Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian refugees are dissatisfied with life in Europe and are generally surprised that they still need to earn money. The authors add that the refugees are gradually destroying the “sovereignty of European countries” because they do not want to work. As proof, they added a video from a TikTok, in which an alleged Ukrainian “refugee” complains about life in Europe. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and found that the author of this video actually shot a satirical video on her TikTok account, which has nothing to do with real life, since the blogger regularly shoots videos and sketches. At the same time, the propagandists used this video as ostensible evidence that Ukrainian refugees were “dissatisfied” with life in Europe and did not indicate that this video was of a humorous nature. That is, they defiled the meaning and wishful thinking. Moreover, as the fact-checkers explained, the blogger is Ukrainian, and she permanently resides in Ukraine, even after February 24. Analysts turned to Tiktoker for comment, and she confirmed the exclusively humorous nature of the video.

Despite the fact that the video turned out to be humorous, propagandists regularly spread fakes and manipulations regarding Ukrainian refugees. They portray the image of the Ukrainian refugee as being lazy and dissatisfied with everything. Allegedly, Europe should support the Ukrainians, because they strive for this. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU, in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own investigation previously.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting Kremlin rhetoric are circulating a video of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. She allegedly smiled after being asked if China would recognize Ukraine's sovereignty. This is manipulation.

According to VoxCheck experts, the video was taken out of context. On April 24, 2023, a conference was held by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning, where most of the questions were about Ukraine. When asked by a Reuters journalist about whether China recognizes Ukraine's sovereignty, the speaker replied that “Ukraine is a full member of the UN” and noted that China has established and is developing strong relations with the country.

She also answered a question from a Russian media journalist about Crimea, which allegedly “historically” was part of Russia. Mao Ning said that China respects “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to convince Ukrainians that Ukraine is not a sovereign state, they say, even abroad it is not recognized. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that the Ukrainian hopak was allegedly called a Russian dance at an international festival in China.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that the Vatican and the Pope personally are upset by the position of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi regarding the war against Ukraine. The Italian media seems to be writing about this. In addition, propagandists appeal to the fact that they called Zelenskyi's Peace Formula a “provocation”. This is manipulation.

The Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published its findings on the recent visit of the President of Ukraine to the Vatican. Journalists of the publication believe that the Pope is personally upset by Zelenskyi's position as “everything is at stake” because of the counteroffensive. In addition, according to their version, Ukraine tried to provoke the Vatican by offering its own vision of the world, which includes military assistance to Ukraine.

Such conclusions can be considered speculation, since there are no confirmed statements in the publication. In addition, given the special (apolitical) status of the Vatican as a state, Pope Francis's calls for peace do not mean disappointment in Ukraine or disagreement with its policies. In their official statements, Vatican officials consistently recognize Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression and call for an end to Russia's fighting. Moreover, Il Fatto Quotidiano is not very popular in Italy itself and from time to time publishes pro-Russian narratives, covering them up with “personal opinion”.

Referring to this material, the propagandists want to impose the opinion that Ukraine wants an escalation and is asking for support for it even from the clergy. However, Ukraine is defending itself from Russian aggression, and the supply of weapons is an effective way to deter and counter this aggression.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyryl Budanov, called for “killing Russians”, just like Hitler did in his time. Like, Ukrainian officials are lobbying for the idea of killing Russians on a national basis. The authors of the messages refer to the statement of the first deputy head of the international committee of the Council of Federations of Russia, Volodymyr Dzhabarov. This is manipulation.

The specialists of the StopFake project took up the case and determined that Kyryl Budanov did not say such things, and his words were taken out of context. The reason for creating this manipulation was an interview for Yahoo News, where the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate spoke about the Russian army and their war crimes. He explained that punishment for such people cannot be avoided. He also said that the Ukrainian army is destroying the Russians and will destroy them until the complete victory of Ukraine. That is, Kyryl Budanov did not call for the killing of all “Russians” on a national basis. He mentioned only those Russians who hosted or are participating in the war against Ukraine and commit war crimes by killing Ukrainian civilians.

