Propagandists are spreading information that US presidential candidate from the Democratic Party Robert Kennedy Jr. confirmed the existence of US biological laboratories in Ukraine, which are working on the development of various types of biological weapons. This is manipulation.

Specialists in the VoxUkraine project drew attention to it. They found out that Kennedy Jr. took part in a discussion with Elon Musk and David Sachs on June 5th. In it, Sachs referred to the “surreal case of war in Ukraine” when US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland allegedly confirmed the existence of biolabs in Ukraine. Kennedy Jr. picked up on this and added that she announced the existence in Ukraine of a network of American laboratories for the development of bioweapons. Analysts emphasize that Kennedy Jr. has a dubious reputation in the American political community, since he has been an active anti-vaccinator for the past 15 years. He spread false claims about vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted unproven treatments for the coronavirus. Therefore, in 2021-2022, the pages of the figure and organizations associated with him were blocked on social networks, however, thanks to the status of a presidential candidate, Instagram opened access to his personal account.

The information that Nuland allegedly confirmed the development of a bioweapon was refuted earlier. Following her statements on the subject, the State Department emphasized that Nuland was referring to Ukraine's diagnostic and biodefense labs, distinct from the biological weapons facilities. In addition, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine noted that there are no “American laboratories” on the territory of Ukraine, and the laboratories that exist are designed to identify pathogens of infectious diseases.

By spreading the claims of “handy foreigners” like Kennedy Jr., propagandists are giving false verification to their claim. In addition, in this way, they again want to justify the aggression against Ukraine. They say that the war was started in order to destroy biolaboratories that posed a threat to Russian security. However, Detector Media has repeatedly refuted these messages.

Propagandists are spreading information that some EU member states are proposing to “abolish democracy” in order to “ignite conflict in Ukraine”. As evidence, they cite a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Spain, published in Politico. This is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They stress that in fact, in a statement titled “It's time for more majority decision-making in EU foreign policy”, the ministers in question are calling on the EU to “make more use” of supermajority voting in EU foreign policy and security matters. In their opinion, the real challenges associated with Russian aggression against Ukraine and the high security risks for the EU member states require a prompt response and the functioning of all EU institutions. To date, the vast majority of decisions concerning EU foreign policy require unanimity, which in some cases, as noted in the publication, can slow down the reaction of the EU.

There is no mention of any “abolition of democracy” in the material. StopFake experts note that the Treaty on European Union provides that the Council of the EU, depending on the issue, can make its decisions by voting by a simple majority (14 votes in favor), a qualified majority or consensus (all votes in favor). Qualified majority voting assumes that a decision is considered to have been taken when two conditions are met simultaneously: 55% (15 out of 27 member countries) voted in favor, and the population of these countries is at least 65% of the total EU population. This mechanism is also referred to as the “double majority rule”. The Ministers in their publication note that they do not support amendments to the Agreement, but propose more efficient use of existing tools. They also support more often the use of the principle of constructive content, provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 31 of the same agreement. According to it, an EU country can abstain from voting on a specific initiative without blocking it.

Propagandists often take foreign publications out of context to reinforce Russian propaganda messages. In this case, they want to blame the Ukrainians for the erosion of European democracy. They say that because of the war in Ukraine, the European Union has become a puppet of the United States and ignores the opinion of countries that do not support its position on the war. Thus, they also want to show the inappropriateness of EU sanctions against Russia. However, the presence of different opinions about Russian aggression against Ukraine, even within the framework of the unanimous recognition of Russia as the aggressor, is an element of real democracy.

Propagandists are spreading the word that Kyiv is one of the ten worst cities to live in the world according to The Economist due to the careless management of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the mayor of the city Vitalii Klychko. This is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They note that the fall in the rating of Kyiv was not due to the rule of Zelenskyi and Klychko, but because of Russian aggression against Ukraine. In a ranking published on June 21, The Economist did place Kyiv in the top ten least livable cities in the world. The publication's analysts assessed living conditions in 173 cities according to the following categories: stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure. According to the ranking, Kyiv is in 165th place with an index of 44 points out of 100. The extended version of the ranking indicates that the assessment of Kyiv has decreased by 5.9% compared to 2021 “due to damage caused by the war to its stability, infrastructure and general suitability for life”.

