Russian propagandists claim that over 99% of Ukrainians who left the occupied territories are returning due to their inability to settle in the territory controlled by Ukraine. The propagandists write that these figures were allegedly provided by Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov, citing People's Deputy Maksym Tkachenko.

However, this information is not true. This is reported by the VoxCheck project. First of all, on Yurii Butusov's pages on social networks there is no post with a link to the words of People's Deputy Maksym Tkachenko. However, on November 24, 2024, in an interview with Ukrinform, Tkachenko commented on the return of internally displaced persons. Then his words were quoted by the media outlet Censor.NET, where Butusov is the editor-in-chief.

In an interview, Tkachenko said:

“Already about 150 thousand internally displaced persons have returned to the temporarily occupied territories. For example, according to available data, 200 thousand Mariupol residents left their city, fleeing the war that Russia brought to our land. At the same time, every third of them returned home, to Mariupol, to the occupation. According to estimates, this is approximately 67-70 thousand people”.

He noted that people decided to leave because they did not receive proper assistance from the state: housing, social support, compensation, and work.

However, the day after the interview was published, Tkachenko denied his statement:

“There is no such data. It was my unfounded and emotional assumption”.

He clarified that there are individual cases when Ukrainians go to the regions occupied by Russia for various reasons. However, we are not talking about hundreds or even tens of thousands, because “general verified statistics cannot even theoretically exist”.

It is worth noting that in this interview the MP did not mention 99% of internally displaced persons who allegedly returned to the occupation. Presumably, the creators of this fake twisted the words of the former Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, Heorhii Tuka. On November 24, 2024, on the air of Espresso, he commented on the departure of Ukrainians to uncontrolled territories:

“I have been observing the process of refugees returning to the temporarily occupied territories since 2015, when I headed the Luhansk Military Administration and then worked in the ministry. I have repeatedly communicated with people and I do not even have any hints of condemning these people. I do not know a single person who would return to the TOT of their own free will. 99% of people return because they were unable to establish a normal life in the territories controlled by Ukraine”.

Later, the editorial staff of Espresso corrected the headline. It was like this:  “Almost 99% of refugees are returning to the occupied territories because they could not establish a normal life in the controlled part of Ukraine, former Deputy Minister for TOT Tuka”, and now - “almost 99% of refugees with whom I spoke are returning to the occupied territories because they could not establish a normal life in the controlled part of Ukraine, Tuka”.

After all, it was only about the people the former employee communicated with, not 99% of internally displaced persons throughout Ukraine. That is, this is his personal assessment, not a calculation based on real statistics.

Previously, we analyzed Russian manipulation, saying that 77% of Ukrainians are ready to give up the occupied territories.

Russian propaganda resources, referring to the text of the Politico publication, report that only the western regions of Ukraine can supposedly be accepted into NATO. Thus, the propagandists write: “It is noted that the West has the idea of taking only certain regions of the former Ukrainian SSR into NATO. This list will include only the western regions, and the Kyiv region and Kyiv city, taking everything into account, will not be considered part of the alliance. Politico calls this the “German model”.

In fact, this is another manipulation by Russian propagandists of the material of an authoritative Western publication, the StopFake project claims. After all, the corresponding Politico text does not say that western Ukraine will join NATO separately from other regions.

Instead, the authors presented several models for ending hostilities in Ukraine. In particular, they presented the “German model” - an option for providing NATO security guarantees exclusively to the western regions of Ukraine or to those territories that are currently under Ukrainian control. This model became the subject of manipulation by propagandists.

Ukraine can receive an invitation to the North Atlantic Alliance only within its internationally recognized borders, while security guarantees can be offered depending on the military and political situation in a particular region.

Previously, we analyzed the Russian manipulation that former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg allegedly agreed to Ukraine's territorial concessions to Russia.

Russian sources are spreading information that only the western part of Ukraine might be admitted to NATO, allegedly citing the publication Politico.

“The West has an idea to include only specific regions of the former USSR in NATO. This list will reportedly include only the western regions, while the Kyiv region and Kyiv itself, apparently, will not be considered part of the alliance”, propagandists write.

