A fake information video allegedly authored by the Ukrainska Pravda publication is being distributed in Russian Telegram channels. Against the background of footage from open sources, propagandists write about the readiness of the Verkhovna Rada to make a decision to increase payments to contract servicemen in the Armed Forces of Ukraine aged 19 to 21. The video fragment also recalled the Chairman of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk, who allegedly compared young contract soldiers to Cossacks and noted that such “additional motivation” will allow for an “active and mobile contingent” in the army.

“The amount of remuneration will increase from 200 to 400 thousand hryvnia for men aged 19 to 21 who sign a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, the propagandists write.

In fact, this bill and Stefanchuk's statement do not exist, just like the video from Ukrainska Pravda, and this is reported in VoxCheck. The size of the one-time cash benefit upon signing the first contract depends on the rank. Age affects only the term of the contract service. After all, it is for conscripts aged 18 to 25 (or in the case of propaganda 19-21), that is, those who are not subject to mobilization in the absence of the status of “military liable”, the term of contract military service during martial law is only one year. Then the contract is terminated and not extended. Starting from 25 years, the mobilization age in Ukraine - the situation is different, namely, the contract is extended.

Previously, Russian propaganda spread messages about “socially unfair mobilization”; the intentions of the Ukrainian authorities to fight to the last Ukrainian and the lack of a future in the country. For Ukrainians, the topic of attracting people not subject to mandatory mobilization is debatable; just one mention of lowering the mobilization age provokes significant social discourse. But propagandists do not miss the opportunity to incite discord within the country and sow hatred towards the Ukrainian legislative power, in particular, by creating such info drives.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels are spreading a quote from the alleged Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oksana Zholnovych, according to which the receipt of high special pensions by judges and prosecutors is due to their “legal literacy”. Zholnovych's quote allegedly sounds like this: “There are about 740 thousand special pensioners, whose payments can exceed 100-120 thousand UAH per month. These pensions are a long-standing tradition, they are used, in particular, by judges and prosecutors. I am not saying that they are scum. I am saying that they are legally literate and know how to use the law correctly”.

In fact, this is a fake. Oksana Zholnovych did not make such a statement, writes the VoxCheck project. This fake quote is only being spread by some social media users, while reliable Ukrainian media do not have this statement, although such justification of high pensions for prosecutors and judges by the minister would certainly cause a public outcry.

The propagandists add a photo of the minister to their messages, which was published on October 24, 2024 by Forbes along with a recent interview. The interview also does not contain a statement. Zholnovych mentioned the issue of special pensions, but in a different context. She said that some people can abuse special disability pensions and criticized the current system, noting that such special pensions should only be given to those who really need them.

It is impossible to verify the information that 740 thousand special pensioners receive payments above 100-120 thousand UAH per month. At the same time, according to the Pension Fund of Ukraine, as of October 2024, 1.3 million pensioners (12.7%) receive a pension above 10 thousand UAH. However, the department does not note how many pensioners are paid more than 100 thousand UAH.

Earlier we wrote about a fake, which was that Germany would allegedly pay pensions to refugees from Ukraine aged 57.5-60 years.

Pro-Russian sources, citing the Polish publication Gazeta.pl, are spreading information that from November 20, 2024, paper hryvnias will allegedly be printed only in Poland. According to the propagandists, the reasons for this decision are power outages, a shortage of materials, and the expensive logistics of producing the national currency in Ukraine.

However, in reality, this is a fake, journalists from the StopFake project write. First of all, the gazeta.pl website did not disseminate the relevant information. In addition, the publication publishes materials exclusively in Polish (the fake material is in English), and does not create video content (the source of the fake is a fabricated video). In the end, neither the National Bank of Ukraine itself, nor any authoritative media published the relevant “news”.

By spreading such fakes, Russian propaganda is trying to undermine trust in the Ukrainian banking system. We have previously recorded disinformation concerning the National Bank of Ukraine. For example, we refuted information that cryptocurrency payments were banned in Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are spreading information that the Ukrainian military is allegedly demanding a ransom of 1 million rubles for the life of a captured Russian soldier, threatening his relatives. However, after checking, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security declared this story a fabricated fake.