Analysts at The Economist also note that the city received only 23.2 points out of 100 in the category “infrastructure” due to constant Russian shelling. In addition, Russian aggression against Ukraine has affected the scores of other Eastern European cities such as Warsaw and Budapest due to their proximity to the war zone. In 2022, the publication excluded Kyiv from the ranking due to the war, so the city has no points in a number of categories.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists seek to shift the responsibility for aggression from the aggressor to the victim. In addition, by taking foreign materials out of context, they want to find a false verification of their messages, hoping that people will not read their full version.

Propagandists spread information that the news about the need for men in Ivano-Frankivsk and Kyiv to come to the military registration and enlistment office within 10 days, if they did not receive personal draft notices, is confirmation of the “huge losses” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The authors of such reports add that Ukraine is doing this “for the sake of NATO membership” when “resistance to the regime is growing” among the people. This is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They claim that in Ukraine there is a general mobilization due to martial law. The appearance of orders from individual territorial recruitment centers (TRC) is not new, but serves to re-notify those liable for military service. In Ivano-Frankivsk, they explained that such an order is provided in case of an extension of martial law. As before, Ukrainians liable for military service between the ages of 18 and 60 who do not have a deferment are still subject to mobilization.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists distort reality and try to arouse Ukrainians' distrust of the authorities. In addition, they want to raise a panic and convince everyone that Russia is winning on the battlefield.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The Estonian intelligence ex-chairman admitted that the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “will turn into a failure” due to the effective defense of Russia and its superiority in the air, the reports say. The authors refer to an interview by Rainer Sachs on Estonian television. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to the case, and they determined that such an ex-member of the Estonian intelligence did not speak. During the live broadcast, Rainer Sachs was invited as an expert to comment on the situation with the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Meanwhile, he said that the Russians have an advantage in the air, but they do not dare to come very close to the front. That is, the expert assessed the combat capability of Russia. However, he did not say that under such a scenario, the counteroffensive was doomed. The propagandists distorted the context of the interview.

By spreading such manipulations, the authors seek to demoralize Ukrainians, while using the figure of international experts. It seems that they themselves are not confident in the victory of Ukraine. Thus, propagandists mistake the wish for reality.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say Volodymyr Zelenskyi has allegedly admitted to being disappointed with the events of the counteroffensive. Like, he admitted failure in the war. The authors refer to Zelenskyi's interview with the BBC British Service. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project took up the case and found out that Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not make any statements about the “failure” of the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces or about his “disappointment” with the military operations of the Ukrainian army. The propagandists simply distorted the context of the interview and came up with non-existent phrases. In an interview, Zelenskyi, on the contrary, expressed optimism about the effectiveness of the Ukrainian army against the invaders and stressed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would advance on the battlefield at their own pace. There is no information about “disappointment” or “admission of failure” in this interview.

By spreading this message, propagandists aim to demoralize both civilian Ukrainians and the military. Like, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine despaired of victory and expects nothing from the counteroffensive.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Oleksii Reznikov is thought to have said that “nothing significant should be expected” from the UAF counteroffensive. The authors added that the official was confident in the ability of the Russians to repulse the attack and could not even answer the exact amount of destroyed equipment. Like, he answered “ambiguously” to the technique. They refer to an interview with the current publication. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and found out that Reznikov did not make such statements in an interview with Present Time, but only said that this counteroffensive would not be a lightning-fast campaign like Kherson and Kharkiv, and that Ukrainian commanders would gradually fulfill their tasks. That is the authors distorted the context of the interview. In fact, he meant that over time, all the tasks set will be completed, but one should not expect quick results.

