Spilnota Detector Media

Fake Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov ordered doctors at local hospitals to buy atropine in case of chemical attacks

Information about this is spreading on social networks. Allegedly, the mayor Ihor Terekhov called on the chief doctors to buy a batch of atropine to protect themselves from chemical attacks. However, ше is not valid. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, refuted a fake in the address to citizens. "It's a blatant lie as if I called on the chief doctors of city hospitals to buy atropine in case of chemical attacks. Today I gathered the chief doctors of hospitals and staff, but only to say words of gratitude for their work and congratulate them on the Medical Worker Day. I urge you not to believe in fakes. Now they are purposefully produced and distributed. We should not be broken or defeated, so they are trying to intimidate, demoralize and sow panic. But the Russian occupier will not succeed!" Terekhov said.

Disclosure The occupiers are distributing a fake newspaper with an article about the allegedly "lost Zaporizhzhia region"

According to the journalist Andriy Tsaplienko, the Russian occupiers are distributing a fake newspaper about the "lost Zaporizhzhia region," which allegedly quotes the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny. The newspaper claims that the article alleges that Ukraine allegedly "lost the Zaporizhzhia region" because it "used its reserves to defend Azovstal."

Manipulation More than 100,000 residents of Zaporizhzhia have applied for Russian citizenship

The Russian newspaper Izvestia published an article stating that more than 100,000 Zaporizhzhia residents had already applied for Russian citizenship, and thousands had prepared the necessary documents. The publication refers to the statement of the collaborator Vladimir Rogov, appointed by the occupiers as the head of the so-called council of the military-civil administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, on the air of the Russian propaganda TV channel "Solovyov Live."

"There are already more than 100 thousand people - this is 100% who are now in queues. And thousands of people who have already prepared packages of documents," Rogov said. The article also mentions the following: "In the first three days, the city's passport office [Berdyansk] processed 25 applications for Russian citizenship. There are 70 more people on the list… Several residents of Melitopol have also already been given Russian identity cards, Rogov said on June 11. On the same day, Vladimir Saldo, the head of the Kherson region's Military-Civil Administration (MCA), received Russian citizenship. In addition to him, the first passports of the Russian Federation that day were handed over to 25 more residents of the region."

The high-profile title of the article is another fake propaganda machine. First, Zaporizhzhia is not occupied but is part of Ukraine. Therefore, mentioning Zaporizhzhia in the title is already a manipulation to attract attention. Secondly, in addition to the actual regional center, there are two large cities in the region - Berdyansk (population - of 109 thousand people as of 2020) and Melitopol (almost 150 thousand people as of 2021), which are now temporarily occupied. That is, when the occupiers talk about 100 thousand inhabitants of Zaporizhzhia, it is rather about the number of Ukrainians who remained in the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region for various reasons.

In addition, the occupiers are actively spreading information that obtaining Russian passports has also begun in Kherson. However, for Kherson (a regional center with a population of almost 280 thousand as of January 2022), they show much more modest figures - there only 1.5 thousand people "expressed a desire to change citizenship."

Fake Russian air defense shot down a Ukrainian AN-26 aircraft carrying weapons in the sky over Odesa

Information about this is disseminated online. The reports claim that the Russian system allegedly shot down a Ukrainian AN-26 plane with weapons and military equipment consignment over Odesa on June 5. The authors of such posts refer to the message of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. However, it is not valid.

Fake Zelensky signed a decree on the surrender of Avdiivka to the occupiers

Information about this is disseminated in pro-Russian telegram channels. The reports say that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, allegedly ordered to hand over Avdiivka to the occupiers and ordered the living soldiers. They remained there to be declared missing. However, this is not true. There is no such presidential decree. "Avdiivka is Ukraine. It was, is, and will be ours!" This information is an insignificant, clumsy fake. They are cynically trying to destroy us. We are heroically resisting. Victory is ours because it has long been known who will come to us with a sword, die by the sword, " wrote the head of the Avdiivka city military-civil administration Vitaliy Barabash.

Fake Kharkiv communal services ask citizens to leave their apartments open so that territorial defense fighters can enter

Such information is disseminated online, as well as in ads posted on the streets of the city. The reports say that the Kharkiv utility company "Zhylkomservice" allegedly appeals to citizens to leave their apartments open. The ads add that this is allegedly necessary to place territorial defense fighters firing positions in the flats. However, this is a fake. According to the Kharkiv City Council, communal services did not ask citizens not to close their homes. "We urge citizens to be careful and be sure to close windows and doors before leaving the apartment," the city council said. We will remind you that the Russian propagandists repeatedly lied that the Ukrainian military arranged firing points in the territory of civilian objects, for example, on the domain of the Odesa film studio.

