Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that Ukraine stated that it was the military personnel who came to the reburial, and not civilians, who died in the village of Hroza during Russian shelling. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that civilians were killed in the attack in the village. Among the 59 victims was even a young child, 8-year-old Ivan Kozyr. Claims that about 100 military personnel attended the commemoration are also untrue.

Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko stressed that the Russians killed 59 civilians with a direct hit from an Iskander missile, including pensioners, doctors, farmers, teachers, and entrepreneurs. Entire generations of families were victims of the tragedy. It was established that two traitors were behind the crime, who corrected the attack on the cafe. These are the brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon, who went over to the enemy side.

Targeting civilians is a war crime under international humanitarian law. The UN believes there is sufficient evidence of Russia's involvement in the strike, although Russia has not admitted direct responsibility for the crime.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to shift responsibility for the crimes of the aggressor onto the victim of aggression and justify the Russian military.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that on the night of October 18, a house in Zaporizhzhia was damaged, allegedly as a result of the work of Ukrainian air defense forces. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. According to the Secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council Anatolii Kurtiev, at night the Russians fired 6 missiles at Zaporizhzhia, “apartments in 2 entrances of the building were partially destroyed”. As of 16:47, four people are known to have died, and search and rescue efforts are continuing.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to shift responsibility for the crimes of Russians into Ukraine and cause panic among Ukrainians, saying that air defense forces do not protect, but destroy civilian objects and kill people. Previously, we wrote about manipulation, supposedly the Ukrainian Air Force admitted that “Ukrainian air defense missiles are hitting” residential buildings.

Propaganda resources are disseminating information that Kyiv is preparing a provocation at the Kremenchuk hydroelectric station “according to the Kakhovka scenario”. They say that Ukraine replaced the station in order to create public tension and blame the Russian army for the attack on the hydroelectric power station.

The information was processed by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. They found out that there is no evidence of the mythical mining of the Kremenchuk hydroelectric power station by the Ukrainian military. Russian propaganda is based on its previous lies that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up by Ukraine. All critical infrastructure facilities, which include hydroelectric power plants, are constantly under the protection of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the police in wartime. After the Russian terrorist attack with the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the Ukrainian Defense Forces tightened patrolling of the stations.

It is Russia that attacks the critical infrastructure of Ukraine - as a result of massive shelling of the occupiers in the autumn-winter period of 2022-2023, not a single thermal or hydroelectric power station remained undamaged in Ukraine.

This thesis was spread on social networks and in pro-Kremlin media. The reports say that no one notices the humanism of the Russian army, because it supposedly wages war according to all customs while Hamas kills civilians. The authors add that the West should consolidate forces against other forces, and not Russia, which is supposedly “nobly”  defending itself.

But Russia is once again promoting the thesis about “countless NATO headquarters” in Ukraine and hinting that Western officials have an allegedly unhealthy interest in Ukrainian territories. Allegedly, Ukraine is already governed from the outside, and Ukrainian deputies, military personnel and other actors in the political process are generally incapable of making any decisions without prior approval.

Moreover, the Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that suffer from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities and civilian infrastructure. In addition, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. The Kremlin’s baseless rumors about “shelling of military targets” exist to fuel the narrative of the West’s struggle against Russia.

For example, Russia recently shelled the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region. The missile attack on the village was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest during the entire period of a full-scale invasion in the region. And this is just one of dozens of cases in which Russia kills and terrorizes civilians. And with comparisons about Hamas, propagandists are trying to whiten themselves against the background of another armed conflict.

On October 5, 2023 at 13:24, Russian invaders attacked the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region. The Russians hit a local store and café, where a funeral was being held for a fellow villager who was a military man. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko said that in total there were 60 people on the territory, and at least 52 people died, including a child. Also recorded were seven victims who were seriously injured - they were at a distance of at least 50 meters from the café itself. On the air of the national telethon, the minister also said that 330 residents lived in the village and “from every family, from every yard, one person was present at this memorial dinner”. Anonymous telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric are spreading messages that Ukraine struck the village, and this happened, supposedly, at the request of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Propagandists convince people that in fact the tragedy is “beneficial” for the Ukrainian leadership for its own profit. In particular, we are talking about receiving additional humanitarian assistance and increasing financial support. In addition, they wrote that there were Ukrainian soldiers in the café, which means that the Russian army was allegedly targeting military and military targets. But they finally explain: “The West has reduced its negativity towards Russia, so Ukraine is obviously increasing it”.

