Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are circulating a video of a Ukrainian soldier saying that the Ukrainian military is clearing minefields with their own feet. And this is confirmed by the fact that the military command is throwing elite units to the slaughter. This is manipulation.

The case was investigated by the VoxCheck fact-checker. The propagandists used the story of Radio Svoboda (Liberty). On the video there is a fighter of the 47th separate mechanized brigade “Magura” with the call sign “Frenchman”. The video distributed by the propagandists and the video of Radio Svoboda (Liberty) are identical. The military says that the Russians densely replaced the fields and places where sappers cannot reach, the military will clear mines with their own hands. “It is very difficult because they have been standing here [the Zaporizhzhia direction] for more than a year, and all the fields are very heavily mined with anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. Unfortunately, we can say we will clear these fields with our own feet”, the military man said.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the high military command of Ukraine, which allegedly does not spare the Ukrainian military and leaves them to their deaths. They also try to show the incompetence of officials and therefore the impossibility of Ukraine winning the war. Earlier, we refuted the fake that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are calling for the destruction of all people in the de-occupied territories.

Russian media and social media users spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that the UK has allegedly lifted sanctions against Russia Today ex-director Anton Krasovskyi. In particular, at one time he was marked by calls to kill Ukrainian children. However, information about his exclusion from the sanctions list is a manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that on July 21, 2023, a document actually appeared on the official website of the British government, according to which Anton Krasovskyi was excluded from the sanctions list. However, an explanation of this decision can be found in the same document: Krasovskyi was excluded from the list, since he was accidentally entered there twice. The British simply removed the duplication. Moreover, the clarification also states that Krasovskyi remains on this sanctions list, and his assets will continue to be frozen.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to give the false impression that the West is ready to make peace with Russia and is gradually lifting sanctions restrictions on the main Russian criminals, but it is not true.

Russian media are spreading information that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have confirmed that they are placing air defense systems near residential buildings and have recognized “hits of homes of civilians”. This is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that the propagandists deliberately took out of context and disfigured a quote from Yurii Ihnat, a representative of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, he did not speak about the “deliberate deployment of air defense forces near residential buildings”. On the air of the national telethon on July 16, Ihnat said that the forces of the Ukrainian air defense system were positioned to protect previously peaceful cities, as well as important critical and military infrastructure. He stressed that due to the fact that it is impossible to cover the entire territory of Ukraine with the available air defense systems, these complexes are located near settlements. On July 21, Ihnat even reacted to disinformation saying that it was Russia that was spreading it.

According to the speaker, propagandists make such statements to cause panic among Ukrainians and justify their aggression against Ukraine. Detector Media has already written about how other propagandists support their message about the “harm” of the Ukrainian air defense system for civilians.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say Volodymyr Zelenskyi recently made the decision to call up 3,000 U.S. military reserve soldiers due to “huge losses” in the war. The authors refer to the “edition” of The Babylon Bee. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Brekhunets (Liar) project took up this case and found that the propagandists really took the news from The Babylon Bee humorous forum and passed it off as information from an authoritative source. Although someone can write on the forum and the moderation rules there are completely different. The site also indicated that they publish fake news and that they are satirical. That is, propagandists distorted the context of the news and passed it off as real.

Russian propaganda systematically nourishes the narrative that regular military personnel of other states, the so-called “foreign mercenaries”, are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda is also trying to justify the failures of the Russian army. Like, they are fighting not with “weak” Ukrainians, but with “specially trained NATO members” or Americans.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric and in the Russian segment of Facebook, disseminate information that the Kharkiv police will allegedly transmit information about Ukrainian citizens who fled from the mobilization to the countries of the European Union. This statement was made by Serhii Bolvinov, head of the investigative department of the National Police of the Kharkiv region. This is manipulation.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated the case. On July 14, Serhii Bolvinov did write on Facebook about cooperation with Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization). However, this cooperation is not because of the Ukrainians in the EU countries, as Russian propaganda claims. Bolvinov said that Ukrainian law enforcement officers would contact the organization because they want to bring to justice the collaborators who fled Ukraine and settled in the EU. Russian propaganda took the phrase out of context.

By manipulating the facts of mobilization, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and sow panic in society. Previously, we refuted the manipulation that in Ukraine a military uniform was created for pregnant women in order to send them to the front.

