Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels write about this after the message of Polish President Andrzej Duda about the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Propagandists write that this will not affect the front in any way. They say that these tanks will not provide Ukraine with a decisive advantage. It seems to be just a demonstration of support for Ukraine.

In fact, in this way, Russian propaganda is trying to be proactive and use the tactics of depreciation after any reports of providing new weapons to Ukraine. The same messages are now being extended to the Patriot air defense system, which the United States plans to transfer. Like, one installation will not cope with so many Russian missiles, so there will be no significant changes.

Russian propaganda is spreading messages that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities are comparable to the Taliban. They say that the demolition of the monument to Catherine II in Odesa, which was a “sacred symbol” for many Ukrainians, is reminiscent of the destruction of Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Valley by the Taliban in 2001. The fact-checkers of EU vs Disinfo drew attention to the spread of the message.

Russian propaganda systematically manipulates the theme of a “single Russian-Ukrainian cultural space” and universal history. Also, propagandists systematically use comparisons of Ukraine or Ukrainians with criminal regimes for manipulation and emotional pressure. The dismantling of the monument to Catherine II in Odesa was repeatedly used to spread messages about russophobia and create a destructive image of Ukrainians. In fact, the monument was dismantled after a long public discussion, that is, in a democratic, not totalitarian way.

Russian propaganda tells a foreign audience that the State Bureau of Investigation and the SSU (Security service of Ukraine) allegedly organized excavations of graves in the villages of Kozacha Lopan, Velykyi Burluk, Shypovate and Khatnie in the Kharkov region. Like, they are digging up the burial places of local residents who died of natural causes during the stay of Russian troops in these settlements. As if, after the exhumation, the bodies of these Ukrainians were mutilated and thrown into special pits in the vicinity of the villages in order to create false evidence of “torture” and “execution” of civilians by Russian soldiers. Allegedly now, Secret Service and police agents are photographing and filming these bodies and “imitating the work of forensic and other experts in front of fake “witnesses”. The fact-checkers of EU vs Disinfo drew attention to the spread of the message.

In the Kharkiv region, the exhumation of those who died as a result of Russian aggression and the recording of Russia's war crimes are indeed continuing. At the end of October 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported that they had already recorded about forty thousand war crimes. Therefore, Russian propaganda is once again trying to hide what they have done and expose Russia as a victim of provocations.

Telegram channels from a network supervised by Russian intelligence spread the message that President Zelenskyi allegedly could have held talks with Putin during the Beijing Olympics as early as February, so the war would not have started. But Ukraine's Western partners seem to have banned Zelenskyi from going to Beijing, because they “had their own plans for Ukraine”. This is manipulation.

The information that Zelenskyi was supposedly banned from going to Beijing is spread with reference to an article in the Financial Times, which, citing sources, says: Putin did not warn Chinese President Xi Jinping about plans for a Russian invasion of Ukraine. And Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng was even demoted because he could not foresee the invasion. This Financial Times story denies the earlier notion that China has asked Putin not to go into war in Ukraine before the Olympics are over.

In this material, there is no mention of a possible visit or negotiations between Zelenskyi and Putin at all. And there are no facts or arguments in favor of the theory that Zelenskyi wanted to leave for Beijing or planned to do so, but someone or something prevented him.

At the same time, it is known that before Putin's trip to Beijing, his press secretary Pieskov reported that Putin did not plan to meet with anyone other than the head of China, including due to COVID restrictions. A few days before Putin's visit to China, Russian Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov offered Zelenskyi to meet with Putin in Moscow, St. Petersburg or Sochi, but immediately warned that Donbas or Crimea's ownership could not be topics of discussion. Zelinskyi refused such an offer, and later said that he did not plan to visit Beijing - instead, he had meetings scheduled in Kyiv with representatives of Ukraine's allied countries.

