In the optics of Russian propaganda, BRICS is being transformed into UN 2.0. without the West and with the leading role of Russia. Here is how the Kremlin covers its international isolation with information.

On August 24, the three-day 15th BRICS summit, an association that so far includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, ended in the largest city of South Africa, Johannesburg. BRICS members represent over 40% of the world's population and over a quarter of global GDP.

The Johannesburg summit was personally attended by four of the five leaders of the BRICS countries. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Lavrov. South Africa is a party to the Rome Charter and in the event that the leader of Russia arrives on its territory, it is obliged to detain him on a warrant from the International Criminal Court and extradite him to The Hague. After lengthy legal consultations, the South African authorities have not conceded to international principles, so Putin had to content himself with an online speech.

The key event of the summit was the invitation of six new countries to join the BRICS: Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Previously, the organization expanded only in 2010, when the current host of the summit, South Africa, joined it. The biggest lobbyists for expansion were China and Russia. China, as the most powerful member of the organization, seeks to further strengthen its global influence against the backdrop of growing rivalry with the United States. Russia needs to expand to overcome partial international isolation. At the same time, Putin's online participation this year only symbolically emphasized this isolation. The other three BRICS countries have much warmer relations with Western democracies and are not interested in turning the organization into a bloc hostile to the West.

The key messages that Moscow spread in the context of the summit:

“Isolation Shattered Forever”

Moscow seeks to take advantage of any international interaction to promote the thesis that attempts to isolate it are useless. The BRICS summit was no exception. For example, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mariia Zakharova, summed up the course of the summit in her telegram as follows: “The results are brilliant. “Isolation” as an American weapon is destroyed forever”. But Putin's absence from the summit made it much more difficult for Russian propaganda to advance the relevant thesis. The Russian official media noted the usefulness of Putin’s participation in the meeting, even if it was online: “Volodymyr Putin takes part remotely, in the format of a video conference, which did not prevent our president from delivering a voluminous speech on the role of BRICS in shaping a multipolar world order. ..”. The same Zakharova, in an interview with propagandist Volodymyr Soloviov, decided to even appeal to India's success in space, just to prove that there is nothing wrong with Putin's absence: “A concrete example - yesterday the meeting of BRICS members was closed. Each speaker continues the discussion. The Prime Minister of India apologizes and says that he needs to personally remotely monitor the landing on the moon of the Indian spacecraft. He left the meeting room, his place was taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India. The world is so full of events today that the formal, protocol part is being adjusted. Therefore, for Zakharova, an arrest warrant from the International Court of Justice and the conquest of the moon are equally valid reasons to leave.

“BRICS is a more influential version of the G7”

Russian propaganda sought to pit the BRICS against the Group of Seven (G7), an association of major liberal democracies from which Moscow was excluded in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. Because of the fact of the expansion of the BRICS, the propaganda convinced that the organization to which Russia continues to belong has now become much more powerful than the organization from which Moscow was expelled. Therefore, propaganda social networks were filled with figures that should convince of the key role of the enlarged BRICS in the future world: “BRICS is now four times the size of the G7 in terms of population”, “BRICS now accounts for 36% of the globe, and this is twice as much as the G7”, “BRICS will become the owner of 44.35% of the world's oil reserves”. Potential new members of the BRICS in a separate order befell the comparison with Western countries by pro-Russian social networks: “These six states are home to more than 400 million people, which is comparable to the population of the entire EU. The size of the GDP per PCS of the new BRICS members exceeds $8 trillion: this is comparable to the size of the economies of the “locomotives” of Old Europe - France and Germany”. Finally, in one of the anonymous channels, it was assumed that BRICS would replace the UN in the future: “BRICS is gradually turning into UN 2.0. only without the West”.

Although these figures are formally correct, most of the old and new members of the BRICS are not at all going to resist the West to please Moscow. In addition, the BRICS countries are much more diverse in terms of the nature of their cultures, economies and political regimes compared to the post-industrial democracies of the G7. The G7 countries are also united by long-term military-political cooperation in the format of NATO or bilateral agreements with Japan. Between the key members of the BRICS, India and China, there is a long border confrontation. Newly invited members Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been engaged in a cold war in the Middle East with hot proxies, for example in Yemen or Syria. And only recently, with the mediation of China, they agreed on a temporary cold peace. Therefore, BRICS is primarily a consultative platform for states with very different interests, and this form of interaction in the organization is likely to continue in an expanded format.