Russian media disseminate information that allegedly French instructors who train the Ukrainian military do not give a damn about their future fate. Referring to the author of the Le Monde edition, Elise Vincent, they claim that the instructors, after completing the training, arrange “farewell meetings” for Ukrainians who “leave for possible death”. Like, the instructors say: what will happen to the Ukrainians does not concern us. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists of The Insider project drew attention to it. They allege that Vincent's brief article, “French Train Ukrainian Soldiers in Poland”, states that France has declassified information about a Ukrainian military training program at a former Soviet military base in Poland, which is attended by 120 French instructors and 80 additional personnel. The French Colonel Benoit, who participates in the training, notes the high motivation of the Ukrainian military. But the phrase propagated by propagandists is taken out of context. The full version of the article says that “there is no official talk about the fear of the future”, in the context of which Benoit said that further events are “not their topic”.

In this case, propagandists are trying to pass off the phrase of one colonel as proof of the indifferent attitude of foreigners to the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. However, the phrase itself refers only to the ceremony of completing the training.

Russian media, as well as anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric, referring to an article by The New York Times, disseminated information that since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukraine has lost up to 20% of all armored vehicles that were transferred to it by Western partners (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers). However, this is manipulation.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They argue that the New York Times publication actually only mentions that up to 20% of the heavy weapons, including Western ones, used in the counteroffensive during the first two weeks of June, could be destroyed or damaged by the enemy. The authors of the article report that in the following weeks, the level of Ukrainian losses of armored vehicles dropped to 10%, as Ukraine changed its offensive tactics.

By manipulating foreign publications, propagandists want to create the erroneous impression of Ukraine's failure on the battlefield and show the ineffectiveness of Western weapons. However, in this situation, even in this article it is indicated that a number of Western weapons are not used in the counteroffensive, and the losses of Western equipment are exaggerated.

The information was disseminated in the Georgian segment of Facebook. Reports say that during the NATO summit, Zelenskyi met with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg. As a result of the meeting, Zelenskyi extended his hand, while Jens Stoltenberg allegedly refused to shake hands. The authors add that hundreds of cameras recorded this moment, and as evidence they cite a photo of one of the photojournalists. This is manipulation.

Georgian fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project investigated this case and found out that the photo was taken not at the NATO summit, but on April 20 in Kyiv. It was also a meeting of officials. In the video meeting, you can see when Zelenskyi extends his hand to Stoltenberg, he looks at the cameras, and as soon as he notices the outstretched hand, he crushes Zelensky's hand. That is, the propagandists used the old video of the meeting and took a screenshot of the moment that was beneficial to them. However, as a result, Jens Stoltenberg did not refuse Zelenskyi to shake hands.

By spreading this manipulation, the authors seek to show that allegedly Zelenskyi is not respected in political circles and that he is generally ignored. Thus, they seek to undermine the authority of the President.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports describe how, on June 10, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada registered a bill on medical cannabis that regulates its use in various areas. At the same time, the authors added that already on June 28, during his speech, Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted that he would legalize marijuana so that people “endure pain, stress and trauma”.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, and found out that during his speech the President really spoke about the need to develop the field of rehabilitation assistance in Ukraine. One of the steps is the legalization of the drug based on cannabis. He also noted that he is promoting this idea so that, first of all, people do not have to endure pain, stress and injury. That is, the propagandists simply distorted the context of Zelenskyi's quote.

Zelenskyi does not want Ukrainians to “be patient”, on the contrary, he spoke about improving the rehabilitation sector in Ukraine: opening centers, rehabilitation departments, and training specialists. The legalization of cannabis-based medicine is just one step towards improving the rehabilitation conditions for the military and war victims.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric report that Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu said in an interview that “if the United States supplies Ukraine with cluster munitions, the Armed Forces of Russian Federation will be forced to use similar weapons”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications investigated this case. In May 2022, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch published a report stating that the Russians use at least 6 types of cluster munitions in Ukraine. Russia bombarded Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and other cities with them. On April 8, 2022, the Russians used a Tochka-U ballistic missile with a cluster warhead and struck it at the Kramatorsk railway station. Then 54 adults and 7 children died.