The organization of prisoner of war exchange in Ukraine strictly observes international norms and such actions as ransom or blackmail are strictly prohibited and subject to control by authorized bodies. Such fakes are aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and sowing mistrust towards the Ukrainian army both among Ukrainians and at the international level.

This is one of the attempts at an information attack by Russian propagandists, aimed at undermining morale, discrediting the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and creating a negative image of Ukraine in the eyes of the world community.

Russian sources have distributed a video on behalf of United24, which says that the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, allegedly called French President Emmanuel Macron a “hypocritical politician” for his “demand” to reduce the G7 loan to Ukraine to $20 billion instead of the expected $50 billion. In an interview with the 1+1 channel, Yermak also allegedly asked an outrageous rhetorical question: “Back in April, Macron was ready to send his army to help us, and now he wants to reduce the amount of aid?”

However, this information is not true. This is reported in the StopFake project. The video was fabricated by propagandists - United24 did not publish such news either on their website or in their social networks. Moreover, United24 is a state platform launched to consolidate international support for Ukraine, so it is very unlikely that insults against the leaders of allied states could appear on the platform.

Secondly, the interview with the 1+1 channel, where Yermak allegedly made the corresponding statement, does not exist at all. The last time the head of the Presidential Office gave an interview on this channel was three years ago, when he became a guest of the VIP with Nataliia Mosiichuk program. In the end, the claim that Macron allegedly demands to reduce the amount of the loan to Ukraine is fake. In fact, the President of France, together with the US government, was one of the initiators of the program, according to which the G7 countries will transfer a loan of $50 million to Ukraine, using the proceeds from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia in Europe worth $325 billion. The funds should arrive in Ukraine by the end of 2025. The motivation for approving this loan was Donald Trump's statements that if he wins the presidential election, he will stop providing financing to Ukraine. Thus, the G7 program is designed to ensure a regular flow of aid to Ukraine, regardless of the decisions of the next leader or the head of the United States.

Earlier we analyzed the Russian message that Yermak was seeking to escalate the war.

Propaganda Telegram channels controlled by Russia are actively disseminating a statement by the leader of the French party Patriots Florian Philippot, who claims that the European Parliament approved the allocation of an additional 35 billion euros for Ukraine at the expense of frozen Russian assets, calling it theft. This message is aimed at creating a negative attitude towards the West's support for Ukraine and forming a distorted idea of the legality of international aid.

This is what the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes. They emphasize that in fact, Florian Philippot has long been an active relayer of Russian narratives in France, whether or not he does so consciously. Just last week, he also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi would soon lose his post. Similar pro-Russian statements have been repeatedly spread by other figures, such as Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

At the same time, Russia continues to boast about its own large-scale thefts in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia's real crimes include the so-called “nationalization” of Ukrainian enterprises, their re-registration, and the constant taxation of the population in the occupation zones.

Russia is trying to portray the legitimate use of frozen assets to support Ukraine as “theft” in order to create a negative impression of the EU and other Western aid. Propagandists are also spreading fake claims of “theft” by Ukraine and its partners in order to distract attention from their own acts of looting in the occupied territories, where real crimes are being committed. Such messages are aimed at undermining trust in Western institutions and discrediting the mechanisms of support for Ukraine, showing them as part of an international “conspiracy” plan. Using European politicians like Filippo helps Russia to shape negative sentiments in Europe and spread anti-Ukrainian messages through local mouthpieces, which creates the illusion of domestic opposition to support for Ukraine. Thus, the message about “theft of Russian assets” is another tool of Russia’s disinformation campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion in Europe and undermining support for Ukraine.

Russian sources are spreading information that the National Bank of Ukraine has allegedly declared cryptocurrency illegal, and PrivatBank, in turn, has allegedly banned transactions with it.

However, in reality, the propagandists manipulated the information, writes the StopFake project. The original source of the manipulative message was a scandalous publication that is under sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council for the constant dissemination of fakes and Russian propaganda narratives.

