Propaganda telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukraine seems to be pulling troops, weapons and military equipment to the borders of Belarus. In particular, American infantry fighting vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems, heavy long-range artillery and other equipment are allegedly already located in the Zhytomyr region.

However, in a comment to the Belarusian service of Radio Svoboda (Liberty), the speaker of the Ukrainian State Border Service Andrii Demchenko, in response to propaganda reproaches about a possible invasion, said that Ukraine does not pose any threat to Belarus.

Also, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, Lieutenant Andrii Kovalenko, wrote about Russia’s information operation to escalate the situation on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. He claims that so-called military correspondents have already been involved in this process, saying that Ukraine is preparing an attack on Belarus. However, the threat really comes from Belarus, because there are Russian DRGs there, although there are not enough forces for an invasion.

According to Andrii Kovalenko, through this information operation the Russians are trying to draw more Ukrainian forces to the border with Belarus. Probably in order to make other sectors of the front more vulnerable to Russian attacks. Previously, we analyzed how Russia is involving the Lukashenko regime in nuclear blackmail.

Defense Minister of the Lukashenko regime Viktor Khrienin announced the participation of Russian troops in the second stage of trainig using non-strategic nuclear weapons. He expressed concern about “aggressive actions” from the West and said that Belarus is ready, together with Russia, to respond to these “threats”“.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation drew attention to the message. They note that permission to use Western weapons on Russian territory showed that Moscow’s nuclear blackmail did not work. The continuation of hysteria on the part of the Kremlin indicates that Russia has no other plan.

For its part, Belarus plays along with Moscow’s desires in order to obtain preferences in response to efforts to destabilize the situation in Europe. This applies not only to nuclear threats, but also to the artificially created migration crisis and participation in the information war against Ukraine. Russia is trying to up the ante in intimidating Europe by enlisting Belarus for nuclear blackmail.

This statement is part of a Russian nuclear blackmail campaign aimed at causing panic among Ukraine's partners and influencing the decision to support our state.

Pro-Russian resources are distributing a video where Belarusian teenagers say how Ukraine allegedly recruited them to commit terrorist acts on the territory of Belarus.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine claims that in fact the teenagers became the heroes of the propaganda video. They are under psychological pressure from the “investigation” controlled by the Belarusian dictatorship, as well as from Russian propagandists.

During the video recording, one of the teenagers burst into tears. In addition, certain marks are visible on his face, which may indicate torture by the special services of Belarus. Probably, the detained children were forced to give the evidence, and therefore it cannot be trusted, the Center adds.

Social networks state that Belarusian volunteers fighting as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are hiding “behind the backs of children” in Kyiv hospitals at 30 and 32 Bohatyrska street. The head of the KGB of Belarus stated this and added that “terrorists” will face “deserved punishment according to laws of war”.

VoxCheck analysts write that the Kyiv City Children's Clinical Hospital No. 1 is actually located at 30 Bohatyrska street, and the Kyiv City Clinical Dermatovenerological Hospital is located at 32 Bohatyrska street. However, there are no signs that there were Ukrainian Armed Forces military personnel in one of these medical institutions.

Moreover, the director of the Kyiv City Children's Clinical Hospital No. 1, Yevheniia Hryhorieva, said that there were no Ukrainian military personnel in the hospital, and the statement of the head of the KGB of Belarus is simply a lie.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Svitlana Tykhanovska allegedly promised to transfer Belarusian tactical nuclear weapons to Ukraine during her speech at PACE. However, this news is fictitious.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case. The primary source of the news is the satirical telegram channel “The Empire is very evil”. The description of the channel clearly states that its materials are a creative invention, and all coincidences are random.

Svitlana Tykhanovska has never made such statements. There are no reliable sources confirming this information. Her last speech at PACE in June 2023 did not contain such promises, like all her other public statements. Reputable Ukrainian and international media also did not record any reports regarding such statements from Tykhanovska.

Propagandists use satirical materials to ridicule those who express support for Ukraine and confuse the information space. All this is so that people stop understanding what is truth and what is fiction.

