Spilnota Detector Media

Message Poles do not support Ukrainians; they are forced to do so by the European Union

Russian propaganda uses quotes from Polish historian Tomash Jankovsky to discredit Ukraine on the international stage. In particular, during an interview on the air of the Russian propaganda program "Solovyev Live," Yankovsky stated that "extreme nationalism is flourishing in Ukraine," and Poles "do not actuallyn support Ukrainians," they are "forced to do so by the European Union." Jankovsky also believes that the change of power in Poland will not improve relations with Russia since many Polish politicians have received a Western education and have "Russophobic views." According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, Jankovsky repeatedly expressed anti-Ukrainian theses; in particular, he talked about "wild Ukrainians" in Europe and that Ukraine as a state poses a danger to Poland.

In this way, Russian propaganda tries to create a false impression of Ukraine's isolation in the international arena, neutralize the importance of the growing military aid of the West to Ukraine, and demoralize Ukrainians.

Message The battle for Donbas will end before Putin's birthday. Ukraine will lose this battle

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels combine three messages into one:

  1. By October 2, as a "conditional gift" to Putin on his birthday, the "Battle for Donbas" will end.
  2. "Ukraine, without a doubt, will lose Donbas."
  3. Referendums on the occupied lands will be held by the same date if "the West cannot convince Ukraine to start peace talks and make territorial concessions by the end of the summer."

Such a combination, similar to an ultimatum, aims to demoralize Ukrainians and further promote to Europeans the idea of ​​the need for peace talks. At the same time, we draw attention to the fact that according to the classic scheme, propagandists base their messages on gossip and anonymous sources. In addition, anonymous telegram channels are moving the dates of occupation referendums in this way: before that, they were announced for September 11.    

Message Odesa is now more important than Kyiv for Russians

The Center for Combating Disinformation called this message the main narrative promoted by the Russian media today and predicts that similar provocations will continue to appear in the media space to destabilize society and as an explanation for missile attacks. CPD writes that propagandists describe the need to cut Ukraine from the sea completely. The CPD explained the reasons for such statements: "Firstly, Russia is afraid of basing the naval forces of the collective West in the future. Thus, propagandists reinforce the disinformation campaign that Russia is actually at war with NATO and that the Armed Forces are just a proxy army. Secondly, the Kremlin understands that they cannot and will not be able to take Kyiv.    

Message The US must compensate the countries affected by COVID-19 because they are involved in its creation

The Chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin, spread the information that the USA is allegedly involved in creating COVID-19; therefore, it must compensate for the damages to the countries affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In this statement, he again spread a fake about "US biolaboratories."

In fact, the WHO commission, which investigated the circumstances of the beginning of the epidemic in China and studied the possible origin of the new virus, reported that COVID-19 has a natural birth - the natural source is bats. The WHO did not detect any cases of coronavirus disease before December, so the first place of the spread of the virus was Wuhan (China). Moreover, experts consider it "extremely unlikely" that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There is no evidence that this virus, or a similar one, was studied in Wuhan laboratories. In addition, as VoxUkraine previously reported, various studies had confirmed that the MERS-Cov virus most likely originated in bats and was transmitted to camels before it acquired the ability to transmit to humans - the same with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. "Most scientists and the WHO are inclined to think that the virus arose due to a natural mutation and passed to humans from animals. It is confirmed by more recent studies of samples of the new coronavirus," the fact-checkers said. Fakes about the so-called "American biolaboratories," particularly in Ukraine, were repeatedly refuted by "Media Detector" - read more here.    

Message There was a split in NATO over the attitude to the war in Ukraine

Russian propaganda spreads such messages in its media and Telegram channels. At the same time, propagandists refer to Western media - The Sunday Time, Daily Banner, BB-CNTV, and others. For example, the Western press wrote that the lack of agreement in NATO caused "the defeat of the idea of ​​deploying small contingents of the Alliance's troops in Western Ukraine." But it is not true. In fact, the Russian media only used the article's headline, which refers to the "division" of the alliance countries, not the "split," to spread a manipulative message.