In an interview with the Interfax agency, the head of the NBU Andriш Pyshnyi did say that the hryvnia was and remains the only legal means of payment in Ukraine. At the same time, the country has a parallel cryptocurrency market that requires regulation and bringing out of the shadows:

“Are we working on this challenge? Yes, we are. Several technical missions of the IMF took place, the purpose of which was to deeply study various experiences and develop comprehensive proposals for legislative regulation of the virtual asset market that would take into account the European experience and requirements for financial monitoring”, Pyshnyi said.

That is, the head of the NBU did not announce any bans on the use of cryptocurrency - he only said that the status of this instrument in Ukraine has not yet been determined, but the NBU is working on this issue. Moreover, according to Pyshnyi himself, the goal of the National Bank is not to displace cryptocurrency, but to “create the most transparent and understandable rules of the game in this market”.

Earlier, PrivatBank did restrict the withdrawal of hryvnia to cryptocurrency exchanges. However, this decision was made at the beginning of a full-scale invasion based on the Law of Ukraine “On the Prevention and Counteraction of Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”. At the same time, this restriction only concerned international transactions and does not prevent clients from using cryptocurrency within Ukraine.

A little earlier we analyzed a Russian fake, supposedly the VISA payment system was returning to Russian territory.

Propagandists claim on anonymous Telegram channels that the Ukrainian government is allegedly spending 72 million hryvnias on printing and sending out 900 thousand draft notices for mobilization by the end of 2024, while the amount spent on draft notices is supposedly only 18 million hryvnias. The remaining 54 million hryvnias, according to the propagandists, will be used in a non-transparent manner or stolen, hinting at corruption in the Ukrainian government. Propagandists use this fake to manipulate figures, claiming that the cost of printing one draft notice is about 20 hryvnias. However, this is a fake.

As can be seen from the screenshot of the news on Ukrainska Pravda, which is referred to by propagandists in some publications with this fake, 72 million hryvnia is the total amount, which includes expenses not only for printing the draft notices, but also for organizing delivery via postal services. This includes payment for printing, packaging, mailing, as well as overhead costs associated with centralization and ensuring the process. In addition, the cost of one draft notices includes not only the costs of paper and printing, but also related elements, such as confirmation of receipt and other logistical procedures that ensure the efficiency and accuracy of delivery.

The fake is aimed at creating an image of a corrupt government that allegedly mismanages budget funds. Propagandists are trying to destroy citizens’ trust in the Ukrainian authorities and to bolster support for mobilization processes. Russian propagandists are trying to influence the population of Ukraine by creating a feeling that the state is inefficiently using resources during the war. By spreading false claims about excessive spending and corruption, propagandists are trying to cause discontent among the population, especially in the context of economic and social tension caused by the war. Creating an image of a corrupt Ukraine can also influence the international community that provides support to Ukraine. Propaganda is trying to undermine the confidence of international partners in the effectiveness of governance in Ukraine and the appropriateness of providing further assistance.

Pro-Russian sources are spreading the “news” that one of the world's largest payment systems, Visa, is returning to the Russian market. As “proof” of this, the propagandists cite information provided by Visa to Rospatent (in Ukraine, Ukrpatent, an organization that registers intellectual property) requesting an update of its trademarks for banking services and cryptocurrency in Russia.

However, Visa is not returning to the Russian market. The company has not even announced such a decision on any of its official pages. And the payment system has no legal right to return to Russia due to the effect of American sanctions. Government sanctions require Visa to suspend access to its network for a number of Russian financial companies, including the country's central bank and the country's second-largest financial institution, VTB Bank.

That is, returning to the Russian market would be a direct violation of US sanctions. And updating the trademarks, which Visa actually did in Russia, is standard practice to preserve the right to use certain technologies and its own brand and logo in the country. For example, in this way the company avoids reproduction or imitation of the brand by Russia.

Pro-Kremlin media are distributing a photo from a student's school diary, in which the teacher allegedly drew the parents' attention to the fact that the child had failed to donate money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the third time — and as a result, wrote comments in the diary. The teacher then threatens to contact the SBU if the parents do not pay attention to the lack of donations.

In fact, the Russians forged a photo of the diary and the inscription in it. Several errors indicate forgery. In particular, the propagandists write “native language” in the list of school subjects. While the correct name of the subject is “Ukrainian language”, the subject “Native language” simply does not exist in Ukrainian schools.

