Russian telegram channels add that it was not children who were treated at Okhmatdyt, but Ukrainian military personnel. This supposedly proves that the hospital was a “legitimate target” for Russia.

VoxCheck analysts explain: in fact, there were no reports of military personnel injured or killed as a result of rocket attacks on July 8 in Kyiv. There are many photos and videos online of wounded civilians, including doctors and children. In total, at the time of the hit, there were 627 children in Okhmatdyt.

During a series of attacks, the Okhmatdyt children's hospital was damaged - the Russians destroyed some of the buildings of the medical facility. Health Minister Viktor Liashko said that intensive care, operating rooms and oncology departments were damaged as a result of the attack. And he added that the hit was in the toxicology building, where children received dialysis.

That is, the thesis of Russian propaganda about the presence of military personnel who were allegedly treated at Okhmatdyt is a fiction.

Russian propagandists, taking advantage of the anniversary of the downing of flight MH-17 over Donbas, continue to try to blame Ukraine for this tragedy. They are actively disseminating reports that Ukraine allegedly “intentionally did not close the airspace” and that the plane was allegedly shot down “according to the SBU plan”, which provided for the introduction of NATO troops into Ukrainian territory after this terrorist attack. All these statements by Russian propagandists are unreliable.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to them. They explained that responsibility for the downing of flight MH-17 lies entirely with Russia. An international investigation has found that the plane was shot down by a missile from a Buk anti-aircraft missile system delivered from Russia to territory controlled by pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s hypocrisy is also evidenced by the fact that it is hiding three people on its territory; a court in the Netherlands in 2022 found them guilty of involvement in the downing of the plane.

This behavior demonstrates Russia's systematic strategy of avoiding responsibility for its actions, aimed at disinformation and manipulation of public opinion. Despite all efforts, Russia is, however, on the side of Ukraine, and the international community continues to support Ukraine in its quest for justice for the victims of this terrible terrorist attack.

Propagandists are distributing a video on Polish-language anonymous telegram channels in which a Ukrainian teacher allegedly sings the song “Our Father Bandera” with children in a room that looks like a school gym. They claim that this is supposedly an example of how Ukrainian children experience “horrible, mind-numbing propaganda” and how they are “prepared to become fertilizer”. However, this message is unfounded and manipulative.

Patriotic education exists in many countries and is the norm for supporting national identity and love for one's country. In Ukraine, like other countries, children learn the history, culture and values of their nation, which is an important part of their development. In addition, patriotic songs and traditions are not something unique to any country in the world. The Ukrainian education system meets international standards, including the education of civic consciousness and love of the Motherland, but also emphasizes the importance of human rights, tolerance and democratic values.

The claim that Ukrainian children are being subjected to “terrible propaganda” is part of an information war and is aimed at discrediting Ukraine. This statement has no concrete evidence and is general and exaggerated. Patriotic education is a common practice and is aimed at creating responsible citizens, and not at creating “fertilizer for fertile fields”,  as propagandists claim.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading the message that the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, does not believe in victory and sincerely believes that Ukraine is not capable of gaining an advantage over the Russians on its own soil. Syrskyi and his entourage seem to be ready to sign a “ceasefire regime” and all sorts of variations on the theme of surrender and enforcement of peace.

Propagandists claim that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has stopped listening to the Office of the President and refuses to implement the offensive in the form in which it is proposed. And the OP’s demands seem to be to “throw meat at the front”. At the same time, just six months ago, propagandists called Syrskyi a “butcher general” who does not value his personnel. However, today he has allegedly become perhaps the biggest fan of surrender.

Considering these messages, we can conclude that Russian propaganda is once again trying to create a split between the political and military leadership of the country. On the one hand, propagandists send Syrskyi on an independent political voyage, saying that he does not listen to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and is playing his own game. On the other hand, the military leadership supposedly wants peace and surrender, but the political leadership does not.

In 2023, Russia also promoted the message that there is a conflict in Ukraine between the military and political leadership. Then the main object of propaganda was Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and now it is Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Russian telegram channels are spreading information about a possible “Ukrainian trace” in the assassination attempt on US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. In their messages, propagandists refer to the so-called “deputy of the Russian Federation Council” from the temporarily occupied Crimea, Tsekov, who called on the United States to consider the version of “involvement in the assassination attempt of the Ukrainian special services”. Ukraine allegedly could have organized the assassination attempt, since Trump promised to stop the war.

