Spilnota Detector Media
Detector Media collects and documents real-time chronicles of the Kremlin disinformation about the Russian invasion. Ukraine for decades has been suffering from Kremlin disinformation. Here we document all narratives, messages, and tactics, which Russia is using from February 17th, 2022. Reminder: the increasing of shelling and fighting by militants happened on the 17th of February 2022 on the territory of Ukraine. Russian propaganda blames Ukraine for these actions.

On 19 May, on the 815th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2151
Fake
693
Manipulation
649
Message
441
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Message Ukrainian doctors and pharmaceutical workers are “escaping” from Ukraine en masse

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that women with medical education began to “escape” from Ukraine en masse, because from October 1, 2023, medical and pharmaceutical workers must register with the military. In support of this thesis, propagandists show alleged data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and explain that more than 25 thousand women with medical education allegedly left Ukraine over the past two weeks.

The VoxCheck analysts investigated the case and found that the State Statistics Service does not publish such statistics, and therefore, no data on the migration of doctors and pharmacists simply exists. That is, propagandists came up with this information. After all, migration statistics on the State Statistics Service website have not been updated since January 2022 due to martial law. Experts explained that in Ukraine, at the state level, the migration movement of the population is monitored according to several indicators: the number of arrivals and departures and the corresponding coefficients of these processes. Moreover, such indicators are formed annually, not weekly. And they do not separate out information about the professions of those who arrived and those who left, that is, such data is not collected. Data can be classified by type of area, gender, age, etc.

Also, statistics on the migration movement of the population are published by the State Migration Service of Ukraine. But this body also does not provide information on the distribution of migrants by profession.

Since October 1, 2023, medical and pharmaceutical workers must indeed register with the military, but registration with the military does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on traveling abroad. The Ministry of Health notes that registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. The travel of this category of women is unlimited.

Message The strike on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region is “beneficial” for Zelenskyi

On October 5, 2023 at 13:24, Russian invaders attacked the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region. The Russians hit a local store and café, where a funeral was being held for a fellow villager who was a military man. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko said that in total there were 60 people on the territory, and at least 52 people died, including a child. Also recorded were seven victims who were seriously injured - they were at a distance of at least 50 meters from the café itself. On the air of the national telethon, the minister also said that 330 residents lived in the village and “from every family, from every yard, one person was present at this memorial dinner”. Anonymous telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric are spreading messages that Ukraine struck the village, and this happened, supposedly, at the request of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Propagandists convince people that in fact the tragedy is “beneficial” for the Ukrainian leadership for its own profit. In particular, we are talking about receiving additional humanitarian assistance and increasing financial support. In addition, they wrote that there were Ukrainian soldiers in the café, which means that the Russian army was allegedly targeting military and military targets. But they finally explain: “The West has reduced its negativity towards Russia, so Ukraine is obviously increasing it”.

However, the head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration, Oleh Syniehub, said that there were civilians and cars at the scene of the strike. Subsequently, the chief of police of the region, Volodymyr Tymoshko, confirmed this to the Suspilne. The Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that are suffering from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities, villages and civilian infrastructure. Moreover, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. Among the dead was the son of a military man, who was reburied that day. The son was also a military man. He was in a café with his wife and mother - they died from a rocket hit. But the memorial site is not a military target, and the son of a fallen soldier did not perform military duties during the memorial dinner.

The head of the Kharkiv region police also explained that it has already been established precisely that the hit was made by an Iskander ballistic missile. This is the type of missile in service in Russia. The head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration said that it was a “targeted strike” and the hit was in the very center of the building, which resulted in so many casualties.

The authors resort to conspiracy theories when they write that Zelenskyi seeks to profit from the war in Ukraine and personally gives orders to shell Ukrainian cities and villages. These attempts indicate the demonization of Ukraine and the creation of an erroneous impression about it among partner countries. For example, similar rhetoric is used on anonymous telegram channels in response to the arrival of foreign politicians in Ukraine. Then propaganda systematically promotes the thesis that the worries in Ukraine are not real, but only attempts to intimidate foreigners and get as many weapons as possible.

The missile attack on the village on October 5 was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest since a full-scale invasion in the region.