“BRICS de-dollarizes the world and Russia”

Russian propagandists have long predicted an early end to the dominance of the dollar in international trade, which should protect Russia from the impact of international sanctions. Therefore, in the context of the summit, Russian propaganda intensified dreams of a single BRICS currency as an alternative to the dollar. This opinion was also promoted by Putin in his speech. Due to the diversity of the political regimes and economies of the BRICS members and their not very close economic interaction, the single currency is a completely unrealistic project that was not even on the summit agenda. The parties only agreed to consult on increasing settlements in local currencies. But the Russian media believes that, despite the difficulties, Putin will make progress in creating a single currency: “Putin intends to deprive the United States of their main weapon in foreign economic policy of the ability to use the dollar to influence other countries”.

This assumption was made by the Head of the Office of NATO Secretary General Stian Jensen. He stated that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance in exchange for giving up part of its territory.

Such a thesis is unfounded and does not express the opinion of the entire Alliance. At the NATO summit in Vilnius, a representative of the Alliance, in a commentary to the Public, emphasized: “We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, and we are committed to achieving a just and lasting peace”. This is a response to Jensen's statement. The interlocutor also noted that Ukraine itself must decide when and under what conditions to achieve peace.

The case was also studied by the fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. They note that the issues of accelerating Ukraine's victory were discussed at the summit. They also pay attention to the fact that both Ukraine and NATO do not trade their territories and citizens. Russia is an aggressor country that deserves punishment, not encouragement of new territories. This could be a bad example for potential invaders in the world.

The message, voiced by Stian Jensen, plays into the hands of Russia. Russian propaganda can use it to promote narratives around the world at any cost and distract from Russian crimes. Earlier we talked about the manipulation that Western countries refused to provide Ukraine with a security guarantee.

On August 15, Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu spoke at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, where he stated that “one of the priority humanitarian tasks of a special military operation is the release of Russian servicemen from Ukrainian captivity”.

Special military operation (in Russian - SVO) is a term that has entered the dictionary of the Russian new language and is used to refer to Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. That is, the war unleashed by the aggressor country Russia. To justify the crimes against the Ukrainian people, Russian propagandists have repeatedly noted that this “operation” is designed to save the Russian-speaking people who are experiencing oppression in Ukraine, to denazify Ukrainians.

The Russian military began to be captured in Ukraine after they had attacked the territory of our state and committed war crimes. Russian propaganda deliberately distorts the causes and consequences in order to divert attention from the real situation and the real motives of the war - the genocide of the Ukrainian people and the seizure of territories.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the US allegedly “manages” the agenda in Ukraine. Like, the political power of Ukraine is concentrated in the hands of the United States. The authors add that Zelenskyi is not at all capable of leading the state, because he “entrusted” it to Joseph Biden.

This case was processed by the specialists of the EU vs Disinfo project and they explained that, first of all, Ukraine is defending itself from an unprovoked Russian invasion, and the United States and other countries, respectively, provide assistance to it. That is, the thesis of external leadership is unfounded, because the strategic partners of Ukraine are trying to ensure peace, and not to introduce their own rules.

After all, 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. Allegedly, any events taking place in Ukraine and not in favor of Russia are caused by control from outside. Thus, the authors are trying to form the image of a puppet country that cannot exist on its own and constantly needs “protection”.

Polish-language anonymous telegram channels spread messages that being an enemy of the US is better than a friend. Like, Ukraine has sold itself, and the United States wants to “leave” the state to the mercy of fate with its own problems.

In particular, their authors claim that Ukrainians will pay off loans to the West and their “insane interest” with their lives. The loans, in their opinion, serve only to continue the war and “significantly weaken” the Ukrainian economy. The authors note that some European countries “protect their national interests”. They also note that aid to Ukraine harms Poland, and “too strong influence” of the United States on Polish politics poses a threat to Poland's national security. In addition, Ukraine allegedly creates real “economic problems” for Poland - they say, the number of migrants is constantly growing, which is why the cost of “their maintenance” is growing, and at the same time the level of criminal danger.

