Propagandists claim on anonymous Telegram channels that the German government, represented by Economy Minister Robert Habeck, allegedly stated that the German economy is declining due to support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. This message is an example of manipulating facts to discredit the policies of the Olaf Scholz government and its support for Ukraine. Propagandists are trying to artificially link Germany's economic difficulties with the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, while the real reasons are much deeper and more complex.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has made it clear that the main problems of the German economy are long-term structural factors, such as underinvestment in infrastructure and a shortage of skilled workers. These are problems that have been building up for decades and have no direct connection with the war in Ukraine or the sanctions policy against Russia. The “green transition” policy also requires significant resources, but its goal is long-term sustainability, not short-term economic gains.

Propagandists are trying to accuse the Scholz government of refusing beneficial cooperation with Russia. However, such cooperation became impossible due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Russia's violation of international law. The sanctions were imposed within the framework of Germany's international obligations and responsibility to the world community. Russia used energy resources as a tool of blackmail, which created threats to Europe's security.

The claim that Germany has lost its political sovereignty due to US influence is unfounded. Germany has its own development strategy, including a transition to clean energy sources, and is working closely with other EU countries to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources. This policy is aimed at strengthening European energy security and independence.

The purpose of spreading this manipulation is to create the impression that support for Ukraine is the key cause of Germany’s economic problems. This narrative is thus aimed at undermining international support for Ukraine and increasing pressure on the German government to abandon its policy towards Russian aggression.

Russian propaganda telegram channels have been spreading a message that on September 26, 2024, a Russian missile strike on the airfield in Starokonstiantyniv allegedly killed a career US Air Force soldier. As ‘proof’, the propagandists are publishing a corresponding message from a certain Melanie Malwin-Parker, allegedly the soldier’s wife.

However, this is a fake, as reported by VoxCheck. Fact-checkers were unable to find a single account named Melanie Malwin-Parker not only on Facebook, but also on the Internet as a whole.

Also, the photo itself, supposedly of the dead soldier, shows some editing – part of his left ear is missing.

Screenshot of the fake message

In addition, the fake publication, apparently by the wife of a military man, indicates the geolocation as “Altus Air Force Base”. This is a U.S. Air Force base located in Altus, Oklahoma. The official website of the base indicates that the 97th Airlift Wing is located there. It consists of the 58th Transport Squadron, the 54th and 56th Air Refueling Squadrons. The units carry out their tasks on the military transport C-17 Globemaster III and on the KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft. The list of equipment does not include the F-16 fighter, so there was no need for a specialist for this base in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is spreading this fake to fuel the narrative about the alleged presence of “foreign mercenaries” in Ukraine. We previously analyzed disinformation that partners allegedly provided Ukraine with faulty F-16 fighters.

Propagandists are spreading information on anonymous Telegram channels that American actress Milla Jovovich allegedly fired her Ukrainian housekeeper because of her ‘Russophobia’. They claim that the Ukrainian refused to speak Russian with the actress’s 16-year-old daughter, Ever Anderson, thereby allegedly violating her duties. It is reported that the housekeeper’s name is allegedly Svitlana Chornykh, and she is a refugee from Ukraine. However, this is fake.

It was noticed by experts from the StopFake project. When checking this story, they found several suspicious moments. Firstly, not a single authoritative foreign publication reported on this incident. English-language mentions appear only from anonymous users of the X (former Twitter) and Odysee platforms. Secondly, all publications, both in Russian and English-language media, have the same text.

StopFake has established that the message about the departure of the Ukrainian Jovovich appeared on September 28 on the satirical Russian Telegram channel The Empire is Very Evil, which publishes fictitious news. In its description, the channel directly warns that the published materials may be fakes or satire. Like other publications on this channel, the “news” that Milla Jovovich fired the Ukrainian because she refused to speak Russian is fiction. In the comments under the corresponding message, users come up with further fictitious details and mock the Russian media, which took this satire for reality and spread it on their social networks.

The purpose of spreading this fake is to discredit Ukrainians and reinforce the narrative of alleged “Russophobia” among Ukrainians, which portrays them in a negative light. Such fictional stories are used to spread hostility between nations, manipulate public opinion and justify Russia’s aggressive policy towards Ukraine amid the war.

Information about a supposed "necrophilia show” in Kyiv, featuring dancing coffins and a funeral parade, is being spread on social networks. The propagandists who create these publications are trying to link this to Ukraine's “moral decline”, its rejection of Orthodoxy, and the country's European course of development. In the comments, these events are called an expression of “necrophilia” and “the corruption of Kyiv Rus”. However, the video being spread has nothing to do with necrophilia or the rejection of Orthodoxy.

This manipulation was noticed by experts from the StopFake project. They found out that this is indeed an excerpt from a funeral fashion show, which was part of the international funeral industry exhibition in Kyiv, which took place back in June 2021. Similar exhibitions are held in many countries around the world, including Russia. These events are platforms for meetings of representatives of funeral businesses and demonstrations of new technologies and products. However, propagandists distorted the context of the event, trying to present it as an example of the moral decline of Ukraine.

Such manipulations are aimed at discrediting Ukraine, its cultural and political values. Propaganda tries to show that Ukraine, having turned away from Russia, has allegedly lost its traditions and moral guidelines, having become a victim of the European path of development. This is also an attempt to undermine trust in Ukraine in the international arena, presenting it as a “spiritless” and “ruined” country, as well as to divert attention from its own internal problems in Russia, where similar exhibitions are held regularly, but do not cause such criticism.

Russian propaganda is spreading information in the Balkan segment of Facebook that the army of North Macedonia should prepare to participate in the war in Ukraine. They say that this will happen because of the future involvement of NATO. In spreading this information, they refer to the words of the President of Croatia, who allegedly criticized the NATO mission NSATU (Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine), claiming that this means the Alliance's intervention in the war in Ukraine. However, this is fake.

This was brought to the attention of fact-checkers from the Macedonian Truthmeter project. They claim that the NSATU mission is designed to train Ukrainian forces and coordinate aid, but does not involve NATO in combat. In fact, the Croatian president expressed concern about the potential risks of such a mission, but this is not a common opinion in his country. His comments were criticized by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

The purpose of this fake is to spread fear and disinformation in order to provoke anti-NATO sentiments among the population of North Macedonia and other countries supporting Ukraine. The propaganda attempts to discredit NATO and sow doubts about its mission, as well as to create the illusion of the inevitable involvement of the Alliance member states in the war. In addition, such a message seeks to provoke antagonism and push for protests against NATO and support for Ukraine. Such manipulations are aimed at distracting attention from the real problems and crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.