However, the head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration, Oleh Syniehub, said that there were civilians and cars at the scene of the strike. Subsequently, the chief of police of the region, Volodymyr Tymoshko, confirmed this to the Suspilne. The Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that are suffering from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities, villages and civilian infrastructure. Moreover, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. Among the dead was the son of a military man, who was reburied that day. The son was also a military man. He was in a café with his wife and mother - they died from a rocket hit. But the memorial site is not a military target, and the son of a fallen soldier did not perform military duties during the memorial dinner.

The head of the Kharkiv region police also explained that it has already been established precisely that the hit was made by an Iskander ballistic missile. This is the type of missile in service in Russia. The head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration said that it was a “targeted strike” and the hit was in the very center of the building, which resulted in so many casualties.

The authors resort to conspiracy theories when they write that Zelenskyi seeks to profit from the war in Ukraine and personally gives orders to shell Ukrainian cities and villages. These attempts indicate the demonization of Ukraine and the creation of an erroneous impression about it among partner countries. For example, similar rhetoric is used on anonymous telegram channels in response to the arrival of foreign politicians in Ukraine. Then propaganda systematically promotes the thesis that the worries in Ukraine are not real, but only attempts to intimidate foreigners and get as many weapons as possible.

The missile attack on the village on October 5 was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest since a full-scale invasion in the region.

Propagandists try to explain current events using conspiracy theories, distorting the original meaning of certain terms. An example of this is the “false flag operations” theory.

Its original definition is used to describe operations that the enemy is falsely accused of committing in order to initiate or revive hostilities. Such operations have indeed occurred throughout history, especially during World Wars I and II, and historians use the term “operations under false flag” in professional literature. Conspiracy theorists have distorted its meaning by using it to describe almost every event in the world. For example, conspiracy theorists argue that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States were allegedly carried out by the American government, and not by terrorists, in order to begin and justify their “War on Terror”, including the invasion of Iraq.

Russian propagandists used the “false flag operations” theory to launch their full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A few days before February 24, 2022, Russian state media claimed that Ukraine was allegedly preparing an attack on Russian territories in order to start a war against Russia. After Russia attacked Ukraine, conspiracy theorists and propagandists claim that Russia was allegedly framed and the invasion was allegedly staged. Like, it was not Russia that attacked Ukraine, but the West that attacked Russia in Ukraine.

By using the theory of “false flag operations”, Russia wants to erase the sense of reality and make people doubt everything that is happening around them. In addition, in this way they are trying to shift responsibility for military aggression onto others in order to reinforce the image of “Victim Russia” cultivated by propagandists. This theory is an example of how Russian propaganda distorts the meaning of terms to obscure the information space.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the shelling of Ukraine on September 25, 2023, the Russians allegedly entered the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in the Odesa region. According to propagandists, the headquarters was created in one of the Odesa hotels. It's a lie.

The VoxCheck fact-checkers processed this case and explained that it was Russia that attacked Odesa on September 25, 2023 with nineteen Shahed-type drones. According to the investigation, damage was caused to port infrastructure facilities, granaries, and warehouses of a private enterprise. The Odesa sea terminal and the hotel nearby were significantly damaged. At the same time, the propagandists did not provide any evidence to defend their thesis about the presence of the Ukrainian leadership in civilian infrastructure facilities. Here they usually use rhetoric about “NATO headquarters/Ukrainian military leadership” to simply whiten themselves.