This text includes a number of Russian propaganda clichés. In particular, the information about the “crazy interest” loans for Ukraine and the “threat to Poland's national security” from Ukraine is a subjective statement. In fact, the Polish government has identified Russia as the main threat to its own security in a number of policy documents, such as the National Security Doctrine. Statements about the “threat of Ukrainian migrants” are manipulation. In addition, the messages contain elements that are not typical for Polish speakers. In particular, the phrase “Anglo-Saxons" and other words based on it, which can be seen in the text, are used just more likely by Russian propagandists.

By publishing such materials, they want to exaggerate the scale of Ukraine's internal problems and accuse everyone except Russia and its “friends” of potential threats to the security of the continent, discredit and stop Western aid to Ukraine. In fact, it is Russia and its actions against Ukraine that have caused all these problems and pose a threat to other neighboring countries of Ukraine.

Propagandists actively disseminate information that Ukraine is the world leader in illegal transplantation. Like, in Ukraine they sell organs online and offline. In support of this message, they come up with a number of fakes. For example, in 2014, the OSCE stated that bodies of people without internal organs were found in mass graves in the war zone. Like, they were confiscated by illegal transplantologists. In addition, propagandists note that in June 2023, representatives of the Ministry of Health of one of the NATO countries allegedly agreed with Ukraine on the supply of a refrigerated wagon with human organs and body parts that are most often used in transplantation, in particular, eyes, some types of bones, fabrics. hearts and livers.

Analysts at The Insider drew attention to the message. They found that, in fact, in 2014, the OSCE stated quite the opposite. In particular, the then OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking, Madina Dzharbusynova, said that her words were taken out of context by the Russian media. This concerns her statements in response to statements by several Russian NGOs during the OSCE Human Dimension Meeting about a possible seizure of organs for sale in eastern Ukraine. At the time, Dzharbusynova also cited a response from a Ukrainian spokesperson who said the allegations would be investigated once Ukraine gained greater access to the region. The Special Representative stressed at the time that the OSCE had no evidence of organ harvesting in the Donbas.

As for the fake about the refrigerated car, it was first circulated in Russian telegram channels, blaming the Turkish Ministry of Health for this collusion. In fact, organs cannot be harvested in advance, since even in refrigerators they can be stored for a very short time. For example, the liver - a maximum of 15 hours, and the heart - 6. In addition, even if such organs are sent immediately, the trip through Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria will last almost a day, taking into account the necessary stops. Donor tissues are rarely used for bone transplantation - patient tissues, synthetic grafts, or animal bone tissue are used for this.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want not only to justify Russia's crimes against Ukraine, but also to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and everyone who cooperates with them. Detector Media has previously written about how Russian propaganda uses the topic of transplantology, presenting Ukraine as a country of lawlessness.

This thesis was spread by the propaganda media. The reports say that Russia is always concerned about “peace” and is trying to improve the “situation” in Ukraine. The authors add that Russia seems to be offering negotiations, while Ukraine flatly refuses to negotiate. And they summarize: Ukraine is to blame for everything.

The case was processed by the specialists of the EU vs Disinfo project, who explained that Ukraine is not obliged to somehow “negotiate” with Russia, because it is an aggressor country that attacked Ukraine. There is no question of any concessions, since Ukraine is defending its territories and striving for territorial integrity and maintaining borders as of 1991.

Fact-checkers cited Zelenskyi's interview with CNN as an example. There, the President assured that Ukraine would not give up any territories for the sake of ending the war with Russia. That is, the position of Ukraine is unanimous. Moscow commits daily war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, hinders peaceful life. The victim should not negotiate with the aggressor.

Russian propaganda promotes the thesis that Ukraine allegedly gives up the territories temporarily occupied by Russia in order, first of all, to discredit the Ukrainian authorities. Allegedly, it is not going to win back the occupied part of Ukraine.

This thesis was spread by Russian media and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports claim that it is the West, not Ukraine, that actually nourishes the hatred against Russia. Allegedly, Ukraine's actions are caused only by the “influence of the wrong partners”. The authors add that the war was started on the initiative of the West, and Russia is only responding to the actions of the so-called Western enemies.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated this case and explained that it was not the West, but Russia that started the war. The Russians bear collective responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence. At the same time, Russian propaganda is convincing that this is a war of the West and thus hushing up its war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Moscow is calling Ukraine a “Western springboard” to hint that Ukraine is a non-independent state governed by “outside control”. This is how propagandists seek to form the image of a puppet country that cannot exist on its own. Let us say that such a state is constantly in need of “protection”.