As for the destroyed equipment, Reznikov did not really give exact numbers, arguing that it is impossible to establish such a number: some equipment is being repaired, others are written off. These calculations take time. However, he did not avoid this question and did not answer “vaguely” in order to supposedly hide the fact of a crushing defeat. By spreading this manipulation, propagandists seek to demoralize Ukrainians. Allegedly, the officials themselves are not sure of victory or of a successful counteroffensive. Like, one should not  expect anything significant, because the Russians are “stronger”.

Thus, the authors distort reality and mistake the wish for the reality.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are circulating a video in which Czech President Petr Pavel calls for closer monitoring of Russians living in the West, as was the case with the Japanese in the United States during World War II. Russian propaganda distributed this video with the caption that Peter Pavel said to create concentration camps for Russians living in Europe. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. On June 15, 2023, the Ukrainian division of Radio Svoboda (Liberty) media published an interview with the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel. He stated that “all Russians living in Western countries should be more monitored than in the past as they are citizens of a country that is waging a war of aggression”. He noted that when World War II began, all Japanese living in the United States were under strict surveillance.

Later, the presidential speaker sent an email to Radio Svoboda (Liberty) clarifying the comparison. She wrote that supervision should apply to those Russians who bear risks. And that restrictions on citizens of the aggressor country are nothing new. Peter Pavel did not speak about the creation of concentration camps for the Russians.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Czech President Petr Pavel and expose him as a violator of international law. This is how Russian propaganda tries to divert international attention from Russian war crimes. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that the supply of Western weapons allowed Ukraine to destroy the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

Propagandists in Russian media claim that Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called for the murder of “the largest number” of Russians, which allegedly testifies to the “inhumane” nature of the Ukrainian state. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists of The Insider project drew attention to it. They noticed a strong reaction to Podoliak's statement in the Russian media space and found out that the quote was taken out of context. In its full version from the air of the United News marathon, it is clear that he  was not talking about all Russians, but about the soldiers of the occupying army.

Putting it in this light, the propagandists want to justify their aggression against Ukraine by fighting the “monsters”. Allegedly, the Ukrainians are so cruel that they call for the destruction of an entire nation. However, it is the Russians who commit genocide against Ukrainians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the Poles provoked a diplomatic row when they prevented the South African President's security service and journalists from getting off the plane in Warsaw. The authors add that such an act is extremely humiliating for Poland, since, first of all, the delegation was sent to Kyiv with a peacekeeping mission. This is manipulation. 

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security notes that members of the delegation violated the rules for entering Poland. Since it was found out at the airport that the guards did not have permits for 12 containers with weapons. At the same time, the Polish Border Service said how the members of the delegation themselves were allowed to leave the plane, but they decided to stay on board. That is, the delegation was not previously detained without reason, but because of the lack of permits for weapons. And even the delegations were allowed to disembark only on the condition that the guards would not take undeclared weapons. Also, the Commissioner for the Security of the Information Space of Poland assured that if the delegation had all the permissions, there would be no problems.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that children are recruited in Germany for work, and then they are required to pay their entire “salary” to help Ukraine. The authors of the messages add a photo of the employment contract, which allegedly needs to be signed by the children. This is manipulation. 

The fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation, who turned to the Ukrainian Embassy in Berlin for comment, took up the case. It turned out that in Germany there is a nationwide action - Social Day - when schoolchildren across the country have the opportunity to exchange one of their school days for a day of their dream work. And the money earned is usually donated to charity. The propagandists distorted the context of the “labor contract”, which referred exclusively to the initiative of one day of work. 

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to show that the West illegally employs children and takes money from them. Allegedly, Germany violates the rights of children and does not believe that children can only be allowed to work at a specific age and for a limited time.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that there are long queues of Ukrainian citizens at the Latvian border who are allegedly trying to leave for Russia. The authors refer to the materials of the Latvian Radio and the Latvian Television LSM. This is manipulation. 

