The Ministry of Defense of Russia spread a fake that the Ukrainians are allegedly preparing to blow up elements of the Kryvorizka TPS to blame later the Russian military for this and show the world community "fake evidence."

In social networks, a photo of Volodymyr Zelensky against a chromakey background is distributed to a foreign audience, noting that in this way, the president simulates his presence in Ukraine and trips to the front. In such posts, Zelensky is accused of "running away."

The Kremlin media grabbed a quote from the Ukrainian president's statement and picked a clickbait headline. It is about the conversation on June 27 with the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu. Zelensky said: "If there is [an attack on Ukraine from the territory of the PMR], I believe it is a global mistake. Some or other signals we receive are unpleasant. But these people in Transnistria should know: for us, it is not a blow but a slap. And we will definitely respond with a blow... I believe that, first of all, we should all do so that there is no destabilization in the region. We demonstrate it in every way. We are currently at war with Russia on our land, although you have seen that there have been repeated missile strikes from the side of Belarus as well."

Kremlin propagandist Mikhail Myagkov said on Channel One that the Armed Forces uniforms, significantly changed after the 2000s, allegedly reflect the "reincarnation of Nazism." His arguments include rhombuses on epaulets instead of Soviet stars, the use of the "Nazi" edelweiss flower in the symbolism of units, and the artificially outdated emblem of the Marine Corps.

StopFake fact-checkers refute what the propagandists said, referring to an interview with a heraldist artist who participated in updating the identity of the Ukrainian army in 2014 after the Russian attack. According to him, the development was based on the form of the Ukrainian liberation movements of 1917-1922 and 1938-1950, as well as on the experience of modern armies of the world.

In particular, the diamond-shaped "dawn" was drawn from the samples of the army of the Ukrainian state in 1918, i.e., tens of years before the establishment of Nazism in Germany.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security Council, as confirmation of their thesis, the Kremlin media cite the Financial Times article concerning the words of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ihor Zhovkva. However, in this material, Zhovkva did not state that Ukraine refuses to join NATO. The text states that NATO should recognize Ukraine as a "cornerstone" of security arrangements on the European continent. Zhovkva also emphasized that the Alliance "rejected the aspirations" of Ukraine to join, and "we will not do anything else about it."

The Russian media is spreading information that the General of the German Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, allegedly said that NATO should prepare to use nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine.

"Speaking at the Seapowers international symposium in the city of Kiel, Gerhartz said that in the current hostilities in Nezalezhna, a situation may arise in which NATO would need a nuclear strike," Russian media reported. However, it is not true. As StopFake writes, General of the German Air Force Ingo Gerhartz did not say anything about the fact that NATO should prepare to use nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine. The military stressed that the Alliance needs to be ready to use nuclear weapons in response if Russia does so first. Ukraine was not discussed in Gerhartz's speech.

Kremlin propaganda media spread this information about the heroism of one of the Russian soldiers, sergeant Krasnov. It is reported that a Russian soldier killed 20 Ukrainian soldiers, and most importantly, he saved his comrades from a downed IFV. However, it is fake. The Security Service of Ukraine denied the information. "The only achievement of Krasnov is that he survived. The rest of his crew died immediately. It turned out that Krasnov did not destroy or save anyone. The SSU learned this from the sergeant's intercepted conversation with his relatives.

Russian media spread that "the British are tired of Ukrainian refugees and want to expel them." For example, now they are massively asking Ukrainians to look for other housing or leave. However, it is not true. As Melinda Simmons, the ambassador of Great Britain to Ukraine, told in an interview with Suspilne, now the number of British people willing to accept Ukrainians significantly exceeds the number of people seeking asylum in Britain. Currently, there are two protection programs for those who left Ukraine because of the war started by Russia. Under these programs, Britain has already issued more than 130,000 visas to Ukrainians. Ukrainians are hosted by British families registered in the program, and now program workers' main efforts are to find families with the most similar interests and needs to ensure a comfortable stay.

Russian mass media, referring to the so-called people's police of the so-called "LPR," are spreading information that allegedly fighters of the nationalist "Aidar" battalion (banned in Russia) regularly raped women who were held hostage at the "Azot" plant in Sievierodonetsk. According to their version, dozens of women were injured; now, they are safe, receiving medical and psychological help from specialists. The media do not provide evidence; they only spread a loud statement about the crime.