Also, as of March 2023, the total amount of direct budgetary assistance from the European Union reaches 4.5 billion euros. Moreover, this is from the beginning of 2023. And according to the Ministry of Finance, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the EU has provided Ukraine with 11.7 billion euros of macro-financial assistance. Financial assistance is not the only range of Western support for Ukraine. A chronology of initiatives implemented by the EU in relation to Ukraine has been created on the website of the European Commission. Among other things, there are the adoption of packages of sanctions, the creation of mechanisms for the restoration of infrastructure, the granting of the status of an EU candidate country, etc. This approach testifies to the comprehensive support of Ukraine by Western leaders.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the July protests in France, protesters used Ukrainian weapons that the West handed over to Ukraine. The reason for the riots was the likely deliberate murder of a 17-year-old teenager by a policeman in the suburbs of Paris. The publications hint that in Ukraine they are engaged in the illegal sale of weapons and “inciting” people to violence. The authors refer to the material of one of the French publications and add a screenshot.

The German fact-checker group Correctiv investigated that they did not find a single material on the sale of Ukrainian weapons for protests in France. They explain that this is just a stuffing, because with the help of a reverse search on Google, specialists managed to study a possible “screenshot” of the material. It turned out that the fakerobes overlaid text on the photo of the weapon and passed it off as material. However, this is a random image from the network and has nothing to do with either the material of the French edition or Ukrainian weapons.

By publishing such fakes, propagandists once again want to show Ukrainians as ungrateful provocateurs who want to destabilize the situation in Europe. Like, Ukrainians resell it on the black market and it falls into the hands of criminals. Thus, the authors undermine the authority of the Ukrainian authorities and try to disrupt future deliveries of armed assistance from NATO countries. After all, such fakes are targeted at the Western audience and leaders in order to inspire despondency towards the actions of Ukraine.

We recently debunked a fake about the so-called “illegal sale” of weapons to Africa.

This thesis was spread by Russian media and anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports claim that Ukraine is losing support from Western leaders. Like, everyone is tired of the war in Ukraine. In support of this thesis, the authors write that British Foreign Minister James Cleverly allegedly hinted that they “will not be able to support Ukraine” in the future. As the authors explained, the official allegedly made such a statement during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

The case was noticed by the specialists of the VoxCheck project, who found out that in fact the words of the British official were made up, and the context of the statement was distorted. Indeed, in his speech, the head of the Foreign Ministry expressed support for Ukraine and commitment to the peace plan of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Cleverly noted that the Russians will be held accountable for the crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine. That is, the speech of the official does not contradict the ideas of supporting Ukraine. There are no signs that Britain is going to deprive Ukraine of aid.

This is how propagandists try to dissuade the Ukrainians because the West will allegedly stop supporting them. The authors systematically promote the idea of “decrease in support” and “weariness” of the West from the war in order to hint that gradually support will supposedly decrease and Ukraine will “be left” alone without help. Although the recent diplomatic event in Europe - the NATO summit in Vilnius - proved that Ukraine will not be left without help. As a result, Ukrainian officials received assurances from NATO leaders that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance after the victory. Also, as a result, Ukraine received a new weapon, a program for training pilots on the F-16, a new body - the Ukraine-NATO Council, coordinating relations between Ukraine and NATO. What propagandists wrote about the NATO summit in Vilnius can be read here.

This thesis was spread by the Russian media quoting propagandist, representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mariia Zakharova. At one of her briefings, she said that Ukrainians supposedly secretly admire Putin and want him to become the president of Ukraine. The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed the case and determined that such a thesis is unfounded.

Zakharova threw in information without evidence or specific facts. In fact, there is no evidence that Ukrainians could be “infatuated with Putin” or would like such a president for themselves. For example, the Foundation “Democratic Initiatives” named after Ilko Kucheriv  together with the sociological service of the Razumkov Center conducted a survey on the attitude of Ukrainians towards the Russian president. Thus, 82.2% of respondents agreed with the statement that “Putin is Hitler today”. That is, most Ukrainians do not see Putin as a leader.