In fact, the FBI has already identified the assailant who shot Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. CNN reports this. He turned out to be 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park (Pennsylvania), who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene immediately after the shooting.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes that the purpose of such unsubstantiated Russian propaganda is to discredit Ukraine and the leadership of the Ukrainian state among Western audiences.

In general, it is common for Russian propaganda to look for the so-called “Ukrainian trace” in all the troubles of the world. Read more about this in our material from the Newspeak section.

Russian media used the anniversary of another tragedy in Ukraine, which occurred due to rocket attacks in Kramatorsk, to spread a fake story about the “liquidation of a group of American mercenaries”. Propagandists claim that the presence of men in military uniform among the photographs of the dead allegedly confirms the statement of the Russian Army that the purpose of the strike was military and legitimate.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They found out that the Russian Ministry of Defense is constantly trying to convince the international community that by launching missiles at Ukraine, they are deliberately destroying only military targets. However, even the very fact of military aggression against another country is a violation of international law, and Russia violates many rules of war by shelling peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects.

The shelling of the Ria Pizza pizzeria in Kramatorsk occurred on June 27, 2023. Then Russian troops launched a missile attack on the cafe, killing 13 people, including 4 children, and wounding 59 people. Among the dead soldiers there were only two: combat paramedic of the 3rd Special Brigade Artem Sukhovyi and International Legion volunteer, former US Marine Ian Tortorici. It was the death of Jan Tortorici that Russian propaganda used as evidence that the goal of the Russian army was supposedly legitimate. On the day of the attack, Tortorici, like many other soldiers in the front-line city, went to a pizzeria to eat, as his friend, Ed Flores, recalls. StopFake also previously wrote why it is impossible to call foreigners fighting for Ukraine mercenaries, as Russian propaganda does.

The investigation into this crime in Russia was carried out by experts from the human rights organization Truth Hounds, since their colleague, writer Victoriia Amelina, was among those killed in the cafe. Experts have determined that the attack on Kramatorsk is a war crime - an indiscriminate attack that led to dire consequences among civilians. Truth Hounds also noted that Russia is pushing the view on Ukrainians that the presence of Ukrainian defenders in civilian areas allows the Kremlin to launch deadly missile attacks, but in fact, “the presence of military personnel in a cafe does not justify or humanize Russians. But on the contrary, it further emphasizes the same pattern of their crimes”.

The head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense forces of the Russian Armed Forces, Ihor Kyrylov, said that the Ukrainian regime allegedly “regularly violates the Chemical Weapons Convention”. However, this is not true.

This was brought to the attention of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Ihor Kyrylov did not provide any concrete evidence for his accusations. This tactic is typical of Russian propaganda, which tries to create an image of Ukraine as an aggressor. However, in the international community, such statements without backing them up with facts do not find support and only undermine confidence in Russian officials.

Without providing any evidence, Russian propaganda also uses deflection tactics, accusing Ukraine of crimes that are actually committed by the Russian army. Russian propaganda often uses tactics to divert attention from its own violations and create a perception that the war is symmetrical.

Despite the accusations against Ukraine, many messages from pro-Russian telegram channels and other sources indicate the use of chemical weapons by the Russian military. This includes the use of chemicals on the battlefield and violation of international conventions prohibiting such actions. These facts are widely known and documented, which casts doubt on any unfounded accusations against Ukraine.

Thus, attempts by Russian propaganda to discredit Ukraine based on unfounded accusations have no chance of success, since they do not correspond to real facts and only deepen Russia’s isolation in the international arena.

On July 8, 2024, Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine, in particular, air defense forces operated in the territories of the Kyiv region and in Kyiv. Debris fell in seven districts of the capital.

As of 14:30, Suspilne reports, it is known that 15 people were killed in different areas of the city, 38 were injured in various ways.

During a series of attacks, the Okhmatdyt children's hospital was damaged - the Russians destroyed some of the buildings of the medical facility. Health Minister Oleh Liashko said that intensive care, operating rooms and oncology departments were damaged as a result of the attack. And he added that the hit was in the toxicology building, where children received dialysis.