Russians show disdain for their neighbors, including through the use of state names. We wrote about the name “Moldavia”, and another example of this is the name Belarus.

Belarus is the Soviet name for the Belarusian SSR, which was part of the USSR. After the collapse of the Russian Union, the official name of the former Russian republic became the Republic of Belarus.

Now the Republic of Belarus is one of the most loyal states of the former socialist camp and the USSR to Russia. And the self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Oleksandr Lukashenko, continues to bring his state’s policies closer to the interests of Russia. This rapprochement was even recorded in the 1999 international treaty on the gradual merger of Russia and Belarus into one “union state”.

In Belarus, Lukashenko's opponents use the term “Belarusia” to name the country where Lukashenko rules. And “Belarus” is used to designate a country without Lukashenko. In particular, many Belarusians are offended by the use of the Sovietized name “Belarus”, as they perceive it as a slight.

Using this term, propagandists want to emphasize the subjectivity of the policy of the self-proclaimed Belarusian president and once again remind that it is Russia that leads Belarus.

On Facebook, on the page of the educational and documentary channel, a video was circulated in which they say that the leader of the Wagner group, Yevhenii Pryhozhyn, was arrested in Belarus. Allegedly, President of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko ordered the arrest of Pryhozhyn and handed him over to NATO. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the Check Your Fact project. Mercenaries of the Wagner group are in Belarus and train the Belarusian military, and Lukashenko did not give the order to arrest the leader Pryhozhyn. Neither NATO nor the Belarusian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Pryhozhyn was arrested and handed over to NATO.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted on August 10 that Wagner continues its presence at facilities in Belarus, and, according to rumors, the status of its withdrawal to Russia remains unclear.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to convince the whole world that there is a conflict between Lukashenko, Putin and Pryhozhyn, and it was the Russians who were bleached as if they were not involved in the war. Earlier, we refuted the fake that the US Secretary of State welcomed Pryhozhyn with the capture of Bakhmut.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in the propaganda media. The reports say that in Poland they allegedly announced “the West is preparing for a coup in Belarus”. Like, they are preparing for an armed coup in Belarus and participation in its support by military means. The authors report that the West is planning an invasion of Belarus in order to destroy it. The authors refer to the statement of the Polish General Waldemar Skrzypczak. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case and determined that the Polish general did not say that the West was allegedly preparing a coup in Belarus. The propagandists simply distorted the meaning of the statement. At the same time, the general stressed that the events that recently took place in the Belgorod region are quite likely in Belarus in the event of a successful offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Polish military, it is the citizens of Belarus who can go against the regime of the self-proclaimed President Lukashenko in the future. At the same time, he also said that Poland should be ready for this and support a democratic uprising in a neighboring country.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists are trying to demonize the West, which allegedly seeks discord in other states.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say that the West is provoking Belarus to war. Like, the leaders of Western countries have a clear secret plan, recently revealed by Russian intelligence. At the same time, the authors of the messages add that Russia has never involved Belarus in the war, because they are sister countries.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case and determined that the Western countries have no “secret: plans, since the leaders of the countries are not at all interested in the escalation of the war. Analysts are sure that this is a hoax and another conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda. In the conditions of the Russian aggressive war against Ukraine, European countries are forced to strengthen their borders, build up the defense capability of their armies in order to resist any external aggression. Therefore, the security of Ukraine means the security of the countries of Europe.

At the same time, Russia is trying to convince that Belarus is not an accomplice to the war, although it is not. Belarus serves as a springboard for Russian troops, missiles and aircraft both before and after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The American Institute for the Study of War says that Russia is trying to “put pressure on Belarus so that it officially supports Russia in the war”. That is, Russia is the aggressor, but by no means the countries of the West. Moreover, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Lukashenko, acknowledged the participation of Belarus in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Propagandists systematically discredit the West and other international partners of Ukraine and accuse them of resolving and prolonging the war. Like, the West wants the escalation of the war, while Russia is defending itself. Thus, propagandists use the tactics of reflection, attributing their actions to opponents.

In recent days, pro-Russian telegram channels have been spreading information through the network that an offensive from Belarus will take place in the near future. Allegedly, the western regions of Ukraine are massively preparing for defense - trenches are being dug all over the territory and everything is mined.

