Russian propagandists manipulated correspondence from the Forward Observation Group on Instagram, where photos of military personnel in the Kursk region were published. They claim that this is supposedly evidence of the participation of “militants of an American private military company” in the operation.

But Forward Observation Group is not actually a private military contractor. As the Center for Countering Disinformation explained, FOG is a security and tactical training consulting company that sells tactical gear. Representatives of the company shoot videos from different places where fighting continues in order to promote their own brand.

This is not the first time that Russian propaganda has tried to portray the Forward Observation Group as “a private military company whose mercenaries fight in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. Thus, former US military man Derrick Bales and the owner of this consulting company already came under the close attention of Russian propaganda after his trip to the front lines of the Ukrainian military to film a documentary about the war in Ukraine. Russian media wasted no time in using his presence as evidence that “American mercenaries are training Ukrainian soldiers”. At the same time, stories are also being circulated by alleged residents of the Kursk region, who claim that they allegedly saw foreign mercenaries among the Ukrainian military.

Derrick Bales himself was also accused of participating in hostilities as a “foreign mercenary”. In response, the American veteran told VICE News that he was not using his military skills to make money in Ukraine.

Russia continues to try to convince the world that it is allegedly at war not only with Ukraine, but also with “the entire NATO bloc”. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army. Moreover, it also shows Russia’s desire to justify its own failures on the battlefield and spread the narrative of “external control” in Ukraine.

On August 19, Detector Media already wrote about Russia’s message that the United States was allegedly involved in the operation in the Kursk region.

Propagandists are actively disseminating on anonymous telegram channels the statement of the self-proclaimed dictator of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on the Kursk region is allegedly an attempt by Kyiv to provoke Russia into using nuclear weapons. According to Lukashenko, such actions could lead to Moscow losing its international allies, which allegedly puts Russia in a dangerous position.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security drew attention to this. They emphasize that Lukashenko has long been a staunch ally of Russian propaganda, and his statements regarding nuclear escalation are a reflection of Kremlin rhetoric. The Kremlin constantly stokes the fear of nuclear war in order to keep the world on edge and influence the decisions of the international community.

Russia, which seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and turned it into a military base, accuses Ukraine of “provocations” aimed at forcing Russia to use nuclear weapons. Such statements are intended to divert attention from the real threat posed by Russian aggression and its nuclear blackmail.

The Kremlin's tactics are aimed at sowing fear and confusion among the population of Ukraine and its international partners in order to weaken their resolve in resisting Russian aggression. Russia continues to use nuclear blackmail as a tool of political pressure in an attempt to force the world to capitulate to its demands.

Propagandists are disseminating on anonymous telegram channels a statement by former Pentagon adviser Colonel Douglas McGregor that after the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ invasion of the Kursk region, the chances of peace negotiations have significantly decreased. They say that Washington was afraid of Putin’s reaction to the attack and returned to the idea of creating a government of exile in Lviv. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security drew attention to this. They note that the official position of the United States and the EU on the operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region remains unchanged: Ukraine has the right to defend itself at its own discretion. US State Department representative Matthew Miller emphasized that the decision to conduct military operations is made by Ukraine itself, and European Commission representative Peter Stano emphasized that the EU fully supports Ukraine’s legitimate right to defend and restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Such statements by McGregor are part of the Kremlin’s disinformation narratives aimed at legitimizing the crimes of Russians. This is an attempt to influence Ukrainian and Western audiences under the guise of “expert” opinions from the West. McGregor has long acted as a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda, justifying the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donbas in 2014, and after the full-scale invasion predicted the imminent defeat of Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops broke through the Russian border in the Sumy region on Tuesday, August 6. Already on August 12, President Zelenskyi for the first time directly wrote that Ukraine was conducting an operation in the Kursk region of Russia. Back on August 12, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Ukraine controls almost 1,000 km of Kursk region. As of August 13, it became known that 74 settlements in Russia are under Ukrainian control.

Russian anonymous telegram channels began to spread messages that in fact everything was happening under the so-called “cover” of the United States and the American government.

“Without Washington’s participation, Kyiv would hardly have risked entering Russian territory. Because of American interests, the residents of Ukraine are suffering, which the United States has turned from a state into a military anti-Russian project”, the propagandists add.