Pro-Russian and propaganda telegram channels write that the 56th US ex-secretary of State argues that Ukraine should be left alone and not be included into any institutions and organizations such as the EU and NATO. Like, if Ukraine joined NATO, the borders of the North Atlantic Alliance would be within 500 kilometers from Moscow. Propagandists say that then Russia will experience a constant threat and danger from NATO.

Telegram channels from the Russian intelligence-controlled network began to spread the message that the Office of the President allegedly “made a list of monuments” that need to be dismantled in Ukraine. That is why in different cities, including Dnipro and Odesa, monuments to Oleksandr Matrosov and Empress Catherine II have recently been dismantled. At the same time, Russian propaganda channels, such as the “Kremlin washerwoman”, Volodymyr Soloviov’s channel and others, spread the thesis that russophobic orders to dismantle monuments to Russian and Soviet figures in Ukraine are given directly in London and Washington. And that is why, supposedly, the US-controlled and UK-protected UNESCO does not make statements about their dismantling.

Firstly, none of the dismantled monuments was protected by UNESCO. Moreover, the monument to Catherine II was generally restored only in 2007, since it was demolished in 1917. Restoring it was an initiative of Odesa officials, which immediately caused a lot of criticism from local activists. Secondly, the dismantling of monuments does not mean their destruction as they are gradually transferred to museums, where they will be stored if they really have artistic value. And thirdly, the list really exists: back in August, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy compiled the top 10 most common toponyms associated with Russian or Soviet figures that really have nothing to do with Ukraine. The list includes Yurii Haharin, Oleksandr Pushkin, Ivan Michurin, Valerii Chkalov, Maksym Horkyi, Mykhailo Liermontov, Oleksandr Suvorov, Volodymyr Maiakovskyi, Oleksandr Matrosov, Volodymyr Komarov. The Ministry of culture and information policy of Ukraine expert council on overcoming the consequences of russification and totalitarianism recommended, first of all, to rename streets, squares, metro stations, squares and other names associated with these people. Monuments to these people from the cities of Ukraine are also gradually dismantled.

Before the start of a full-scale invasion, all these toponyms and monuments existed in hundreds of thousands in Ukraine. And the process of “de-russification” of Ukraine has a simple explanation: it is a military aggression against Ukraine, which was committed by Russia on February 24. Now no one, neither the authorities nor the inhabitants want to have anything to do with the aggressor. This is evidenced by the data of opinion polls: in May, 98% had a negative attitude towards Russia.

The Russian media are spreading the information that NATO is “delivering scrap metal”, that is, old, ineffective weapons to Ukraine, in order to “clean out warehouses” and “recycle old trash”. This message earlier appeared on Russian telegram channels, but this time it has a specific source - the Polish website Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny. But this is a site that was created for the dissemination of Russian propaganda, and has nothing to do with journalism.

As the journalists of the Polish True Story portal found out, most of the publications were copied from other portals. Thus, the impression of a full-fledged media is formed. The few original materials are undisguised Russian propaganda and lies. For example, it was this publication that published fabricated statements by American generals that the Poles were drunkards, drug addicts, and thieves. Most of the texts are written in poor Polish, full of Russianisms, impossible linguistic constructions occur in the texts. According to True Story, this is the result of an unsuccessful machine translation. The editor of the publication, Adam Kaminsky, is a non-existent person. The photo posted on his Twitter and Facebook accounts (both now deleted) is actually a portrait of Lithuanian traumatologist Andrius Zukauskas. Also, real Polish journalists did not find anyone who personally knows the authors of the original articles Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny.

All this proves that Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny is another fake site created solely to spread propaganda messages beneficial to Russia.

Interestingly, almost simultaneously with the message about the “scrap metal” supplied by the West to Ukraine, Russian propaganda is also spreading another one: “Ukraine has become a testing ground for testing the latest technologies and weapons”. This is one of the features of Russian propaganda: not so much to promote some kind of alternative version of reality, but to distribute as many fictional versions as possible so that the audience simply gets confused and stops trying to find the truth or facts.

