A disinformation video is being spread on social media claiming that Ukraine is leading the world corruption ranking among other countries. Dozens of completely identical posts, which have garnered thousands of views and hundreds of comments, also claim that Ukraine, despite being ‘the world’s most corrupt country’, is ‘the last in terms of salaries’.

However, the disinformation videos lack any references to the source of the primary information. The authors of the posts do not provide any data on which ratings they refer to or where the corresponding figures came from.

The level of corruption perception in the world is measured by many private companies, but the most extensive rating is provided by the independent organization Transparency International in its annual studies. According to the results of 2023 (the rating for 2024 has not yet been published), Ukraine scored 36 points out of 100 possible in the global Corruption Perceptions Index and ranked 104th among 180 countries. At the same time, Ukraine showed an increase in the rating by 3 points - this is one of the best results in 2023 in the world. Thus, Ukraine ranks approximately in the middle of the rating and is very far from the title of ‘the most corrupt country in the world’.

Russian media have spread the news that eight cottages belonging to so-called ‘Ukrainian generals’ have allegedly burned down as a result of large-scale fires in Los Angeles. The amount of damage, according to the fakers, is about $90 million.

The publications claim that the Ukrainian military allegedly purchased the real estate with funds that the West allocated to Kyiv as part of financial assistance after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Against the backdrop of the groans about the catastrophic shortage of money and weapons coming from Kyiv, this information is particularly striking. Perhaps the money intended for the construction of defense structures was used to build the generals' ‘dachas’, the publication writes.

But to create this video, propagandists used photo and video footage of the fire in Los Angeles, as well as a fake quote from the Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi: “When you steal money from people who are fighting for their lives, be prepared that the fire of war will overtake you even on another continent”.

In fact, Mykhailo Drapatyi never made such statements or commented on the fires in the USA. The video clip used his photo from an interview published in August 2022 on the official Facebook page of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There, Drapatyi talks about the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the plans and actions of the enemy.

The so-called ‘investigations’ into the property of Ukrainian officials are turning into a systematic campaign to discredit them. Thus, propagandists or Moscow's henchmen seek to portray Ukraine as a cradle of corruption schemes - which may further harm Ukraine's European integration path. After all, combating corruption and reducing it is one of the main tasks of the state on its path to the European Union.

Here are other cases involving the ‘possession’ of real estate with ‘stolen funds’: how Zelenskyi allegedly bought the villa of Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels for 8 million euros; or how Zelenskyi's mother-in-law allegedly purchased a villa on the coast of Egypt with Western humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Reports claiming that McDonald’s plans to return to Russia have recently appeared on Russian platforms. These headlines are based on the fact that the company filed over 50 trademark registration applications with the Russian patent office. The applications include names of beverages, menu items, and company slogans.  

However, such conclusions are premature. The renewal of trademarks by the company does not indicate that McDonald’s is resuming operations in Russia. Rather, this move is aimed at protecting its intellectual property and preventing third-party companies from using its brand or technologies without authorization. This measure also helps to avoid unfair competition, where local businesses might exploit McDonald’s recognizable brand to mislead consumers. Additionally, it ensures the company retains the option to resume operations in the future, should the Russian war against Ukraine come to an end.  

To recall, McDonald’s decided to leave the Russian market in May 2022, in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the company stated that “the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, along with the unpredictable business environment, led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable and does not align with the company’s values”. 

The news is spreading online that Volodymyr Zelenskyi, through the shell company Aldorante LTD, has purchased an estate for 18 million euros on the French island of Saint Barthélemy and begun construction of an underground bunker. Proponents suggest that the President of Ukraine is thus preparing an escape plan.

The information was allegedly published by French media, but the French-language video with “evidence” and “documents” distributed by propagandists could not be found online. But this information from propagandists is a careful fake, part of a disinformation campaign designed to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his entourage in the eyes of Europeans. From the address indicated on the “documents” in the video, it was possible to understand that we are talking about Villa Stellae — a luxurious mansion with an ocean view, six bedrooms, a terrace and a private garden, located on the resort island of Saint Barthélemy.

The villa was managed by local property management company Sibarth until October 2024, when the company posted a message on its Facebook page that the previous owners had sold the property: “We sincerely thank the seller for their trust, and we sincerely congratulate the new owners on the acquisition of such a prestigious home”. The propagandists created the fake based on this post.

Here are other cases involving the ‘possession’ of real estate with ‘stolen funds’: how Zelenskyi allegedly bought the villa of Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels for 8 million euros; or how Zelenskyi's mother-in-law allegedly purchased a villa on the coast of Egypt with Western humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Information is circulating on social media claiming that Ukraine will no longer evaluate citizens' fitness for military service. Allegedly, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has made this decision by disbanding the relevant commissions responsible for such assessments. These claims suggest that the evaluation process for determining military eligibility has been completely abolished.  

“Zelenskyi has abolished medical commissions that assess fitness for military service. Everyone will fight!”, users are writing.

Actually, at the end of 2023, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi actually signed Law No. 12178, which provides for the liquidation of medical and social expert commissions (MSEC) in Ukraine. It was these bodies that established the degree of loss of a person's working capacity (disability). In the case of a positive decision, this made it possible to be released from the obligation to serve in the army. At the same time, the agitprop kept silent that the law signed by the president also provides for the creation of an analogue of MSEC - “expert teams for assessing the daily functioning of a person”, which have already begun their work on January 1, 2025.

The explanatory note to the aforementioned law states that the decision to eliminate the MSEC was related to outdated approaches used by the commissions, and not to the elimination of the ‘service’ as such.

And the final fitness for military service during martial law in Ukraine is determined by the Military Medical Commission, not the MSEC.