Statements by Russian figures about the need for destruction and withdrawal of the population of Kharkiv were accompanied by a constant stream of similar messages on social networks. Since the beginning of 2024, there have been signs of an organized campaign to fill the online space with alarming messages promoting the idea that Kharkiv will soon become uninhabitable. Mariia Avdieyeva writes about this for the Ukraine Alert Atlantic Council project.

In her opinion, the role of social networks in Russia’s information attack against Kharkiv is very important. Platforms such as Telegram, TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter) serve as platforms for carefully orchestrated Russian propaganda. Groups of accounts associated with the Kremlin are intensively promoting key propaganda messages on this topic. These include the hopelessness of the military situation in Ukraine, the inability of the Ukrainian state to protect its citizens and the likelihood that Kharkiv will suffer the same fate as Mariupol.

The Russian information attack is also expressed through the spread of false statements attributed to Ukrainian authorities. For example, accounts from Russia spread disinformation that the Ukrainian government was allegedly calling on residents of Kharkiv to immediately leave the city to avoid a cordon by Russian troops. Fake reports from Ukrainian authorities were also distributed that Kharkiv was on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

These fakes usually look convincing and are almost indistinguishable from official communications from the Ukrainian government. They even come with detailed information about “safe escape routes”. As a result, many residents of Kharkiv are exposed to this misinformation and unwittingly become accomplices in the spread of Russian fakes.

In addition, propagandists use real news and distort it to mislead the population and provoke panic. For example, they described a series of planned evacuations from certain settlements along the front line as a full-fledged evacuation of entire districts of the Kharkiv region.

In addition to faking government announcements and deliberate distortions, propagandists are also actively distributing videos. One of them said that thousands of cars were allegedly leaving Kharkiv. However, it later turned out that this is archived video from the beginning of the invasion in the spring of 2022.

Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that a drug courier was detained in Kharkiv, he was allegedly involved in supplying some prohibited substances to the military of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade.

In fact, this information is fake. Propagandists took as its basis a publication from the page of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, dated April 25, 2024. It talks about a man who, back in 2021, was exposed with 200 bundles and five transparent plastic bags containing a psychotropic substance. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes about this.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that propagandists have spread misinformation regarding the 113th separate territorial defense brigade. Systematic fakes about the military of this brigade indicate that it does its job efficiently, protecting the state.

The Russians are trying to discredit the brigade in various ways. This time it is due to the imposition of the image of “drug addicts” on the military. In general, the goal of this information campaign is to sow despondency and panic among both the brigade fighters and the civilian population of the Kharkov region, which they protect, the Center adds.

Previously, we refuted information that officers of the 121st battalion of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade allegedly beat an elderly man because of his reluctance to leave his home.

Pro-Kremlin propagandists are spreading information that the television tower in Kharkiv, which was hit by the Russian army, allegedly contained equipment for Ukrainian air defense systems and fire guidance systems for Russian territory.

However, this information is fake. In fact, the Russians hit the TV tower to weaken communications in the city and limit Kharkiv residents' access to information from Ukrainian media. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. On the other hand, the occupiers wanted to spread the signal of their propaganda from Russian territory, which fueled panic among the residents of Kharkiv.

The head of the local Regional State Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, states: “Now the majority of residents of Kharkiv and nearby settlements already have satellite and cable television. There are also mobile communications and the Internet”. However, it will be possible to completely restore the TV tower only after the end of hostilities.

It is worth noting that in 2022, the Russians have already attacked TV towers in Rivne and Kyiv with missiles. This is additional confirmation that Russia is a terrorist country and that it is waging war against Ukraine using terrorist methods.

Russian resources are disseminating information that allegedly in the village of Kozacha Lopan, Kharkiv region, officers of the 121st battalion of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade beat an elderly man. This allegedly happened because he refused to leave his house. As a result of the beating, the man's leg was allegedly broken.

In fact, this information is not true, writes the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. This is another fake by the Russians, based on a photograph from the official Facebook page of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade. In fact, the military of the 121st separate battalion of the Troops Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine evacuated an elderly man from his house destroyed by the Russians.