At the same time, the fakers write that if the parents ignore the “problem”, the teacher will contact the SBU. But all donations to the army in Ukraine are voluntary. Law enforcement officers can accept the application, but most likely will not consider it, because refusing to donate does not violate any law.

Read on Censor.NET: Refutation of the fake that children in Ukraine are forced to donate blood for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, photo evidence

A video is being distributed on the TikTok social network, which talks about the alleged adoption of a new law No. 4995 on the status of a “child of war”. According to this law, from September 1, 2024, children will allegedly receive 15 thousand hryvnias per month for three years. As evidence, the author of the video shows screenshots from the Diia portal about the status of a “child of war”. Service ID - 01199.

However, this information is not true, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports. Law No. 4995, which is discussed in the video, was adopted back in 2017, and it concerns providing housing to the families of fallen ATO soldiers, and not assigning the status of “child of war”.

In addition, using the service identifier 01199 in the Diia portal, you can indeed obtain the status of “child of war”, but this only applies to individuals who are citizens of Ukraine and who were under 18 years old at the end of World War II (September 2, 1945).

With this fake, propagandists are trying to mislead Ukrainian society, so that later, when it comes to parents wanting to formalize the status of “child of war” for their child, they will be disappointed that in fact the corresponding law does not exist and direct their dissatisfaction towards the Ukrainian authorities.

A video is being circulated on social networks, which claims that in August 2024, the President of Ukraine signed a bill providing for the payment of 100 thousand hryvnia to the military.

VoxCheck analysts confirmed that the video is not real. It was created using AI tools where they can superimpose a distinctive voice onto the video.

In 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did indeed consider bill No. 9342, according to which military personnel performing combat missions near the front line should be paid an additional monthly remuneration of 30-100 thousand UAH. The President of Ukraine signed this bill back in June 2023.

A clip with a TSN TV presenter is being distributed online. He claims that Europe has announced a new tranche for a pension supplement for Ukraine's Independence Day. Ukrainian pensioners will see their pensions increase, and the average supplement will be from UAH 2,300 to UAH 5,600. And to receive the increase, the TV presenter calls on people to follow a link to a special Telegram channel.

VoxCheck analysts have established that this video is fake. Using a special tool, AI Speech Classifier, it was possible to see that the audio recording itself was created using a neural network. That is, the propagandists used the original video from TSN, but superimposed their own audio track.

The EU also did not announce any tranche of additional payments to pensioners and other privileged categories for Independence Day. No media outlet published similar information.

On anonymous telegram channels they write that Monobank has begun collecting funds for Okhmatdyt before the Russian missile attack on a children's hospital. Users of social networks indicate different dates for the start of the collection: some write about July 5, others write about July 7.

VoxCheck analysts write that Monobank began collecting, in fact, for the restoration of Okhmatdyt on July 8, after the missile attack. The notice of collection was also received on this day.

For example, on the official website of the bank and in the personal telegram channel of Monobank co-founder Oleh Horokhovskyi, the date of the Russian missile attack on Okhmatdyt is indicated correctly - July 8, and the fee was announced after the attack.

The collection message was also sent to the Monobank mobile application on the 8th.

A screenshot of a message allegedly from the Help Online chat to PrivatBank is being circulated online. In it, the bank, citing martial law, refuses to provide a loan to the user Dmytro Olehovych. Instead, the user is offered to apply for a loan for a female relative.

“The bank does not want to lose money by approving a loan to a person who could mobilize and kill tomorrow,” comment the propagandists.

VoxCheck analysts analyzed this stuffing and determined that such a change in the lending policy is not spelled out in the bank’s Terms and Conditions, and the interface according to the screenshot of the propagandists differs from the real interface of the Help Online chat. Also, the Ukrainian media does not have any mention of such an “innovation”.

The network is spreading information that Ukraine spent $11 million on wine, chocolate and studying penguins in Antarctica. As propagandists add, this money “can be redirected to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project investigated the case and explained that Ukraine is one of several dozen countries that have year-round stations in Antarctica. Scientists also use this influence on the international platform to inform about Russian aggression and counter Russian activities. And the money allocated for research cannot be redirected to the defense sector of Ukraine. The purchase for the station's activities is made at a time for the entire year in Chile for 14 people.