However, the United States officially denied involvement in organizing the operation in the Kursk region. For example, as Reuters writes, the United States is still considering an unexpected invasion of Ukraine into the Kursk region of Russia.

The Biden administration is now working to determine Ukraine's goals in its offensive, which U.S. officials say has taken Washington by surprise.

Moreover, the American government has not lifted absolutely all restrictions for the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the use of weapons on Russian territory: neither in range nor in use. Actually, the country's leadership is still determining the feasibility of using weapons in the Kursk region. That is, we are talking about the fact that the United States was not informed about this offensive.

And, as CNN writes, the United States does not allow Ukraine to use the American long-range weapons provided for attacks in the Kursk region of Russia, since it believes that it would be more expedient to use them for attacks on the temporarily occupied Crimea.

This is how Russia once again promotes the narrative of “external governance” in Ukraine: With this, propagandists want to show that all political decisions in Ukraine are made by Western officials. While Ukrainian politicians are subject to these decisions, without the right to appeal them. Any events occurring in Ukraine that are not in favor of Russia are allegedly caused by external control. Fake robes strive to create the image of a puppet country that cannot exist on its own. Let's say Ukraine constantly needs “protection”.

The authors convince us that most often, peaceful people who suffer from “external control” pay taxes “who knows where”, are zombied by “Western values” and have literally lost the right to be heard. That is, they show that such an “impact” is bad and leads to stagnation in all spheres of people’s lives.

The head of the radiation and biological protection troops of the Russian Armed Forces, I. Kirilov, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly use ammunition with the same toxic substances that were used by the Third Reich in the gas chambers of concentration camps. However, this is fake and manipulation.

The Center for Countering Disinformation drew attention to it in its official telegram channel. They found out that this message of Russian propaganda is another attempt by the enemy to discredit the Ukrainian military and justify aggression against Ukraine as a “fight against Nazism”.

Ukraine is a signatory to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons, and therefore adheres to its provisions.

Accusing the Ukrainian Armed Forces of using toxic substances is part of an ongoing Russian campaign of disinformation about Ukraine's creation of a dirty bomb and the presence of American biological laboratories in territory controlled by the Kyiv junta.

At the same time, Russian propagandists systematically publish videos and photos on their telegram channels confirming the gas and chemical attacks of the Russian army on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

For example, according to the Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Support Forces, during May 2024, 715 cases of Russians using ammunition containing dangerous chemical compounds were recorded and documented, which is 271 more than in April.

On July 15, Russian telegram channels were already spreading fake news about the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ plans to use chemical weapons in the Donetsk and Kherson directions.

Propagandists are spreading information in the media that the attack by Ukrainian forces on the Kursk region allegedly indicates the “agony” of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and that panic and a coup d’etat will soon begin in Kyiv. In doing so, they refer to statements by American political scientist Scott Bennett.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security drew attention to this message. They note that this is not the first time that propaganda has been trying to predict the collapse of the “Zelenskyi regime”, starting in 2023, constantly spreading fiction about a military coup, a “third Maidan” or the elimination of the President by third forces. The goal of these Kremlin manipulations is to impose on Ukrainians and Western audiences the idea of Ukraine as a “fragile” and “vulnerable” state.

Scott Bennett is a longtime darling of Russian propaganda. For example, in November 2023, he visited the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and spread lies that Soledar was allegedly destroyed by “American weapons”. And in March 2024, Bennett even approached Putin with a request to grant him Russian citizenship, declaring a desire to use his skills “for the good of Russia”.

Information is being spread on social networks that the energy company of Ukraine, the joint-stock company Sumyoblenergo, allegedly promises to leave without wages those workers who refuse to donate blood to soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Publications add a photo of an advertisement that talks about this.

“Ukrainians are forced to donate blood for AFU soldiers who defend the independence and security of Ukraine in the Kursk region. And if they don’t do it, they won’t receive a salary…”, this is how the fake makers describe the situation.

StopFake specialists analyzed the case and contacted Sumyoblenergo with a request to confirm or deny such information. A company spokeswoman said the ad was fake and pointed out exactly where the propaganda went wrong. For example, the company does not have such a department as the “personnel department”, because it was this department that allegedly issued the announcement.