In fact, the “invasion from Belarus” is one of the most common messages of Russian propaganda. Stuffing with thoughts about preparing Ukraine for an offensive from Belarus into the Ukrainian media space, propagandists are trying to sow panic and strike fears among Ukrainians.

Such information appeared in Russian propaganda media and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Like, in Ukraine they “called” to open a second front and “destroy Belarus”. Propaganda reports say that ex-representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vladyslav Selezniov called for such actions on the air of the FreeDom TV channel. According to the propagandists, the Ukrainians are trying to “rub Belarus into dust”. It is also reported that Selezniov allegedly called for strikes against military targets and critical infrastructure on the territory of Belarus using American HIMARS systems. However, this is all manipulation.

The fact checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. In a commentary to fact-checkers, Selezniov denied the propagandists’ allegations and explained that in fact, the interview said that there should be an adequate response to some kind of attack from the territory of Belarus. There was no talk of any demand to open a second front. As StopFake writes, in an interview with FreeDom, Vladyslav Selezniov spoke about the use of HIMARS systems on Belarusian territory, answering the question of what the consequences would be for the Belarusian regime if Belarus entered the war against Ukraine. To this, Selezniov replied that in this case the Belarusian regime would fall, and the Belarusian army, although it spends a lot of time at the training grounds, is not ready to participate in the war, and is also well aware of how they will be met in Ukraine.

This was reported on the website of the Belarusian Border Committee. It is not true. A fake about the mass migration of Ukrainians to Belarus was released by Stanislav Zharyn, authorized representative of the Polish government on protecting the information space of the country.

According to him, “the graph reflects the falsified number of Ukrainian refugees who left for Belarus. According to the information on the migration movement, more than 60,000 Ukrainians arrived in Belarus, including almost 40,000 who had to go through Poland”.

Zharyn noted that Belarusian propaganda hints that Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression are seeking asylum in Belarus, perceiving this country as the safer one than the EU countries.

Belarusian media write about this and distribute a video on social networks, which allegedly shows columns of German self-propelled mortars moving towards the border. Allegedly, Polish soldiers are helping the Lithuanians. Also, allegedly, the Lithuanian military had identification marks in the form of red ribbons. This is manipulation. According to the Lithuanian fact-checkers of the Delfi project, in fact, this video was filmed at the international Iron Wolf 2022-II exercises, which began on October 17. In total, 3,500 military personnel and 700 pieces of equipment were involved in the training. Such exercises are held annually in spring and autumn for the Iron Wolf mechanized infantry brigade and its battalions. The purpose of the exercises is to work out the combat coherence not only of the Lithuanian troops, but also of partners from other NATO countries. Russia and Belarus systematically spread fake news that NATO countries are aggressive and dangerous. The propagandists claimed that the goal of the West was to blow up the economic potentials of Russia and Belarus and worsen the quality of life of citizens, and also convinced that the Russian army, with the support of Belarus, could “take” Kyiv in two or three months.

Russian media spread such reports, allegedly quoting the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhii Nayev. Serhii Nayev allegedly believes that with the joint efforts of Russia and Belarus, it will take no more than two to three months to "capture" Kyiv. It is manipulation.

In fact, Serhii Nayev spoke about the situation on the border with Belarus on the air of the national telethon. He noted that the accumulation of Russian equipment and troops together with the armed forces of Belarus indicates the possibility of a repeated attack on Kyiv. Nayev added that the Ukrainian military constantly monitors the level of this threat, and appropriate countermeasures are taken. According to Nayev, Ukraine is now ready for a possible attack from Belarus. Russian propaganda distorted the commander's words of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine about a potential threat and gave the desired information as facts. The fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the manipulation. Russian propaganda uses the possible joining of the Belarusian army in hostilities as a tactic to lure Ukrainians.

During the massive rocket attacks on October 10, Russian propaganda spread fakes that simultaneously with the rocket attacks on the cities of Ukraine, an offensive from Belarus and along the entire front line began. Propagandists also claim that Ukraine is trying in every possible way to draw Belarus into the war.