The polar explorers also refuted the thesis about the “tons of delicacies” that are allegedly purchased for them. All products are bought once a year in Chile by 14 people at once. Also regarding alcohol, “per week, one polar explorer receives 300 grams of dry wine (two glasses) and 200 grams of chocolate and sweets”. So, it is not about any “excessive consumption”; this purchase is necessary to provide food for the year.

Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that Ukrainians are supposedly receiving bills to pay for the telethon. As “proof”, propagandists add a photo of a “receipt” from the Rivne Regional Energy Supply Company, which, in addition to electricity charges, allegedly shows charges for the telethon amounting to 40 UAH.

However, this information is not true, write experts on the VoxCheck project. In fact, the United News telethon is financed exclusively from the state budget.

A sample invoice for services from the Rivne Regional Energy Supply Company is presented on the company’s official website. There is no payment for the telethon. Also, the Bereznivskyi district, which is mentioned in the receipt, no longer exists for a long time - as a result of the administrative-territorial reform, four districts were formed in the Rivne region, the former Bereznivskyi district became part of the Rivne one.

Finally, the telethon is broadcast on a dozen national television channels, available on digital airwaves, satellite television and online for free. It is technically impossible to separate “Unified News” into a separate package of services. Citizens of Ukraine either watch it for free or pay providers for a package of channels, which may include channels broadcasting the marathon. Accordingly, when purchasing such a package, the money goes directly to the provider and cannot be combined in one bill with utilities.

Previously, we refuted the information that in Rivne those who evade are disconnected from public services.

Russian propagandists are disseminating information about the termination of funding for the Rail Baltica project by the European Union. They sarcastically suggest that the EU ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi for money, arguing that the EU is refusing to finance the project and is demanding the return of invested funds due to excessive assistance to Ukraine. However, this is fake.

Rail Baltica is a railway transport infrastructure project aimed at integrating the Baltic countries into the European railway network. Financial assistance and funding for this project are not related to each other. Rail Baltica's funding source is the Connecting Europe Facility, which supports the development of trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services.

In reality, the EU does not stop funding. The current funding period will end in 2027, and the next one will begin in 2028. Therefore, the Baltic countries face two challenges: 1 year without EU funding and the unknown amount that will be allocated in the next funding period. The EU recommends that the Baltic countries seek additional sources of funding, but this does not preclude continuing to allocate funds for the project.

The idea of building Rail Baltica was put forward back in 1991. However, Russian propagandists claim that building the infrastructure became necessary after the closure of communications with Russia, which made the Baltic railways unprofitable. Another reason for the parasitism of Russian propaganda is the increase in the estimated cost of the project by four times and the extension of the construction period until 2030. This is precisely the reason for the cessation of EU funding for Rail Baltica.

Russian propagandists are spreading fake news about Rail Baltica for several reasons. Firstly, it helps them support the idea that reduced ties with Russia are harmful to Europe. Secondly, it contributes to the creation of an image of Ukraine as a problem for the EU. They say that by helping her, the Union neglects its own interests. Third, such propaganda creates the impression that the EU's priority goal is to dominate Russia and, accordingly, it demonizes the EU.

Social media users are sharing a video saying, “We need to protect ourselves from this” and “Should they work until they are 67 when they can retire at 57 without investing anything?” The point is that Ukrainian refugees in Germany can retire earlier as early as June: men aged 60 years and older, and women another two and a half years earlier, and that Germany will pay for their pension. However, this is fake.

Fact-checkers of the German project Correctiv drew attention to it. They found out that this fake has been circulating in Germany since 2022. In fact, Ukrainians cannot retire before the Germans. The retirement age ranges from 63 to 67 years.

The fact-checkers also found out whether any rules on pensions for Ukrainians have changed. Katja Braubach from the German Pension Insurance Service (DRV) objected: “For citizens of Ukraine, no special conditions are provided for in the pension legislation”. The German Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) also confirmed that “the current legislation applies when receiving a German pension”.