Propagandists systematically spread fakes and manipulations on the topic of an alleged shortage of blood in Ukraine. Thus, the authors of the messages seek to convince that everything is bad in Ukraine and that there are many wounded who are not receiving decent assistance because “there is not enough blood”. We managed to refute several fakes on this topic. For example, one of the fakes said that Ukraine prohibits all foreign citizens from becoming blood donors. We also verified the authenticity of a message on social networks that a Ukrainian woman was abandoning her husband because he was “transfused with the blood of Russans”.

Read on Censor.NET: In Ukraine, representatives of the LGBT community were allegedly banned from “donating blood”

They write on social networks that Ukrainian refugees are allegedly stealing crops from German farmers en masse. In such publications, fake makers only attach a photograph with German police officers. At the same time, who exactly reports about the so-called involvement of Ukrainians in crimes is not noted.

“German farmers sound the alarm: refugees from Ukraine are raiding their fields and gardens. They carry everything: cherries, strawberries, apples, grapes, potatoes and even pumpkins. Moreover, they refuse to work in the fields”, users comment.

StopFake analysts investigated this case and determined that a number of news stories about theft from local farmers actually appeared in the German information space. In particular, this is stated in the material of the German publication Bild “The fruit mafia is stealing our fields!”

In it, the publication raised the topic of theft, collecting such cases recently. It was in this article that a photograph of German police was used, which was picked up by propaganda.

However, in the Bild article there is not a single mention of the fact that German farmers are being robbed by Ukrainian refugees. Journalists talked to several farmers who told us exactly who, under what circumstances, and how much of their harvest was stolen. It is noteworthy that not a single interlocutor raised the topic of the nationality of the criminals.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU - in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own research. Since the beginning of the big war in Ukraine, Russian propaganda has been trying to discredit refugees who were forced to leave Ukraine in order to save their lives. Propagandists regularly spread fake news about them; call refugees dependents; they claim that they went abroad not for safety, but for profit; they convince that residents of countries that have accepted Ukrainian refugees are dissatisfied with the behavior of Ukrainians. Propagandists need this in order to stake out the opinion that Ukrainians are pagans who do not value the help that residents of other countries provide them; take advantage of the kindness of people in other countries.

In the Polish segment of social networks, they are distributing photos of Ukrainian fighters and adding that “Zelenskyi lied when he said that women would not be at the front, they would be mobilized en masse and even mocked at them”. Actually, in support of this thesis they add photos of women practicing certain exercises while lying down.

It turned out that these were photos from training, created by photographer and correspondent Andrii Dubchak. That is, the photographs are real and there are fighters in them, although no one is “bullying” at them; they are training to perform further combat missions.

Previously, we explained the message that they were supposedly recruiting women “massively” from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine because the men were “already tired”. And now Moscow is trying to work on this topic by demonstrating the negative attitude of the Ukrainian leadership towards its citizens. Allegedly, both women and men are already being recruited to the front. But there is nothing wrong with women expressing their own desire to serve. Kremlin propaganda presents such a situation as forced and irreversible: as if the Ukrainian leadership is ready to “recruit” everyone so that there is someone to fight. Although this is all the absolute will of the citizens.

Women can be drafted into the army only with voluntary consent, that is, forced mobilization is prohibited. Cases of forced mobilization of women were not recorded even before the adoption of the relevant law. Moreover, the situation of a child being left without guardianship, since both parents have been mobilized, is simply impossible. Indeed, according to the law, persons who have a minor child/children and a spouse who is already serving in military service are not subject to mobilization.

A screenshot of an advertisement from the popular Airbnb rental service is being circulated on social networks, in which they note that apartments are not rented out to Ukrainians “even for additional rent”.

“Paris no longer wants to rent housing to Ukrainians”, they write in propaganda publications.