That is, they are trying to deny their own shelling and hits on civilian infrastructure. They distort reality and convince people of their “truth”. And they claim: wherever they went, there were definitely military men there. However, the authors do not provide any facts. They just reject any reproaches in their direction.

But documented cases of Russian terror tell a different story. By the way, one can read the chronology of Russian shelling of residential and civilian targets here.

Also, check out the fakes on similar topics, in which Russian propaganda denied shelling of civilian infrastructure, justifying it with “NATO headquarters”:

For example, when the Russians allegedly fired at a meeting of Lithuanian and Polish NATO officers in Chernihiv, but in fact the occupiers hit the local drama theater. Or a case where propagandists tended to believe that the terrorist shelling of Odesa in July was a shelling of weapons production sites. And not according to the cultural sites of Ukraine included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, as it actually is. Or, let’s say, how the invaders “destroyed” an ammunition warehouse in Uman. We found out that the Russians got into an industrial facility and a car wash. And finally, how a propaganda shelling of the residences of “NATO instructors” in Kramatorsk turned out to be a terrorist attack on a local cafe - read here.

“40 to 60” or “60 to 40” is a propaganda method in which 60% of the information is true, and 40% is manipulative. Propagandists create media that work on this principle and position themselves as an objective, independent or alternative source of information. By spreading true news, propaganda media ingratiates themselves with the reader, which encourages him or her to turn off critical thinking and swallow the other 40% of misinformation. It is often presented as something that the authorities are hiding from society and conspiracy theories. The proportion of truth and misinformation can vary in one direction or another depending on the media.

During World War II, this method was used by Joseph Goebbels, who headed the Ministry of Propaganda and Public Education of the Third Reich. On his instructions, an “anti-Nazi” English-language radio station was created, the announcer of which was William Joyce (a British man who supported Nazism and fled to Germany with his wife). At the time, radio was vital to the British public and the BBC was heavily censored, so English-language radio was seen as an alternative. William Joyce began broadcasts with the phrase “Germany is calling, Germany is calling”, read out genuine news from newspapers purchased in neutral countries (60%), and disseminated information about the dizzying successes and victories of Germany (40%). He reported that Germany wanted peace and was not going to bomb women and children in Great Britain, but the British left no choice and forced the Reich to violence. He also ridiculed Winston Churchill and tried to convince the British public that only the destruction of the British Prime Minister would save them from violence and give them a chance to reach an agreement.

This method is used by media that position themselves as independent, but from time to time they disseminate Russian propaganda. Meduza, which positions itself as an independent and reliable international Russian-language publication registered in Latvia, does not support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and provides truthful news. However, in July 2022, analysts at the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy conducted a study of Meduza media publications for the presence of pro-Russian narratives, and they were found in 47 publications (more than 55%). The online publication disseminated messages that “Ukraine has betrayed the residents of Donbas”, “The Ukrainian army is shelling civilian targets in the occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”, “The drama theater in Mariupol was blown up from the inside”, and also repeated statements by the Russian authorities about a “preemptive strike on NATO”  and the narrative “not only Putin, but also Western politicians are to blame for the war”. Such statements were balanced with actual true news. So, consciously or unwillingly, journalists from the Latvian media help Russia justify its crimes. Consumers of the content that Meduza creates may have the feeling that “everything is not so simple” and they will not try to find a truthful version of reality.

Just like the media, some opposition Russian bloggers and politicians, whose content is consumed by Ukrainians, also pose a danger. Maksym Kats, a politician and blogger who left Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion and posts supposedly counter-propaganda videos on YouTube every day, expressed the opinion that “the Russian opposition does not owe anything to anyone, especially the Ukrainians” or “we need to share blame and responsibility. The one who shot and who gave the orders is to blame. The one who did not overthrow Putin is not to blame”. His colleague, politician and blogger Illia Varlamov, who is also watched by Ukrainians, denied Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Luhansk region and Donbas, traveled to occupied Crimea and filmed videos from the annexed peninsula, and made a film against Ukraine, where he distorted historical facts.