Fact-checkers of the Stop Fake project took up this case and investigated that the journalists’ material does not say that Ukrainians are “trying to leave” for Russia. The interviewed people are trying to get through Russia to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine for personal and family reasons. For example, the story was about a man who was on his way to Kakhovka to help evacuate his relatives. Another couple said they were going to pick up their children from Russia. That is, the propagandists simply distorted the context of the material and began to claim that everyone was heading to Russia en masse, allegedly with the idea of staying there. 

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists succeed in whitewashing themselves, showing that Ukrainians want to live in Russia and are generally ready to stand in long lines to get to Russia, despite their daily war crimes against Ukraine, in particular, the deportation of children.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Ukrainian military has begun to complain about Western equipment. Allegedly, it is not adapted for Ukraine, and in general it is because of it that Ukraine “experiences failures” in the counteroffensive. The authors refer to the material of The Wall Street Journal. This is manipulation. 

The fact-checkers of the Stop Fake project took up the case, and found out that the article does not talk about the Ukrainian military complaining about Western weapons, especially justifying the “unsuccessful counteroffensive”. Journalists from The Wall Street Journal interviewed several Ukrainian servicemen participating in the battles in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk directions. One of the fighters noted that, in his opinion, MaxxPro armored vehicles are not suitable for moving through swampy areas. And according to him, such cars hardly pass swampy areas. It was this phrase that the propagandists used and distorted the entire context of the quote. The military did not criticize or justify “failures” in the counteroffensive. He talked about the features of the operation of a particular technique. 

Thus, the authors once again promote false messages about broken or malfunctioning Western weapons. So, they want to show that the Ukrainian army is constantly losing and even innovative Western technology does not help.

Users of social networks, in particular the American segment of Instagram, spread a video showing a house driving across a field, and added the inscription: “Ukrainian tank uses the house as camouflage”. The author of the publication believes that the video allegedly shows military equipment disguised as a Ukrainian house. This is manipulation.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the PolitiFact project. They determined that there was no Ukrainian tank disguised as a house in the video. In fact, this is a car, namely the Zaporozhets, which, back in 2020, a family from near Dnipro turned into a “mobile home”. Craftsmen decorated it with Petrykivka painting, and placed icons and embroidered towels inside. A reverse search also showed that the video, dated 2020, was filmed by TV Channel 34. The Instagram post was labeled as the “False Information” one. 

The Ukrainian military does not disguise military equipment as houses. Earlier, Detector Media explained the manipulation that Mexican cartels allegedly receive weapons provided to Ukraine as military aid.

A number of Ukrainian media, citing the Polish edition Rzeczpospolita, disseminate information that Poland is less willing to help refugees from Ukraine. This is manipulation.

The fact-checker of the InfoLight.UA project drew attention to the case. They examined articles from Rzeczpospolita and other Polish publications that contained publications of a “survey of public perception of Ukrainian refugees and migrants, conducted in late May - early June by the Research Laboratory of the University of Warsaw and the Academy of Economics and Humanities in Warsaw”. According to fact-checkers, the study has an unrepresentative sample, because only 584 people took part in it (in Ukraine, more than 1,000 people participate) aged 16-65 years, the survey was conducted using a mixed method. Also, the real number of respondents whose support for Ukraine has decreased is 26%. Only 85% of respondents believe that Poland should help Ukraine in the war with Russia - this is a rather big figure. According to the survey, “5% of respondents oppose the admission of refugees from Ukraine to Poland, and this percentage has not changed significantly since the beginning of the survey”.

Specialists draw attention to the fact that this study is called “Public perception of refugees from Ukraine, migrants and measures taken by the government of Mateusz Morawiecki”, and it has political and pre-election overtones. “Elections in Poland are in the fall and, obviously, this is artillery preparation”, fact-checkers note.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the European Union is ready to discuss sending peacekeepers from Poland and Romania to Ukraine. Russian propaganda refers to a statement by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Also, Ukrainian media, citing The Guardian, write that ex-NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen believes that some members of the Alliance, such as Poland, may agree to send troops to Ukraine. This is manipulation. 