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists seek to once again feed the narrative about the existence of Ukrainian Nazis. Therefore, the Russians whitewash themselves and justify the wide-scale war and the daily war crimes committed by the Russians. Like, the goal of Ukraine is to destroy the Russians, so they are defending themselves.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Official protests were held in Athens on May 7 against the war in Ukraine, including against the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian army. The authors of the messages add that this rally in support of Russia was initiated by NATO itself. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case, and they found that anti-war rallies were indeed held in Athens, consisting of several dozen people and during which the participants chanted pro-Kremlin slogans. However, this rally was not held with the participation of the current authorities of Greece and, accordingly, it does not reflect the official position of Greece regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. As the fact-checkers explained, the rally was initiated by Russian forces, Greek communists and left-wing parties that do not have political weight in their own country. At the same time, the Greek authorities support Ukraine in confronting Russian aggression, even the country's defense minister noted that Greece “will provide military assistance to Ukraine as much as necessary”.

By spreading such manipulation, the propagandists are trying to convince everyone that Ukraine should allegedly not be supplied with weapons, because, first of all, the Europeans are against it. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to reduce military aid to Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated by the Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous telegrams. Russian Minister of Health Mykhailo Murashka said that 80 medical institutions were restored in the occupied territories, 50 ambulances were provided and medicines worth 7 billion rubles were sent. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project specialists drew attention to this case. According to the World Bank, the Russian military damaged or destroyed at least 978 medical facilities, 650 ambulances and about 596 pharmacies. They noted that in order to fully restore the medical system, Ukraine needs $16.4 billion over the next 10 years. Also, eyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) and the Ukrainian Health Center (UHC) created an interactive map showing that as of March 2023, Russia had 822 attacks on hospitals and other health infrastructure.

By spreading such manipulation, Russian propagandists are trying to convince the inhabitants of the occupied territories that they care about them and restore medicine. Also, in this way they try to hide the real state of affairs. Earlier, Detector Media wrote about manipulation that in the Kherson region from now on there allegedly will be free medicine.

Such information is disseminated by the Kremlin propaganda media. They refer to the statement of the chief US general in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, which he allegedly made on the air of the American TV channel TruNews. According to propagandists, Cavoli said that the Russian military allegedly “has not been affected negatively” in the war, and Western media seemed to distort information about the “degradation” of Russian troops. This is manipulation.

According to the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project, Christopher Cavoli did not talk about the advantage of the Russians in the war and that the Western media distort the facts, moreover, he emphasized that Ukraine is in a good position. Russian propaganda took out of context a quote where the general spoke about the activity of the Russians in the Atlantic Ocean and that it was precisely that part of the Russian military that the war had almost no effect on. “Russians are more active than we’ve seen them in years, and their patrols into the Atlantic, and throughout the Atlantic, are at a high level, most of the time at a higher level than we’ve seen in years”, Cavoli said exclusively about the Russian military in the Atlantic Ocean.

Russian propaganda also said that the general spoke on the TruNews TV channel, but took out of context a quote from his speech to the House Committee. The Media Bias/Fact Check project, which aggregates the assessments of independent IFCN fact-checkers, writes that TruNews is a conspiracy and pseudo-scientific publication that spreads conspiracy theories and hate speech and is an unreliable source of information. VoxCheck noticed that TruNews was spreading pro-Kremlin narratives.

Russian propaganda systematically distorts interviews with foreign experts in order to discredit them. Thus, propagandists are trying to convince Ukrainians that the event does not support our country in the war and sow discouragement among society. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that American General Mark Milli allegedly accidentally praised Russia for “successes” in the beginning of a “special military operation”.

This information was disseminated by the Russian propaganda media. In his articles, propaganda media writes that columnist Xavier Rofé, in an article for the Atlantico, stated that “the growth of crime has intensified, as drugs and weapons are illegally smuggled there from Ukraine”. Propagandists also note that Xavier Rofé allegedly warned last autumn about the growth of crime in the Carpathian mountain range, stretching from Poland to Romania, which is why the number of illegal migrants in Europe is growing. This is manipulation.

As the fact-checkers of the Stop Fake project note, the original publication on the Atlantico website does not talk about the fact that because of Ukraine the crime rate is growing in Eastern Europe. Xavier Rofé explains that because of the war, the Odesa criminal network was blocked and therefore the illegal circulation moved to the Carpathians. He writes that official reports mention the action of “Polish, Czech, Romanian and Slovak authorities - the southern side of the Carpathian arc”. He also recalls Russian companies that can operate in this zone and be involved in criminal schemes.