Thus, propagandists want to show that Ukrainians, as they say, do not really support their power. Solidarity with the Russians and their politicians and at the same time support Russia in its aggression.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that Russian engineers easily manage to destroy Ukrainian tanks and any other equipment. Like, the Ukrainian army is not capable of resisting the Russian one. As proof of this thesis, the authors cite a video where the Russians allegedly destroyed a Leopard in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case and determined that the video shows a tank clearing mines from the de-occupied territories in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, it was not destroyed, as it continues to work with mine clearance. This fact was determined by the checkers by a reverse search in Google and characteristic publications in the telegram channels of the Ukrainian segment. 

Thus, the Russian army tries to hide its crimes and convinces that it is constantly winning.

Propagandists spread information that Ukrainian troops killed Russian journalist Rostyslav Zhuravliov with cluster munitions provided by the United States. International organizations and Western media expressed concern about his death and called for an investigation into the circumstances of his death, in fact picking up the message of the propagandists.

In fact, information that Zhuravliov was killed with cluster munitions is only available in channels and communities that spread pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks. There is no credible evidence for this. In addition, Rostyslav Zhuravliov participated in the aggression against Ukraine, which is proved by numerous photos with weapons and Nazi symbols, as well as his posts on social networks. The man worked for RIA Novosti, which is a state-owned Russian news agency, so he was in fact a propagandist. The Media Movement of Ukraine reminded the international community of this after the Director General of UNESCO spoke on the situation, repeating the stamps of propagandists.

By spreading such messages, they want to confuse the information space abroad. To do this, they use the substitution of concepts. Like, Ukraine is killing freedom of speech and journalists with Western weapons. Along with discrediting the assistance of Western partners, this also aims to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The situation with Zhuravliov is another example of how easily unsubstantiated misinformation of Russians spreads in the international information space, which also helps the aggressor to continue carrying out his crimes against Ukraine. We remind you that since the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, only 65 media workers have died, whose stories also deserve the attention of the world community.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that on July 19, the Russian army attacked not grain sheds, but a storage site for Ukrainian equipment. The authors report that Moscow will not allow shelling of civilian or port infrastructure. A video of a “destroyed hangar with Ukrainian equipment” is added to the publication.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project explain that this video has nothing to do with the events of July 19th. The video shows the composition of Russian military equipment destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi said that during the attack, the Russians destroyed 60,000 tons of grain. In addition, they damaged the port infrastructure involved in the work of the “grain corridor”.

That is, the Russians continue to destroy the infrastructure of Ukraine, preventing the export of grain from Ukraine. And the authors once again reflect the situation and declare that they are not involved in the destruction of elements of civilian or port infrastructure. Traditionally they say that this is a military facility, but it is not.

This thesis was spread in the Ukrainian segment of social networks, in particular, on TikTok. Users distributed a video of a girl in which she talks about fraud by Ukrainian charitable foundations. Like, they allegedly keep significant funds on their accounts from the donations of Ukrainians and do not spend them on the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

VoxCheck fact-checkers investigated this case and explained that it is important for funds to have a certain amount of funds for large purchases or emergencies. Charitable foundations use funds to help the military. If possible, they report this on their websites or social media pages. For example, Taras Chmut, head of the Come Back Alive Foundation, explained in a report by Ukrainska Pravda that from time to time there are opportunities to purchase super-important equipment on the market, but other countries or organizations can buy it as well. Therefore, it is important for charitable foundations to have money for the future.

Moreover, Ukrainian funds, as a rule, report on the funds used. The Serhii Prytula Foundation or Come Back Alive reports both regular purchases and special fees. That is, they try to be as transparent as possible.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say US President Joseph Biden has been looking “not quite healthy” lately. Like, either he talks to himself, or they found three hands in him and so on. In support of this thesis, the authors assured that at one of the meetings with the public, Joe Biden “sniffed a teenager” and showed an “unhealthy interest” in the child. A video from TikTok was added to the publications as proof.