By spreading disinformation of this kind, propagandists are trying to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine and sow distrust of them on the part of the people of Ukraine. In addition, in this way, propagandists also seek to incline to the idea that perhaps the elderly man did not want to leave because he was waiting for “liberation” by the Russians. Previously, we denied information that the Ukrainian military is planning to seize the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Users of such messengers as Telegram and Signal began to receive messages on behalf of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine that the Ukrainian authorities recommend that residents of Kharkiv evacuate from the city by April 22, 2024 due to its likely encirclement by Russian troops. In addition, these messages are accompanied by a reminder about what to do in case of evacuation.

In fact, the State Emergency Service stated that they did not send such messages to Ukrainians. The military leadership of Ukraine is constantly monitoring the situation and has not recorded any signs of Russia’s readiness to attack Kharkiv. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

The very messages about the evacuation from Kharkiv are informational stuffing aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, the State Emergency Service notes and urges not to trust dubious sources of information.

This is not the first time that disinformation about the “evacuation from Kharkiv” has been spread. Previously, we refuted the information that “panic sentiments allegedly prevail in Kharkiv - city residents are leaving en masse”, “Ukraine allegedly announced the deportation of Kharkiv residents, preparing it for defense”, or that “Kharkiv authorities are allegedly planning to flee the city”.

Russia is actively spreading disinformation about Kharkiv in the media and continues to reinforce panic about the situation there. Now they claim that Kharkiv is allegedly being prepared for defense, namely, they are turning residential buildings into “fortresses”.  Such “news” is accompanied by traditional messages about “mass evacuation”, preparation of residents for life during active hostilities, migration of enterprises from the city, etc. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that this manipulation was created on the basis of an interview with Major General of the Reserve Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhii Kryvonos on the Pershyi Zakhidnyi (First Western) TV channel, from which propagandists took out a quote to create disinformation. During the conversation, the presenters asked the major general whether the Russians could capture Kharkiv from the Sumy region, to which Serhii Kryvonos replied that Kharkiv is not Avdiivka or Bakhmut, but a city of much larger size - tens of times larger, “and the perimeter of Kharkiv is almost 80 kilometers, and in order to surround or block such a city, the Russians must have the necessary force and means”.

“For our part, we must understand that in Kharkiv, for example, there are a large number of houses for different purposes, and the task of preparing the city for defense is, perhaps, one of the main tasks, so that we do not have such failures in the unpreparedness of defense, as was the case in Bakhmut. The city was not ready for defense in the military engineering sense. The better we prepare, and the number of buildings in Kharkiv exceeds more than 22 thousand houses, and if each house is a fortress, then one will understand how much of it will need to be taken”, Kryvonos actually said, and he noted that with proper defense Kharkiv can stand not one or two, but three years. At the same time, the major general said that the Ukrainian army should not retreat into deep defense, but continue to work to destroy the critical infrastructure of the Russian rear.

It was these words of Kryvonos that Russian propagandists presented as a fait accompli, as if in Kharkiv they had already begun to literally turn residential buildings into “fortresses”. During the interview, Serhii Kryvonos also said that precisely such a defense may not be achieved if Russia’s economic capacity is undermined by Ukrainian attacks.

It should be noted that several lines of fortifications were erected in the Kharkiv region. Earlier, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration Oleh Syniehubov stated that the third stage of construction of fortifications in the region was already underway.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to cause panic among the population.

The Russian media are disseminating information that in Kharkiv, debtors for utility services are allegedly being blackmailed by refusing to evacuate.

“We inform you that debtors will be evacuated last, regardless of whether they have a large family or not”, they write on a printed advertisement, the photograph of which was allegedly taken in Kharkiv. The announcement also publishes a list of debtor apartments as of April 8, 2024.

StopFake analysts examined the case and found that the information about “restrictions for debtors” was untrue. There is not a single piece of evidence that similar advertisements are posted in Kharkiv.

Moreover, the city has not been evacuated, so “blackmail by refusal to evacuate” is another invention of Russian propaganda regarding the situation in the city.

Information is being disseminated online: they say that China, Kazakhstan and India strongly recommended that their citizens urgently leave the Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa regions. However, this is not true.

