Russian propaganda telegram channels are spreading information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could allegedly launch a full-scale offensive deep into Russian territory — into the Saratov, Oriol, Leningrad and Moscow regions — using Western weapons. In reporting this, the propagandists cite Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office.

However, Podoliak's words were manipulated. This was reported by the VoxCheck project. In an interview with the German media Die Welt, published on October 14, 2024, Mykhailo Podoliak did mention the listed Russian regions, but in a different context. The adviser to the head of the OP spoke specifically about air attacks on military targets deep in Russian territory, and not about a full-scale offensive. When asked by a Die Welt journalist about the depletion of Russian resources and when a turning point would be reached, Mykhailo Podoliak replied:

“This year, the Kremlin is spending $140 billion on the war and investing heavily in the military industry. But the deficit is growing, especially in ammunition, shells and missiles. That is why our air strikes on Russian territory are so important. First, it destroys production, warehouses and logistics, which affects resources and further exacerbates exhaustion. This is the military component, but there is also a social component. When attacks are carried out on a large scale, not only in Kursk and other border areas, but deep in Russia, in Saratov, Oriol, Leningrad and the Moscow region, then the social mood is completely different. People understand that there is a war going on in Russia too”.

So, in his answer, Mykhailo Podolyiak emphasizes the importance of Ukrainian air strikes on military targets deep inside Russian territory.

In the end, the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office repeated similar theses in a commentary for RBC-Ukraine, published on October 16, 2024. In it, he indicated that the classified appendices to the Victory Plan state, in particular, what kind of weapons should be used to destroy logistics, military facilities and concentrations of manpower on Russian territory.

The propaganda telegram channels are spreading information that Russian soldiers are paid bonuses for the elimination of “foreign mercenaries” fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They say that for the elimination of a “foreign mercenary” who is a US citizen, they give 5 thousand dollars, and for a citizen of Poland - 1.5 thousand dollars, etc. In reporting this, the propagandists refer to the British tabloid Daily Express, which allegedly provided the relevant data.

However, in reality, this information is not true. The Daily Express did not publish the relevant data either on its website or in its social networks. Using Google's reverse image search function, it was possible to find out that the original source of the dissemination of the data on the “bonus for the elimination of “foreign mercenaries”” is a pro-Russian social network user X. Therefore, it is likely that the above infographics were created by the propagandists themselves, distributing it on behalf of an authoritative publication. And the fact that this information was disseminated exclusively in the Russian segment of the network is an additional argument in favor of its falsity.

By spreading such disinformation, the Russians are trying to feed the narrative about the alleged presence of “foreign mercenaries” in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Yes, Russia is allegedly fighting not only with Ukraine, but with the entire “collective West”.

Earlier, we analyzed the fake news that a “foreign mercenary” – a US Air Force serviceman – was killed as a result of a Russian missile strike on an airfield in the Khmelnytskyi region.

Russian sources are distributing a photo of a homemade wooden cross and a plaque attached to it. It says: “Here lie the unidentified remains of a defender of Ukraine, No. 214350”. “And how many of these are there throughout the country?”, this is how Russians are commenting on the image of the alleged burial of an unknown Ukrainian soldier who died during the fighting. In addition, they draw attention to the lack of flowers on the grave - this is supposed to indicate a lack of respect on the part of society for Ukrainian soldiers who give their lives in the war.

However, in reality, this photo is fake. This is reported in the StopFake project. Firstly, the parts of the sentence on the sign do not agree with each other - “here rest (instead of “rest”) the unidentified remains of a defender”. Secondly, despite the fact that the word “unidentified” is appropriate in this context, in real burials of unknown soldiers, it is customary to use the phrase “temporarily unidentified” to emphasize that the identification of the soldier and the search for his relatives are ongoing. In particular, this can be seen in the photo of the corresponding burials of 2015 in Dnipro.

Additionally, using the Forensically tool, StopFake journalists found that the propagandists had changed the inscription on the cross in a photo editor. The Error Level Analysis function showed that in the image of the area, the signs without text look significantly darker, while in the unedited photo, flat surfaces and uniform textures should have the same color.

Finally, in cases where it is not possible to immediately identify the deceased soldier, the body is kept in the morgue for a certain period of time, DNA material is collected from it (to continue identifying the soldier and searching for his relatives), and then buried with military honors. When the deceased is identified, his relatives have the right to rebury the body.

The Black Tulip humanitarian mission also takes care of the dignified burial of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. The search group returns home the bodies of soldiers that cannot be immediately removed from the battlefield due to intense fighting or mining. Accordingly, the propaganda message about the careless burial of Ukrainian soldiers does not correspond to reality.

Earlier, we analyzed a fake about the alleged theft of personal belongings of a Ukrainian fighter at his funeral.

The Center for Countering Disinformation reported that the Russians created a fake website that outwardly copies the official web portal of the State Border Service of Ukraine. The purpose of creating this website is to spread disinformation and steal personal data of Ukrainian citizens. Thanks to the measures taken, the resource imitating the official website of the State Border Service of Ukraine was blocked.

The official page of the State Border Service of Ukraine is located at this web address: https://dpsu.gov.ua/

The  Center for Countering Disinformation adds that it is possible to distinguish a real page from a fake one using its domain: only official websites of the government portal have the gov.ua domain.

Earlier we wrote about eight fake chats that copied the official “Main Intelligence Bot”.

Videos of military equipment located along the road are being distributed online. The descriptions of the corresponding videos say that this is allegedly Ukrainian equipment that was hit in the Kursk region, where it remains.

In fact, this information is fake, the VoxCheck project reports. The video shows Russian equipment that Ukrainian troops managed to capture as a result of military operations. At the beginning, a tank is visible, a photo of which was published back in 2022.

Further on, at the 16th second of the video, one can see an advertisement for Best Mix pet food in Ukrainian from the Ukrainian company Inbel. It could not be placed in the Kursk region.

Finally, OSINT analyst "EjShahid" established that the video was filmed in the village of Myrne in Donetsk region. It is located at a great distance from the Russian-Ukrainian border. The analyst additionally confirms that the video shows captured Russian tanks.

The purpose of the fake is to convince everyone around that the Kursk operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly makes no sense and entails huge losses for Ukraine, both in personnel and equipment. Earlier, we refuted the information that 74% of Ukrainians are against the Kursk operation.

Russian propaganda sources are distributing a video on behalf of the UNITED24 platform, which states that Ukraine is allegedly planning to recruit Polish military personnel to work in the Territorial center of procurement and social support in December 2024.

However, this information is not true. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation after verifying this “news” on the initiative of UNITED24 itself. They did not create such content and, accordingly, did not distribute it.

The purpose of this fake is to cause discord between the Ukrainian and Polish peoples, as well as to discredit the cooperation between Ukraine and its partners. We have previously refuted a number of similar fakes, where Russians spread disinformation on behalf of the UNITED24 platform. For example, in the Kursk direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are “massively poisoned by food” from local stores.