However, the original Politico article does not state that western Ukraine will join NATO separately from other regions. Instead, the article presents several models for ending the armed conflict in Ukraine.

One such model, referred to as the “German model”, suggests the possibility of NATO providing security guarantees only to the western regions of Ukraine or to territories currently under the control of the legitimate Ukrainian government. Moreover, NATO membership can only be extended to Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. Security guarantees might be offered depending on the military and political situation in different regions.

In other words, the journalists cited models of conflict resolution, and did not come out with the news that this is exactly how it will happen. For example, the article also wrote about the “Israeli model”, under which the country “is not formally part of a defense alliance like NATO; rather, it is a close ally of the United States and many European countries, which supply a huge amount of weapons and also provide diplomatic support”. The advantage of such a model, according to the publication, is that it does not link Ukraine to an alliance that could drag other countries into a war with Russia, with its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Another model discussed is the “Finnish model”, which would entail Ukraine abandoning its occupied territories and adopting neutrality. However, the article notes that this model would likely fail to protect Kyiv from future Russian aggression, as Ukraine had been neutral even before Russia invaded its territory.

Moreover, the journalists wrote that those were not necessarily peace plans but reflections on how relations between Ukraine and Russia might be structured to permanently end hostilities.

Pro-Russian Telegram channels have spread information that the Lviv Klymentiy Sheptytsky Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life is holding a raffle for a museum exhibit to raise funds for the military. As “proof” of this, propagandists add a corresponding screenshot.

However, this information is false, the VoxCheck project writes. On November 11, 2024, Olesia Kopchak published a post on her Facebook page with a raffle for a gift one can win for their donation to the military to buy electronic warfare equipment. In turn, the Russians deliberately misinterpreted it. After all, Kopchak’s publication refers to a raffle for a gift from the store of the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life. The woman did not mean a raffle for a museum exhibit. The photo of the jug is most likely illustrative.

After all, there are no museum exhibits for sale in the “shop” section of the museum’s website. There you can only find T-shirts, books, plates, and other souvenirs that have no historical value.

By distorting details and manipulation information, propagandists seek to create a false impression that Ukrainians are forced to sell museum items to support the military. Earlier, we refuted information that the Ukrainian government allegedly wanted to sell “Scythian gold” at an auction.

Propagandists are writing on social media that former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg allegedly stated that “if the ceasefire line provides for the preservation of Russian control over the territories, this means that Ukraine must permanently give up these territories”. However, this is not true.

The experts of the Center for Countering Disinformation were the ones to debunk this. They found out that in fact, in this interview for Table.Briefings, Stoltenberg emphasized that if the ceasefire line means that Russia continues to control all occupied territories, that does not mean that Ukraine has to give up the territory forever. Propagandists distorted his words, claiming that the West allegedly agreed to territorial concessions.

This manipulation is aimed at sowing despair among both Ukrainians and Ukraine’s Western allies, as well as at discrediting the position of NATO and the international community, which supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemns Russian aggression.

Russian propagandists are spreading a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry press secretary Mariia Zakharova about the readiness to exchange 630 Ukrainian prisoners, accusing Kyiv of “selfish interests”. However, in reality, this is another example of manipulation.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes about this. Its experts remind us that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long proposed the principle of exchanging “all for all” without additional conditions. Russia, however, continues to hold more than 900 Ukrainian prisoners, including Azov fighters, whom it refuses to hand over.

Such statements are an instrument of blackmail and attempts to destabilize Ukrainian society. The topic of prisoners has been used by the Kremlin to exert pressure since the beginning of the war. By accusing Ukraine of “selfish interests”, propagandists are trying to create an image of “inhumane” Ukrainian authorities that do not seem to care about their citizens. The spread of such fakes is aimed at increasing tension and despondency among Ukrainians. Because of the topic of prisoners, Russia is trying to put pressure on Ukraine and the international community, positioning itself as the “humane side”.

