fact, in a speech at the annual conference of the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce in Washington, Avril Haines spoke about the Russian-Ukrainian war and possible scenarios for its development. The Reuters agency devoted a separate article to this speech. It says that the Russian army is exhausted after four months of fighting and is unlikely to be able to achieve the goals set by Putin. "We feel a disconnect between Putin's immediate military goals and the capabilities of his army, a certain disparity between his ambitions and what the Army is capable of achieving," Haines said. Neither Avril Haines' speech nor the Reuters article talked about the Russian army's absolute superiority and Russia's victory in all scenarios. According to which the Russian military could win, only certain unlikely variants of the course of events are discussed. In this way, the propagandists again used a distorted quote to convince their audience of their "own power."    

The so-called government of Kherson spreads this thesis. In particular, the occupying Internet publication News Front distributed information about the cooperation of the Chairman of the Board of JSC "Khersonoblenergo" with Russia and allegedly posted a video of the seizure of Igor Safronov's house. The report of cooperation is false.

The press service of the enterprise denied the information. "Chairman of the Board of JSC "Khersonoblenergo" Ihor Safronov has never cooperated with Russia. At the beginning of April, together with other representatives of the Society's board, he left the Kherson region and remotely managed Khersonoblenergo JSC," the press service reports. The message adds that the company operates by Ukrainian legislation. It is not the first attempt by the occupiers to put pressure on the enterprise. According to the press service, on June 27, representatives of the so-called "Kherson military-civilian administration," with the support of representatives of the FSS RF, seized JSC "Khersonoblenergo," in particular, documentation and accounting. Separate objects were also seized, ensuring the supply and distribution of electric energy to consumers of the Kherson region. The occupation authorities pressure the company's employees and force them to write applications for cooperation. Also, during the seizure, the occupiers "presented" the so-called new head of enterprises, Zhahanovych, who has no relation to the executive bodies of JSC "Khersonoblenergo."    

Some Ukrainian mass media spread the information that men will need to obtain the head of the military commissariat's permission to travel outside their locality during martial law. It is not true.

As NotaYenota writes, one of the Ukrainian information resources published an article allegedly by the lawyer of the "ADER HABER" company Dmytro Vorontsov (there is no information about him on the company's website) under the title "Not a step without the Military Commissariat." In it, they say that there are provisions in Ukrainian legislation according to which, under martial law, men "can move outside their place of residence only with the permission of the head of the Military Commissariat." They are also allegedly preparing a regulatory document that will regulate the procedure for issuing travel permits.

Oleksandr Fediyenko, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Digital Transformation, denied information about preparing such a document. "I checked the information, and I want to reassure the public that neither the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, nor the CMU is preparing such a document, and the project has not been considered," Fediyenko said.

It is not the first time the draft has spread fakes in the media and Telegram channels. The topics of forced mobilization, restrictions on traveling abroad, and the conscription of women into the army are often manipulated. In this way, they are trying to sow panic and mistrust in the authorities' actions to undermine the support of the Armed Forces.    

The Russian media is spreading information that the Ukrainian military allegedly attacked the Russian city of Belgorod on the night of July 3, as a result of which people died. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative, Maria Zakharova, reported that "Moscow is closely monitoring the situation" and threatened Kyiv, saying, "if the provocations continue, then Kyiv will not get well." However, Ukraine did not shell the Russian city.

The governor of the Belgorod region of Russia, Gladkov, reported that the air defense system "probably worked" in the city but did not specify the reason. Then they announced the shelling "from the side of Ukraine." The Russian edition of The Insider published photo evidence that a part of the portable anti-aircraft missile system "Pantsir," which is not in service with the Ukrainian army but is in the Russian military, fell on a high-rise building in Belgorod. The representative of the President's Office, Mykhaylo Podoliak, said that the occupiers attacked their cities to blame Ukraine for this, and the explosions in Russian cities are the result of the actions of air defense systems operators who do not know how to work correctly. It is not the first time that Russia has accused Ukraine of "provocations" on Ukraine and its own territory to shift the blame for its war crimes.