On June 18, the head of the Luhansk RMA, Serhii Gaidai, reported that the people hiding in the shelters of the "Azot" plant in Sievierodonetsk refused to evacuate. During the communication with the population, the National Guardsmen recorded the refusal on video. Previously, the Russian media distributed video recordings of interviews with women who escaped from the "Azot" bomb shelter, where they talked exclusively about foreign mercenaries. In fact, the world has already learned more than once about the sexual crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine.

Rape has become a characteristic feature of the Russian occupiers, says the adviser to the head of the President's Office, Oleksiy Arestovych. We will remind that after the liberation of Bucha near Kyiv from the Russian occupiers, it became known about dozens of cases of sexual violence committed by Russians. Former Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Lyudmila Denisova, reported that in Bucha, Russians systematically raped 25 girls and women aged 14 to 24, nine of whom were pregnant. More details.

On the pro-Kremlin channels in Telegram, they are spreading rumors about the explosions in Kyiv. According to the Ukraina.ru channel, one of the targets in Kyiv was the Artem plant, which produces missile weapons. Ukrainian propagandists "are trying to pretend" that residential buildings are the targets of rocket attacks. Kremlin propagandist Volodymyr Solovyov spread information in a Telegram that the Russian Kalibr missiles "remind Ukrainians that bombing Donetsk is bad."

We remind that on the morning of Sunday, June 26, several explosions were heard in Kyiv. According to Kyiv Mayor Volodymyr Klychko, search and rescue operations are ongoing in the residential high-rise building in the Shevchenkiv district where the rockets hit. There are people under the rubble; rescuers found a seven-year-old girl. She is alive. Now they are saving her mother. Some residents were evacuated, and two victims were hospitalized. Adviser to the Ministry of Internal Affairs head, Anton Gerashchenko, said that at least one person had died.

It was stated by the French politician Regis Castello in Telegram and the Russian plant "Uralvagonzavod," which in the comments asked to convey "thanks to President Macron." The Russian mass media spread these comments. The General Staff of the French Armed Forces called this information fake. "This information is false. We categorically reject it. We discussed this with our Ukrainian partner," the General Staff said.

As reported in the Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the source of information about the capture of the SPA was named as a little-known French politician (probably a member of the Communist Party of France, an opponent of the current president of this country) Regis Castello.

He does not provide any confirmation or evidence but only refers to a comment on his Telegram channel, which representatives of the Russian plant allegedly left.

"This is proof that the supply of weapons to Ukraine is a strong blow to our enemy, and he is trying to sow distrust in the Armed Forces among the French and create the impression that it is useless to send weapons to our country," the message emphasizes.

Anonymous pro-Kremlin Telegram channels spread such rumors. The Western partners demand that Ukraine not transfer their weapons to the front, but this does not apply to the Western decommissioned, old Soviet equipment that is transferred.

They announced this demand behind the scenes after the information that the Russians had captured the French Caesar's self-propelled guns. The report does not provide any proof; it is written that there are "rumors" about it. Recently, Russian propaganda often turned to foreign weapons in Ukraine. If earlier Vladimir Putin repeatedly said only that the West and the USA had "stuffed" Ukraine with weapons, then later the Russians launched a series of accusations: the "black market" of weapons flourishes in Ukraine, while foreign weapons "are by no means suitable for a major land war" and is not designed for intensive long-term work, and even more so for frequent long marches on broken roads and off-road. So, the Ukrainian military leaves weapons depots when withdrawing from positions.

This news should be read "between the lines" and understand that the Russian army is waiting with horror for foreign weapons to arrive at the Armed Forces of Ukraine; they are afraid of them and try in every way to sow discord so that Western partners and volunteers doubt the feasibility of helping Ukraine.

On June 24, the Russian mass media began to actively spread the news that the Ukrainian military allegedly "launched a targeted artillery strike" on the village of Rubizhne in the Luhansk region. It is claimed that as a result of the "Ukrainian attack," the elevator of the "Golden Agro" company, in which 30 thousand tons of grain and sunflower seeds were stored, was destroyed. Russian "experts" assure that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly "deliberately hit a civilian object" to provoke a famine. "Tens of thousands of tons of bread have been lost due to the Ukrainian shelling," summarizes disinformation publications. According to the StopFake fact-checkers, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not involved in destroying the elevator in the Rubizhne, Luhansk region. Russia continues to follow scorched earth tactics in Ukraine and purposefully attacks Ukrainian social infrastructure. The Russian occupiers are responsible for the destroyed grain elevator in Rubizhne.