Thus, Russian propagandists transfer responsibility for Russia's crimes to Ukraine and expose themselves as a constant victim of “aggression”. Like, Ukraine attacks first, so Russia will have to use cluster munitions in return. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is making fake attacks on nuclear facilities in order to discredit Russian troops.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric on July 12 published a selection of British tabloid covers featuring a sex scandal involving a BBC journalist as the main topic. Russian propaganda asks a rhetorical question: “Find at least a word about Ukraine and the NATO summit …”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications paid attention to the case. They note that The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star and others “traditionally prefer the “yellow” theme”. And some of the most popular and authoritative socio-political publications, such as The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, not only wrote articles, but also covered the announcements of materials about Ukraine and the NATO summit on the first pages.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the UK and promote the view that the West is tired of the war in Ukraine and ignores the news related to it. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the German edition of Handelsblatt published a cover with Volodymyr Zelenskyi who cannot get into the NATO door.

Propagandists on anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that information has appeared on the website of the Finnish public broadcaster Yle that Finland wants to cancel social assistance for Ukrainian refugees, because it allegedly exceeds the payment for picking berries. Accordingly, since the Ukrainians do not agree with these conditions, it is necessary to introduce a system of assistance in exchange for employment. However, this is manipulation.

The authors of the message do not provide a link to the article containing such information, but only to the main Finnish-language page of the broadcaster. However, if one looks for news on the Yle website, in particular in the Ukrainian-language section, you can really find material related to the problem. However, it is not about plans to cancel aid. Moreover, its authors, on the contrary, note that Ukrainians would be happy to work on plantations for picking berries, however, according to the current Finnish legislation, such activity is not considered “sustainable income”, which may lead to a decrease in the amount of assistance. Accordingly, they have no choice but to go to a more stable job, so as not to lose help from the state. Therefore, Finnish companies have begun to hire more berry pickers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Recent political transformations in Finland are also related to the migration legislation of the state. In particular, the new Finnish government is discussing a tougher approach to it. Ideas are being considered such as increasing the required period of permanent residence in Finland for obtaining citizenship, passing an exam in Finnish or Swedish for obtaining a permanent residence permit (now this is only necessary for obtaining citizenship) and, in particular, reducing the amount of social benefits for migrants. However, this does not apply only to Ukrainian refugees, but in general to all migrants in the state. These ideas have already caused outrage among them, which is why rallies were held in the country and a corresponding petition was created on Change.org.

Taking such news out of context, the propagandists once again want to show the Ukrainians as ungrateful, as well as devalue the help of European partners. They also want to cause panic among Ukrainian refugees by artificially inflating the scale of the problem. Detector Media has already written about other manipulations against Ukrainian refugees, in particular about a Ukrainian who allegedly destroyed a monument to Polish soldiers who fought against Nazism.

On July 6, anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric began to circulate reports that a significant air defense shortage had formed in Ukraine. Such statements appeared after a night attack by Russian missiles on the territory of Ukraine and hitting a high-rise building in Lviv. It is noted that this was supposedly a test version of air defense tracking. “As it turned out, it was almost empty. Most of the missiles reached their targets (there were no more than a dozen missiles, more than 60% reached their targets, others were shot down)”, they write on anonymous telegram channels. This is manipulation.

According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of July 6, the enemy attacked Lviv with Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea. 7 out of 10 missiles were shot down, there were hits on civilian targets in the city. Consequently, 70% of the missiles were shot down, only 30% reached their targets, and not 60%, as Russian propaganda writes. Also, the representative of the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, commented on the night attack on Lviv on the air of the Radio Svoboda (Liberty) project Svoboda.Morning. “It is the presence of the F-16 that can make it possible to destroy all air targets attacking Ukrainian infrastructure”, the military man notes. Yurii Ihnat adds that the Russians “worked out the route, using both the terrain and the riverbeds – in this case Dnipro – they flew to Kyiv and turned sharply in the direction of Lviv”.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among Ukrainians and arouse distrust in the authorities. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that all air defense systems were installed in Kyiv, so other cities of Ukraine are unprotected.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, allegedly stated that Ukraine would join the European Union in 20-30 years. She said this as if during her interview on June 22 in London at a conference on the restoration of Ukraine. This is manipulation.