StopFake analysts took on the case and determined that the ad photos were compiled using graphic editors. But in the real advertisement on the website there was no mention of Ukrainians.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to present Ukrainian refugees as criminals or terrorists, as a cultural and economic threat to the EU - in order to reduce support for Ukraine. We mentioned this in our own research. Since the beginning of the big war in Ukraine, Russian propaganda has been trying to discredit refugees who were forced to leave Ukraine in order to save their lives. Propagandists regularly spread fake news about them; call refugees dependents; they claim that they went abroad not for safety, but for profit; they convince that residents of countries that have accepted Ukrainian refugees are dissatisfied with the behavior of Ukrainians. Propagandists need this in order to stake out the opinion that Ukrainians are pagans who do not value the help provided to them by residents of other countries; take advantage of the kindness of people in other countries.

The network is disseminating information that Kyiv stores are “almost out of fresh products” that need to be kept in refrigerators, in particular dairy products, semi-finished products and meat products. The post includes a photo of empty shelves in the store.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the case and determined that the propagandists took the photo with empty shelves from an advertisement on OLX in Kazakhstan. And there is no shortage of goods and limited quantities of them, since none of the Ukrainian media have received such news.

Analysts add that according to a survey of retailers conducted by Interfax-Ukraine, the power outages have indeed presented supermarkets with the task of storing perishable goods. Some large networks such as Auchan, Novus and Varus have long had generators that ensure uninterrupted operation during outages. And solar panels were even installed on the roof of one of the Novus stores. But there is no shortage of products.

Propagandists constantly try to exaggerate the scale of problems in Ukraine in order to show the inability of the Ukrainian authorities to cope with the crisis situation. Thus, they want to shift responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of aggression and persuade her to make concessions.

Read on Censor.NET: The Ministry of Agrarian Policy allegedly sends recipes for dishes from pigeons and dogs to Ukrainians

Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that one of the specific Ukrainian online stores of electronic cigarettes sells the “Chill up Zelenskiy” cigarette.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the stuffing and found that the assortment of the online store indicated by the propagandists does not include products with the image of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Presumably, the screenshot was faked and replaced with a photo of the original product.

When searching using the keyword chill up, we were able to find original products that did not contain photos of Zelenskyi or other politicians.

However, in general, it is not prohibited to put images of politicians or any other figures on such products: only if the product itself does not violate Ukrainian legislation. For example, on the official website of Epicenter they sell a lighter with the image of Patron the Dog, a dog that inspires explosives. It's a common element of pop culture that arose in the context of a full-scale invasion. It can also be with a cigarette with the image of Ukrainian politicians.

Thus, anonymous people want to discredit the Ukrainian president, because they explain that in Ukraine they are beginning to “idolize” Zelenskyi and “push” his images everywhere: supposedly hinting at a dictatorial form of government. But for some reason, anonymous people, say, do not remember that in Russia there is an entire clothing brand dedicated to the dictator Putin, created by his supporters and participants in the Putin Team movement.

In fact, we recorded many fakes aimed at discrediting Volodymyr Zelenskyi: propagandists used false advertising banners, magazine covers, graffiti, created individual cartoons, and placed Zelenskyi’s faces on various consumer goods (for example, condoms). With the help of Russian propaganda, Zelenskyi was able to appear in various roles, in particular: a vain person who spends all budget funds only on himself; a punitive satanist destroying Ukrainian church property; a person with drug addiction; theft of Western money; a puppet controlled by the West; a monster who throws “everyone in a row” to the front, etc.

Pro-Russian telegram channels cited the publication of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and Facebook about the adoption of a law on the mobilization of convicts. In fact, the adopted law provides that prisoners can enter into a contract with the armed forces of Ukraine and subsequently serve in specific units of the defense forces.

“The men are running out: female prisoners are being massively recruited into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, the propagandists summed up.

In fact, according to the law, the opportunity to join the army is given not only to convicted men, but also to women. According to the publication, as of July 24, 2024, seven convicted women expressed a desire to join the fighters and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among other things, out of 6,101 convicts who expressed a desire to fight, 3,832 people have already left penal institutions for special training. The publication does not indicate how many of the 6,101 are women and whether there are any at all; it was about seven convicts, which means that the propagandists simply invented a massive “tendency to hire women”. In addition, the post of the Ministry of Justice clearly states that the signing of a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine occurs directly by expression of will and otherwise.