Propaganda Telegram channels claim that in 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly sold a third of Ukraine to BlackRock, transferring the country's economic sovereignty to the United States. However, this is actually manipulation.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes about this. Its experts found out that back in November 2022, the Ukrainian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BlackRock to attract investment in the restoration of Ukraine. This is standard international practice, not “selling the country”. The propaganda ignores that by 2022, Russia itself was actively cooperating with BlackRock, and after the start of the war, it lost access to global capital markets. Now Russian resources are being sold to investors from the Middle East, but this is being kept silent.

The aim of this disinformation is to sow distrust among Ukrainian citizens towards the leadership, accusing it of “betraying” national interests. Russia also creates an image of a “cunning West” that allegedly “exploits” Ukraine for its own purposes, contrasting this with Russia’s “protective” position. The Kremlin uses such fakes to distract attention from its own economic problems, such as the sale of resources to foreign investors due to sanctions. The goal is to undermine international trust in Ukraine, making partners doubt its sovereignty and independence.

Russian propagandists on anonymous Telegram channels are actively spreading information that mobile teams in Ukraine are forcibly vaccinating citizens with Western drugs, and the number of people sick with flu and COVID-19 is “growing” because of this. However, this is not true.

VoxCheck writes about this. Its experts found out that compulsory vaccination is not carried out in Ukraine. Mobile teams work only at the request of citizens who submit applications themselves. Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are recommended, not mandatory. Mobile teams help people with limited mobility, residents of remote settlements, and also vaccinate organized groups. Vaccination reduces the risk of complications, even if a person gets sick.

In this way, they create an impression of chaos and human rights violations, which should undermine confidence in Ukrainian medical institutions. Propagandists also provoke fears about vaccination, which could reduce the level of immunization. By highlighting “Western drugs”, propaganda tries to create a negative image of international aid to Ukraine. The focus shifts from Russia’s own problems to fictitious “crises” in Ukraine.

Pro-Russian sources are spreading reports that Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska allegedly cancelled a lecture at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) due to mass protests by local residents against “Ukrainian Nazism”. However, this is manipulation.

StopFake reports this. The project's experts found out that the Slovenian publication STA, which the propagandists refer to, noted that the reasons for the cancellation of the event at the Faculty of Social Sciences are unknown. Despite this, Olena Zelenska met with the faculty and the university administration. During the meeting, Rector Gregor Majdic announced the creation of a Ukrainian Studies Department and the cooperation of the Faculty of Architecture with the Karazin Kharkiv University to restore the destroyed buildings. Olena Zelenska also donated books as part of the Ukrainian Bookshelf project to the National University Library. A pro-Russian protester appeared near the library, shouting in English “The war must end” and “Russia will win”. The man was detained by the police. Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob condemned such behavior, calling it unacceptable in modern society.

Propagandists spread this disinformation to undermine trust in Ukraine and its representatives on the international stage. Their goal is to create the illusion that Ukraine and its leaders face widespread rejection abroad due to supposedly “unacceptable” policies. Such tactics are also intended to weaken the morale of Ukrainians by promoting the idea of isolating the country. The spread of fakes about protests against “Ukrainian Nazism” is part of an information war aimed at discrediting Ukraine and forming a positive image of Russia as a “victim”.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading a distorted quote from the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and now the Ambassador of Ukraine to Britain, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, referring to the British tabloid The Sun. The former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during a speech to Ukrainian servicemen undergoing training in the UK, allegedly advised them “not to fear death, because they have no chance of survival anyway”.

“Then why aren’t you on the front lines? What kind of scum are all these Zaluzhnyi, Zelenskyi, and Yermak”, the propagandists comment.

The Sun website did indeed publish an article titled “Watch Ukrainian troops training in the UK given orders to ‘kill without hesitation’ in a stirring speech by a former “iron general””. However, his words were distorted, as reported by StopFake. In fact, Zaluzhnyi advised Ukrainian soldiers “not to fear death and not to be afraid to look the enemy in the eye”. He stressed that the war is becoming tougher, and therefore may leave little chance of survival for those who do not learn to defend themselves.