Ukrainians can receive a pension in Germany in the same way as Germans. Persons from abroad must have at least five years of statutory pension insurance contributions to be entitled to pension benefits in Germany. Periods of work abroad only count if it is an EU member state or if the country has a social security agreement with Germany - neither of which applies to Ukraine.

Although EU accession negotiations have been ongoing since December 2023, Ukraine is not a member of the EU. Germany signed a social security agreement in 2018 and ratified it in 2020, but the ratification process in Ukraine has stalled.

For Ukrainians, the “regular retirement age” applies. Excluded from this regulation are a “very small group” of Ukrainian refugees who - like other persons recognized under the Emigrants Act who come from ethnic German families - have acquired working hours recognized as German insurance periods, as stated on the DRV website . However, according to DRV, “normal pension age restrictions” apply here too.

This information can be disseminated by propagandists in order to arouse skepticism and hostility towards Ukrainian refugees among the population. They say that they are taking away the pensions of Europeans, which means that Ukrainians need to stop helping. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other Russian provocations against Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

Propaganda spreads information that Ukrainians allegedly began to donate less and help volunteers and the military less. And also that Western foundations and organizations have completely stopped funding, as a result of which financial support for the treatment of the military has decreased. In addition to this, the ability to travel abroad to receive surgical services was allegedly limited. But all this is fake.

Vox Ukraine specialists drew attention to it. Based on the results of a survey conducted by Gradus Research on the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, there is a positive trend toward an increase in the frequency and regularity of citizens making donations. Data from Monobank, one of the leading banking services for collecting charitable contributions, confirms this positive trend. During 2023, support for charities and voluntary organizations has more than tripled compared to the first year of the full-scale invasion.

Data from the reports of the Come Back Alive foundation also refute this fake. Compared to 2022, the amount of donations in 2023 was slightly lower, but it is known that the average amount of donations in the second year of a full-scale invasion increased by more than 10%.

In this case, propagandists are trying to level out the support of Ukrainian citizens and contribute to the destabilization of society by reflecting false opinions. They describe the situation in such a way as to provoke a pessimistic attitude towards assistance to the Ukrainian military and dramatize the economic situation of citizens.

Propagandists are distributing supposedly real correspondence between the wives of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on anonymous telegram channels. These reports claim that the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is allegedly hiding real losses among the military and evading payments to the families of the victims. This information is false.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that this “correspondence” is distributed only by Russian and pro-Russian telegram channels. Message texts are formal in nature.

From the photographs it is clear that messages were sent at regular one-minute intervals, regardless of the length of the text. It is unlikely that a woman who had just learned of the death of her husband could so accurately observe these intervals in her answers.

The messages also incorrectly use the name Artem. First, one of the wives calls her husband by this name, then uses the shortened form “Tema” whereas in Ukrainian it would be “Tioma”, and in Russian it would be “Tiema”. Thus, it can be assumed that the text was incorrectly translated from Russian.

The texts of this correspondence are filled with Russian stereotypes about large losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, lack of payments, incompetence of command and calls for the murder of commanders. In fact, the losses of the Ukrainian side are much less than what is covered in the Russian media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi mentioned the number of deaths - 31 thousand over two years of a full-scale invasion.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the Ukrainian armed forces.  Detector Media refuted other similar fakes created against the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Propagandists spread information on social networks and the media that Ukraine intends to send its women to demining particularly dangerous areas “as one of the first”, and Canada will pay for it. The authors of such posts refer to the official website of the Prime Minister of Canada, which they claim confirms this information. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that there is no mention on the official website of the Canadian Prime Minister that Ukrainian women will be sent to demining particularly dangerous areas. The website contains information on the provision of additional military assistance to Ukraine, including the project “Gender-Inclusive Demining for a Sustainable Future in Ukraine”, for which Canada allocates funds. The HALO Trust project mentioned in the document, which helps women to acquire appropriate education and skills, does not assume that Ukrainian women will be guaranteed to be among the first to be sent for demining. Instead, the HALO Trust really aims to help Ukrainians in the destruction of explosive ordnance on the territory of the country.