The original source of the publication, which was reprinted by Western publications, is the British weekly The Sunday Time. The article tells that the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance are conditionally divided into three groups based on their views on the Russian-Ukrainian war and assessments of options for developing the situation. The first group is the so-called "hawks" - countries bordering Russia. They believe that NATO should do everything possible to help Ukraine regain control over its territory. Russia's defeat should be so devastating that it will no longer claim the territory of neighboring states. The second group is "doves," which includes countries that want a ceasefire and consider Kyiv's territorial concessions in favor of Moscow acceptable. Such an "agreement is unfair but practical." The third group - "ostriches," are those states that do not pay much attention to the conflict in Ukraine, although they support the documents adopted by NATO. Despite such a division of opinion, at the end of June, the leaders of the NATO member states adopted a new strategic concept, in which Russia is officially recognized as the biggest threat to the security of the North Atlantic Alliance. The main factor influencing the decision of the alliance was the military actions in Ukraine, which shook Euro-Atlantic security and "caused untold suffering and destruction." Such a decision testifies to the strategic unity of NATO countries. Russian propaganda systematically uses distorted or out-of-context quotes from Western politicians and media to promote individual messages, fakes, and manipulations. In this way, they are trying to destroy partnership relations between Ukraine and the world.    

Message Kyiv must agree to Russia's terms and sit at the negotiating table

This information was announced, on July 3, in the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on the TV channel "Russia 1" by the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmytro Peskov. He noted that now the demand for initiatives to calm the situation around Ukraine has decreased. Still, sooner or later, common sense will prevail, and the turn of negotiations will come again. According to him, Ukrainians should agree to Russia's terms, sit at the negotiating table, and record a document that had already been decided mainly upon earlier. Peskov believes that the West is currently preventing a peaceful settlement.

Earlier, Peskov stated that the war could be stopped by the end of the day. They said that to end the war, it was enough for the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to order the military to lay down their arms and fulfill all of Moscow's ultimatums.

Then Mykhaylo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President's Office and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the negotiations with Russia, answered him: "Ukraine did not start this war to stop it "on orders." The war can be ended in Moscow at any time, simply by returning to adequacy: stop sending rockets to cities, withdraw troops, and abandon "nuclear propaganda." The position of Ukraine has not changed since that time.    

Message The Europeans are tired, "the stormy romance between the Europeans and the Ukrainians is coming to an end"

Ukrainian refugees who fled due to the large-scale war unleashed by Russia and, besides found refuge in European countries, are haunted by Russian propagandists. On July 2, pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and mass media exploded with many reports: "Great Britain, Belgium, Slovakia, Poland are tired of Ukrainians and will drive forced migrants out into the street."

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmytro Medvedev, compared Ukrainian refugees and Poland to a crisis in marital relations: "It seems that the stormy romance between Europeans and Ukrainians is coming to an end. They no longer want them; they are tired of them. Crazy Poles remembered their crazy nationalism. And now they are shouting to almost four million Ukrainians who have settled in their country that they are in Poland." He believes that "fading feelings should not be rekindled by any promises of a future slow and unequal marriage (mythical accession to the EU)" and that Ukrainians should "for their own happiness to break this marriage union forever."

Anonymous channels on Telegram shared a video with a woman who called to throw Ukrainians out of Poland with their bare hands because, they say, they got a swelled head. In other materials in the Russian media, it is described that Ukrainians in Europe "look at bread as garbage" and "demand luxury." Moreover, Europeans and Britons are outraged by the drunkenness and rudeness of Ukrainian refugees. And they must emphasize that from July 1, the Polish government will no longer pay aid to Ukrainian refugees.