At the same time, Russian propagandists began to spread the thesis that all this was the consequence of the work of the Ukrainian air defense, and not of Russian strikes.

However, the SBU has already established that Russia hit a children’s hospital with an X-101 missile.

“Relevant evidence has already been found at the scene of the tragedy: in particular, fragments of the housing of the rear part of the X-101 missile with a serial number and part of the steering wheel of the same missile”, the department indicated.

That is, in pro-Russian telegram channels they are simply trying to challenge the shelling of civilian infrared missiles, attributing it all to the so-called “poor performance of the Ukrainian air defense system”. This is not the first time Russia has resorted to such rhetoric.

Propaganda resources are disseminating information that in connection with the active actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Belarusian border guards, as well as the Air Forces and air defense systems of Belarus and Russia, have been put on high alert. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the corresponding statement by the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Lukashenko.

In fact, this statement was made as part of an information operation about Ukraine’s alleged preparation of an attack on Belarus in several directions. The Belarusian dictator Lukashenko, together with his minions, continues to whip up hysteria around the fictitious “accumulation of Ukrainian troops in the border areas with Belarus”.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes that in fact, Lukashenko, as an accomplice of Russian aggression, has been systematically threatening Ukraine since February 24, 2022, as well as other countries, in particular Poland and Lithuania. Such threats are intended to intimidate Belarus’ neighbors, as well as to draw part of the Ukrainian Defense Forces away from the front line to the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.

“Belarus can use nuclear weapons if its independence is threatened”, said the Chief of the General Staff of the country’s armed forces, Muraveiko. This statement is a continuation of preliminary similar statements from Minsk, aimed at describing a misguided threat from Ukraine. Kremlin Speaker Dmytro Pieskov noted that this also causes concern in Moscow.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to this message. They note that truly the only threat to the “independence” of Lukashenko and his regime is Russia itself.

A representative of the State Border Service of Ukraine, Andrii Demchenko, said on July 1: “This is not the first time Belarus has announced a threat from Ukraine. This is another round of information operations”. Commenting on Minsk’s statements about preparations to counter “Ukrainian provocations”, a representative of the State National Security Service noted that Belarus carried out the greatest provocation back on February 24, 2022, by opening its border to Russian troops.

Propagandists spread such messages in order to reverse the roles in the current situation - from the victim to the aggressor. By creating an imaginary threat, Russia and Belarus are also trying to justify their common aggression against Ukraine.

Russia actively declares that “the Kyiv regime refuses to take away the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who have surrendered”. Propaganda also uses prisoners of war to create various videos that promote the thesis that Ukrainians are “better off in captivity than at home”.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They claim that since the full-scale invasion, Russia has been using Ukrainian prisoners of war for its propaganda purposes. Thus, Russia is once again violating international law and the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, according to which prisoners of war have the right to respect for their person and honor and must be protected from acts of violence, intimidation, as well as insults and excessive attention from the public. In addition, Russia violates international law by preventing organizations such as the Red Cross from accessing Ukrainian prisoners of war, which prevents an objective assessment of the conditions of their detention.

The message that Ukraine does not want to take back its prisoners of war is not true. The Ukrainian authorities constantly emphasize that its position is an exchange on the principle of “all for all”. This approach aims to return all Ukrainian prisoners of war as part of a comprehensive exchange. This concept was discussed at the recent Peace Summit in Switzerland. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted that working groups will be created on each of the issues and there are already countries that are organizing separate meetings on these topics. At the same time, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, claims that the only problem in implementing this idea is the reluctance of the Russian side. Russia's reluctance to carry out such an exchange is confirmed by the fact that Ukraine was recently forced to open a third camp for holding Russian prisoners of war.

Ukraine is always ready for prisoner exchanges and participates in them at the first opportunity. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 3 thousand Ukrainians have already been returned from captivity, and on June 25 another exchange took place.

The message that the Ukrainian military in Russian captivity is “better than at home” is also untrue. This misinformation is refuted by reports from international human rights activists. For example, a report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the period from December 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024 states that “torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian internment sites is widespread and systematic, and conditions the contents do not meet the requirements of international humanitarian law”. “85% of the 60 prisoners of war interviewed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provided detailed information about how Russian soldiers or officials tortured or mistreated them while in captivity. The most common methods of torture were beatings, electric shocks, threats of the death penalty, mock executions, and awkward positions”, the report noted. Ukraine provides full access to international organizations to places where Russian prisoners of war are held, which Russia does not do.