The information was processed by specialists from the VoxCheck project and found that, in fact, the embassies of China and India in Ukraine did not publish such recommendations. The Indian Embassy last recommended citizens leave Ukraine back in October 2022. The Chinese Embassy did not encourage citizens to leave Ukraine even on the eve of a full-scale invasion, but also in October 2022 published advice on how to evacuate from Ukraine. In addition, Chinese state media also made calls for evacuation in the fall of 2022. In 2024, recommendations to evacuate from Ukraine did not appear on the official websites of the Foreign Ministries of India and China. In the end, there is no mention in the media of the recent calls of these states, allegedly addressed to their citizens, to leave the Odesa, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.

At the same time, at the end of March, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ukraine actually recommended that citizens of their country consider leaving the Odesa and Kharkiv regions due to “increasing tensions and an unstable security situation”. However, even here there is a noticeable difference with a fake message, because a recommendation to “consider the possibility” of leaving the city and a “persistent recommendation to urgently” leave the city are still different things. Also, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ukraine called on all citizens not to ignore the air raid warning and to go to shelter in a timely manner.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists are trying to sow panic in different regions of Ukraine. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine allegedly announced the deportation of residents of Kharkiv, preparing it for defense.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading information that Kharkiv residents are leaving the city en masse due to the lack of light, heating and other benefits of civilization. In their messages, propagandists add a video allegedly describing the entire situation.

In fact, the video that was circulated dates back to the end of February 2022: the footage shows wet snow and the author of the video can be heard saying: “We will defeat you [the Russians] anyway”. They write about this in the Center for Strategic Communications and Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

As for the situation with electricity, in Kharkiv it is indeed difficult, but not critical for the citizens. The massive Russian shelling of energy infrastructure on March 22, 2024 caused significant damage to it, but the blackout lasted less than a day. Currently, power outage schedules are in effect in Kharkiv and the region.

The heating season ended ahead of schedule - on March 26 instead of April 30. This decision is due to damage to the energy infrastructure by the Russians, as well as the need to save resources during the war and global warming. The heating season was also completed ahead of schedule in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lutsk and other cities, where there were no attacks on energy facilities during this period.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda seeks to provoke panic among Kharkiv residents, as well as to intimidate with a possible Russian attack on the city in the summer. As for the latter, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, spoke eloquently about this: “If the Russians go there again, Kharkiv will become a fatal city for them”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine allegedly announced the deportation of residents of Kharkiv, preparing it for defense.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that the political officer of the 15th border detachment of the State Tax Service of Ukraine conducted classes on making voodoo dolls in one of the Kharkiv schools. Propagandists write that according to the political officer “this will help bring damage to the Russians”.

However, this information is not true. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes about this. In fact, the youth of the Novobavarskyi district of Kharkiv attended a master class called Amulet for a Warrior on making a motanka doll. And the military themselves were not present at this event at all.

Russian propaganda spreads such disinformation to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Another goal of this fake is to continue to cultivate hatred towards Ukrainians on the part of Russians, because such news is primarily disseminated for the internal population of Russia. Previously, we refuted the information that Ukrainian first-graders marched to the song “We’re killing the Russian” during the festive parade.

Russian Telegram channels spread information that women who “reported” their husbands to the Territorial center of procurement and social support employees were allegedly rewarded in Lozova, Kharkiv region. As proof, the propagandists publish a photo from the official page of the Lozova city territorial community on Facebook.

However, this information is not true, writes the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council. In fact, in the Lozova community, those involved in the commemoration of the fallen defenders were celebrated. The community announced this on its Facebook page.

Propagandists speculate on mobilization - a sensitive topic for many Ukrainians - and resort to such fabrications that aim to demoralize Ukrainian society and undermine trust within it. Earlier, we refuted information that a man allegedly killed an employee of the Territorial center of procurement and social support in Kharkiv.

This information is disseminated by Russian telegram channels. According to propagandists, this was done by a resident of Mala Rohan, Kharkiv region, because of his “love for Russia”.

In fact, the information about the poisoning of the military of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade does not correspond to reality. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes about this. The man, a resident of Balakliia, and not Mala Rohan, as Russian propagandists claim, was indeed detained, but not because of the poisoning of the military, but for his support of the Russians and calls for cooperation with them during the occupation of Balakliia. This was previously reported by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

We urge you to trust only verified sources of information. Previously, Detector Media denied information that in the Kharkiv region, soldiers of the 125th separate territorial defense brigade allegedly shot two men.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading information that the “Kyiv regime” is allegedly preparing a terrorist attack in Kupiansk in order to blame Russia for it. According to propagandists, this is evidenced by the opening of the local market. In addition, the “news” notes that the Ukrainian military will use residential buildings as shelter, and local residents as “human shields”.