Russian propaganda often accuses the Ukrainian authorities of covering up losses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, using the tactic of reflection. In parallel, disinformation is spread, for example, about half a million Ukrainian soldiers who have died. In this way, Russian propagandists are trying to demoralize both the civilian population and the military. In addition, such narratives are aimed at discrediting the country's military-political leadership and officials in the eyes of Ukrainians.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading manipulative information that Ukrainians made up 33.1% of criminals in Germany, citing data from the 2023 report of the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA).

“The country’s authorities are alarmed by the number of rapes or harassment. The number of thefts has also increased by 34.6%, and the number of intentional and unintentional murders has increased similarly”, the propagandists write.

But the data was manipulated, and this is reported by StopFake. In fact, this percentage (33.1%) was used in the report to indicate the share of Ukrainians among all migrants living in Germany. Instead, 11.6% of Ukrainian refugees were suspected of committing crimes. For comparison, the figures for immigrants from Syria are 21.4% and 19.2%, respectively. Moreover, according to the report, they are the leaders in migrant crime.

With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, agitprop is spreading theses that Ukrainian refugees are allegedly organizing pogroms, behaving impudently, not wanting to work, etc. And therefore they will soon “start being expelled from Europe”.

After all, propagandists are trying to show that Ukrainian refugees are supposedly a total threat to the sovereignty and security of EU countries. Propaganda primarily seeks to discredit Ukrainian refugees in the eyes of Europeans and present them as supporters of Nazi ideology, who are ready to resort to vandalism, violation of the law for their own purposes. All this contributes to a decrease in aid to Ukraine from EU countries.

We recommend reading our previous cases on this topic, because the Kremlin systematically speculates on this: allegedly the Poles declared that they “do not want to see” Ukrainian refugees in their country; allegedly a refugee barista from Ukraine “demonstrated his Nazi tendencies” by drawing Nazi symbols on coffee. And in our weekly review of disinformation, we told how propagandists lied about the mobilization of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

Russian news sites are spreading information that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has allegedly found a “use” for people with disabilities – it is going to send them, as well as women, to demine the territory of Ukraine.

“Due to the understaffing of units and the acute shortage of manpower in Ukraine, people with amputations are taken not only into the sappers, but also into the infantry”,  the propagandists add.

However, in Ukraine, the UN is implementing a program to employ people with disabilities. Within the framework of this program, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is expanding employment opportunities in the field of demining and cleaning territories - for women, veterans, victims of explosive objects and people with disabilities. However, this does not mean that these people will work directly with mines, as the propagandists said. The main goal of the program is to ensure equal access to work, creating comfortable and safe conditions.

The first participants in the project, namely four Ukrainian explosive ordnance victims, have already been hired by The HALO Trust, where they will analyse satellite and drone imagery to identify and map mine-contaminated areas. They have been trained in a programme that focuses on the technical and non-technical skills needed to work in mine action.

“Today, much attention is paid to the implementation of policies that ensure equal access to work in the field of mine action, the creation of specialized training programs that will include both technical and non-technical skills necessary for work in this field, and the creation of conditions that will ensure comfortable and safe employment”, said Colonel Oleh Shuvarskyi, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Mine Action, Civil Defense and Environmental Safety.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading manipulation of Zelenskyi’s statement about Crimea, referring to the Ukrainian president’s interview with the American channel Fox News. In particular, they are promoting the thesis that the return of Crimea is “worth forgetting”.

“We cannot spend tens of thousands of our people dying for the return of Crimea. We understand that Crimea can be returned diplomatically”, the propagandists quote.

Russian propaganda manipulated Zelenskyi’s words, and this is reported by StopFake. That is, this quote is real, but taken out of context and used to “confirm” the thesis that the president of Ukraine allegedly recognized the captured Crimea as “lost”.

Initially, the interview discussed the issue of the likelihood of territorial concessions as such in order to reach peace agreements with Russia. Zelenskyi called such a scenario impossible and emphasized that Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of the territories even before the full-scale invasion in 2014. The answer about the “possibility of returning Crimea through diplomatic channels” was given in response to the correspondent’s clarifying question about “the readiness to give up Crimea in order to find a peace agreement”. After all, earlier in the interview, the president noted that Ukraine currently does not have enough forces to reach the 1991 borders through armed means.