The reason for the increase in the level of crime, according to criminologist Xavier Rofé, is the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia. This material does not contain actual evidence, and its purpose is to warn officials in Europe about the possible danger of all countries.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of foreigners, to present Ukrainians as criminals in order to reduce support for our country. Earlier, Detector Media told about the manipulation, that allegedly because of Ukrainian refugees, the number of thefts in Polish stores increased by a third.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing to capture small Russian cities. This was allegedly reported by Bohdan Krotevych, the acting commander of the Azov brigade. The authors refer to Bohdan Krotevych's interview with the Washington Post. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, which determined that Bohdan Krotevych suggested that Ukraine could capture Russian cities, but did not declare the readiness of the Ukrainian command to take such steps. In the interview itself, Bohdan Krotevych talked about the First Chechen-Russian War and their strategy to capture small Russian towns in order to use them as leverage for Russia to return the occupied territories. He laid out his thoughts and suggested that Ukraine might do the same. However, he did not state this as a fait accompli.

Neither the Washington Post journalists nor Bohdan Krotevych claimed that this was the position of the military or political leadership of Ukraine. The counteroffensive plans are known to a limited circle of people.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the number of people wishing to choose permanent residence in Russia is growing. Most of them are believers who are close in spirit to the moral values protected by Russia, but long destroyed in America. The authors refer to an interview with Mykola Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia. This is manipulation.

The case was noticed by the fact-checkers of The Insider project, they found that such a thesis is manipulative and untrue. For example, according to the statistics of the Russian Foreign Ministry in 2021, 322 US citizens received Russian citizenship. In 2022 - 262 people. That is, the number of people is not increasing, but rather decreasing. At the same time, it should be understood that data from official Russian institutions can be defiled and deliberately increased.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists are trying to convince that Russia is a piece of heaven on earth or a “safe haven” that everyone can get into. Saying that Russia wants to protect all the people of the world, it has committed and is committing war crimes. In particular, on the territory of Ukraine, since the beginning of the war in 2014, Russia has been causing devastation: destroying Ukrainian cities and villages, killing thousands of Ukrainians, in particular children. Also, propagandists build an imaginary curtain between the whole world and Russia, saying that there are enemies on the other side. Consequently, they instill hatred in Russians for almost all peoples.

This message has been spreading in the Russian propaganda media and the Russian segment of Facebook. Russian propaganda cites comments under the publication of the British media Daily Mail and writes that “NATO will be bleeding” and that “the Challenger tanks donated by the UK are no match for the mighty Armatas”. This is manipulation.

The fact checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. Russian propaganda media cite a skeptical Daily Mail article. The publication ironically notes that Armata tanks are primarily used by Russian propaganda, and not on the battlefield. The article writes that the T-14 is heavier and larger than other tanks, has only a few dozen units, and commanders are unlikely to trust this vehicle on the battlefield. So far, Armata tanks have been seen mainly at military parades on Red Square.

As for the quotes of the commentators referred to in the propaganda, they do not represent the opinion of all Britons. Moreover, the large number of comments under the publication of the Daily Mail is ironic: people write about the Russian “wonder weapon” that does not exist. To create this manipulation, the Russian media used comments from the “Comments with the worst rating” tab. One can register on the site under a fictitious name, which means that it is impossible to identify the commentator. And the users who left comments are registered not only in the UK, but also in other countries - Hungary, the USA, Australia, etc.

Thus, propagandists are trying to convince the audience that Ukraine is losing the support of the West and will not be able to win the war with Russia and resist its “powerful” weapons. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that France allegedly admitted that the situation of the Ukrainian army is disappointing and it will not succeed in defeating Russia.

Such information was disseminated in the Russian propaganda media, referring to the British analyst Michael Clarke. On the Sky News channel, he allegedly advised the Ukrainian Armed Forces to miss Russian missile strikes so as not to waste expensive air defense equipment. Russian propaganda wrote that “Clarke also urged the military leadership of Ukraine not to use American anti-aircraft systems against low-cost drones”. This is manipulation

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project and the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine drew attention to the case. The Sky News broadcast was called Ukraine war: Professor Michael Clarke explains why Ukraine can have to “start letting missiles through”. At the same time, in the speech itself, Michael Clarke did not make similar statements about Ukraine. He said that “Ukrainian air defense forces are working quite well”. He suggested that Ukraine would not use overpriced Patriot missiles against cheap Russian drones.

Michael Clark also added that Russia's strategy is to encourage Ukraine to use more ammunition. “They know Ukrainian munitions are more limited than Russian munitions, even despite the scarcity that the sanctions have created”, Clarke added.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to convince that air defense systems in Ukraine are not enough to protect Ukrainians and sow panic among society. Previously, Detector Media explained the message that the Ukrainian air defense was allegedly incapable of combat.