Fact-checkers from Mythdetector reported that from July 1, aid would stop only for those Ukrainian refugees who have lived in Poland for 120 days; the aid payment will continue for the rest of the refugees. The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Poland, the Government Commissioner for Refugee Affairs, Pavlo Schefernaker, noted that four months after the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Polish government moved to a new stage of helping refugees. He said that among Ukrainian refugees, about 1.2 million people received PESEL (identification number), of which more than 500,000 are currently of working age. The Polish government will help them to adapt and work. According to Schafernaker, more than half of the non-disabled refugees have already started working.

According to UN data, as of June 28, 4,312,612 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Poland since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As part of the assistance from Poland, a regulation came into force on March 16, 2022, according to which the Polish government will help residents who provide housing and food to Ukrainian refugees at the rate of 40 zlotys per day per adult. Aid is valid for 120 days.

Message Ukraine is trying in every possible way to draw Belarus into the war

It was stated by the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Oleksandr Lukashenko, at a meeting on the occasion of the country's independence, Belta reports.

"The goal is to deal with Russia and Belarus in one fell swoop. They are allegedly worried; they declare from Ukraine that they would not like Belarusian troops to invade Ukraine through the northern border. Don't listen to them! They would be happy," Lukashenko said.

He believes that the invasion of Belarusian troops is necessary for Ukraine so that Ukrainian politicians and Volodymyr Zelensky can "shout" more about the atrocities of fascists from Russia and Belarus.

"Once again, I repeat what I said a year or more ago: we do not seek to fight in Ukraine," - Lukashenko. In June of this year, Lukashenko assured us that the West is trying to involve Belarus in the war in Ukraine and that Belarus should not get involved "in this conflict and not create a "military group." In fact, Lukashenko is deceiving.

On May 26, he announced that Belarus would create a new operational command in the southern direction, that is, on the border with Ukraine. The next day, May 27, Lukashenko ordered the formation of a people's militia, which was supposed to strengthen the country's security and defense capabilities.

At the end of May, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that the Belarusian military began removing tanks and combat vehicles stored from the bases. In addition, Belarus is working on the creation of strike groups.

In early June, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus suggested that Belarusian troops may have to fight for Western Ukraine so that it is not "pulled away by the West."

On July 3, Oleksandr Lukashenko once again reminded us, "Belarus is the only country that supports Russia in the fight against Nazism, and it will continue to do so." It is worth noting that as of May, since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Belarus, 633 rockets have been launched in Ukraine; such data was made public by the "Belarusian Gayun" initiative.

On June 25, about 30 missiles were fired at the Zhytomyr region from Belarus.

At the end of June, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced that Russia was increasing its military presence in Belarus.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Belarus is being drawn into the war more actively than at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and "everything has been decided" in the Kremlin.    

Message Western countries cynically use millions of Ukrainians as expendable material in their geopolitics

It was said by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, speaking at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of illegal Russian intelligence. In this way, he said, the "collective West" is trying to maintain its dominance and restrain the development of Russia based on "traditional values."

This statement was made at the same time as statements by world leaders about increasing military aid to Ukraine after the G7 summit. In particular, US President Joe Biden announced that more than 50 countries would provide Ukraine with a new military aid package. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed support for Ukraine and confirmed the intention to supply a large number of modern weapons, particularly heavy weapons according to NATO standards, including modern Western equipment. It is not the first attempt by the Russian president to convince Ukrainians of the hostility of the actions of the "collective West" and Russia's "loyalty" to Ukraine. However, while Russia launches missile strikes on the civilian population daily, the world is united in helping Ukraine.    

Message The war can be stopped until the end of the day

Dmytro Peskov, Press Secretary of the President of Russia, stated this at another briefing. They said that to end the war, it was enough for the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to order the military to lay down their arms and fulfill all of Moscow's ultimatums. Peskov added, "the special operation is going according to plan, and the terms of its completion are still unknown."