Bloggers in opposition to the Putin regime appeal to emotions and create the false impression that they were persecuted by the regime, they are for justice, against war and support Ukraine. For external audiences and some Ukrainians, they look like victims of global injustice, but they continue to broadcast, in measured doses, like supposedly independent media, consciously or unconsciously Russian narratives that can be picked up by content consumers.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine provoked Russia and decided to “attack Ukraine”. They say that Ukraine’s constant European integration course harms Russia, because its enemy, the European Union, was approaching Russian borders. The authors conclude: Russia has carried out a large-scale offensive on the territory of Ukraine and is legitimately defending its values.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project analyzed the case and explained that Russian aggression is aimed at the destruction of Ukraine as a state and the destruction of Ukrainians as a nation. The Russian army is committing genocide in Ukraine. The message about the destruction of Ukraine was expressed in early April by Russian political strategist Tymofii Serheitsev in an article on the website of the propaganda news agency RIA Novosti. The author proposed to destroy everything that makes Ukrainians Ukrainians, as well as to eliminate those who cannot be broken and conquered. The existence of Ukraine was denied, because “history has shown the impossibility of creating a state in Ukraine”.

In addition, Russia argues that Ukraine's desire to join NATO or the EU is a direct threat to Russia's security. However, Ukraine’s membership in any international organizations is the choice of Ukraine and its people, and not the imposed will of third parties.

In the end, the Kremlin, with the help of this message, is trying to justify Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine and finds third parties, blaming them for all the troubles. However, any political decisions in Ukraine are made by Ukrainian officials. Ukraine is ready to join any organization and support European initiatives, if there is the will of the people. Invading Ukraine was the decision of Russia and the Russians, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular in the Georgian segment of Facebook. Reports say that US General Anthony Potts was killed in a Russian missile attack on NATO headquarters in Dnipro. It's a lie.

Georgian fact-checkers analyzed this case and explained that the American general actually died in a plane crash while on board a single-engine aircraft (Piper PA-28 Cherokee) on July 25, 2023. The plane crashed in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The cause of the accident is still unknown. The accident is being investigated by the US National Transportation Safety Board. That is, this is simply a spread of unconfirmed information from Russian propagandists.

Russian troops attacked Dnipro on July 28 and hit a high-rise building. As a result of the shelling, 60% of the apartments in the residential complex were damaged in one way or another. That is, Russia did not shell Dnipro on July 25 and then the general could not have died. He was in the USA.

However, in this way the authors seek to show that the Russian army is omnipotent and, they say, is ready to destroy the American military or fighters involved in NATO. Moreover, Russian propaganda demonstrates that NATO and the US military are directly involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war. That is why the occupiers are supposedly destroying their opponents on the territory of Ukraine.

But Russia is once again promoting the thesis about “countless NATO headquarters” in Ukraine and hinting that Western officials have an allegedly unhealthy interest in Ukrainian territories. Allegedly, Ukraine is already governed from the outside, and Ukrainian deputies, military personnel and other actors in the political process are generally incapable of making any decisions without prior approval.

Moreover, the Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that suffer from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities and civilian infrastructure. In addition, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. The Kremlin’s baseless rumors about “shelling of military targets” exist to fuel the narrative of the West’s struggle against Russia.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the newspeak concept “decision-making centers”, with the help of which Moscow legitimizes the daily shelling of Ukraine and the killing of civilians. There you will also find a chronology of Russian shelling of residential buildings since the beginning of 2023.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that “most likely, the strike was carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in order to beg for more weapons”. Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly decided to “put pressure on Blinken”. They also call Kostiantynivka a “large village”. It's fake.

The case was studied by fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. On September 6, 2023, the Russian military shelled the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region. As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, as a result of a missile attack by Russians on a market in Kostiantynivka, 16 people were killed and 33 were injured.

During a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Matte Frederiksen in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyi emphasized: “This is yet another deliberate terrorist attack by the Russian Federation”. He also commented on Russian statements about an allegedly Ukrainian plane that “got to the wrong place”: “This is an absolute lie. We understand what is happening there and what types (of weapons) they hit us with”.