And they are like this: the West supplies Ukraine with old Soviet-style weapons, which were mainly armed with the Ukrainian army, and new, modern equipment. The first is getting smaller, the second is getting bigger. And this happens for understandable and obvious reasons: the Ukrainian military knew how to fight with Soviet weapons, and therefore they were supplied by countries that still had their stocks. Now there is less and less of it, and more and more Ukrainian soldiers are learning how to use modern Western weapons, while Europe and the United States are supplying more and more of it.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Like, censorship has become the main tool of power for concealment of corruption, criminal orders or command errors. It seems that the situation with the shelling clearly demonstrated this - the Ukrainian authorities are “rejoicing” at the shelling of Makiyivka, but they are silent about Druzhkivka.

In the Russian information space and pro-Russian telegram channels, they are discussing the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Makiyivka at midnight on January 1, as a result of which up to 10 units of enemy military equipment of various types were destroyed. Also, according to preliminary data, it was the death of about 400 Russian servicemen and about 300 more wounded. According to the latest reports, the Russian General Staff acknowledged the death of only 89 soldiers.

Russian propaganda depicts the dead military as “innocently killed” and calls for revenge on Ukraine for the death of “sons and men”. At the time of death, the armed Russian military were in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and were directly involved in the war against Ukraine. That is, according to international law, they were a legitimate target for the Ukrainian army, defending its territory and its people.

Despite the fact that Russia started a war against Ukraine, Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages about revenge on Ukraine for any successful military actions and denies the right of Ukrainians to defend their state.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that the Americans are allegedly satisfied with the state of affairs in Ukraine, in particular, the course of the war. Like, the Americans understand that statistically there are four times more Russians than Ukrainians, but they “like everything”.

To promote the message, the Russian propaganda took the words of US Senator Lindsey Graham out of context. Graham said that he likes the way the United States is now supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia and this is very important. It was about the fact that US assistance allows Ukraine not to give up. The propagandists are shifting the focus to the literal perception of Graham's words about “struggle to the last Ukrainian” and manipulate the reference to statistics.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. They say that people of Kyiv are very happy that electricity has been restored in their homes. Allegedly, this is not the merit of power engineers, but of the “West” and weather conditions. However, it will soon become colder and people will again be left without electricity and heating.

With this message, propagandists are trying to achieve several goals at once. Firstly, to devalue the work of Ukrainian power engineers and workers who ensure the operation of critical infrastructure. Secondly, to fix the narratives about “external governance”, “loss of subjectivity by Ukraine”, “Ukraine as a “failed state””, etc. Thirdly, to distort foreign aid to Ukraine to restore energy supply. Also, the Russians are once again trying to oppose certain parts of Ukraine to each other. They say that restoring electricity in Kyiv is “more important” than in other parts of Ukraine.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Comments are added on social networks, such as “why is there such massive diarrhea abroad”.

In fact, in this way, Russian propaganda ridicules mass actions, the purpose of which is to draw the attention of foreigners to the war crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine, in particular, numerous rapes in the temporarily occupied territories. During actions, people are dressed in “bloody” underwear and with bags on their heads. This image symbolizes the victim, the crime and its consequences. In particular, the actions were held in Austria, Latvia, and Estonia.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading the news about the attack on the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate Church in the Vinnytsia region and accusing the “politics” of Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the “tacit consent” of Ukrainian society with it.

Russian propaganda is using reports of an attack on Archpriest Antonii Kovtoniuk to promote a disinformation message about the “persecution” of the Moscow Patriarchate church in Ukraine. There is no official information about the motives of the attacker yet - an investigation is underway. Propagandists are trying to give greater significance and “systematicity" to a single crime, so they write about “attacks in temples”.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading messages that Europe will get tired of supporting Ukraine if the Ukrainian army fails to demonstrate new successes on the battlefield. Allegedly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi understands that prolonging the conflict will entail criticism and therefore signals to the West that in 2023 he will be “ready for peace talks”. Like, that's why Zelenskyi initiated the convening of a special peace formula summit this winter.