The Office of the President of Ukraine reacted to this message. "Ukraine did not start this war to stop it "on orders." The war can be ended in Moscow at any time, simply by returning to adequacy: stop sending missiles to cities, withdraw troops and abandon "nuclear propaganda," commented Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the OP and a member of the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations with Russia.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with The Economist that Russia is explicitly trying to sow panic and fear to force Ukraine to capitulate, but this tactic did not work. According to him, the people of Ukraine will never make territorial concessions to Russia, which has shed so much Ukrainian blood. "They [Russia] are trying to create enough chaos, panic, and fear to get us to sign the surrender. It did not work. We did not even come close to such a mood," Reznikov noted.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on partners to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. He also repeatedly stated in his speeches that Ukraine would not surrender.

Message The tragedy in Kremenchuk was a provocation, and the "fire" was caused by an explosion at an industrial facility nearby

Russian propagandists used various fake justifications for the missile attack on the Kremenchuk, Poltava region shopping center. At first, anonymous Telegram channels did not rule out that the Russian Federation could have carried out the attack, but later they began to look for evidence that the Ukrainians were to blame.

Some wrote about pre-planned provocations in Kremenchuk and called the tragedy a "fire." "The explosion in Kremenchuk may become the largest-scale Ukrainian provocation, which can only be compared with Bucha," writes the Telegram channel, which allegedly found evidence of a planned provocation. This proof consists in the fact that the authors of the channel allegedly found the newly created channel "Who is being followed on Twitter," in which they published videos and a list of accounts of foreign politicians just after the events in Kremenchuk.

Pro-Russian Telegram channels from the "SSU list" promote the message that the mall caught fire due to an explosion at a nearby factory, referring to "numerous videos" from the scene of the events. Instead, they note that "the place of impact is not shown." Propagandists have already resorted to these scenarios after shelling residential buildings in Kyiv and Odesa, the railway station in Kramatorsk, and the genocide in Buch and Irpen.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported in a summary that a strike from a high-precision weapon took place at the plant warehouses, and the flames spread to the shopping center, which was not working. After this statement, anonymous Telegram channels began to spread messages, allegedly Ukrainians "bleached" to the Russians that "there is something" at the object, and the shopping center was deliberately not closed during the alarm.

On June 27, around 4:00 p.m., the Russians fired missiles at the largest shopping center in Kremenchuk, Amstor, which was visited by hundreds of people. The information about the missile attack was confirmed by the head of the Central Security Agency of the region, the mayor of Kremenchuk, and the video was published by the official telegram channel of the President of Ukraine.

The Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the shopping center was hit by X-22 missiles fired from long-range Tu-22 M3 bombers. "The planes of the Rashists took off from the Shaykovka airfield, and the launches were carried out from the Kursk region," the post reads. The Russians fired the same missiles at an oil refinery in Kremenchuk on May 12, the "Poltavshchyna" publication writes.

Message Ukraine was given conditional candidacy for joining the EU due to the invasion of Russia

With such statements, pro-Russian Telegram channels reacted to Ukraine's obtaining the status of a candidate country for joining the EU. In fact, such a message is a development of manipulation on this topic. At first, Russian propagandists spread the idea that Ukraine would never be accepted into the European Union. "European leaders do not need Ukraine as part of the European Union," propagandist Solovyov said. Further, before the official decision of the EU leaders appeared, the Russian media was convinced that the candidate status did not guarantee anything for Ukraine because it was unknown when after that it would be able to join the European Union and whether it would become a member of the union at all. Propagandists have now emphasized that other countries felt "pity" for Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, although Russian politicians deny the "invasion" and call it a "special operation."