In fact, this information is not true, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. The purpose of this fake is to create an information alibi for the Russian military before the likely chaotic shelling of Kupiansk, which they carry out almost every day. Also, according to the head of the Kupiansk city military administration, Andrii Besedin, measures are being taken on the territory of the community for the mandatory evacuation of the population to safer places, which, in particular, contradicts the words of propagandists about a “human shield”.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda fuels its narrative about the alleged “crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, resorting to one of the propaganda tactics called “reflection”. That is, propagandists seek to divert attention from the real state of affairs. We previously wrote that Russia is trying to disrupt the process of evacuating children from the Kharkiv region by spreading disinformation messages.

Propagandists on anonymous telegram channels, where they spread pro-Russian rhetoric, are distributing a screenshot of a message from an individual who is allegedly a volunteer of the 110th territorial defense brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and is surprised that wounded military personnel are being taken for treatment to Zaporizhzhia, and not to Kharkiv. They say that it was this brigade that the Russians “destroyed” in Avdiivka, so it would be more logical to take the wounded to Kharkiv, and not halfway across the country to Zaporizhzhia. Russian media indicate that the command chose this strategy due to the fact that Kharkiv doctors allegedly help the military desert and hide in the big city. However, all this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that these statements are part of the Kremlin's disinformation campaign. For example, a person who is called a volunteer of the 110th territorial defense forces brigade is actually a journalist from Zaporizhzhia. Russian media also mixed up the brigade that served in Avdiivka.

In light of this, VoxCheck notes that the medical evacuation of Ukrainian military personnel is under threat due to constant Russian shelling, often aimed at medical facilities. This creates very difficult conditions for providing care to the wounded. Russians use such methods, in particular, to discredit the Ukrainian healthcare system.

Propaganda resources are spreading disinformation to prevent the evacuation of children from the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, which is under massive shelling from Russia.

In such messages, residents of the Kharkiv region are called upon to refuse evacuation, intimidated by the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces military will immediately move into their homes, and their children will be taken to the west of Ukraine, where they will be persecuted for speaking Russian.

At the same time, propagandists are spreading stories glorifying Avdiivka women who “buried children from evacuation”. However, of course, Russian propaganda does not mention that in this way parents exposed their children to mortal danger, writes the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council.

Propagandists present their “advice” as trusteeship, but the only goal of this campaign is to use the civilian population as a human shield to deter the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Russia systematically uses Ukrainian children for its criminal purposes, in particular by carrying out illegal deportations from the TOT. At least 20 thousand children have already been taken to Russia, for which a court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

Propagandists claim that such flashlights have already appeared in temporarily occupied Horlivka and may appear in other front-line cities.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council denied this information. In fact, such “flashlights” began to be scattered by the pro-Russian population of the Kharkiv region, as reported by the mayor of Pervomaisk Mykola Baksheiev. According to the mayor, instead of batteries, inside the device there are explosives that detonate when turned on. Although the charge is small, damage to the limbs is guaranteed.

Under no circumstances should you pick up such “flashlights”, call the police immediately if you come across one. We urge you to be vigilant and take care of yourself. Previously, we refuted information that in the Kharkiv region, fighters of a 125th  separate territorial defense brigade allegedly shot two men.

Propaganda resources are disseminating information that Kyiv has allegedly announced the preparation of Kharkiv for defense, therefore all civilians are forcibly deported from the city.

In fact, this information is not true. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Ukraine, unlike Russia, does not carry out deportations. Ukrainians can only be evacuated from the most dangerous zones to protect their lives. Thus, civilians, primarily children, have been evacuated from the most dangerous communities of the Kharkiv region since the fall of 2022, when almost the entire temporarily occupied part of the region was dismissed by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

On February 24, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov announced plans to include 18 villages of the Velykoburlutsk and Olkhovatsk communities in the mandatory evacuation zone due to increased hostilities. And already on March 6, 2024, he announced the evacuation of 161 children from the most dangerous communities of the Kupiansk district. However, in Kharkiv itself, no forced evacuation was announced. Moreover, it is not about “forced deportation”.