By spreading such disinformation, Russia wants to justify the invasion of Ukraine and discredit the Ukrainian authorities.

Pro-Kremlin resources are spreading the message that supposedly in February 2014 the pro-Western opposition did not disrupt the settlement agreement to which Russia agreed, then Ukraine would now be within the 1991 borders that it so dreams of. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov.

However, Lavrov’s words are a lie. Russia’s preparations for the occupation of Crimea and the organization of a series of Russian uprisings in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine began long before the conclusion of agreements between Yanukovych and the Maidan leaders on February 21, 2014. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

The agreements were thwarted by Yanukovych, since he withdrew from fulfilling his duties immediately after signing the agreement and took the path of outright treason, helping Russia in the occupation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine.

The Center adds that the nonsense spread by Lavrov is part of the basic Russian narrative, which is trying to present Russian aggression against Ukraine as an alleged “reaction” to the victory of the Revolution of Dignity. In fact, Russia was nurturing its aggressive plans long before it became known how the events on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv would end. Previously, we wrote about how Lavrov is trying to discredit the Ukrainian formula for peace in the world.

Propagandists are distributing in anonymous telegram channels a fragment of an interview with American economist Jeffrey Sachs for Bad Faith, a YouTube channel with 129 thousand subscribers. In this passage, Sachs argues that Ukraine is becoming the Afghanistan of Europe. However, such a comparison is not appropriate and plays into Russian propaganda.

According to the economist, the Americans were present in Afghanistan for years until everything from infrastructure to civic culture was destroyed. He says it's supposedly very American to “have a place on the chessboard” just to watch this destruction. According to Sachs, the same thing is happening in Ukraine. That is, the basis for Sachs’ comparison of Ukraine and Afghanistan is conditional American intervention in both countries.

The United States invaded Afghanistan as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attack, starting the War on Terror. The purpose of the invasion was to destroy the Al-Qaeda group in Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban government, which was actively collaborating with terrorist organizations. Ukraine's war against Russia began with a full-scale Russian invasion. In this war, the United States is a partner country that openly supports Ukraine, providing financial and military assistance, but not sending its military to participate in hostilities. It is inappropriate to simply attribute these two cases to US foreign intervention.

For Russian propagandists, comparing Ukraine and Afghanistan is beneficial. Firstly, it helps to demoralize the Ukrainians, who, according to this logic, are fighting for the US to maintain hegemony. And the States do not seem to end the war instantly, although they are capable of doing so. Secondly, comparing Ukraine and Afghanistan gives pro-Russian propagandists reasons to demonize the United States and, accordingly, strengthen the idea that Russia is fighting for peace. Thirdly, drawing analogies between Afghanistan and Ukraine helps to reduce US citizens' support for financing Ukraine. A large number of Americans believe the invasion of Afghanistan was a mistake and support an end to American involvement. Therefore, Russian propagandists are interested in spreading the narrative about the gradual transformation of Ukraine into Afghanistan.

Pro-Russian telegram channels and media are actively reporting Pyongyang’s readiness for a meeting between Kremlin head Volodymyr Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. On June 18-19, negotiations will take place to sign an agreement on a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in order to overcome Western sanctions. The day before the visit, the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun published Putin’s article “Russia and the DPRK: traditions of friendship and cooperation through the years”.

On June 17, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a conference at the Wilson Center, noted that the Kremlin ruler's trip to the DPRK “demonstrates how much President Putin and Moscow now depend on authoritarian countries around the world”. In particular, their cooperation takes place in the military sphere. This is confirmed by information from Bloomberg, which reported that the DPRK could send about 5 million artillery shells to Russia. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, citing intelligence reports, said North Korea provided Russia with launchers and several ballistic missiles. The Russians subsequently used them for attacks in Ukraine.

Russia has long tried to avoid and circumvent Western sanctions by buying goods with restrictions on sale. Although the aggressor country boasts that it has successfully avoided restrictions, it is still trying to get rid of them. Thanks to North Korea's support, as well as Moscow's ability to supply banned parts through third countries, Russia was able to increase its ammunition production much more than Ukraine receives from its allies, Bloomberg reports.