Russian propagandists often spread manipulative information about the occupied territories, which concerns both the coverage of the situation on the front and public sentiment. In addition, Russian propagandists have once again resorted to substituting concepts. Since the thesis about the diplomatic path of returning the annexed Crimea does not define it as “lost” for Ukraine.

Read more: 85% of the population of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine allegedly supports Putin.

Pro-Russian Telegram channels are spreading a manipulative photo of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv. It shows people standing in front of a large screen. The propagandists noted that the cathedral was allegedly turned into a cinema. They explained this by saying that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine “does not have enough parishioners” to fill the churches that have come “under its control”. That is why it allegedly resorts to such methods of attracting visitors to the cathedral.

“Ancient Orthodox churches are becoming victims of schismatics. Satanists came to power and that says it all”, the propagandists write.

But the information was manipulated, and this is reported in VoxCheck. The cathedral was on a long-term temporary lease to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate until November 2023. However, according to the conclusion of the Commission of the Ministry of Culture, the UOC-MP was deprived of the right to use the Transfiguration Cathedral and 17 other objects, which are also part of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve Ancient Chernihiv. They argued this by the unsatisfactory condition of the buildings and the need for restoration.

Currently, the Transfiguration Cathedral operates as a museum. And in fact, the photo shows the presentation of the first series of the project “Chernihiv Principality. 1000 Years”. The authors are a team from Public Chernihiv. They describe the project as a “three-part historical program in the format of an animated anti-lecture”.

Russian propaganda often speculates on the topic of the conflict between the OCU and the UOC-MP. Since the topic of religion is quite sensitive, and therefore convenient for the spread of disinformation and manipulative theses. The goal is to sow discord among believers of these two confessions and, thus, split Ukrainians into two camps. In addition, by controlling churches, representatives of the UOC-MP spread Russian propaganda narratives among Ukrainian parishioners and retain influence within the country.

Read more: How Russia blurs reality with the help of the newspeak: “sinners”.

A pro-Russian blogger is spreading a manipulative post in a Telegram channel about the increase in vegetable prices in Ukraine. Referring to an infographic from an article in Ekonomichna Pravda, he concluded that the reason for this phenomenon was “the choice of a pro-European course after the Revolution of Dignity”.

“This is a Republic that once fed the entire USSR, and today potatoes have become 200% more expensive in a year. Is this the victory of the Maidan? A little longer and we will ask the Belarusians for a tuber (a dialect word, a literary norm for “potato”. — Detector Media) so that we don't die of European values”, the propagandist writes.

In fact, the Revolution of Dignity and the European course are in no way connected with the increase in vegetable prices. The main reasons were the loss of the crop due to the abnormal heat of this summer, inflation and the reduction in the sown area, which was written about by Ekonomichna Pravda.

The reduction in the sown area was directly influenced by Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. For example, the Kherson region grew the most vegetables, the percentage of which was 40% of the annual harvest of Ukraine. However, due to hostilities and the occupation of part of the region, it became impossible to use the fields for their intended purpose. Therefore, entrepreneurs had to relocate their businesses. That is, the “rising prices” for vegetables has nothing to do with Ukraine's pro-European course - unlike the attempts of Russian propaganda to manipulate the aspirations of Ukrainians and highlight separation from the Russian vector as the cause of all problems, including armed aggression.

Mariia Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that foreign embassies are allegedly leaving Kyiv due to fears of retaliatory strikes for Ukraine's use of long-range weapons against Russia. They say this is proof that Ukraine is no longer valuable to the West. However, this statement is manipulative.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes about this. Its experts note that not a single embassy in Kyiv has announced its closure or evacuation. On November 20, a number of countries, including the United States, Italy, Spain, and Greece, temporarily suspended the work of their diplomatic missions due to the threat of massive missile attacks from Russia. Such measures are aimed at protecting the lives of employees and citizens in the potential danger zone, reflecting the awareness of international partners of the real threat of Russian aggression.