Propagandists spread such manipulations in order to cause panic in the population and demotivate Ukrainians to cooperate with similar projects. In addition, in this way, Russia reinforces the message that the West is supposedly indifferent to Ukrainians and their victims.

On behalf of Ukrainian TV channels, videos containing information are being distributed in TikTok, allegedly the government adopted Law No. 3386 regarding a one-time payment of 14 thousand hryvnia to those Ukrainians who have never left the country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

In fact, these videos are fake. They are generated by artificial intelligence. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council writes about this. Law No. 3386 itself simply does not exist. Such content applies, in particular, to increasing the reach of anonymous telegram channels, which are linked in the description under the video.

By spreading this disinformation, Russian propaganda aims to split Ukrainian society. Like, “those Ukrainians who remained in Ukraine during the war are “more Ukrainians” than those who left, therefore the state in this way seeks to show the privilege of the former”. It is on this basis that the fake Russian propaganda is based.

• Read also: More money is spent on one prisoner in Ukraine every month than on pensions for Ukrainians

Russian propagandists spread such information. In some US stores, milk cartons allegedly posted notices about a missing boy named Elijah. This was supposedly done by the public organization National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC),  the captures are as follows: “We would have found Elijah if the government had not cut our budget to send aid to Ukraine”.

In fact, these photo ads are fake. This was reported by checkers from the StopFake project. NCMEC Communications Director Angeline Hartman responded to StopFake's request that the organization did not print such postcards, someone else used their logo without permission.

Response from NCMEC Communications Director to StopFake request:

Probably, a caption about Ukraine was added to the photo of the milk carton in a graphic editor.

In addition, NCMEC is financed by the US Department of Justice, whose task is to ensure law and order and justice within the country, so there can be no talk of any “budget cuts to help Ukraine”. Moreover, funding provided by the Department of Justice to NCMEC has, on the contrary, increased compared to 2021.

If in 2021 the Department of Justice allocated almost $37 million to the organization, then in 2022 this amount was already more than 44 million. In 2023, the organization received more than $51 million. The organization also has other sources of funding. Many resources are provided by private donors, including large corporations like Google and Zoom.

Thus, Russian propaganda seeks to fuel the narrative that “Western society is already tired of the war in Ukraine”. According to propagandists, such fakes can influence the minimization of international support for Ukraine. Previously, we refuted information that economist Robert Kiosaki allegedly called any financial injections into Ukraine pointless.

From the very beginning of the charity campaign of the Lithuanian public broadcaster Radarom, propagandists in the Lithuanian segment of social networks began to spread information that the funds donated to Ukrainians did not bring any benefit after all. One of the most widespread reports in Lithuania claims that the purchase and sale of cars, especially premium ones, in Ukraine have increased significantly since the start of the war, which means that the warring country is trading on the support it has received. At the same time, they refer to statistics from Ukravtoprom. However, this is not true.

Lithuanian fact-checkers for the 15min.lt project drew attention to this. They found out that propagandists are silent about the fact that the growth of the automobile market began with the beginning of the war, when it was significantly depressed. It is also not mentioned that as many as a third of new cars were purchased by companies. According to Ukravtoprom, in 2023, almost 61 thousand units of new passenger cars were sold in Ukraine (most of which were purchased by companies) worth more than 105.5 billion hryvnia (about 2.5 billion euros). This is 1.6 times more than in 2022, when Ukrainians purchased 37,900 new cars, the lowest since the beginning of the century. When the war began, many off-road vehicles were purchased. According to these data, 103.25 thousand new cars were sold in 2021, and 37.89 thousand new cars were sold in 2022. Last year this figure rose to 75.99 thousand, and this year it is expected to increase to 86 thousand. Thus, neither last nor this year the same level as before the war is expected.

Ukrainian public figure in Lithuania Andrii Tapin also added that in Ukraine in 2023 there will be one new car for every 606 inhabitants. Last year, 31,000 new passenger cars were registered in Lithuania, or 1 car per 90 inhabitants. The difference is about 7 times.

Propagandists spread such disinformation to discredit Ukrainians and reinforce their “corrupt Ukraine” narrative. All this is so that foreigners stop supporting Ukraine.