On June 8, 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba commented on the statements of the ex-NATO Secretary General on the air of the Breakfast with 1 + 1 program. He said that “until the end of the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine, foreign states would not send their troops to the territory of our state. Moreover, we do not ask for it. We say: give us weapons”. The Minister stressed that “Ukraine's membership in NATO cannot end this war, but it will prevent new wars”. 

Thus, propagandists want to show that Russia is at war with NATO on the territory of Ukraine, while other countries are belligerent and ready to go to war at any moment. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that, according to Zelenskyi, hopes for Ukraine's accession to NATO are fading and that Ukraine seems to be able to join NATO if it gives up the territories occupied by Russia.

On June 4, 2023, the Georgian segment of Facebook disseminates information that the Eiffel Tower in France was illuminated with the colors of the Russian and Belarusian flags for 2 nights in a row. The message contains 2 photographs: on one the tower is highlighted in white, blue and red, and on the other - in green and red. This is manipulation. 

The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case. They determined that the photo of the Eiffel Tower in red and green colors was taken in 2016, and the colors themselves symbolize the flag of Portugal, not Belarus. During the UEFA European Champions League final, telecommunications company Orange launched a campaign in which it illuminated the Eiffel Tower in the colors of the participating countries that would get the most engagement on social media. Although Russia was one of the 24 participating teams, there is not a single mention in the media that the tower was illuminated in the colors of the flag of this country. As for the Russian flag, the fact-checkers found a photo of the tower in a Russian blog highlighted in red, white and blue, probably edited.

After all, along with the photo in the article, they called for special hashtags to be put on social networks so that the Eiffel Tower would be illuminated in the colors of the Russian flag. In June 2023, the Eiffel Tower was not highlighted in the color of any country - one can check this on social networks. As for the colors of the flags of other countries, the last time the Eiffel Tower was illuminated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag was on February 23, 2023, a year after the start of the Ukrainian-Russian war. By spreading such fakes, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the West, sow discouragement among Ukrainian society and show that the support of international partners has allegedly weakened. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that the West would stop supporting Ukraine if it failed the counteroffensive.

Such information is disseminated by Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, and in the Russian segment of Facebook. At the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Moldova, Zelenskyi allegedly said that hopes for Ukraine's accession to NATO “are becoming more and more distant”. This is manipulation. As the fact-checkers of the Stop Fake project note, the quote used by Russian propagandists is inaccurate, shortened and taken out of context. But Zelenskyi did not declare “fading hopes” for Ukraine's entry into NATO. However, the president did talk about the prospect of Ukraine and other countries joining NATO. According to him, every European country that borders on Russia and wants to be protected from it should join the European Union and NATO. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the President of Ukraine, sow panic and despondency among the population. Russian propagandists systematically spread fakes that Western partners do not want to help Ukraine and do not want to see it in NATO. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that Ukraine is not expected to join NATO.

In Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, reports are circulating that Australia will transfer Hawkei armored vehicles with faulty brakes to Ukraine as part of a military aid package. Russian propaganda refers to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, which allegedly released an article about this. This is manipulation.

As fact-checkers of The Insider media note, in fact, the Australian newspaper reports that the obligation to supply armored vehicles to Ukraine has not yet been formally fixed, but an agreement has been reached. The aid package itself will be announced in July, during Prime Minister Anthony Albaniz's visit to the NATO summit in Lithuania. Australia has 1,100 Hawkeis equipped with the same US-Norwegian air defense system protecting the White House. However, the army opposed the transfer of these vehicles to Ukraine, referring to the fact that the vehicle has faulty brakes. Retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryman believes this is a cop-out.

Also, the Australian military came up with another argument. They say that Ukraine will have to transfer so many spare parts that the entire Australian fleet of armored vehicles will become unusable. However, despite this, agreements were reached.