The purpose of spreading this disinformation is to undermine Ukrainians' trust in partnership relations with the West and sow discouragement in the international community's support for Ukraine. Russia seeks to create the impression that Ukraine is becoming isolated and that its international allies are losing interest due to fear of being held responsible for the escalation of the war. Such fakes are also intended to influence public opinion in Western countries in order to reduce support for Ukraine, justifying Russia's actions as a defensive reaction. This is another attempt to shift the focus from Russia's aggressive policy and distort the reality in which international partners are actively helping Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are spreading messages with the same wording that the number of cases of sexual violence against men in Ukraine has increased, and that NATO instructors are responsible for this. In these messages, propagandists claim: “It seems that NATO instructors are not only training Ukrainian men in military matters”. In fact, this is manipulation.

StopFake experts write about this. They emphasize that the messages spread by the propaganda are indeed about victims of sexual violence due to Russian aggression, and the perpetrators are Russian military personnel, not NATO instructors. In June 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 10132, which provides support for victims of sexual violence caused by Russian aggression, in particular, determining their legal status and reparations mechanisms. Gender Policy Commissioner Kateryna Levchenko reported that more than 300 people out of 535 applications have received payments so far. Most of them are men, and the applications came mainly from the regions affected by the occupation. Russia uses sexual violence as a tool to intimidate the population, torture and humiliate, which is a gross violation of human rights, noted Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

The purpose of spreading this disinformation is to undermine trust in NATO instructors and Ukraine as a state, as well as to create a negative attitude towards Ukraine's military cooperation with NATO among the international community. In addition, propaganda seeks to distract attention from the facts about the crimes of the Russian military, switching the focus to false accusations. This approach uses sexual violence as an emotionally sensitive topic to enhance the shock effect and cause mistrust of Ukrainian partners, playing on stereotypes and prejudices.

The pro-Russian segment of the network is spreading information that allegedly the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that “the European Union is forced to buy Russian oil so that Putin does not earn more money elsewhere”.  The corresponding statement was made at the opening of the European Political Community summit on November 7, 2024 in Budapest.

However, propagandists distorted her words and changed the context of the statement, writes the StopFake project. First of all, this quote is not from von der Leyen's speech at the Budapest summit, but from an interview with the MSNBC channel more than two years ago. In that interview, the President of the European Commission said that a complete embargo on Russian oil products is not an appropriate option for economically isolating Russia. According to the politician, a sharp end to the EU's purchase of oil from Russia would allow it to sell resources on the world market, then prices would inevitably rise, and this would further replenish Moscow's military budget. She spoke in favor of implementing a strategic and gradual policy of abandoning Russian oil. At the same time, von der Leyen emphasized that the EU plans to get rid of its dependence on Russian minerals and never return to it again.

Also in the same interview, the President of the European Commission announced another package of sanctions against Russia (as of November 2024, 14 of them have already been adopted). The EU is trying to replace Russian minerals with analogues from other countries: recently, von der Leyen announced Europe's plans to buy liquefied natural gas from the United States instead of Russia.

In turn, in Budapest, which was written about by propagandists, von der Leyen only indirectly recalled the victory over the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as an example of the unity and strength of the European community.

Russian propaganda regularly resorts to manipulating the words of Western politicians. For example, they previously analyzed the manipulation, they say, von der Leyen allegedly stated that Ukraine will join the EU in 20-30 years.

Russian sources are spreading information that the President of Finland Alexander Stubb did not rule out a rapid improvement in relations with Russia. He allegedly said that relations between Russia and Finland will improve and will be used for good.

However, Russian propagandists took Stubb's words out of context, distorting their content. This is reported by the StopFake project. On November 9, 2024, in an interview with the Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat, the President of Finland spoke about foreign policy and security issues, in particular, possible threats from Russia. Stubb's full quote is as follows: “Yes, someday these relations (between Russia and Finland. - Ed.) will improve and will be used, but now is not the time. You must remember that everything starts with values. I would rather be in that situation in 2024 than in the situation we were in, say, in 1956 in our relations with the Soviet Union and the West”.