In the Russian propaganda media and the Russian segment of Facebook, as well as in Georgian and Norwegian ones, information is being disseminated that the Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, allegedly was indignant at “God's help in achieving Russia's goals”. It is noted that the speaker spoke during the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to Vilnius. This is manipulation.

The journalists of the 15min project drew attention to the case. The Russian propaganda used manipulative headlines, and quoted in the text without reference to the source. On March 22, during a meeting with Bartholomew I, the leader of the parliament really spoke about God, but in slightly different words: “In Vilnius, the word of God was spread by love, not by the sword. Therefore, we, the inhabitants of Vilnius and the descendants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, consider it completely unacceptable that the imperialist goals of the Kremlin regime are disguised as the will of God”. That is, Čmilytė-Nielsen meant that the Kremlin's policy is covered by God, but she was not angry that he was helping Russia.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to create a religious conflict, to discredit the Orthodox Church and the authorities of Lithuania. Previously, Detector Media explained the message, which said that Ukrainians discredit Orthodoxy because they separated from the Moscow Patriarchate.

Such information was disseminated in Russian propaganda media, referring to the head of the Kharkiv military garrison, Serhii Melnyk. He believes that Ukraine “will never have enough people and equipment to defeat Russia”. Russian propaganda also stated that “the combat-ready part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed, and the professional military was out of action”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. Russian propaganda media used an interview with General Serhii Melnyk for the Spanish edition of El País. Melnyk spoke about the defense of Kharkiv in 2022 and the upcoming counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023. The general noted that Ukraine needs not only a large amount of equipment and ammunition, but also the military, so that rotations can be carried out more often. It was this statement that took the propaganda out of context and created the manipulation that the Ukrainian army had “already been killed”.

After the Russian propaganda media began to spread this manipulation, Serhii Melnyk explained his words. He noted that although the fighters are heroic, however, they are exhausted, some are injured, and someone dies. He also noted that Ukraine has enough resources for a counteroffensive, but the most important thing is to get enough weapons to save the lives of the fighters.

This is not the first time Russian propaganda wants to undermine the reputation of the Ukrainian military leadership and cause discouragement among Ukrainian society by manipulating the topic of a counteroffensive. Like, even the military leaders do not believe in the victory of Ukraine over Russia. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the manipulation that if the Ukrainian military fails the counteroffensive, the West will allegedly stop supporting Ukraine.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that it was Russia that repaired the highway, which Ukraine had “ignored” for 30 years. It is about the area of the international highway E-58 with a length of more than 150 km. In Ukraine, this international route is represented by the M-14 highway, which crosses five regions (Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk) and connects the main ports of the country in the Black and Azov seas. According to propagandists, they began to repair the international highway, but Ukraine is indifferent to “these regions”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case, they found out that certain sections of the route were under repair even before the start of a full-scale invasion. The repair of the M-14 highway is provided for in the “Target Program for the Development of Highways of State Importance for 2018-2022”. At the end of 2021, it was possible to repair a 15-kilometer section of the route, near the village of Komyshuvate, Mariupol region. Also in early February 2022, they announced the opening of a tender for the restoration of another section of the corridor.

The motorway should be tentatively upgraded by the end of 2023. It would have been completely updated if Russia had not attacked Ukraine. The occupying authorities at the same time claim that Ukraine “did not take care” of some regions of Ukraine. It is likely that the Russians are carrying out repairs in the temporarily occupied territories and pass it off as their “merits”.

Thus, propagandists seek to whiten themselves by showing what kind of “restoration” and “repairs” they are allegedly engaged in. Analysts of Detector Media have already considered a similar case in which the authors of the messages claimed a “great restoration of Donbas”, and Ukraine, they say, did not want to deal with this region.

Kremlin propaganda media spread information that if the Ukrainian counteroffensive fails, the West will allegedly stop helping Ukraine. They refer to an article on The New York Times website. This is manipulation.

 As experts from the StopFake project note, in fact, the New York Times article does not say that a hypothetical failure during the Ukrainian counteroffensive will lead to the refusal of the West to help Ukraine. In the original article, the authors note that assistance can only weaken for a while, and Kyiv will be under more pressure during this period and persuaded to negotiate with Russia.