The United States fears that as a result of the visit, the Russian Federation may provide assistance to North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, and in turn, the ballistic missiles and artillery shells that Moscow is using in the war against Ukraine.

However, the United States will do everything possible to stop the supply of weapons from Iran and North Korea to Russia for the war against Ukraine.

In addition, on the eve of Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, the EU imposed sanctions against nine people and companies that help the weapons programs of the DPRK and Russia. They are involved in North Korean activities related to illegal weapons programs and support for the war against Ukraine.

Pro-Kremlin resources, citing ex-US Army officer Douglas McGregor, are disseminating information that Western military assistance to Ukraine in no way affects the situation in the war, but only allegedly kills the civilian population.

In fact, Western weapons demonstrate high effectiveness in the hands of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in repelling Russian armed aggression. In particular, after resuming the supply of weapons and obtaining permission to use them on the territory of the Russian Federation in the Kharkiv region, it was possible to stop the offensive potential of the invaders. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. In addition, air defense systems provided by partners successfully repel terrorist missile and drone attacks of the Russian Federation.

Douglas McGregor himself, to whom propagandists refer, in 2014 justified the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donbas. And after the start of a full-scale invasion, he predicted the rapid defeat of Ukraine, which eloquently testifies not only to his views, but also to the quality of his “expertise”.

Russian propaganda resources, citing an article by Stephen Bryan in the Asia Times, claim that the Ukrainian strikes on Crimea have no actual purpose, but as these attacks intensify, one can expect Russia to respond harshly with shelling of Kharkiv, Odesa or Kyiv.

However, first the readers should pay attention to the author of the article, Stephen Bryan. It is regularly marked by the “washing out” of Russian narratives about the need to establish peace on Russian terms, “demilitarization”, etc. Brian also published a lot of pro-Russian materials on the social network Substack, from where Asia Times took them.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine writes that the temporarily occupied peninsula is an important logistics, command center and the location of concentration of Russian occupation forces, aviation and navy attacking Ukraine. Ukrainian strikes against these targets cause significant damage, reduce pressure on the Ukrainian Defense Forces, exhaust the Russian military and spare civilian lives.

And the promotion in the West of narratives about the supposed “unprofitability of attacks on enemy targets in Crimea” and “escalation” is intended to sow doubts in international public opinion about the need to maintain and increase support for the Defense Forces. We previously refuted information from another article by Stephen Bryan in Asia Times that France had allegedly made an official decision to send its troops to Ukraine.

Russian propaganda media are spreading the message that Ukraine will supposedly “end up just like Afghanistan” - when the collapse happens, it will happen instantly. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the statement of the Irish “journalist” Chey Bowes.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine writes that such statements have nothing to do with reality and are not supported by any facts.

In fact, “journalist” Chay Bowes is a well-known relay of Kremlin narratives and propaganda. He collaborates with Western publications that spread Russian lies. For example, Bowes claimed that the Ukrainian military has allegedly “killed thousands of civilians” since 2014, and that there is an ongoing “civil war” in Ukraine that began after the “Maidan coup” for “CIA sponsorship”.

The Center also adds that the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to destroy Russian occupiers, and international partners provide all necessary assistance and support to Ukraine. This, in particular, does not give grounds to talk about the so-called Afghan scenario in Ukraine.

This stuffing is another information operation of the Russian Federation, the purpose of which is to convince the Western audience that supposedly “the victory of the Russian Federation is close and inevitable”, and support for Ukraine makes no sense. Previously, we analyzed the message that the United States could turn Ukraine into a new Afghanistan.

Russian propaganda is actively spreading the statement of Yevhen Balytskyi about the creation of a new federal district of the Russian Federation in the occupied Ukrainian territories called “Novorossiia”.

This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation. Similar ideas were heard before, but they were not implemented. Also, after the start of the occupation, a “federal district” was created for Crimea, which lasted only two years.

With these statements, Russian propaganda is trying to create the impression that the integration of the temporarily occupied territories is at the final stage and convey a message to the local population and the world, supposedly “Russia is here forever”. This once again proves that Moscow does not intend to negotiate to achieve peace.