Fake The Armed Forces "fires again" on Kharkiv

Russian propaganda media allegedly wrote about this concerning eyewitness accounts - a resident of Kharkiv. According to the fact-checkers of the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, propaganda reports say that Kharkiv residents who have been in the city since the beginning of the "special military operation" are aware that the Ukrainian Armed Forces brought a large number of civilian casualties. However, this is not true. In fact, Kharkiv, like other cities in Ukraine, is being shelled by the enemy, Russia, which started the war. Instead, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are defending the country and repelling the Russian military. However, it is advantageous for Russian propagandists to claim that Ukraine is killing its own inhabitants to justify the war. However, it was the Russian occupiers who destroyed Pivnichna Saltivka. There is ample testimony from witnesses who said that the shelling came from Belgorod from settlements along the ring road, where Russian troops were stopped. In addition, experts from the Conflict Intelligence Team found that the Russians had fired on Saltivka, including by air, and that the shelling of the Rohani and Horizont areas had ceased after the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to drive the Russian occupiers out of Mala Rohan. The destroyed equipment of the occupiers, from which they fired on the city, can still be seen in the village. "As for the village of Zhukovsky, it is almost daily fired on by Russian troops from the side of Belgorod. It is because the Armed Forces managed to advance the least in this direction. Therefore, as several Armed Forces manage to push the occupiers to a distance from which they cannot reach the city, the shelling stops," experts from the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center explain.

Manipulation An unprecedented war was declared against Russia

It was stated during a so-called international economic forum held in Saint Petersburg, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov. He spoke about his vision of the financial situation in the world. He assured that "everything will be restored on a new basis in the conditions of the absolutely unprecedented war that was declared and started against us." The fact-checkers of the project "Bez Brekhni" drew attention to the quote of Putin's press secretary. Peskov is probably referring to US and EU economic sanctions imposed on Russia over three months. Hundreds of international companies have also stopped cooperating with the country, causing the Russian economy to suffer. However, calling all these actions an unprecedented war, Peskov forgot to add that it happened as a result of the real war that Russia started on the territory of Ukraine. That is, the war is not going on against Russia, and if it were not for the military actions of this country, as a result of which hundreds of peaceful Ukrainians die and cities are destroyed, nothing would have happened.

Fake Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview that he uses cocaine

A video of an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he allegedly says he uses cocaine, is being spread on foreign networks on social media. In the video, Zelensky speaks Ukrainian, but the subtitles were translated for him. Correctiv fact-checkers drew attention to this fake. This video was edited from excerpts from Zelensky's 2019 interview with Ukrayinska Pravda. At that time, the Ukrainian segment of social networks also distributed videos with stickers from this interview, which allegedly showed that Zelensky admitted that he was using drugs.

Manipulation Putin did not achieve his goals, gaining only Ukraine, not the whole of Eastern Europe

Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan suggested that NATO declare that Putin's goal was the whole of Eastern Europe and that, thanks to NATO's actions, he did not achieve that goal, gaining only Ukraine. "NATO declares that Putin's goal was the whole of Eastern Europe. Or the whole of Europe. And he did not achieve this goal... In the end, Putin received only Ukraine. And no goals. And so, NATO prevented the escalation of the war. Take a good plan," the propagandist said.

In this way, she responded to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's words: "We have a responsibility to ensure that Putin does not achieve his goal, that the war does not escalate. At the same time, NATO must consider how to be a strong player and prevent war from escalating. "

Simonyan resorted to one of the most common tactics of Russian propaganda - the substitution of concepts and artificial blurring of real goals by much broader ones, which no one planned to achieve. In fact, since February 24, 2022, the Kremlin has constantly been changing the purposes of the war in Ukraine, its rhetoric, and its timing. These "updates" of versions show that Russia has failed to achieve its goals either in Ukraine or abroad. Fighting continues in Ukraine, and Ukrainian defenders are resisting Russian invaders. Indeed, some Ukrainian territories are now temporarily occupied by Russia - but this is no reason to say that "Putin got Ukraine."