This information stuffing aims to sow panic among the residents of Kharkiv. In addition, Russia is trying to reassure everyone that it has seized the initiative on the battlefield and is allegedly even considering scenarios such as an attack on Kharkiv.

• Read also: Kharkiv authorities are allegedly planning to flee the city.

Propagandists in the media are disseminating information that the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly removing archives and exhibits from Kharkiv, preparing for evacuation, due to the likely threat of a new Russian invasion. However, this is fake.

This was brought to the attention of the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. They found that no official statements about the “evacuation of the city” were published on the websites of the local regional military administration or city council. There is also no information on the communication channels of the country's top leadership. Moreover, Kharkiv is not in danger of a Russian occupation invasion.

Propagandists spread such fake news to intimidate the local population and discredit local authorities.

Information is being spread online that the leadership of the Kharkiv regional military administration, led by Ihor Terekhov, is preparing to flee the city. “Proof” of this statement is the allocation of funds for road repairs in the area of Liubotyn and Korotych (Kharkiv region).

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council reports that reports about the alleged “flight” of the city administration from Kharkiv are untrue and are an information and psychological operation of the Russians.

According to the deputy chairman of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Vadym Skibitskyi, today the invaders do not have enough forces and means to launch a powerful offensive operation in the western strategic direction (Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kyiv region). In addition, at the beginning of 2024, the press officer of the command of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Volodymyr Fitio, said that the northern border is constantly being strengthened, and the number of Russian troops stationed on this section of the border is constantly being monitored.

By spreading this disinformation, propagandists aim to sow panic among the people of Ukraine, in particular among the residents of Kharkiv and the region. Russian propaganda has previously spread disinformation about the “surrender of Kharkiv”. In the Detector Media podcast called “Russian fake, fuc* you!” in the issue dated May 23, 2022, we refuted “the preparation of Kharkiv for surrender to the Russians”.

This information is disseminated by pro-Kremlin resources. According to propagandists, the incident occurred near the border village of Slatyne.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council says that this is another fake by Russian propagandists. In fact, the victims were blown up by an explosive device installed by the Russians in the forest belt between Velyki Prohody and Slatyne (Kharkiv region). This was reported by the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office. The men were aged 32 and 19 years old, both residents of the village of Slatyne. The prosecutor's office established that they went to the forest to cut firewood for household needs.

Russian propagandists spread such fake news in order to demonize the Ukrainian military. However, it is the Russian army that is to blame for the death of these men, because Slatyne is an occupied territory. In all likelihood, during the flight from the Kharkiv region, the Russians left traps, in particular in the form of anti-personnel mines.

Read also: As a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ shelling of a “bakery” in Lysychansk, 28 “civilians” were allegedly killed

Anonymous Telegram channels are distributing screenshots of correspondence allegedly in which a doctor at Kharkiv Hospital No. 3 talks about how the surgical department provides medical care to wounded foreign military personnel, in particular Poles. The authors of the fake publications conclude that the facility is “isolated” for civilian patients.

The VoxCheck specialists contacted the hospital department, where they were told that the information about the treatment of Polish or military personnel of other nationalities was not true. Moreover, there is no surgical department in this hospital, the propagandists simply made it up.

And the screenshot of the “correspondence” is extremely dubious. It does not include the user's name or photo to potentially identify the likely identity of the doctor. The Kremlin’s minions could easily simulate and invent this dialogue, just like the fake itself.

Social networks in the Russian segment are disseminating information that an employee of one of the local territorial recruitment and social support centers addressed the wife of a Ukrainian prisoner of war, saying that “she is a katsap’s (Russian) wife, and he is the master of his country”. Allegedly, this happened during a meeting between the relatives of the prisoners and the city administration of the city of Lozova, Kharkiv region. Photos are attached to the publication, which supposedly should testify to the words of an employee of the Territorial center of recruitment and social support . It is not true.