Message The Ukrainian military refuses to use "Bayraktar"

Russian mass media spread the thesis that "Ukrainian pilots consider the use of American MQ-1C Gray Eagle attack drones dangerous, and the Turkish Bayraktars - actually useless." The seemingly significant strengthening of Russian air defense forces prompts the Ukrainian military to this opinion. Such messages appeared after the information about the "Narodnyi Bayraktar" initiative from the Serhiy Prytula Foundation. Within a few days of work, the fund reports collecting a record amount of donations from Ukrainian citizens, businesses, and even politicians for purchasing three such aircraft for the Armed Forces. So, we can assume that spreading such messages is a way to devalue the help of the Ukrainian army and discredit the work of volunteers.

Message The status of a candidate for EU accession does not yet mean anything for Ukraine

Messages of this content are actively spreading on the network after the news that the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates for EU membership. The final decision on this has not yet been made.

However, many reports on the network have already written that resolution would not guarantee anything for Ukraine. Because it is unknown when it will be able to join the European Union and whether it will become a member of the union, such reports cite as an example Turkey, which has been a candidate for EU membership for over 20 years. He wrote that the same situation could be with Ukraine. Turkey really received the status of a candidate for joining the EU back in 1999. Currently, the status of a candidate for joining the European Union is held by: North Macedonia (since 2005); Montenegro (since 2010); Serbia (since 2012); Albania (since 2014). However, they are still quite far from the goal of joining the EU. In the case of Turkey, in 2018, the EU General Affairs Council stated that "Turkey is moving further away from the European Union.

Therefore, negotiations on Turkey's accession have effectively reached an end, and further chapters for opening or closing, as well as further work on the modernization of the EU-Turkey Customs Union, cannot be considered. That is, we can say that Turkey's accession to the EU has been going on for more than 20 years because the country does not fulfill the requirements set before it as conditions for accession. It is too early to talk about how long Ukraine's candidacy may last, and there is no reason to assume that the process may drag on for more than 20 years, as in the case of Turkey. However, obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership is a significant step for Ukraine on the way to European integration.

Message Ukraine must surrender because "honorable surrender is important for saving lives"

According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, Russian propaganda, with the help of Japanese parliamentarian Muneo Suzuki, is trying to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with Russia and surrender. In particular, Suzuki, in a comment to the Russian "RIA Novosti" on June 22, blamed Ukraine for the fact that Russia unleashed a full-scale war. According to him, "Kyiv is responsible for the non-fulfillment of the Minsk agreements." As the Center reports, such a statement by a Japanese politician is a continuation of his rhetoric that Ukraine should urgently surrender. "On June 16, Yahoo News Japan published an article by Suzuki, in which the politician stated: if Ukraine cannot fight without the help of the West, "honorable surrender is important to save lives," the Center claims.

Message Russia is not fighting at full capacity

Such information spreads in anonymous pro-Russian Telegram channels. First, thanks to such statements, Russia is trying to justify its defeats in Ukraine.

They said that the Russian army had not yet used all its forces, methods, and weapons, so the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to give them a decent rebuff. In particular, we are talking about the well-known "taking Kyiv" in three days and other unsuccessful operations of the Russian army in Ukraine. Secondly, such messages also perform the function of intimidation.

For example, if you do not surrender and do not make concessions to Russia, the Russian army will fight even more fiercely. However, the Russian military commits war crimes in Ukraine daily: they destroy infrastructure and kill civilians. The fact that the Russian army is suffering losses and gradually losing ground in certain locations is not because it is not fighting at full strength but because the Armed Forces of Ukraine are repulsing it with dignity.

Message Ukraine will use Western weapons to kill Russians and attack Russian territory

Anonymous pro-Russian Telegram channels distribute information with such a message. Their authors are convinced that if the West prolongs the supply of weapons to Ukraine, it will start using them to attack Russia.

However, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities have already repeatedly explained that Ukraine uses weapons provided by allied countries exclusively for self-defense - to fight off the enemy that attacks our territory and protect its sovereignty. In particular, the head of the German Ministry of Defense, Christine Lambrecht, said about the non-use of weapons in the attack on Russia: "We did not need to demand this from the Ukrainians; they clearly stated it. We are confident that Ukraine will use weapons only for defense."