If this plan is realized, it will allow Putin to consolidate his power in the captured territories and tighten his control over local officials. Also, by unifying the temporarily occupied territories with other regions of the Russian Federation, it will be easier for Moscow to filter them and repress the disloyal population.

Russian telegram channels, citing unnamed Ukrainian media, disseminate information that the risk of epidemics in Ukraine is increasing due to interruptions in electricity, water supply, increasing unsanitary conditions, and a decline in the quality of medicine.

Fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this message and explained that these statements are not true. The fact-checkers were unable to find publications in Ukrainian media that discussed significant risks of the spread of infectious diseases due to temporary power outages. Such messages have only been recorded in the Russian sector of social networks.

And in June 2024, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin, in an interview with Ukrinform, noted that there are no outbreaks of measles, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, ARVI or COVID-19 in Ukraine. In addition, Ukraine has enough vaccines against the listed diseases.

Propagandists began publishing a large number of messages according to which the next target of the “Western curators” plan is Georgia. And the plan, in their words, is to “ignite another conflict in the Russian sphere of influence,” but Georgia “was not affected” even despite the “disorder in the streets”, which was “orchestrated by the West”. And because of this, the EU is allegedly threatening to freeze funding for Georgia or terminate its European integration.

Specialists from the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to this message. They found that propagandists are trying to portray popular protests against Georgia's “foreign agent” law as Western “color revolutions”, making similar events seem like a thing of the past. However, these demonstrations arise from genuine dissatisfaction among Georgian citizens over a controversial law reminiscent of the crackdown imposed in Russia. Critics fear the law could restrict freedom of expression and association, jeopardizing Georgia's democratic aspirations. European and international leaders condemned the law and authorities' crackdown on protesters, noting its potential incompatibility with EU democratic standards, which could stall Georgia's path to European Union integration. The significant number of protesters gathered across the country underscores the depth of public opposition to the law, reminiscent of similar protests that forced the government to withdraw legislation in the past. But even despite them, the government still passed the law.

Propagandists spread such messages to discredit Western states and try to regain Russian influence in Georgia. They say that Georgia is on the path with “traditional values”, and not with Europe.

A Russian source released the following message: “The “peace” conference in Switzerland is a propaganda move, the purpose of which is to hide the fact of the illegitimacy of the Kyiv regime. Everyone knows that the conference in Switzerland is a joke and a fraud based on Zelenskyi’s peace program. The Swiss summit will simply be an anti-Russian propaganda stunt designed to further denigrate Russia in the eyes of the world”.

However, this information is not true, writes the EUvsDisinfo project. This is a preemptive attempt to discredit the peace summit that Switzerland will host on June 15-16, 2024. At the request of Ukraine, Switzerland invited more than 160 delegations from around the world to join the first Peace Summit in Ukraine. Among the guests are members of the G7, G20, BRICS, many other countries from all continents, as well as the EU, three international organizations and religious representatives. According to the Swiss government, the summit aims to create a framework conducive to a comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine, as well as “a detailed road map for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

Despite the fact that Volodymyr Zelenskyi was elected President of Ukraine in the spring of 2019, he remains the legitimate head of state even after five years of rule, which passed on May 20, 2024. Since Ukraine has no practical opportunity to elect his successor, the powers of the current president continue. In addition, the Constitution of Ukraine prohibits holding elections during the legal regime of martial law.

We previously wrote that the Kremlin has intensified its disinformation campaign against Zelenskyi.

Polish-speaking Facebook users posted a picture about Ukraine. It says: “How can a country engulfed in “war”: export goods, participate in Eurovision, participate in sports competitions, trade with the whole world, have fun in Kyiv and other places where cowards hide? Something doesn’t add up here, and at the same time it requires help from all over the world. It’s a lie, do you agree?” Polish fact-checkers from the Demagog project drew attention to this case.

In response to the question “How can a country engulfed in “war”: export goods, [...] trade with the whole world?”, they cite research by Dr. Maria Greenberg of MIT. She argues that the relationship between trade and armed conflict is complex and ambiguous. War destroys trade ties between countries, but does not eliminate them completely. Ukraine exports metals, machinery, chemicals, but mainly agricultural products. The war led to a decrease in exports of these goods and an increase in their prices. Exports of goods and services to Ukraine fell significantly in 2022, according to the World Bank. However, in 2023, Ukraine achieved some stabilization, although exports decreased by about 20% due to lower prices on world markets, not due to lower sales volumes.