The case was analyzed by VoxCheck project fact-checkers. They determined that the video was changed using a special editor. The authors zoomed in on the image and substituted the sound of air being drawn in, reducing the duration of the recording. In fact, Joseph Biden leaned over the baby, who was held by his mother in her arms, to whisper what he said was a secret. Then he offered to take a picture with the mother of the child. On the original video, one can see the inscription “I met the President of the United States today”,  and the authors of the fake removed this inscription, depriving the context of the entire event.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Europe is trying to gradually absorb Ukraine in order to turn it into its colony. Like, Ukraine is a “puppet state”, so Europe wants to become its guardian.

EU vs Disinfo project fact-checkers took up this case and explained that Ukraine is not controlled by the US, the EU or any other foreign organization or government. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is respected by most countries of the world, but Russia has been violating them since 2014. Western and other countries provide Ukraine with military assistance and financial assistance for the country's effective self-defense against an unprovoked Russian invasion. Aid is provided to protect Ukraine, not to absorb it.

Such rhetoric is used by propagandists to fuel the narrative about Ukraine as a “puppet state” that is not capable of making decisions for itself. Allegedly, Ukraine is led from outside. The authors call Ukraine's European integration path “colonial” in order to demonize the West and the EU as an institution that allegedly captures states, and does not contribute to their development.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the alleged “cholera viruses” found in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions are associated with the activities of US biological laboratories in Ukraine. The authors argue that the outbreak occurred with a “leak of viruses” in a biological laboratory in Odesa, built in violation of safety requirements.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up the case, explaining that cholera is not a viral, but a bacterial disease, and therefore “cholera viruses” simply do not exist. And as of the beginning of July 2023, not a single case of cholera infection was recorded in Ukraine. For other infectious diseases, the department of the Ministry of Health explained that the risk of their outbreak is increasing, but at present, enhanced epidemiological surveillance is being carried out in the affected areas. The Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin spoke about a number of regular measures to combat cholera and about innovations introduced after the Russians undermined the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

To counter the outbreak of infectious diseases in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson regions, 38 water monitoring points were opened. Also, in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the centers for disease control and prevention have been transferred to a special response mode.

That is, the thesis about the so-called “biological laboratories” is also unfounded. Propagandists systematically speculate on this topic in order to intimidate Ukrainians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian air defense is not yet effective enough, because it is led by “incompetent” military. The authors add that the Ukrainian Defense Forces do not know how to manage air defense and themselves end up in Ukrainian high-rise buildings. According to their conclusions, all hits in civilian infrastructure (homes, shops, hospitals, kindergartens) occur, they say, because of the unprofessional Ukrainian army. At the same time, as an example of this thesis, the authors add to the publications a video of “Ukrainian air defense hitting” one of the Kyiv high-rise buildings on July 13, 2023.

Fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation explained that on the night of July 13, the Russians attacked Kyiv and the region with strike drones. The video shows the consequences of the fall of the wreckage of the Russian Shahed-136/131 UAV on a residential building in Kyiv. The propagandists simply reflected the situation and began to claim that the building had suffered at the hands of the Ukrainian army. But it is not like this.

Rhetoric about the incompetent military is often used by Russian propaganda to cover up its crimes against Ukrainian civilians. That is, all rocket attacks or drones are attributed by the Russians to the Ukrainian army, which is “inept”. Such propagandists whitewash themselves and demonize the Ukrainian military, who allegedly target Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Zelenskyi allegedly deliberately ignores Ukrainian refugees during foreign visits and does not try to solve their problems. Like, Volodymyr Zelenskyi visits foreign countries only for self-promotion, forgetting about the Ukrainians and the war.

StopFake's fact-checkers analyzed this case and explained that Zelenskyi often addresses Ukrainians abroad, thanks other governments for asylum, and also repeatedly talks about the need for a strategy to return refugees home. The President himself makes trips abroad for tete-a-tete talks with allies, with whom he discusses the challenges of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Experts cited as an example the visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyi to Poland, where during a meeting with the President and First Lady of Poland, Zelenskyi thanked the Poles for providing asylum. Fact-checkers explain that this is not an isolated case.

This message is beneficial to propagandists in order to discredit Zelenskyi and show as if he does not care about Ukrainians, but thinks only of himself. Thus, the authors seek to show the “indifference” of Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the Ukrainians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the founder of the terrorist organization within the Russian army “Wagner”, recognized by the Ukrainian parliament as an international criminal organization, Yevhenii Pryhozhyn really serves the West and Kyiv. Accordingly, he carries out the orders of Western officials. The authors add that, in fact, the rebellion was planned in the West in order to “once again try to destroy” Russia.