Fake The Russian website Avito is selling parts of the destroyed Challenger 2 tank

This information was disseminated in pro-Kremlin media. Reports say that the Russians have already begun selling the first captured parts from destroyed equipment in Ukraine. But they explain that on the Russian classifieds website Avito one can supposedly purchase parts from the British Challenger 2 tank. A screenshot of the advertisement is added to the publication. However, this is fake.

The fact-checkers of VoxCheck project managed to refute the case, because they determined that there was no such announcement on the Russian website. Moreover, propagandists compiled a screenshot of the ad, posting a photo of the Challenger 2 tank, destroyed in 2003 during the Iraq War. Using a special tool - FotoForensics - analysts found that the fake screenshot showed signs of editing.

But it is impossible to say that the Russians did not destroy Ukrainian equipment on the battlefield, because this was more than possible during the war. Propagandists deliberately exaggerate the significance of “destroyed” equipment on the battlefield, hinting at the allegedly low combat capability of the Ukrainian army. And the fact that parts from the equipment are subsequently sold as trophies is how they mock Ukrainian fighters.

Moreover, in general, the information about the destruction of Challenger 2 in Ukraine is true. On September 5, 2023, on the social network X (formerly Twitter), OSINTtechnical specialists, who write about military analytics based on analysis of open sources, published a video of a downed Challenger 2. Subsequently, the British Minister of Defense also confirmed the destruction of the tank. The further fate of the technology is unknown.

That is, there are real cases of destruction of equipment and they cannot be denied. But propagandists are systematically trying to discredit the Ukrainian Defense Forces by creating fake news about the deployment or destruction of some equipment. Read our latest cases: for example, we documented a fake that Russia “destroyed” five Patriot launchers. Another fake was also spread where Moscow allegedly destroyed a Leopard tank with German troops in Ukraine.

And also, in our Newspeak section we described the Russian phenomenon of “irresistible technology”. In short, this is how the Russians try to convince the domestic audience of constant victories.

Fake On Google map, Romanians marked the Odesa region bombing best view place

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The messages say that Romanian users allegedly indicated on Google Map the place where it is most convenient to “observe shelling” in the Odesa region. A screenshot with a tag is added to messages. It is not true.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers analyzed the case and determined that there was no such mark on the card. It is most likely that such information was simply made up. At the place that propagandists recall in their messages, there is only a mark “Observation platform”, and there are no marks in Romanian. The analysts explain that the inscription “vedere asupra bombardamentului Ucrainei” - “view of the bombing of Ukraine” could have been added in a photo editor or created their own label, which is not displayed to other users.

Propagandists demonstrate that foreigners are supposedly mocking the war in Ukraine and even creating “observation platforms” to watch the daily shelling of Ukraine by Russia.

Fake In Europe, they created graffiti “Glory to urine”

This information was disseminated by pro-Kremlin media. Reports say that in Europe, people began to massively create graffiti with the words “Glory to urine” - with allusions to the Ukrainian agenda. So propagandists publish three photographs from European cities where such graffiti is supposedly found. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers of the Brekhunets (Liar) project examined the case and found that all three photos were edited using photo editors. And with the help of a special tool - FotoForensics - they found out that the fake pictures showed signs of editing. The fact-checkers also decided to establish a correspondence between the photograph and the probable location of graffiti in European cities. The experts determined that none of the locations contained such graffiti.

Let us remind you that we previously documented a case where a billboard with the inscription “Glory to urine” was allegedly installed in New York.

At the same time, we have repeatedly analyzed fakes related to fake graffiti or covers on foreign magazines/newspapers. Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Zelenskyi is hated by the whole world) is also repeated in the West. The presence of a collective belief creates the impression of the truthfulness of all theses. Therefore, consumers of disinformation are more likely to believe such cases that demonstrate the “true cross-section of thoughts” of society. And subsequently they get the impression that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine.

Orest Slyvenko, Artur Koldomasov, Vitalii Mykhailiv, Oleksandra Kotenko, Oleksandr Siedin, Kostiantyn Zadyraka, and Oleksiy Pivtorak are collaborating on this chronicle. Lesia Bidochko serves as the project coordinator, while Ksenia Ilyuk is the author of the project.