Russian propaganda is trying to shift responsibility for the actions of the Russians onto the Ukrainians, saying that it was Ukraine itself that launched a missile strike on Kostiantynivka, in order to intimidate the citizens of our state. Also, in this way, Russian propagandists intend to encourage Ukrainians to put pressure on the authorities to stop the counter-offensive or demand peace negotiations. Earlier we wrote that the Russians disseminated information that the missile attack on Kostiantynivka was allegedly carried out by the Ukrainian military.

On September 6, 2023, the Russian military launched a missile attack on a market in the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region. As a result of the attack by the Russians, 16 people were killed, 28 more were injured, but the number of victims may vary. This was announced by Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the official page on the Telegram.

Russian propagandists and pro-Kremlin telegram channels accuse Ukraine of shelling the center of Kostiantynivka. Allegedly, during the operation of air defense, the rocket flew in an unplanned trajectory or shot down something in the sky that fell on the market. Russian propaganda uses the tactics of reflection and transfers responsibility to the victim of the crimes of the Russians. After the attack on the house in Dnipro on January 14, 2023, Russian propagandists also tried to whitewash the Russians and blamed the Ukrainian military for the tragedy.

On the fact of the shelling by Russian troops, the prosecutor's office opened criminal proceedings under article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war).

Russian media and anonymous telegram channels circulate publications according to which Putin has not yet destroyed Ukraine because he does not want to kill Christians. Like, Russia has everything to defeat Ukraine, but the Russian troops “pity the Ukrainians”,  because Putin considers them Orthodox, like Russians.

Specialists of the EUvsDisInfo project drew attention to the message. They denied the message. In particular, the Russians undoubtedly killed and continue to kill Ukrainians, regardless of their religion. They continue to attack civilian targets, often using the “double blast” technique to increase casualties. Russia is also destroying numerous religious sites, such as an Orthodox church in Odesa. Project analysts note that Russia's failure at the front is more likely the result of systemic problems of the Russian army, logistical shortcomings and inappropriate planning, rather than self-restraint.

Using this message, propagandists want to portray Russia as a victim, fighting with a view to the safety of civilians. However, the examples mentioned above prove otherwise.

Such information was disseminated in social networks and propaganda media. The reports say that on August 23, 2023, the Russians shelled the Sumy region and the city of Romny. The authors added that the invaders managed to destroy the school where the Ukrainian Defense Forces were located. The publications added that only the Ukrainian military suffered from the missile attack. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project specialists investigated the case and found that in fact there were no military among the victims. Instead, the occupiers fired on civilians - and they fired on a civilian object, not a military one. Particularly the local school. Four people were killed in the attack by Shahed drones: a school principal, a deputy principal, a secretary and a librarian. Also four civilians were injured who were passing by the school and came under fire. The head of the Romny Regional Military Administration explained that at the time the drone hit the school, there were 19 teachers. One of the eyewitnesses, a primary school teacher at the Romny school, also confirmed the presence of employees at the school. That is, the authors are trying to deny their own attacks and hits on civilian infrastructure. They disfigure reality and convince themselves of their “truth”. And they say: wherever they went, there were definitely soldiers there. However, the authors do not provide any facts and reject any reproaches in their direction.

The occupiers are constantly working on similar tactics: wherever the shelling occurs, it is allegedly justified. But documented cases of Russian terror testify otherwise. By the way, one  can read the chronology of Russian shelling of residential and civilian objects here. Also, check out fakes on similar topics, in which Russian propaganda denied shelling civilian infrastructure, justifying itself by “NATO headquarters”:

