Based on the results of monitoring, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports that Chinese media continue to write a lot about the results of the BRICS summit in Kazan. A number of publications are skeptical about BRICS, noting that some member states do not agree with its transformation from a geoeconomic to a geopolitical association. In addition, there is a message that the Russian-Ukrainian war could cause disagreements within the organization.

China also continues to promote a joint initiative with Brazil to diplomatically resolve the war in Ukraine. It is noted that Beijing is allegedly interacting with “various interested parties” to facilitate this. At the same time, Chinese journalists almost completely ignore the issue of the participation of the DPRK military in the war against Ukraine.

The Center for Countering Disinformation adds that anti-Western rhetoric remains very common in Chinese media. In particular, the narrative is being promoted that the long war in Ukraine has led Europe to an extremely difficult period, and that anti-Russian sanctions have a negative impact on the energy sector and the economy of EU countries as a whole. It should be noted that such rhetoric is in line with Russian propaganda.

Pro-Kremlin sources are disseminating information that Ukraine has sharply changed its rhetoric against the backdrop of military defeats and setbacks at the front and has declared its readiness to hold peace negotiations with Russia. When reporting this, propagandists refer to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

In fact, Dmytro Kuleba’s words were manipulated, distorting the context of what was said. Journalists for the StopFake project write about this.

On July 23, 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine flew to China for negotiations with the head of the Foreign Ministry, Wang Yi. The main topic of discussion was the search for ways to stop Russian aggression and the possible role of China in achieving peace in Ukraine. Following negotiations with his Chinese colleague, Dmytro Kuleba noted: Ukraine does not refuse negotiations with Russia, but the process should begin when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith, and now such readiness is not observed on the Russian side.

On the eve of his visit to China, Kuleba also made a statement about peace negotiations with Russia, once again emphasizing that one of the goals of the visit to China is to eliminate “competition between peace plans”. This statement was made in the context of the peace summit on Ukraine, which took place in June 2024 in Switzerland. Many countries of the world took part in it, but both Russia and China were absent.

Ukraine is considering a diplomatic settlement to the war against Russia, but it must be fair and take into account the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The Ukrainian side invites China to take part in the second world summit and makes efforts to attract Russian representatives.

The NATO Washington Summit took place on July 9-11, 2024. Subsequently, Chinese journalists began to write about the results of the summit. In particular, some of them criticized the decision to help Ukraine and spread a narrative consistent with Russian propaganda: “NATO is fomenting confrontation”. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council.

In addition, the Chinese publication Global Times published an interview with American economist Jeffrey Sachs, who voiced theses on Ukraine that were beneficial to Russia. It should be noted here that this is not the first time he has spread pro-Russian rhetoric.

As for India, its media pays great attention to the visit of the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow, which took place on July 8-9, 2024, and sees benefits from relations with Russia. However, in India they are unhappy that the agreement on the dismissal of their citizens from service in Russia is not being fulfilled.

Also, some Indian publications, without context, are disseminating comments from Russian representatives about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and relaying Moscow’s calls to Washington to stop supplying arms to Ukraine and focus on internal security.

With the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine began to actively develop relations with countries of the Global South. First of all, contacts take place in the context of the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, because it has a global context. However, Russia doesn’t really like this, so it is trying in every possible way to ruin these relations.

Pro-Russian telegram channels and media are actively reporting Pyongyang’s readiness for a meeting between Kremlin head Volodymyr Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. On June 18-19, negotiations will take place to sign an agreement on a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in order to overcome Western sanctions. The day before the visit, the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun published Putin’s article “Russia and the DPRK: traditions of friendship and cooperation through the years”.

On June 17, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a conference at the Wilson Center, noted that the Kremlin ruler's trip to the DPRK “demonstrates how much President Putin and Moscow now depend on authoritarian countries around the world”. In particular, their cooperation takes place in the military sphere. This is confirmed by information from Bloomberg, which reported that the DPRK could send about 5 million artillery shells to Russia. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, citing intelligence reports, said North Korea provided Russia with launchers and several ballistic missiles. The Russians subsequently used them for attacks in Ukraine.

Russia has long tried to avoid and circumvent Western sanctions by buying goods with restrictions on sale. Although the aggressor country boasts that it has successfully avoided restrictions, it is still trying to get rid of them. Thanks to North Korea's support, as well as Moscow's ability to supply banned parts through third countries, Russia was able to increase its ammunition production much more than Ukraine receives from its allies, Bloomberg reports.

The United States fears that as a result of the visit, the Russian Federation may provide assistance to North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, and in turn, the ballistic missiles and artillery shells that Moscow is using in the war against Ukraine.

However, the United States will do everything possible to stop the supply of weapons from Iran and North Korea to Russia for the war against Ukraine.