 According to the authors of the article, if this happens, by the beginning of 2024 the West will again be able to help Ukraine in full as within this time the partner countries will develop a sufficient amount of ammunition and military equipment. Moreover, during his visit to Washington, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told reporters: “between this year and next year, I think Ukraine will continue to have the momentum with it”.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow discouragement among Ukrainian society and convince them that they should not count on the help of the West, as well as on victory over Russia. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Western tanks would allegedly not help Ukraine, but would be completely destroyed by Russia.

The Kremlin propaganda media spread information that Latvia allegedly gave all stocks of air-defense missile systems (ADMS) to Ukraine and allegedly “deprived itself of protection for the sake of the Kyiv regime”. Propaganda refers to the statement of the head of the Ministry of Defense of Latvia, Inara Murniece. This is manipulation.

 Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to it. To create it, Russian propaganda used only part of the statement of the Latvian Ministry of Defense Inara Murniece. During the Ramstein meeting, Murniece said that, at the request of Ukraine, Latvia “has decided to transfer all of its Stinger missile systems to a country that is fighting the Russian invasion”. She also said that Latvia will not remain defenseless, since the country has the Swedish RBS-70 jet systems.

Thus, propagandists are trying to convince the audience that Ukraine is draining the resources of other countries, reducing the help of Western partners. Earlier, Detector Media denied the manipulation that 58% of Americans allegedly oppose assistance to Ukraine.

On April 13, a text appeared on the Facebook page of the Polish organization Kancelaria LEGA ARTIS, according to which “38% of Ukrainians who, under the cover of the “war” came to Poland and have “groundlessly granted them rights”, in particular to receive social assistance, they want to stay in the country and not return to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the Polish project Demagog drew attention to it. They note that in the text one can find doubts that the war in Ukraine is real, and the refugees are called ones who “have come in large numbers”. However, the war continues, and its effects are a large number of deaths and material losses. The term “come in large numbers” is part of a disinformation campaign that wants to show the migration of Ukrainians as a threat to the Poles. Demagog experts argue that such a narrative is part of a conspiracy theory called the “Big replacement theory”, according to which the influx of migrants is a conspiracy in which white Europeans should be replaced by migrants. Usually, Muslims appear in this theory, but in the Polish context, their role was given to Ukrainians.

The text also contains information about “unreasonably provided” funds in the framework of social payments for Ukrainian migrants. However, analysts have found that the concept of social payment is clearly defined in Polish law. According to it, a social benefit is a cash benefit provided to persons who are unfit for work due to age or disability (Article 37 of the Law on social assistance). This cash payment cannot exceed PLN 719. According to article 5 of the same law, citizens of Poland, as well as foreigners (not only Ukrainians) residing in the state, have the right to receive social assistance payments. According to Article 31 of the Law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine, Ukrainians who have received a PESEL identification number can receive a lump sum payment of PLN 300. Therefore, this payment is not regular.

In addition, in the text you can see the stereotype that the majority of Ukrainian refugees in Poland came from the western regions, so they allegedly do not need help. However, it is not like that. Project analysts interviewed people who are actively involved in the affairs of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and found out that most of them eventually came from the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.

Thus, the propagandists want to show that the Ukrainian refugees are supposedly swindlers and pose a threat to Poland as a whole. They say that Ukrainians in Poland are ungrateful for help, but actually help does not reach those in need.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is reportedly calling on Ukraine to send its troops into Russian territory. Like, the Polish leadership wants to continue the war in Ukraine. The authors of the messages refer to a recent interview with Mateusz Morawiecki. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case, which determined that the authors of the messages distorted the context of the interview. Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki in his interview spoke about the right of Ukraine to conduct military operations on the territory of the aggressor state. That is, he did not call on Ukraine to send troops to Russia, but expresses his opinions. He believes that Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russia and send troops to Russia, if necessary.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the United States is allegedly recording a huge number of facts of corruption and embezzlement in Ukraine, which have increased by 500% over the past year. Some officials allegedly claim that “because of the scale of corruption” only 20% of financial assistance from Washington reaches Ukrainians. This was allegedly announced at the end of March by a member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Michael McCall.

The experts of the StopFake project worked on the case, and they determined that some facts of Michael McCall's statement were distorted, while others were invented. The basis for creating disinformation stuffing was a hearing in the US Congress on March 29 on the mechanisms for transparency and accountability of US assistance to Ukraine. In his opening remarks, Michael McCall, head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that “only 20% of the funding is going directly to the Ukrainian government in the form of direct budgetary assistance”. It was this expression of McCall that was distorted by the pro-Russian telegram channels, which stated that allegedly only 20% of financial assistance to Ukraine reaches the recipient, and the rest is stolen by the Ukrainian authorities. At the same time, the thesis about the growth of corruption by 500% in Ukraine is a fiction.