In the interview, the Finnish president also mentioned the Kremlin's aggressive policy towards its neighbors several times. For example, when asked by a journalist whether Russia would become a greater threat to Finland after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, Stubb said that the threat assessment and security analysis of Russia remain unchanged. He added that Russia continues to build up its military potential and may, in a few years, reach the level it was at before the invasion of Ukraine. “Russia's foreign policy will continue to be a zero-sum game. I see no end to Russian imperialism, which illegally expands its territory”, the Finnish president said.

Stubb also said that the threat from Russia and instability in the world are forcing Finland to increase its military budget. He finally concluded: “Someone wisely said that Europe has handed over its energy to Russia, its economy to China, and its security to the United States. Europe must take on more responsibility for security and defense”.

Propaganda Telegram channels are spreading information that when registering for military service at the Territorial recruitment and social support center, young men aged 16-17 allegedly sign an agreement to serve in the military after coming of age.

However, this information is not true. At the request of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation, the Kyiv City Territorial recruitment and social support center provided an explanation:

“All information received from young men when registering for military service is used by the Territorial recruitment and social support center to identify citizens who are potentially ready to receive an education in military educational institutions or for military service in the future”.

In turn, the mobilization of citizens for military service can only be carried out after they reach the age of 25.

Earlier we wrote that propagandists created a fake animated video about the Territorial recruitment and social support center workers.

Propagandists are spreading the claim on social media that the French government and President Emmanuel Macron are deliberately persecuting Le Pen and that her chances for a fair trial are limited due to reports of new details in the case against her. At the same time, analogies are being spread with trials against other opposition figures around the world, which reinforces the impression of a supposedly global trend of persecuting opponents. However, this is not true.

In reality, the investigation against Le Pen is related to possible abuses of EU funds allocated to pay assistants to MEPs. If investigators confirm violations, Le Pen and her colleagues could face restrictions on their political activities. However, this does not mean automatic intervention by the Macron government — the French legal system is independent, and such accusations against politicians require careful and objective examination to confirm or refute the allegations on the basis of facts, not political sympathies.

The main purpose of spreading this disinformation is to discredit both the French government and the judiciary, while creating the impression that Western democracies are not as free as they claim to be and persecute the opposition for political reasons. Such narratives have the potential to weaken citizens’ trust in democratic institutions, paint Europe in a negative light, and encourage the view that no government in the world is fully transparent and objective. The propaganda also attempts to mobilize Le Pen’s right-wing supporters by highlighting injustices that could inflame political sentiments in society and deepen divisions between political camps.

The propaganda publication Izvestia (News) has distributed a manipulative video report from Tbilisi. It features Russian propagandist Stanislav Hryhoriev, who has been repeatedly caught in biased coverage of events from the ATO zone in Novosti24 since 2014.

The video footage was filmed against the backdrop of a group of people who had come out to protest outside the Georgian parliament; the protest was called for by Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili due to systematic violations during the elections. In fact, she refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections – the previous victory of the Georgian Dream, the current ruling party.

In the story, Hryhoriev describes activists holding Ukrainian and EU flags and a poster with the inscription in English “Georgia is not Russia”:

“This is something that has long been expected in Georgia. Ukrainian activists with the appropriate symbols have appeared on the square near the parliament. They say that quite a few Ukrainians have entered the country over the past week. Their purpose is unclear, perhaps they came to share their protest experience”, the propagandist said.

In fact, the information in the video is distorted, as our Georgian fact-checking colleagues from the Myth Detector organization report. After all, it is the Italian political activists who are depicted in the video who came to support Georgia's European course. That is, this does not change the fact that there were no Ukrainians during the protests; they could also have supported Georgian citizens. However, Russian propaganda, one way or another, demonized potential attempts by Ukrainians to support the country, this time passing off Italian activists as “Ukrainian protesters”.

Italian activists arrived to observe the election process as part of the Europa Radicale delegation, which fights for democracy, rights and laws through “non-violent” forms of protest and initiatives. Since the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party “effectively stops” Georgia’s accession to the EU due to its non-compliance with the bloc’s principles and values. In particular, this concerns the adoption of the law on “foreign agents”, which had previously led to the suspension of the country’s accession to the EU.