In addition, on the eve of Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, the EU imposed sanctions against nine people and companies that help the weapons programs of the DPRK and Russia. They are involved in North Korean activities related to illegal weapons programs and support for the war against Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that Xi Jinping declared his readiness to support Russia “in the course” of World War III. They say that the whole world helps Ukraine, but no one helps Russia. It needs help too. The authors add that Xi Jinping is sure how Russia will lead the “world order”. It's a lie.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project analyzed the case and found out that the quote was just made up. Xi Jinping didn't say that. Fact checkers verified the information using a Google search for keywords about support for Russia and World War III. They did not find such information in any authoritative publications.

Such a fake is part of the conspiracy theory that the Third World War is already ongoing or is about to begin. This is beneficial to Russian propaganda, in particular, to explain the duration and failures of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine. Like, Russia is at war not only with Ukraine, but also with the “collective West”.

Analysts of the project Beyond the News investigated the information field of the Chinese media and found that local journalists repeat Russian narratives in their materials. For example, Chinese media often refer to Nazism in Ukraine.

For example, in the Global Times, reporter Frank Bro connected Peyton Gendron, who killed ten people in the American city of Buffalo, New York, with the Azov regiment. That is, according to the author, Azov is “a controversial ultra-nationalist armed group in Ukraine”.

Of course, this is not true. However, fact-checkers have explored the foundations of these myths about the Azov Regiment. They explained that usually the Chinese media use the topic of the existence of Nazi Ukrainians as a justification for the Russian invasion. Fact-checkers emphasize that since 2015, Russian propaganda began to identify nationalism with Nazism, and consider Ukrainian nationalists to be one of their main enemies. It seems that being a Ukrainian is already a reason to receive accusations of Nazism from the Russians. But it is not true. And the term “nationalism” itself is not something bad, but is characterized by loyalty and devotion to one's nation.

The thesis of Chinese journalists that the Azov regiment is an armed association is not true either. Azov has never been an unofficial formation. Even at the beginning of its creation in 2014, the volunteer unit was subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. Subsequently, it became a separate special forces detachment of the military unit 3057 of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting Kremlin rhetoric are circulating a video of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. She allegedly smiled after being asked if China would recognize Ukraine's sovereignty. This is manipulation.

According to VoxCheck experts, the video was taken out of context. On April 24, 2023, a conference was held by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning, where most of the questions were about Ukraine. When asked by a Reuters journalist about whether China recognizes Ukraine's sovereignty, the speaker replied that “Ukraine is a full member of the UN” and noted that China has established and is developing strong relations with the country.

She also answered a question from a Russian media journalist about Crimea, which allegedly “historically” was part of Russia. Mao Ning said that China respects “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to convince Ukrainians that Ukraine is not a sovereign state, they say, even abroad it is not recognized. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that the Ukrainian hopak was allegedly called a Russian dance at an international festival in China.

The propagandists stepped up their support for the Chinese government and its leader Xi Jinping after a visit to Moscow. Allegedly, China has a specific plan for reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine, and it is the best possible solution to the situation. Detector Media analyzed the materials of the Russian media and identified several narratives regarding the role of China in the war against Ukraine.

1. China must make a revolution in Ukraine, but for this it must destroy the West with its military force.

Propagandists claim that there is no point in allegedly talking about peace with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, since he is a US puppet. In the United States, the alleged goal is not peace, but world rule, because for the security of the United States it should be dangerous in all other states. Thus, the propagandists are trying to devalue the Ukrainian government and the efforts of the West with the help of Ukraine. Like, anyone can decide the fate of Ukraine, except for the Ukrainians themselves, because they are not capable of it. In addition to this, the authors of such reports repeat Soviet narratives regarding the “external enemy” who wants to destroy the whole world and the “heroic” USSR, which “protects” the world from total catastrophe.

2. Negotiations with Russia on the initiative of China on a truce in Ukraine is a defeat for the United States. They will lose in this way to both China and Russia.

Propagandists once again attribute imaginary achievements to Russia. However, experience shows that China is using the war against Ukraine to its advantage and views Russia as one of its sides, while distancing itself from the war in the public arena. In addition, the authors of such reports argue that if China succeeds in realizing its peace plan, the internal disintegration of the United States will begin. In this case, we can talk about fiction and wishful thinking.

3. China's goal in mediation is a moral victory over the US

Propagandists are trying to devalue the West and its power by describing China's “peace plan” as the doctrine of a new world order, echoing Volodymyr Putin's “multipolar world” narratives. This, in their opinion, is the “trap for the United States”. In addition, Russian propaganda in this regard uses one of the main tactics of Soviet propaganda, putting pressure on the “moral decline” of the West and the “spiritual upsurge” of the USSR, and in this case, friendly communist China.

The experience of relatively recent military conflicts in the world shows that mediation is a delicate process that requires the readiness of the mediator country for flexibility and detailed work to resolve the conflict. It is too early to talk about China as a mediator - the fact of the presentation of a peace plan does not necessarily mean a readiness for such a role. Therefore, we are again dealing with the substitution of concepts in the performance of Russian propagandists.