The so-called "deputy head of the military-civilian administration" of the temporarily occupied Kherson region, collaborator Kyrylo Stremousov, told the Russian propagandist publication "Ukraine.ru" about this. He is wanted on charges of treason. His statement that the EU is allegedly considering the possibility of deporting all-male Ukrainians who are on the territory of the EU to help Kyiv with mobilization into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, almost all leading Russian mass media spread.

"Now the European Union is considering the possibility of deporting all Ukrainian men to Ukraine to replenish the ranks of "mobilization." Not mobilization, but "mohylyzation," Stremousov said. It is not true! There must be legal grounds for deportation, as well as a court decision, which provides for the deportation or voluntary departure of the violator. The reason for deportation may be the following violations: unpaid fines, overdue visa, invalid invitation, a criminal record not specified at the time of visa issuance, violation of public order, or illegal stay in the country.

None of these points envisages the "deportation" of male Ukrainians for their mobilization into the ranks of the Armed Forces.

In June, the Russian mass media already spread a fake that Ukraine allegedly asked Poland to deport all men from the country to send them to the front. For greater credibility, Russian propagandists published a forged letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland.

The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine refutes fakes about Ukraine's candidacy for the European Union. EU candidacy for Ukraine is not just a formal decision. The status of a candidate for joining the EU opens up access for Ukraine to new grants and investments from EU states.

To become a full member of the EU, Ukraine must take several steps:

- continue the reform of the judicial system;

- strengthen the fight against corruption;

- ensure compliance with anti-money laundering legislation with FATF standards;

- implement the anti-oligarchic law;

- bring media legislation to EU standards;

- improve the legislation on national minorities.

The Russian mass media disseminated this statement by the Ministry of Defense of Russia. The Russians assure that allegedly on Lanzheronivska Street, "nationalists have equipped firing positions and sniper points on the upper floors of residential buildings," and "residents from the apartments have not been evacuated and are being used by nationalists as "human shields."

Also, the Russians returned to the fake that the Ukrainian military placed large-caliber artillery and a foreign-made multiple rocket launcher systems on the territory of the place where the victims of the plague are buried and that in the event of an attack by the Russians on the accumulation of equipment in this area, the Ukrainian side intends to disseminate information to the media about the destruction of graves and the emergence of a biological hazard in Odesa allegedly due to the fault of Russian service members. The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine called these "statements" disinformation. The Operational Command "Pivden" says that the Russians are dispersing such fakes to intimidate Odessans.

The video of a boy fleeing from the police in a residential complex was shared on social networks. The captions under the video claim that Ukrainians are running away from mobilization because no one wants to die for Zelensky's regime. Only Nazis and foreign mercenaries fight. However, this video is fake. As Reuters investigated, it was filmed in May 2020 on the territory of a hotel complex in Sochi, Russia. This video has nothing to do with Ukraine or Ukrainians. Note that Russian propagandists systematically use fake videos to portray events in Ukraine.

On the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia website, a publication appeared under the title "Debunking the myths that the EU leadership feasts on." In it, Russia tries to justify its crimes on the territory of Ukraine. Among other things, the article "refutes the fake" that Russia does not steal grain from Ukraine and does not destroy agricultural and agrarian infrastructure. However, everything said by the Russians is not true.

This time, the fake was refuted by French fact-checkers in the True or False program. With the help of satellite images, videos from users of social networks, and based on open data about the movement of ships, the journalists proved that Russian ships have repeatedly taken out grain from the port in occupied Sevastopol. The video also shows how the Russians deliberately attacked Ukrainian agricultural facilities and stole agricultural machinery. Russia has repeatedly used the issue of supplying the world market with Ukrainian grain and agricultural products as a tool of blackmail due to a possible food crisis and famine in the countries of Africa and Asia. More details.

Such information is disseminated by the "authority" illegally installed by Russia in the territory of the temporarily occupied Kherson region. They said 12 ships, most of which belong to Turkey, cannot leave Kherson due to Ukrainian mines. "The crews are not in danger, and the ships are under guard," said collaborator Kyrylo Stremousov. However, it is fake.