To spread such messages to an international audience, the propagandists used the words of the former national security adviser to former US President George W. Bush, Michael Allen, who has repeatedly spoken out in support of Russia.

On January 31, during a massive rocket attack on Ukraine, anonymous telegram channels spread the message that the Ukrainian authorities were hiding the truth about the number of Russian missiles. Allegedly, government officials downplay the number of Russian missiles fired at Ukraine and reassure people that Russia will soon run out of missile stocks.

Like, the reality is completely different, and this evidence is a photograph of the sky over the Russian city of Astrakhan, covered with traces of launched missiles.

In fact, neither the Ukrainian authorities nor the Department of Strategic Communications of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hide the number of missiles that Russia fired at Ukraine, nor are they silent about the consequences of the hits and the results of the work of the Ukrainian air defense forces.

In the Ukrainian information space, a photograph of the sky with traces of launched Russian missiles was distributed by the Strategic Communications Department of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The sky in Astrakhan. Traces of “gifts” from the invaders who launched them in the direction of Ukraine. The bastards won't calm down”.

Russian propagandists spread such messages in order to intimidate Ukrainians and cause distrust in the authorities.

Pro-Russian resources and telegram channels reacted to the adoption of the new media law with numerous fakes and manipulations. Like, this law is “worthy of the worst authoritarian states”. It seems that the authorities are “cleansing” the information space and introducing censorship. It seems that telegram channels remain the only platform where there is still “freedom of speech”.

In fact, this law is one of those that had to be adopted in the context of Ukraine's European integration. Media professionals and members of the public were involved in its development. The law establishes rules that did not exist before and regulates certain media processes. This will make it more difficult for Russian narratives to enter the Ukrainian information space. Therefore, before the adoption of the law, Russian propaganda launched a campaign to discredit it. Instead, Ukrainian media professionals welcome the adoption of the law, despite challenges in its implementation.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading reports that residents are allegedly leaving Kyiv en masse. Like, because of the actions of the authorities, the city is emptying, the real estate market is not working. Kyiv is in decline.

Russian propaganda once again gives out wishful thinking. Despite massive rocket attacks, problems with energy supply, the number of Kyiv residents is returning to pre-war levels. In Ukraine, there is indeed increased migration now, but it is not caused by “decline”, but by Russian aggression. StopFake notes that the message of Russian propaganda about the departure of people from Kyiv and the state of the real estate market is a fiction of propagandists.

Kremlin information resources are distributing a publication stating that supposedly Ukrainian women who have gone abroad refuse to provide sexual services to African Americans and Asians. They seem to be showing racism.

According to StopFake, the publication referred to by the Russian media does not exist. A photo-edited screenshot of a Vision Times publication published on March 24 is being circulated online. It talks about the high risks of sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women who were forced to move to the EU after a full-scale Russian invasion. The propagandists changed the title of the article “War in Ukraine puts refugee women at risk of human trafficking and sex maniacs” to “Ukrainian refugee women involved in sex work refuse to sleep with blacks and people of color: the new face of European racism”. They also changed the author and the release date of the article.

Russia systematically discredits Ukrainian refugees. Read more about gender disinformation in the Detector Media study.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that a period of “positional war” has begun in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Allegedly, there will be no serious “breakthroughs”, only “DRG-raids” (reconnaissance sabotage group raids) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian airfields. Russia “in response” will launch massive missile strikes on Ukraine. The Americans, on the other hand, will warm up the situation “from around the corner”. They say that in this situation, “ordinary” Ukrainians will lose the most as they will have to cope with the consequences of missile strikes.

Such messages are part of a disinformation campaign of Russian propaganda on aid from the US and other Western partners. Russian propaganda spreads the message of “retaliatory strikes” after any massive missile attack on Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to emotionally put pressure on the Ukrainians and convince them that “negotiating with Russia”, that is surrendering, is the only possible way to end the war. In fact, Russia is cynically attacking Ukraine's critical infrastructure, in particular the energy system.