For example, when the Russians allegedly fired at a meeting of Lithuanian and Polish NATO officers in Chernihiv, but in fact the invaders got into the local drama theater. Or a case where propagandists tended to believe that the terrorist shelling of Odesa in July was a shelling of weapons production sites. And not on the cultural sites of Ukraine, included in the UNESCO world heritage, as it really is. Or, let's say, how the occupiers “destroyed” the ammunition depot in Uman. We found out that the Russians hit an industrial facility and a car wash. And finally, read here how a propaganda shelling of the residences of “NATO instructors” in Kramatorsk turned out to be a terrorist attack on a local cafe.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric and the Lithuanian media spread information that on August 19, the Russian army fired cruise missiles at an alleged meeting place of NATO officers in Chernihiv. Among them were many Polish and Lithuanian soldiers. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the 15min project. On August 19, the Russian army hit the center of Chernihiv with an Iskander-M ballistic missile, including the drama theater, which hosted the announced exhibition of drones. As a result of the Russian attack, 7 people were killed; 144 people, including 15 children, were injured, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a video message.

At first, Russian propaganda disseminated information exclusively about SBU specialists in Chernihiv, and the version about Lithuanians or Poles - high-ranking NATO officers appeared much later. However, there was no meeting of NATO soldiers in the theater. In a 15min comment, a representative of the Lithuanian army said: “Officers of the Lithuanian army do not participate in hostilities in Ukraine, so this information is not true”.

There is a Foreign Legion in Ukraine, but the alliance is not directly involved in hostilities in Ukraine. If any of the NATO countries entered the territory of Ukraine, the forces of the alliance would come into direct conflict with Russia.

Thus, Russian propaganda promotes the message that NATO and Russia are fighting on the territory of Ukraine, and also tries to justify missile strikes on the territory of our state. This is a continuation of the narrative that the Russian military only targets military facilities in order to whitewash itself and show that they allegedly do not commit war crimes against Ukrainians. Earlier, we talked about the message that Ukrainian officials pass off military facilities as civilian ones.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, after the August 11 Russian attack on Ukrainian cities, began to disseminate information about “precision” strikes. They refer to the words of the speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, who allegedly stated about the “accurate attack” of the Russian occupiers “only on the military infrastructure of Ukraine”. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. Russian propaganda took the words of Yurii Ihnat out of context. He commented to the Ukrainian media on the attack of Russian Kinzhal missiles on Ukraine on August 11 and said that the target was the airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk and Ukrainian pilots, who were soon to go for aerobatic training, in particular, on the F-16. On that day, the Russians killed a small child and wounded civilians. Ihnat clarified: “This is another attack by terrorists with X-47 missiles, which, as the Russians write, “fly right on target”. Today a child died, and one of the missiles hit the housing sector”.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army and convince the whole world that Russia strikes exclusively at military targets, and the civilian population does not suffer. Earlier, we refuted the fake that Russia strikes only Ukrainian military facilities and never attacks temples and cultural sites.

Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu said that “Russia, for humanitarian reasons, does not use cluster munitions, but may reconsider this decision”. It's fake.

Russia has repeatedly shelled the territory of Ukraine with cluster munitions. On February 25, 2022, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported that the attack on the hospital in Vuhledar was carried out by a Russian ballistic missile 9M79 fired by the Tochka-U complex. At the end of March 2022, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachalet, stated that Russia had used cluster munitions 24 times at that time. On April 8, 2022, the Russians attacked the Kramatorsk station with Tochka-U. Then 58 civilians were killed and about 100 people were injured.

Russian propaganda is trying to shift the responsibility for the crimes of Russians to Ukraine. Like, Ukraine is provoking Russia, and it is forced to give an answer. Earlier, we refuted a similar fake that Putin said that Russia did not shell Ukraine with cluster munitions.

Russian propagandists in the media and anonymous telegram channels claim that Ukraine was planning an attack on the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa in advance. Like, this is confirmed by the fact that the Wikipedia article about the cathedral was supplemented with information about the destruction a few hours before the Russian missile struck Odesa. It's fake.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that such a statement was conspiracy theories and that in fact the information was added to the article after it became known about the destruction of buildings in Odesa as a result of the Russian attack. The project accepted a comment from the administrator of the Ukrainian Wikipedia Anatolii Lutsiuk. He noted that in the history of editing Wikipedia, the UTC time zone is used, that is, with a difference of 2 hours from Kyiv time.