The case was noticed by experts from the StopFake project. Russian propaganda took the words of the head of the European Commission out of context. In fact, Ursula von der Leyen said that “the European Union in 20-30 years is unthinkable without Ukraine and a bloc of Western Balkan countries in it”. When asked by journalists when exactly Ukraine will join the EU, she replied that she could not name the exact date. Accession to the EU depends on when Ukraine fulfills all the requirements.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the European Union and convince Ukrainians that the West does not want to see it as a member of the EU. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukrainian grain is being destroyed by the European Union.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that pregnant women are allegedly mobilized in Ukraine and that a special uniform has been sewn for them. And the proof is a screenshot from the UNIAN website, where they are talking about a new uniform for female military personnel. This is manipulation.

According to the specialists of the VoxCheck project, the mobilization of women in Ukraine is exclusively voluntary. And volunteers began to create uniforms for military personnel, including pregnant women, at the request of the women themselves in the army. UNIAN  published news about the creation of a uniform for women, it was presented on the air of the United News marathon.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the authorities and intimidate Ukrainian society. Like, the Russians are winning on the battlefield, there are not enough people in the Ukrainian army, so they began to mobilize pregnant women. Earlier, Detector Media denied the manipulation that due to “huge losses” in the regions of Ukraine, a general mobilization allegedly began.

Propagandists on social networks are spreading messages according to which the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, allegedly criticized the current US President Joe Biden for corruption in a recent interview with CNN. Like, one should not consider the Ministry of Justice as one's own personal law firm and one should not ignore legal norms to prevent the influence of personal interests on the work of institutions. They argue that this quote is related to Biden's corruption in Ukraine, which has become more talked about by representatives of the US Republican Party. This is manipulation.

Specialists of the MythDetector project drew attention to it. They found that Obama's statement was published without context and with erroneous descriptions. In the mentioned  interview, it did consider Donald Trump. So Obama answered the question “Will American institutions withstand another Trump victory in the presidential election?”.

Thus, propagandists want to destabilize the situation in the United States, discredit Joe Biden and his support for Ukraine. This manipulation is an example of how Russian propaganda uses the “Ukrainian trace” conspiracy theory in the Biden vice presidency, which we wrote about earlier.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric distributed a screenshot of Zelenskyi’s video message, which allegedly shows the chevron of the Nazi 14th Waffen-SS division “Galicia” in the form of a lion with three crowns. Russian propaganda allegedly noticed it on a board with military chevrons behind the back of the President of Ukraine. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. A board with military chevrons really hangs behind Volodymyr Zelenskyi's back. However, the chevron that Russian propagandists passed off as the emblem of the SS division “Galicia” actually belongs to the 1st separate tank Siversk brigade, and it depicts a horse in armor. For the fake, Russian propaganda used a video message from the President dated June 20.

Russian propagandists are systematically spreading the narrative that Ukrainians, and President Zelenskyi in particular, are Nazis. Russian propaganda transfers responsibility for Russia's crimes from the aggressor to the victim of aggression. Earlier, Detector Media denied fakes that Zelenskyi wore a sweater with Nazi symbols to a meeting with the Pope, and Valerii Zaluzhnyi allegedly has a “bracelet with a swastika”.

Anonymous telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric as well as the Polish segment of Twitter distribute a photo of the destroyed monument with the caption that a Ukrainian destroyed it because of Soviet symbols. The obelisk itself was erected in honor of the Polish partisans who fought against Nazism. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxVheck project drew attention to the case. They established that the monument was demolished on the basis of the decision of the Pomeranian governor Dariusz Drelich dated November 7, 2022. For the first time, the Polish publication Wizjalokalna.pl wrote about this and attached a document of the decision. The obelisk was erected at the site of the battle between Polish and Soviet partisans and German troops. The monument was demolished on the basis of the law “On the prohibition of propaganda of communism or another totalitarian system through the names of public buildings, structures and equipment” of 2017. The Institute of National Remembrance found that the obelisk symbolized the memory of communist partisans who were not part of the general Armed Forces of Poland, but were under Soviet command.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to sow discord between Ukraine and Poland, to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals. And thus reduce support for Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that the crime rate in Poland increased because of the Ukrainians.

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.