Such messages are spread by pro-Russian telegram channels as a reaction to the first foreign visit of the President of Ukraine since the beginning of the big war. The message that “Ukraine is blackmailing the West to obtain weapons and other assistance” is part of Russian disinformation narratives.

In fact, the Kremlin media systematically tells Russians about possible strikes against Europe, in particular, against the capitals of France, Germany, Great Britain, and Poland. Recently, the propagandists in the video tried to intimidate the United States with the blows of the “Sarmatians”. So, the rhetoric about “attacks on allies” is typical of Russian propaganda.

Russian media write about this with reference to Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Serhii Vershynin. It seems that the European Union, initiating the creation of a tribunal over Russia, is allegedly trying to “hide its involvement in war crimes in Ukraine”. They say that the creation of such a court allegedly “is at odds with the UN Charter”, and the world community “does not have an evidence base” for Russia’s crimes against Ukraine. Allegedly, this is a manifestation of russophobia of Western countries, ready to “violate the UN Charter”.

The EU has not committed any illegal actions against Ukraine and its citizens. Russia, on the other hand, systematically violates the norms of international law, stirs up wars on the territory of sovereign states, and commits crimes against the civilian population.

According to StopFake, the creation of a body investigating the crimes of the aggressor state does not contradict the UN Charter. But the attack on a sovereign country, the occupation of Ukrainian territories and the holding of illegal pseudo-referenda in Ukraine at gunpoint is a direct violation of the UN Charter by Russia.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not go to Bakhmut. They say that with the use of Western editing technologies, he can be “organized” anywhere, even a “trip to the Kremlin”. They also say that the residents of Bakhmut allegedly did not recognize the building on the video. Moreover, as if this is not Bakhmut, but the outskirts of Kharkiv.

Russian propaganda spread similar messages during Zelenskyi’s trips to the liberated territories, namely to Izium and Kherson. In particular, propagandists wrote that Zelenskyi deliberately visited Russia when he traveled to Kherson. The fake that Zelenskyi uses chromakey has already been debunked, but propaganda again resorts to such manipulations.

Such information is disseminated in the Russian propaganda media. Reports say that NATO and the EU are preparing another charade for domestic consumption, the protagonist of which is Russia. Like, considering the general corruption of the European Commission and the European Parliament, they urgently need a smokescreen to divert the attention of their citizens from this problem. It is in this way that propagandists call the EU demand put forward by Russia to withdraw from Ukraine as a distraction. Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case in the network. According to experts, this disinformation story concerns a future joint EU-NATO statement promising support for Ukraine and urging Russia to stop the invasion and withdraw from Ukraine. However, this statement has nothing to do with the corruption scandal that erupted in December 2022 after several members of the European Parliament were accused of taking bribes from at least one country.

Messages of this content appeared in Russian propaganda media and in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. The authors of the messages claim that Great Britain, together with its vassals - the Baltic countries and Poland, are preparing an anti-Russian coalition. Like, the Baltic countries are only colonies and vassals of Great Britain, and London is trying to build an anti-Russian coalition in order to reduce the influence of Russia. Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case in the network. According to analysts, Russian propaganda seeks to present the Baltic countries and Poland as dependent or even puppets of Western states (in this case, Great Britain). In this way, propagandists convince the world that because of ties with the UK, other countries are losing their sovereignty. The propagandists expanded the same narrative in relation to Ukraine. They say that Ukraine is controlled by third forces: both the countries of the West and NATO, and it is they who allegedly set Ukraine and Ukrainians against Russia.

Such information appeared in the Russian-language media space. In particular, messages are distributed in anonymous telegram channels broadcasting a pro-Russian position. They say that a new group of radical Islamists went from northeast Syria to Ukraine to fight as mercenaries on the side of Kyiv. However, there is no evidence in the propagandists' reports to support such a claim. Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case.