Russian propaganda Telegram channels are spreading a video in which ABC meteorologist Mike Rizzo, when a screenshot of a news story with Volodymyr Zelenskyi appeared on the studio screen by mistake, says: “This is not a storm, this is a little spinach”. In fact, this information is not accurate. In January 2024, during a broadcast, when the host was commenting on an approaching storm in the region, a spinach image indeed appeared on the screen, prompting Rizzo to joke, “This is not a storm, this is a little spinach”. However, propagandists distorted the context by replacing the image of spinach with a fake BBC news story. In this manipulated version, an image of Volodymyr Zelenskyi appeared alongside a fabricated claim that, supposedly, the Pentagon had stated that over a million Ukrainian soldiers had died.

However, such information is fake. In November 2024, in an interview with Kyodo News, Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that the number of Ukrainian casualties on the front since the beginning of the full-scale invasion was much less than 80,000.

“Some recently in the American press reported that 80 thousand Ukrainians had died. But I want to tell you, no, it’s less. Much less”, the President said.

According to estimates by The Economist, based on leaks from Western intelligence agencies, by the end of November 2024, at least 60,000–100,000 Ukrainian military personnel could have died during Russia's full-scale invasion. Around 400,000 others were injured, making them unable to continue serving in the army.

Russian agitprop manipulates facts and distorts contexts to sow distrust in Ukrainian leaders and reduce international support for Ukraine. Such manipulations create an atmosphere of doubt and uncertainty, which, in turn, can weaken Ukraine’s ability to effectively counter Russia’s aggression.