By spreading such conspiracy theories, the propagandists want to justify the crimes of the Russians and shift the responsibility for them to the Ukrainians. Detector Media explains every two weeks how Russian propaganda uses conspiracy theories for its own purposes.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian air defense is not yet effective enough, because it is led by “incompetent” military. The authors add that the Ukrainian Defense Forces do not know how to manage air defense and themselves end up in Ukrainian high-rise buildings. According to their conclusions, all hits in civilian infrastructure (homes, shops, hospitals, kindergartens) occur, they say, because of the unprofessional Ukrainian army. At the same time, as an example of this thesis, the authors add to the publications a video of “Ukrainian air defense hitting” one of the Kyiv high-rise buildings on July 13, 2023.

Fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation explained that on the night of July 13, the Russians attacked Kyiv and the region with strike drones. The video shows the consequences of the fall of the wreckage of the Russian Shahed-136/131 UAV on a residential building in Kyiv. The propagandists simply reflected the situation and began to claim that the building had suffered at the hands of the Ukrainian army. But it is not like this.

Rhetoric about the incompetent military is often used by Russian propaganda to cover up its crimes against Ukrainian civilians. That is, all rocket attacks or drones are attributed by the Russians to the Ukrainian army, which is “inept”. Such propagandists whitewash themselves and demonize the Ukrainian military, who allegedly target Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric report that Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu said in an interview that “if the United States supplies Ukraine with cluster munitions, the Armed Forces of Russian Federation will be forced to use similar weapons”. This is manipulation.

The fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications investigated this case. In May 2022, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch published a report stating that the Russians use at least 6 types of cluster munitions in Ukraine. Russia bombarded Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and other cities with them. On April 8, 2022, the Russians used a Tochka-U ballistic missile with a cluster warhead and struck it at the Kramatorsk railway station. Then 54 adults and 7 children died.

Thus, Russian propagandists transfer responsibility for Russia's crimes to Ukraine and expose themselves as a constant victim of “aggression”. Like, Ukraine attacks first, so Russia will have to use cluster munitions in return. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is making fake attacks on nuclear facilities in order to discredit Russian troops.

This thesis was circulated in social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that it was actually the Kakhovka HPP that suffered at the hands of the Ukrainian military. Like, they destroyed the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant with their missiles. The propagandists also attach photo evidence of the surviving power plant from the turbine hall of the Kakhovka HPP. According to the conclusions of the authors, this proves that the alleged explosion occurred from outside. They also add that international organizations are aware of this, but are silent in favor of Ukraine.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project worked on the case, and found out that the circulated photo shows only a part of the surviving machine room of the Kakhovka HPP. The other part is completely destroyed. This does not prove that the Kakhovka HPP was destroyed from outside. Fact-checkers showed a photo of the turbine hall before the destruction of the hydroelectric power station and found out that it is much larger than the propagandists showed. In addition, the thesis about the destruction of the hydroelectric power plant by Ukrainians is not true. Earlier, the chief project engineer of the Ukrhydroproject Institute, Mykola Kalinin, explained that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was indeed designed and built so that it could withstand a blow from outside. He further emphasized that the dam was built so that it could withstand any blow from the outside, but not from the inside. He thinks it was several simultaneous explosions from within. That is, the hydroelectric power station was mined from the inside of the building itself and the entire complex.

Russian troops seized the Kakhovka HPP on February 24, 2022 and used the station as a military facility. Ukrainian troops did not have direct access to the dam. The New York Times also provides evidence of the destruction of Russia's hydroelectric power plant. This is indicated by the access to the dam by the Russian military and the presence of engineering drawings of the hydroelectric power plant from the Soviet times of the construction of the structure.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric spread information that on June 27, the Russian military launched a missile attack on the residence of “NATO instructors” in Kramatorsk. It is not true.

According to experts from the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, the Russians fired Iskander missiles at a café where there were a large number of civilians. The mayor of the city, Oleksandr Honcharenko, said that as of June 28, 11 people had died as a result of the strike, including three children.