During the same hearing, officials unanimously declared that there was “no evidence that support for Ukraine was misused”.

This thesis was disseminated in social networks, in particular on broadcasting telegram channels. The case was noticed by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project, who determined that on April 6, 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine handed a suspicion to the head of the Cherkasy diocese of the UOC-MP Feodosii (Snihiriov). However, according to the department, the metropolitan not only created a website following the UOC template, but also used Russian software, with the help of which news and theses justifying Russian aggression from Russian news resources were relayed to the Ukrainian information space. For example, the site praised the activities of Moscow priests who helped the aggressor and called for the unification of religious communities in the war against Ukraine.

Reports say that the Security Service of Ukraine reported suspicion of high treason to the Metropolitan of the Cherkasy diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate for creating a website “based on the template of the Russian Orthodox Church”. They say that there is no freedom of speech in Ukraine, and even the “website template” gives grounds for accusations of treason. This is manipulation.

Pro-Kremlin media and telegram channels did not provide complete information and began to claim that the only evidence against the Metropolitan of the UOC-MP was a website based on the template of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Such a message appeared in the Russian propaganda media and was distributed in the Russian segment of Facebook. A fragment of an interview was published where an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak stated that the alleged physical destruction of all pro-Russian people would solve the Russian issue. This is manipulation.

According to MythDetector analysts, Mykhailo Podoliak did not talk about the physical destruction of pro-Russian people. On March 31, on the air of Channel 24, he spoke about the influence of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which, according to him, is a branch of the Russian Patriarchate. And the task of the Russian Patriarchate is to attack the Ukrainian state. Podoliak notes that in the first months of a full-scale war, the UOC-MP could be physically cleansed of the pro-Russian clergy.

Thus, propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and intimidate Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media wrote about how Russian propaganda uses intimidation tactics.

Anonymous accounts spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social media are circulating videos of Russian President Volodymyr Putin allegedly criticizing the state of democracy in the United States. This is manipulation.

Fact-checkers from USA TODAY drew attention to it. They found out that the video was indeed created in 2020 using deepfake technology as part of an information campaign by the NGO RepresentUs to show the “fragility of democracy”. In it, Putin says that America accuses Russia of interfering in the elections, but it doesn't even have to do this, because American society is in a state of division. “Putin” adds that while Russia may use this for its own purposes, the Americans are deepening the rift themselves because “they don't know whom to trust”. A similar deepfake video was also created with North Korean leader Kim Jong-in.

Thus, propagandists want to shift the responsibility for their problems onto others. Like, everyone criticizes Russia, but America is no better, and even worse than Russia. This is not the first time Russians have shaped well-intentioned material to fit their worldview. Propagandists often take quotes from media figures out of context, in particular, statements by French President Macron about the future of Russia.

Telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric report that in Ukraine they want to ban men from entering universities. They say that martial law limits the constitutional rights of Ukrainians, including education, and to implement this idea, they are already preparing an appropriate legislative framework. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the NotaYenota project drew attention to it. They found that such decisions require changes to the Constitution, which is prohibited under martial law. Lawyers note that even if it is theoretically possible to make the necessary changes to the laws “On mobilization” and “On education”, this will cause outrage among society and Western partners. In addition, such decisions may be challenged by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

Thus, propagandists want to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and create a sense of panic among the population, creating the illusion of losing. They say that Ukraine cannot cope with defense, therefore it is ready to mobilize everyone, neglecting constitutional rights. However, it is Russia that solves its own problems with mobilization, despite the rights of its citizens, as evidenced by the recent initiative with “electronic agendas”.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in the Georgian segment of Facebook. The reports say that the speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, said that God “protects the actions of the Russian authorities, and this is unacceptable”. Like, officials began to blame God “for all the troubles”. This is manipulation.

Specialists of the Myth Detector project drew attention to the case and determined that the speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania did not say such things. At the same time, the propagandists misrepresented the high-ranking official's quote, which actually said that the Kremlin presents its imperialist aspirations as the will of God, which is unacceptable. That is, the speaker means that the Russian propaganda declares a special task, the mission of the Russians. This is one of the elements of propaganda designed to manipulate the minds of Russians, who later believe that they are endowed with a “unique destiny”.