There are 14 ships (3 Ukrainian and 11 foreign) in the port of Kherson, which remained under conditions of blockade and occupation. However, it was Russian troops and mines that blocked their way out. Both international organizations and individual countries confirm this. Even though Ukrainian mines seem to interfere with foreign ships, the occupiers spread the statement that "Kherson sea trade port is resuming work and preparing for cargo transportation." So, the occupiers themselves contradict their words.

Some Russian mass media spread this information. The reports refer to a complete ban on distributing Russian-language literature in Ukraine.

Russian mass media claim that the prohibition is allegedly provided for by the law adopted on June 19, 2022. However, the amendments made to the Law "On Publishing" do not provide for the prohibition of Russian-language books. In fact, as StopFake writes, books in Russian were not banned in Ukraine. The country's authorities have banned importing literature published by publishers from Russia and Belarus. Texts in Russian (with some restrictions) can be imported from other countries and printed in Ukraine. 

The Russian propaganda reported it, and the placement of a rocket launcher in a medical facility was written about on local social networks. However, it is not true. The Ukrainian military did not install rocket launchers in the polyclinic and did not store any other weapons there.

The Odesa City Council denied the fake. "Russian propaganda continues to spread fakes about Odesa. This time, the Ministry of Defense of the occupiers announced the presence of military objects on the territory of the Polyclinic #29. The mayor of Odesa, Gennadiy Trukhanov, and British journalists arrived at the medical institution to show that it is an ordinary polyclinic, where daily assistance to more than 300 Odesa residents," the message reads. From the video, it can be seen that the clinic is receiving an appointment, and there are no rocket launchers there. More details.

Information that the Alliance was building an army base in one of the cities in eastern Ukraine was spread by Russian propaganda media.

The reports claim that the strengthening of the positions of the North Atlantic Alliance in Eastern Europe was supposed to happen "due to the construction of several military bases in Ukraine." In this way, the Russian media continue to promote the message of "NATO aggression against Russia." However, it is not true. As StopFake writes, there were no plans for the "construction of a NATO military base" in Sievierodonetsk in the plans of Ukraine or the member states of the Alliance. It was about constructing a new infrastructural facility for the military to meet the standards of NATO.

Russian propaganda spreads information that foreign mercenaries are not legal combatants and are not subject to the Geneva Convention. At the same time, they claim that those who fight against Ukraine are volunteers and should be protected. These messages were refuted in EU vs DISINFO: "The nationality of the soldier is irrelevant ... Combatants are members of the armed forces in the conflicts or are volunteers. The fact that a person is a citizen of a third country and not a citizen of the armed forces in which he serves is considered irrelevant when it comes to determining the status of a participant in hostilities or prisoners of war," experts say. That is, it is enough for foreigners to officially be part of any Armed Forces unit to protect their rights. That is why the Foreign Legion is officially an Armed Forces unit.

It was stated by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova. She claims that Ukraine is covered with people as a human shield, and the military hides in houses and schools, set up strongholds and ammunition depots there, and in residential buildings - machine guns and sniper nests. Zakharova even mentioned the schools' concrete numbers and the street's names in her speech.

She claims that the evacuation of citizens from dangerous areas is not carried out, people are forcibly detained in them, and there are alleged cases of "the intentional taking of hostages to be placed in nationalist positions." However, it is not true. As The Insider writes, the evacuation of residents of Lysychansk in the direction of Bakhmut is being carried out under continuous fire. For example, as can be seen from the UATV report, an evacuation using an armored car on a truck chassis is shown. The reports of "Sohodni" and the Latvian television company LTV are dedicated to volunteers who take the residents of Lysychansk in their cars to bypass the route under fire. Flights to less dangerous regions of the country are organized from Bakhmut. In addition, on June 5, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhii Gaidai, reported that 66 people were deported that day, 52 people on June 14, and 19 people on June 19.

According to him, a flight is immediately organized as soon as a dozen people willing to go are recruited. The evacuation of people in the Luhansk Region continues, and the Ukrainian Arya does not use them as a human shield.

Pro-Russian media and Telegram channels are spreading information that the Ukrainian authorities have ordered to flood working mines and workers in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, it is not true. The information was denied in Zaporizhzhia RMA.

"The facts of the spread of false information among the population of the occupied territories to portray the Ukrainian authorities in a negative light are noted," the press service reports. In Zaporizhzhia RMA, they believe that the occupiers are spreading such fakes hoping to support pro-Russian sentiments among the miners.