Thus, propagandists are trying to shift the responsibility for yet another terrorist attack committed by the Russians onto the victim, that is, Ukraine. The Russians are also trying to prove that they “do not strike at civilian infrastructure”. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the exposure of how the Russians are spreading information that Ukraine is allegedly creating a “dirty nuclear bomb”.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. After the start of the “military operation”, the Ukrainian leadership urged young people and children to flee the war to Europe, reports say. Allegedly, there they can find shelter or guardians. According to the authors of the messages, now the Europeans use young people as labor force, and they are in no hurry to return the children to their native lands.

Fact-checkers EU vs Disinfo took up this case and explained that Europe does not “abduct” Ukrainian children, but on the contrary, it helps to adapt to a new environment, provides resources for learning and a quiet life. All Ukrainians who fled the war can receive refugee status. Both children and families. European countries provide asylum, but people can return at any time without restrictions on movement. That is, the EU is not engaged in either “deportation” or “kidnapping”.

But Russia is vice versa deporting Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories. It calls it salvation, but this is only a substitution of concepts. On March 15, 2023, UN international experts published a report containing the results of the investigation into Russian aggression against Ukraine. The report contains war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers. A separate block of the UN report is devoted to the results of the investigation into the forced displacement and deportation of Ukrainian children by Russian occupiers. That is, this is indeed a war crime, which is why the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, children are taken out not only from Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but also from other occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, children were taken out of Kherson. As of December 29, 2022, 13,876 Ukrainian children are known to have been expelled by Russia. Ukraine regards such actions as the abduction of its citizens. Analysts of Detector Media conducted their own investigation on how Russia justifies deportation and other war crimes in Ukraine. You can read it here.

In a propaganda TV report, the Russians told fake news about the “shelling of Donbas by Ukrainians”, where they showed footage of a destroyed house in Uman. Allegedly, “Ukrainian militants” are once again shelling the Donbas and Luhansk region. According to the authors, the AFU shelled the town of Yasynuvata and two villages: Nikolske and Yakovlivka. Moreover, they note that during the massive shelling, Ukraine allegedly fired more than 20 missiles.

Journalists of “Ukrainska Pravda” (Ukrainian Truth) drew attention to this, referring to the material of the “Nastoiashcheie Vriema” (Current Time) project - created on the initiative of Radio Svoboda (Liberty) and Voice of America. Actually, in the footage in the propaganda story, there is no shelling of Donetsk, but the consequences of the shelling of a residential building in Uman. The authors stole the video from the telegram channel of the press service of the State Emergency Service. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klimenko, said that the occupiers hit with a Kh-101 missile. As a result, a whole entrance collapsed, where 109 people were registered. 27 apartments were completely destroyed. More than 33 cars were also burned or damaged.

At the end of April 29, the search and rescue operation was completed. The press service of the State Emergency Service reported that as a result of striking at a multi-storey building, 23 people died, including 6 children. 19 people were injured, and 17 were rescued from the debris.

Russian propaganda media disseminate information that they are allegedly going to “seize and destroy nuclear power plants located on the territory of the Russian Federation” in Kyiv. Such a statement was allegedly made by Serhii Kryvonos, the former deputy commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the air of Channel 5. It's fake.

The case was noticed by specialists from the StopFake project. In fact, on Channel 5 a major general Serhii Kryvonos answered a journalist’s questions about the Zaporizhzhia NPP and said that the Russians also have NPPs, “perhaps it’s even easier not to liberate the Zaporizhzhia NPP, but to seize the NPP or disable the NPP on the territory of the Russian Federation”. Serhii Kryvonos acted as a military expert, is now out of service and does not represent the official position of the Ukrainian army. And the pro-Kremlin media presented his considerations as the official position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the announcement of the attacks although this was not about it.

Thus, the Russian propaganda is trying to show that Ukraine is an aggressor country and it threatens the security of the whole world, but not Russia. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that Ukraine “refused to create a protective zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP”.