Ukraine is a peaceful country and does not attack other countries; in the case of a Russian-Ukrainian war, it only defends itself. Therefore, weapons are needed precisely for defense. However, using such a message, Russian propaganda wants to convince our Western partners that giving weapons to Ukraine can be dangerous. It is beneficial for Russia that its partner countries do not provide Ukraine with weapons for defense.

Message The West is powerless in front of the alliance of Russia and China

Russian propaganda spreads an article by the Chinese political scientist Minxin Pei, talking about the "powerlessness" of the West in front of the "union of Russia and China." In this way, Russia tries to create the impression that it has strong support in the international arena.

However, it is fake. According to the Anti-Disinformation Center, Minxin Pei's op-ed piece published by Bloomberg does say that China and Russia maintain a "strategic unity" that is a geopolitical challenge to the West. He also notes that China and Russia share "similar nationalistic values ​​and deep antipathy to the West." However, in the material, the author does not mention the "powerlessness" of Western countries before the union of Russia and China. In other publications, the author believes that Putin wants to involve China in a military conflict. However, China is trying to support Russia without directly participating in the war and crossing the "red lines" of the United States.

According to Minxin Pei, China is in a difficult situation due to the statement on the strategic partnership with Russia signed on February 4, 2022. At the same time, Russian propaganda uses an exclusively beneficial part of the Chinese political scientist's statements to form the image of China as its reliable partner, rejecting part of the statements about China's efforts to maintain neutrality.

Message There are problems with discipline in Ukrainian society, and the authorities invent victories for themselves

Pro-Russian Telegram channels distribute messages with this content. For example, Lehytymniy convinces the audience that: "...problems with conditional discipline began in Ukrainian society ... "for a moment, the war in the country continues, and the rear has swum." Another propaganda channel Kartel, along with a report from the previous message, claims that: "...functionaries of the Office of the President are trying to stir up hype in Ukrainian society by heating the topic that Belarus is preparing to attack the Western territories of Ukraine and even Kyiv. Also, a case with the attack of RB was launched for the Western press to somehow revive interest in the Ukrainian crisis. However, a day later, they triumphantly declared that this would not happen since Bankova herself controls everything."

Such messages divert attention, confuse Ukrainian society, spread doubts and panic among citizens regarding the authorities' actions, and undermine trust in Ukrainian intelligence and the Armed Forces. If the government manipulates and deceives, how can you trust it? Although the intelligence not only of Ukraine but also of other countries testifies about the possible invasion of Belarusian troops into Ukraine. Repetition of the message in different channels helps anchor it in the information field. It is how a dispute is artificially created and society splits because emotions prevent an objective assessment of the situation. In this way, the work of the President's Office is being devalued through the manipulation of the thesis that the government itself invents a problem and then "victoriously" reports on its solution.

Remind that Russian propaganda systematically spreads manipulative messages and artificially creates discussions about the professionalism of the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, the integrity of the information it provides to citizens, events at the front, etc.

Message Russia threatens Lithuania to protect its "national security"

This statement was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. They claim that Russia demands Lithuania cancel the ban on the transit of goods to Kaliningrad, and in case of refusal, they threaten "actions to protect national interests." Much Russian propaganda media wrote about it.

Such a statement arose as a reaction to Lithuania's ban on rail transit of several goods subject to sanctions. As Zaxid.net writes, this concerns the transportation of construction materials, cement, and metal. In turn, Putin's press secretary Dmytro Peskov called such a decision by Lithuania a "blockade" and added that before making any decision, the Russian authorities would "analyze in detail" the ban. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia also stated that they consider Lithuania's decision "provocative and hostile" because it violates international legal obligations.