However, there is nothing wrong with women expressing their own desire to serve. Kremlin propaganda presents such a situation as forced and irreversible: as if the Ukrainian leadership is ready to “recruit” everyone so that there is someone to fight. Moreover, they demonstrate this in such a way that Ukrainian women are taken to the front because there seem to be “no more men left” - thus demonstrating misogyny about the possible fights, which become only a “replacement” and only “weaken” the situation at the front.

Propagandists on anonymous telegram channels are disseminating information about a new Ukrainian counteroffensive, which was allegedly developed by the Ukrainian high command. It allegedly includes an attack on Enerhodar in order to gain control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. They say that Ukraine is ready to risk a nuclear disaster in order to save its energy system.

The purpose of this message is to create panic and fear among the population and the international community, linking possible actions of Ukraine with the threat of a nuclear disaster. Let's take a closer look at its manipulative elements and the goals of the propagandists. Propagandists want to make people believe that it is the actions of Ukraine, not Russia, that can lead to a nuclear disaster. They say that it is ready to risk global security to achieve its goals. Propagandists try to create an impression of authenticity by using “insider information” language. However, most often they use such words to hide their lack of any reliable sources confirming what they want.

Russia often uses nuclear threats as a tool to intimidate and influence the international community. Propaganda is actively using the topic of nuclear security to force the international community and Ukraine to make concessions and compromises in favor of Russia by creating fear of a nuclear disaster. And also to divert attention from Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine. In general, Russian propaganda creates controversial or sensational messages to influence the ability of those in their audience to distinguish truth from lies.

The court's decision to detain the once leading 1+1 TV channel and others, and now Russian propagandist Zhan Novoseltsev in Ukraine, allegedly demonstrates exemplary punishment of citizens who defend their rights. Propagandists claim this.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security explains that Zhan Novoseltsev is not a journalist or human rights activist, but is known as a distributor of fakes and an ally of anti-vaccination activist Ostap Stakhiv. On July 23, the Security Service of Ukraine detained him for calls for armed resistance against the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support workers and attempts to destabilize the situation in the country. Novoseltsev and his accomplices, including pseudo-experts and administrators of online communities, disseminated false information about the Ukrainian military and published personal data of Ukrainian defenders and law enforcement officers. All of them pretended to be journalists, the SBU reports. Novoseltsev also spread conspiracy theories and fake news about the war and energy situation in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda uses this information drive to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and create distrust in state institutions. This is part of an information war aimed at weakening internal unity and damaging its international reputation.

Pro-Kremlin sources are spreading the message that the F-16 fighters that will be transferred to Ukraine will suffer the same fate as Leopard and Abrams tanks, they will be easy targets for the Russians and will become military trophies at parades in Russia. In reporting this, propagandists refer to the statement of expert and analyst Lucas Leiros.

In fact, it will not be so easy for the Russians to hit F-16 aircraft. Aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi argues that Ukraine repels the vast majority of Russian attacks on airfields. In addition, he adds that the F-16 fighters themselves will become a tool of defense: “The appearance of the F-16 aircraft will be a powerful enough reinforcement of the airspace, which will make it possible to repel these air attacks at an early stage, when either missiles or the same reconnaissance UAVs hit under control in the airspace of Ukraine”. The event will also enhance the F-16's airborne early warning capabilities, namely SAAB aircraft.

Also, some F-16 aircraft will be deployed abroad. This will be one of the ways to protect them, as the head of aviation of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhii Holubtsov spoke about: “Not all aircraft that will be transferred to Ukraine now will come to Ukraine. Some of them will remain in the centers where our pilots and aviation personnel are trained... There is a number that will come to Ukraine. There are several aircraft that will be stored at secure air bases, not in Ukraine, so that they will not be targets here. And this will be our reserve if necessary to replace faulty aircraft during routine maintenance”.