By spreading such manipulations, Russian propagandists are trying to show that the West does not want to support Ukraine in the war, does not believe in its victory, and therefore transfers broken equipment to it. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Ukrainian military is unprofessional, so the United States is transferring tanks to Ukraine without secret equipment.

Propagandists are spreading information that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation allegedly does not provide US Congressmen with details regarding the $5 million bribe that the Ukrainian authorities provided to current United States President Joe Biden during his tenure as Vice President. This is manipulation.

The authors of messages on this topic in anonymous telegram channels that spread pro-Russian rhetoric refer to the corresponding article of the British tabloid The Daily Mail. The article notes that the Republicans in Congress held a closed meeting, where they heard the details of the “bribe”. The authors of this article took a comment from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who expressed her outrage at the situation. In addition, the emphasis in this case is on the fact that the person who first reported the “bribes” now fears for his safety, allegedly because of the threat of political reprisal. Citing this article, Russian propagandists have already predicted impeachment of Joe Biden, imprisonment for the head of the FBI, and refusal of further assistance to Ukraine. Like, this situation gives the Republicans carte blanche to block aid to Ukraine, and the Americans will only support this, because they are tired of the war.

In fact, the article is intended for a purely American audience, as it adds fuel to the fire of an already existing message that has been manipulated by Republicans from the very beginning of Joe Biden's presidential term. In particular, Biden's “corruption activities” as vice president became the central theme of a whole conspiracy theory against Ukraine, which was publicly supported by US ex-president Donald Trump. The Daily Mail is considered a tabloid by independent British media experts. In addition, the article feels unbalanced coverage of the topic - it contains only comments from congressmen who support the main message of the material. Congresswoman Taylor Green is an odious figure in American politics, as she is one of the most active members of the Trumpist movement within the US Republican Party. Her statements and actions almost always coincide with Trump's rhetoric, and the admins of pro-Russian anonymous telegram channels actively use her as a representative of the American politicians, since she plays along with the messages of Russian propaganda. It is clear that there is no confirmed data on bribes anywhere, and propagandists do not mention specific data that ordinary Americans are tired of the topic of the war against Ukraine in their comments on the material. Although the Trumpist movement has some influence, at the moment it is not so numerous as to launch impeachment proceedings against Biden or completely block aid to Ukraine.

Using such stories, propagandists are trying to cause panic among Ukrainians and distrust of Western partners. In addition, in this way they want to personally discredit Joe Biden and his assistance to Ukraine. Like, he only helps us because he was paid a lot of money. However, the Russians are doing this solely out of their own interest, trying to justify their aggression against Ukraine by “fighting for real values”.

Propagandists are distributing a video on social networks, in which a report by the Mexican TV channel Milenio allegedly mentions that Mexican drug cartels are receiving weapons transferred to Ukraine as military aid. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the AP Fact Check project drew attention to the video. They found out that the propagandists deliberately mistranslated the comment from him. In fact, it says that members of the Golf Cartel “own javelins”. The host of this news program only recalls that this is the type of weapon used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but does not say that the drug cartel received it with the participation of Ukrainians or that the specific weapon from the video should be in service with the Ukrainian army. In addition, the journalists of the TV channel incorrectly identified the weapon in the report - in fact, it does not show the Javelin, but the AT4, another type of anti-tank weapon.

Thus, propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and disrupt the supply of armed aid from NATO countries. Like, Ukrainians resell it on the black market, and it falls into the hands of criminals. However, military experts, at the request of AP Fact Check specialists, replied that the drug traffickers probably bought the weapons in a way not related to Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that recently the National Bank of Ukraine collects data on all payments from individuals (i.e. ordinary people). They say that in Ukraine they collect personal information for their own, possibly selfish needs. The authors of the messages add a reminder letter from the NBU to Ukrainian banks in the publication. This is manipulation.