That is, this time, Russia is almost openly threatening Lithuania with war, hinting that it will solve the issue with the ban in any way. In particular, Andriy Klimov, the head of the Federation Council Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation, said this, and Andrey Klimov, ​​the head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, promised in response, "tough and legal actions on the part of Russia." Remind you that the Russian authorities consider the war in Ukraine completely legal and call it only a special military operation, not considering their actions aggressive and violating international law.

Message Russia promotes a "peaceful" plan to end the war through foreign media

A 15-point action list appeared in the National Interest magazine, immediately distributed by the Kremlin's propaganda media. The Center reported it for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

Among the proposed:

- Ukraine, at the constitutional level, recognizes neutrality and renounces Crimea;

- Russia is withdrawing troops to positions on February 23, 2022;

- until September, a referendum on the state ownership of these territories is held in ORDLO;

- Ukraine breaks all ties with NATO, reduces the army, destroys heavy weapons;

- neither party pays reparations.

"This action plan is an element of an information and psychological operation, the main purpose of which is to create an impression of the strong positions of the Russian army on the battlefield against the background of the lack of real achievements at the front. According to the ECFR poll, the population of Western countries is convinced that it is Ukraine that should win the war," the Center for Combating Disinformation noted.

Message Belarus may have to reconquer Western Ukraine

This thesis was spread by Oleksandr Lukashenko, speaking about the alleged plans of the collective West to "capture" the territory of Ukraine. He tries to justify his statement, dragging Belarus deeper into the Russian-Ukrainian war, by saying that these "Western plans" may harm Belarus itself, saying that "they will not stop there."

Message Turkey plans to seize Crimea and part of Russia's territory

For several years, Russian media have constantly been promoting the narrative that Turkey plans to seize Crimea - and propagandists write that the "secret plan" to seize Crimea by Turkey includes not only the annexation of Crimea but also parts of Russia - such as Stavropol, Rostov, Astrakhan, Volgograd region, Chuvashia, Dagestan, Chechnya, Krasnodar region and several other regions. Such material appears whenever tensions between Russia and Turkey escalate, for example, over the recognition of Crimea as Ukrainian, as Turkish diplomats have occasionally emphasized. In proof of this theory, Russian propaganda demonstrates a fragment of a report on Turkish television.

According to StopFake fact-checkers, this video was made in 2009. It showed not the seizure of territories but a possible increase in the impact, primarily economic, of Turkey on neighboring countries over the next thirty years - until 2050. At the same time, Turkey has repeatedly insisted that it stands for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and does not recognize Crimea as Russian.

Message NATO and Russia are fighting on the territory of Ukraine

According to the Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, pro-Russian messages by Danish scientist Jan Oberg are being spread in the Western information space. In particular, Jan claims that NATO is allegedly at war with Russia on the territory of Ukraine. "Over the past month, Jan Oberg has given dozens of interviews to foreign media, which have been picked up by Russian propaganda. The pro-Russian expert negatively commented on the decisions of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, as, in his opinion, such a step by independent countries is "another provocation of Putin." According to Jan Oberg, "NATO has started the war in Ukraine," and "Western sanctions against Russia are ill-considered and will have self-destructive consequences because powerful Russia no longer wants to cooperate with the West, " the Center said.

Message Referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk regions are the only option to end the war in Ukraine

 According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, this opinion was expressed by US military strategist Edward Luttwak in an interview with Die Welt. He said that "both sides must win the war" because, in his opinion, "it is impossible to defeat Russia, and it is impossible to force Ukraine to surrender." "Edward Luttwak has been promoting the idea of ​​holding a" real referendum "in some parts of Donbas since April. But the latest interview of E. Luttwak was used by Russian propaganda to produce dozens of news that "Ukraine cannot deny the people a choice," the Center notes. They add that Luttwak has been actively promoting pro-Russian narratives in the Western media for more than five years, explaining that his statements about the referendum and the need to "give Putin a small victory" are just correcting the idea of ​​peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. in Davos but did not receive adequate support in the world.