The case was reviewed by the fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project, who explained that this is an unfounded conspiracy theory. In the end, the authors did not provide any evidence that the rebellion was planned in the West. By blaming the West, propagandists are trying to portray Russia as the victim of a conspiracy and undue outside interference. Like, the Russians are so conscious and united that they are not capable of any rebellion. That is, such things happen only at the behest of external enemy forces, namely hostile Western officials.

Read the material of Detector Media analysts on how Russian propaganda reacted to Pryhozhyn's rebellion.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say US officials are now contemplating an imminent occupation of Europe. Like, it's easier for them to manage Ukraine. According to the conclusions of the authors, the goal in the United States is to bring Europe to an economic collapse, and then get down to Ukraine.

Fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project analyzed this case and explained that the US is a strategic partner of the EU in promoting peace and stability around the world. Together they are two of the world's greatest humanitarian aid donors. The EU and the US also have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and the most integrated economic relationship in the world. That is, the thesis that the United States seeks to destroy Europe is unfounded. These are two strategic partners.

Using this message, propagandists seek to show that the US is “leading the entire agenda”, and the EU countries are supposedly puppet countries. Thus, Russian propaganda wants to demonize the US, which is supposedly an invader.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that, allegedly because of the failed medical reforms, the anti-epidemic control system has completely degraded and is not able to cope with infectious diseases that can flare up after the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. The authors add that Ukraine does not care about its people, but leaves them to the mercy of fate.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found out that at the beginning of July 2023, not a single case of infection with cholera, botulism, hepatitis A or other infectious diseases associated with the consequences of flooding was recorded in Ukraine. At the same time, the Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin spoke about a number of regular measures to combat cholera and about the innovations that were introduced after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up by the Russians. To counter the outbreak of infectious diseases in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson regions, 38 water monitoring points were opened. Also, in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the centers for disease control and prevention have been transferred to a special response mode.

That is, the Ukrainian medical system, on the contrary, responds to the challenges caused by flooding. Propagandists are trying to intimidate people, convincing them that they were supposedly left to their fate.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine is “spreading” Nazism throughout Europe, so monuments to Nazis have begun to be erected there. The authors are sure that Ukraine is inciting the West to create an organization that can destroy Belarusians and Russians.

The case was worked out by analysts from the EU vs Disinfo project, who explain that none of these themes is true: neither about monuments, nor about “Nazi organizations”. The myth of Nazi Europe was used by the Kremlin after Russia attacked Ukraine and illegally annexed Crimea back in 2014. Thus, Moscow is still trying to become a victim, which allegedly suffers at the hands of Western leaders. Like, “Nazi” Ukraine is supported by the same “Nazis”.

In support of the thesis about “European Nazi organizations”, propagandists cite the situation when Estonia allegedly banned Russians and Belarusians from using weapons on their territory. In fact, in the country, permits for the issuance of weapons will become invalid for citizens who are not members of the EU and NATO. The changes will affect not only ethnic Russians or Belarusians living in Estonia. Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets assured that the restriction is a direct consequence of unprovoked Russian aggression in Ukraine. That is, any restrictions concerning Russians or Belarusians are labeled by Moscow as "Nazi". However, this is only a response to Russian aggression.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that allegedly representatives of the LGBTQI+ community do not serve in the Ukrainian army, because the Ukrainian leader simply pretends to support the so-called Western values regarding LGBTQI. Like, these are all attempts to drag Ukraine into the “LGBTQI trap”. The authors say that Ukraine will not get out of it. Such a thesis is unfounded.

People with homosexual orientation serve in the Ukrainian army. In 2018, an association “Ukrainian LGBT military for equal rights” was created in Ukraine. The founder of this organization is the then volunteer of the Donbas battalion, and now a fighter of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade named after Black Zaporozhians Viktor Pylypenko, who made the first coming out as a veteran participant in hostilities. The organization says that their organization has 300 LGBTQI+ military, including 20 couples, and these are only those who have an active social position.

At the same time, in Ukraine, the LGBTQI+ community is supported in every possible way, in particular, by registering a draft law on registered partnerships. According to it, people of any gender can register a relationship. That is, partners acquire the status of close relatives.