The VoxCheck specialists analyzed this case and found out that the quote from the so-called Territorial center of recruitment and social support employee was simply made up. After all, at first these messages were published on telegram channels of the Russian segment and subsequently replicated online without indicating the original source. A reverse search on Google showed that the photos used in the publication were actually taken in Lozova during a meeting of relatives of prisoners and missing persons.

Although representatives of the Territorial center of recruitment and social support were present at the meeting, they did not make any such statements, nor was there any mention of this in the media.

Pro-Russian resources disseminate information that after the capture of Krokhmalne, Russian troops “liberated” the village of Tabaivka in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.

In fact, this information is not true. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation with reference to the speaker of the Ground Forces Command, Volodymyr Fitio. According to him, as of 9:00 on January 29, 2024, fighting is taking place in Tabaivka. At the same time, the representative of the Ground Forces emphasized: “If it is possible to take the best positions in order to take up the defensive and then move on to offensive actions, improve the tactical position, this will be done”.

Regarding Krokhmalne, V. Fitio said that there were no civilians there anymore, and the village itself was completely destroyed. Ukrainian defenders retreated to more advantageous positions.

By spreading disinformation about the capture of Tabaivka, propagandists seek to exaggerate the achievements of the Russian army at the front in order to reassure Russians that “everything in the war is going according to plan”. Previously, we refuted information that Ukraine was allegedly preparing for the surrender of Kherson.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that a resident of Kharkiv allegedly killed a Territorial center of recruitment and social support employee because he sent his son to the front without a medical examination and a conclusion of the Military and medical commission of Ukraine. The guy was allegedly detained and immediately mobilized, despite the fact that he suffered from asthma. This allegedly happened “in front of the mobilized father”, so he decided to get even with the Territorial center of recruitment and social support employee by throwing his body on the railway tracks to simulate suicide.

The “news” being circulated is distorted and inaccurate. This is stated by the Center for Countering Disinformation and Information Security. In fact, the conflict occurred between two civilians in the village of Dubivka, Kharkiv region, after drinking alcohol, the Kharkiv region police reported. A domestic dispute arose between the 70-year-old suspect and his 57-year-old friend, which did not end simply with words. One of the men grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the other man several times in the neck. The victim died on the spot.

The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office established that the suspect took the body of the murdered man to the railway station and dumped the corpse on the track to make the version of the alleged “friend commit suicide” more credible. However, the railway workers discovered the body and reported it to law enforcement agencies. There is no official confirmation that the deceased was a serviceman, an employee of the Territorial center of recruitment and social support, or had any connection at all with the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

This fake by the Russians is another manifestation of discrediting the mobilization process in Ukraine. They say that Ukrainians are now killing the Territorial center of recruitment and social support workers because they exceed their authority - this is another confirmation of this. Previously, we have already refuted the information that the Ukrainian military commissar was allegedly killed while serving draft notices.

Unverified lists of French soldiers who allegedly died as a result of rocket attacks on hotels in Kharkiv have appeared on social networks and publications in both Russian and Western media. The Russians, by distributing such lists, are trying to confirm the thesis about the presence of “foreign mercenaries” in Ukraine. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Beyond the News project drew attention to it. They found that in justifying missile attacks on civilian targets in Kharkiv, in particular on the Kharkiv Palace and the Park Hotel, the Russians claim that they eliminated “200 mercenaries”. However, the GUR calls this nonsense.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, on January 10, as a result of rocket attacks at the Park Hotel, 13 civilians were wounded; not a single military man was in the hotel. Among the victims were media representatives from Turkey and Georgia.

Despite this, the Russians continue to support the thesis of killed “French mercenaries” to justify the shelling of civilian targets. On January 16, they again attacked the city center, damaging a private hospital and residential buildings and injuring 17 people. This fiction appeared again in the media after rocket attacks on Kharkiv on the night of January 22-23.

Russian propagandists are disseminating information about the supposedly dead “French artillerymen” in Kharkiv, but the project’s fact-checkers have not found any truthful evidence in this. In addition, the published names of the “dead” turned out to be part of the list that Russian propagandists published back in April 2022 as a list of “foreign mercenaries in Ukraine as of 2021”.

Propagandists spread such fake news to justify attacks against civilian infrastructure. Such actions qualify as a violation of international humanitarian law and constitute the legal basis for future liability of the Russians.