Thus, Russian propaganda is working to create an image of bloody Ukrainian revolutionaries who, on instructions from the West, are seeking to destabilize the domestic political situation in Georgia. Russia is also promoting similar narratives in relation to the United States, accusing them of organizing “color revolutions” and protests if they are pro-democratic and reformist in nature.

During the US elections, propagandists distributed a video on social networks that spoke of fraud at polling stations. The video shows a voter trying to vote for Republican Donald Trump, but the device records the choice in favor of Democrat Kamala Harris. However, this is manipulation.

This is reported by MythDetector. Its experts refer to Leadstories and Reuters, which claim that the incident occurred due to a technical error and was quickly fixed. The voter was able to vote for the desired candidate via video after replacing the device. This incident occurred in Laurel County, Kentucky, and received attention from local authorities, who said that the problem arose due to pressing on the intermediate area of the screen. In a statement, Tony Brown, Laurel County Clerk, noted that the voter was allowed to vote again. The election process assumes that each voter has the opportunity to receive a new ballot if he changes his choice after preliminary confirmation.

The authors of the material say that this is a manipulative attempt to discredit the electoral process in the United States.

Russian sources are spreading the “news” that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has admitted that Great Britain is taking part in the Ukrainian Armed Forces' operations against Russia. “Proof” of this is the latest conversation between the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Chief of Staff of the British Armed Forces, Tony Radakin.

In fact, this information is unfounded. This is written in the VoxCheck project. On October 15, 2024, a telephone conversation between General Syrskyi and Admiral Radakin actually took place. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on his pages in social networks. However, the corresponding message does not say that Great Britain is taking part in the operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or will join them in the future.

During the conversation, they discussed the current situation at the front and the organization of Ukraine's defense in certain areas. The report also noted that they discussed the possibility of hitting military targets deep into Russian territory. According to Syrskyi, the British side is working on its own proposals as part of the practical implementation of the Victory Plan.

The officials also discussed the main pillars of Ukrainian-British military cooperation: “Supply of military equipment and weapons, training of personnel, and increasing the effectiveness of using high-tech weapons”. In the end, Syrskyi drew the attention of his British colleague to the cynical violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes of Russian troops.

Earlier, we analyzed the manipulation of Russians over Syrskyi’s correspondence for the Day of Defenders of Ukraine.

Russian resources write that Germany will apparently no longer supply military aid to Ukraine. They say that the transfer of heavy military equipment has allegedly been suspended, new supplies are allegedly not planned, and that this is “another blow to Kyiv”. In reporting this, the propagandists cite the German publication Bild.

In fact, the Bild publication's material was manipulated. This is reported in the StopFake project. Bild did publish a text in which, citing anonymous sources, it was claimed that Germany would no longer transfer heavy equipment to Ukraine, and supplies were mentioned specifically from the Bundeswehr. However, the material did not say that aid to Ukraine in the form of weapons would be stopped in general. Also, the German Aid to Ukraine blog reported that the Bild article only spoke about the cessation of deliveries of heavy equipment to Ukraine from the Bundeswehr's stockpiles, and not about heavy equipment in general.

Germany will continue to supply Ukraine with tanks, self-propelled artillery, and air defense systems until at least 2028 under existing contracts. On October 17, 2024, the list of items included in military support was updated on the German government website; according to it, even more equipment is being supplied than was originally promised. The website also states:

“So far, almost €5 billion (2023) and approximately €1.6 billion (2022) have already been allocated for military support to Ukraine; another €2.9 billion was allocated in the first two years of the war as permits for deliveries that will only be carried out between 2025 and 2028”.

The page dedicated to military support for Ukraine also clarifies that Germany supports Ukraine with supplies of equipment and weapons from the stockpiles of the Bundeswehr and through industrial supplies financed from federal government aid funds.

That is, the information that Germany will no longer help Ukraine is not true. With such propaganda, the Russians are trying to impose a narrative about the “West's fatigue”  from the war in Ukraine. Earlier, we analyzed a Russian disinformation message, supposedly the German authorities said that the German economy is deteriorating because of Ukraine.