Russian propaganda is increasingly trying to convince Ukrainians that the appearance of F-16s in the skies over Ukraine supposedly “will not change anything” and “will not in any way affect the course of the war”, writes the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

To do this, Moscow uses so-called “foreign experts”, for example Lucas Leiros, the Center adds. In fact, 25-year-old Brazilian Leiros is one of the mouthpieces of Russian propaganda. In June 2024, he visited the occupied and destroyed Mariupol and spread a propaganda message that the city was developing dynamically. Also in 2023, Leiros spread fakes from the UN rostrum about Ukraine’s use of chemical weapons.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are promoting the message that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak allegedly do not intend to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, because then they will lose power and influence. Therefore, according to propagandists, Kyiv is preparing a provocation to incite the Kremlin to a powerful response, preferably with the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

By spreading this information, Russia seeks to shift responsibility for the war and the death of Ukrainians onto the Ukrainian authorities. In this case, the Russians resort to “scapegoat” propaganda tactics, abdicating responsibility for a possible nuclear strike and shifting it onto Zelenskyi and Yermak. However, the main reason for the continuation of the war is Russia, in particular, its aggressive policy towards Ukraine and its unwillingness to engage in fair and conscientious negotiations.

Also, citing a recent article by The New York Times about a supposedly possible secret military operation in Ukraine, propagandists claim that the Western press is taking the United States “out of the negative case of supporting terrorism”. According to the article, after the Kremlin warned the Pentagon about a “provocation from Ukraine”, the Americans contacted Kyiv and told it not to do anything like that.

By making statements about Ukrainian terrorism, Russia is diverting attention from its own terrorist acts on Ukrainian territory. Thus, the Kremlin makes similar accusations to those brought against itself. In addition, in this case, propagandists are feeding Russian narratives that “Ukraine is a puppet state” and is led by “overseas masters”.

Let us recall that Russia regularly makes accusations against Ukraine regarding preparations for the use of chemical weapons, or a “dirty” nuclear bomb.

Russian telegram channels are spreading the message that Ukraine is trying by any means to attract the attention of its Western hosts, announcing for the second night in a row that Russian UAVs are going to Romania.

Even after Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu announced on July 25, 2024 that debris from Russian drones had been found on the country’s territory, propagandists continued to stand their ground, arguing that this would still not help draw attention to Ukraine. At the same time, from the Russian side there were claims against Romania, they say, “it is taking on the role of Ukraine, a “battering ram against Russia”, and a huge NATO presence on the eastern flank”.

In parallel, propagandists deny the official report of the Romanian Ministry of Defense that the targets of the attacks on July 24 and 25, 2024 were Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. In their usual manner, the Russians claim that Russian drones flew specifically to military facilities in Ukraine, which are allegedly located near the border with Romania.

By commenting on the fall of Russian UAV debris in Romania, Ukraine does not set out to attract attention to itself, because its international partners are already closely monitoring the course of the war and numerous violations of international law by Russia and recording them. The Ukrainian side only once again announced a violation of the airspace of NATO’s eastern flank and that Russia poses a real threat not only to Ukraine, but also to its neighboring countries.

Propagandists are actively spreading manipulative statements about the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and bill No. 8371, which aims to ban it. They once again claim that the Verkhovna Rada is trying to completely limit the religious freedom of Ukrainians in this way. They say that foreign human rights activists and politicians, in particular the team of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, are paying attention to this. And the politicians defending the bill don’t know what they’re talking about. In this case, propagandists refer to the situation when People's Deputy and ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson Michael Jackson.

Propagandists also appeal to the fact that the UOC-MP was forced to hire the law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP and lobbyist William Bjork-White to protect its interests in Washington, but they are silent about the ideological nuances of this decision, which Ukrainian investigators have revealed. Amsterdam & Partners is actively involved in political lobbying and often takes on controversial cases. In addition to the UOC-MP, the company officially represents the interests of sanctioned businessman Vadym Novynskyi. The company says Ukraine illegally confiscated Novynskyi's assets and is groundlessly persecuting him for his religious beliefs. It was the actions of this company that could contribute to further rhetoric from conservative circles in the United States regarding the application of the “Mahnitskyi’s Law” against the initiators of the ban on the UOC-MP. This law provides for personal sanctions against individuals who violate human rights, but its application is possible only by decision of the US administration.

In fact, the above-mentioned bill is aimed at preventing the use of religious organizations in the interests of the aggressor country and protecting national security, and not at restricting religious freedom. The purpose of spreading such messages is to destabilize the internal situation in Ukraine, split society along religious lines and undermine trust in the government. Propagandists seek to discredit the Ukrainian authorities, present it as undemocratic and repressive, and also create a negative image of Ukraine in the international arena, weakening support from Western countries. This is all aimed at undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine.

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”.