The department of the NBU denied this information. They explained that the National Bank, in order to strengthen supervision, from December 2022 on a periodic basis receives generalized information from banks exclusively on business entities, payment service providers - legal entities using the services of banks. That is, we are talking about organizations, enterprises (legal entities). There was no mention of individuals in the letter. The authors of the messages simply distorted the contents of the document itself.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the International Monetary Fund is allegedly demanding that Ukraine completely eliminate subsidies for some Ukrainians and leave only minimal assistance. The authors add to the reports that Ukrainians should forget about social payments because Zelenskyi “surrenders Ukraine” and does not care about his people. The authors refer to the IMF resolution on the Extended Financing for Ukraine  program. This is manipulation.

The case was noticed by StopFake project fact-checkers, who found out that in March 2023, the IMF Board of Directors approved a new four-year extended financing program for Ukraine in the amount of $15.6 billion. The program includes implementation points in Ukraine to strengthen control over the distribution of funds and reduce the number of possible cases of corruption. Among these points is, for example, the reorganization of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine. Actually, the IMF provided support to Ukraine on the condition that the Ukrainian government will fulfill its obligations on reforms and public administration measures. However, we are not talking about any abolition of subsidies or social payments, since the propagandists distorted the context of the main provisions of the project.

The fact-checkers also explain that the IMF Program provides for a gradual increase in gas and electricity tariffs to ensure the sustainability of the energy sector. Meanwhile, Maksym Samoiliuk, an economist at the Center for Economic Strategy, notes that this is a necessary step in a war.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to feed the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to a lack of electricity or high utility prices. Thus, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize moods and create a feeling that “nothing will change”. However, Russia does not take into account the fact that it was it who invaded the territory of Ukraine destroying our infrastructure, killing civilians and hindering peaceful life.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, including the Georgian segment of Facebook. Reports say Zelenskyi has renounced NATO membership, saying he no longer wants to pressure Western officials. The authors of the messages convince readers that Zelenskyi was making concessions to Russia. They also refer to France 24 material. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case, who found that Zelenskyi did indeed say that he would not insist on joining NATO, although he did not indicate that this was because of Russia and pressure on him. The authors of the messages simply distorted the context of the material, which does not even indicate that Volodymyr Zelenskyi is making concessions.

In the material itself, journalists wrote that in the context of NATO membership, Zelenskyi said that he did not want to be the president of a “begging country on its knees”. That is, there are no concessions to Russia, Zelenskyi only said that he would not try to whine about membership and would not insist.

This message is circulating in the Russian segment of Facebook and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. As proof, they cite Stephen Bryen’s article What happened to Ukraine’s General Valerii Zaluzhny? posted on the Asia Times website. Zelenskyi seems to have doubts, despite the Ukrainian Armed Forces being equipped with American and European weapons, including Leopard tanks, because “Ukraine will have to go mostly without air cover for any advance and will face a heavily electronically jammed battlefield where Western smart weapons may not work”, as the article notes. This is manipulation.

Stop Fake experts drew attention to the case, noting that this article in Asia Times is an outright manipulation. The author of the article, Stephen Bryen, is spreading fake Russian propaganda about the allegedly missing Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Earlier Detector Media denied this information.

Bryen also writes that the United States is allegedly pressuring Zelenskyi to launch a counteroffensive, and then adds that “There are other rumors pointing to an ongoing struggle in Ukraine between military and civilian leaders”. The opinions expressed in the article spread Russian narratives.

Detector Media found out that on May 13, 2023, in an interview with Italian media, Zelenskyi said that the issue of a counteroffensive is the most popular in Ukraine, but the president cannot disclose details so as not to do harm.

And on May 29, he wrote on his telegram: “I just finished the Headquarters. Important questions. Important decisions. The main thing is timing. And most importantly, there are answers regarding the timing”.

Russian propagandists continue to spread narratives about an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive that is supposedly doomed to fail. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to demoralize the Ukrainian military, discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and sow discouragement among Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that NATO military experts are confident in the failure of the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian military, and also that the West is allegedly preparing for the loss of Ukraine in the war.