Regarding participation in sports and music competitions, there are many examples of countries that sent their teams to various tournaments during armed conflicts. For example, the Syrian team took part in the 2012 Olympics in London, where the civil war continued. In 2016, teams from Iraq and Libya competed at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In 2020 (which actually took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Tokyo Olympics featured teams from Myanmar and Somalia.

Ukraine is also not the first country to participate in Eurovision during the war. For example, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - in the first half of the 90s during the wars in Yugoslavia. In 2022, the winner of the competition was the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, but due to the war it was held in Liverpool (UK) in 2023.

Photos of Ukrainians walking the streets of Kyiv are not proof of the absence of war. For example, during World War II, people also continued to go about their business, as archival photographs show.

The war in Ukraine remains a real threat for many people. During the two years of war, more than 10,000 civilian deaths were confirmed as a result of Russian attacks, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The heaviest fighting is taking place in the east of the country, but attacks are also taking place in other regions.

Propagandists use this message to create skepticism among Poles about aid and support for Ukraine and its citizens.

Russian propaganda continues to spread disinformation in an attempt to interfere with the democratic processes of the European Union. Russians claim that the European Parliament elections held in June will allegedly lead to a situation similar to the collapse of the USSR. They say that regardless of which parties win them, the new schedule of forces, according to them, will lead to the collapse of the EU, since it has long gone beyond the scope of the “club of interests”. “Does this mean that the victory of the globalists will bring stability to Europe? Not at all. Everything will be the other way around. If the “Euro-heretics” simply collapse the EU, then the “European Inquisition” will destroy Europe, turning it into an economic and political periphery, thrown to the margins of global historical processes”, write propagandists.

These statements of Russian propaganda are untrue and aimed at undermining citizens' trust in national institutions. StopFake project specialists refuted them using statistical data. They found that according to research by the international Eurobarometer project, which regularly conducts public opinion polls on behalf of European institutions, the positive image of the EU among citizens of member countries has reached its highest historical level. This happened against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the April 2024 study.

According to the survey, almost three-quarters of EU citizens (73%) say that EU actions have a direct impact on their daily lives. In addition, the majority of Europeans agree that their country would benefit from EU membership (71%). These results remain high across the EU, the study authors note.

The Eurobarometer survey also recorded significant interest among EU citizens in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament. In particular, Europeans want to see the fight against poverty and social exclusion (33%), as well as support for public health (32%) among the main issues discussed during the election campaign. EU defense and security are in third place (31%) - the importance of this item for Europeans has increased significantly in light of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the study says.

Russian media write that “EU politicians have begun to aggressively suppress freedom of speech”, allegedly trying to suppress Russian “resistance movements”.

StopFake fact-checkers explained that the disinformation message is based on a number of measures and resolutions of the European Parliament aimed at limiting the scale of Russian influence ahead of the European elections on June 6-9, 2024.

Russian media are trying to denigrate two European Parliament resolutions of February 8 and April 25, 2024 - both documents report a number of identified cases of bribery of European officials by the Kremlin in order to interfere in democratic processes in the European Union.

Indeed, according to investigations, Moscow recruits some members of the European Parliament and other European institutions as “agents of influence”, and also finances certain European political parties, which then act as mouthpieces for Russian propaganda, promoting Russian interests in the EU.

Pro-Russian telegram channels promote the message that Kyrylo Budanov is a competitor of Volodymyr Zelenskyi, and for the Office of the President he is “like a bone in the throat”. The head of the Office of the President, Andrii Yermak, is allegedly so afraid of any competitor for Zelenskyi that “one should not be surprised at the poisoning of Budanov’s wife”.

In fact, this message is promoted exclusively by Russian propaganda and the anonymous telegram channels that relay it. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with the BBC on April 22, 2024, denied any possibility of a political career during the war.

The accusation of the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine in the poisoning of the wife of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate is an attempt to transfer the blame for this crime from Russian intelligence to internal Ukrainian civil strife, the Center adds. In the end, such messages are disseminated in order to create a picture of a conflict that in fact does not exist between Ukrainian intelligence and the political leadership.