Manipulation The Armed Forces refuse to fight with weapons provided by the West

Russian media reported that the Ukrainian military allegedly refused to fight with weapons provided by Western partners. This thesis is disseminated concerning a CNN article. CNN does have a paragraph saying that "some units (AFUs) prefer to use commercial drones equipped with explosives" instead of the American Switchblade. In other words, it is already clear from this quote that this is not a mass renunciation of all Western weapons by the Armed Forces, and Russian propaganda has distorted CNN material. Another quote from the material confirms this: "In some cases, according to one of the sources familiar with American intelligence, Ukraine has simply decided not to use unfamiliar Western systems."

Message Belarus may have to reconquer Western Ukraine

This thesis was spread by Oleksandr Lukashenko, speaking about the alleged plans of the collective West to "capture" the territory of Ukraine. He tries to justify his statement, dragging Belarus deeper into the Russian-Ukrainian war, by saying that these "Western plans" may harm Belarus itself, saying that "they will not stop there."

Fake During the three months of the war, the Ukrainian army lost 200,000 soldiers

The Russian propaganda media spread this statement. In particular, Svobodnaya Pressa, Moskva.news, eadaily.com, and ren.tv published this information concerning the German media Linke Zeitung. Reports say that American General Stephen Twitty noted that the Ukrainian army is rapidly retreating under the pressure of Russian forces and that the Armed Forces' losses may reach 200,000 soldiers. They also add that the retired general allegedly sees the successes of Russian troops in Donbas. However, the publication referred to by the Russian mass media cannot be considered a respectable media:

- the materials are published here without authorship.

- the messages are mainly of a nationalist and anti-Semitic nature.

- the Google search engine does not have any information about this resource.

As Gwara Media fact-checkers found out, General Stephen Twitty did not say that the Ukrainian army lost 200,000 soldiers. "During a discussion on the YouTube channel of the Council on Foreign Relations, the former deputy head of the US European Command, Lt. Gen. Stephen Twitty, says: "We often hear about Russian losses and tiny about Ukrainian ones, even though they are also losing soldiers. Ukraine started with 200,000, but who knows where they are now?" The American general did not claim that the Ukrainian army lost 200,000 soldiers but only said that this was the number of soldiers in the armed forces at the beginning of the war.

Manipulation France announced the readiness of the West to force Ukraine to make territorial concessions

Russian mass media refer to an article by the French online publication AgoraVox. In the article, the author expresses the opinion that Russia has won the communication war and writes as one of the arguments: "More and more Westerners (starting with the "wise old" Kissinger) are calling for a "ceasefire," for "peace negotiations" with Putin, even if it means forcing Ukraine "to make territorial concessions...".

What is wrong:

1. The article's author is anonymous under the nickname "Nikopol." It is only stated that he is "an engineer by education, a development aid manager by profession, a traveler, like a history and philosophy..." etc.

2. Nikopol does not reference the statements of the "Westerners" he is talking about, except for the former US Secretary of State.

3. Besides reflections, the author's arguments are based on fakes and propaganda messages, which "Media Detector" has already reported. In particular, about the "neo-Nazi battalion "Azov" and how "former ombudsman of Ukraine Lyudmila Denisova admitted that she lied about sexual crimes by Russian soldiers on Ukrainian territory."

4. AgoraVox is one of France's first citizen journalism sites, created in 2005 by volunteers and non-professional writers. Wikipedia wrote that in 2011, there were more than 70,000 volunteer authors on the site.

Fake In Spain, Ukrainians receive 50 euros in aid from any business simply by showing their Ukrainian passport

Russian propaganda continues its attempts to turn citizens of other countries against Ukrainians. This time, information was spread on the network that Ukrainians in Spain could show their passports at any institution in the service sector and receive 50 euros in aid. As confirmation there is a photo from one of the supermarkets where this allegedly happened is added to the posts. However, it is not valid. The refutation was published by Spanish fact-checkers concerning official information from the relevant Ministry and the Red Cross. As it turned out, in Spain, there is an established procedure of targeted assistance to refugees from other countries and low-income segments of the population (both Spaniards and foreigners) by providing special cards (cheques) that can be used, in particular, in stores. Through the Red Cross, aid is allocated to those who need it, not only to Ukrainians, and for different reasons. At the same time, the supermarket chain, one of which was in the illustrative photo, explained that they donated 1.5 million euros to support the Ukrainian people to "cover basic costs." They also explain that the "La Caixa" fund will use this money in Spain and the Red Cross in Portugal and will distribute aid in the form of €50 cards that can be exchanged at Mercadona stores in these countries.

However, such a project is still only in the plans and will be implemented from June to December 2022. Approximately 5,000 people can receive assistance in the form of cards.

Fake A cholera bacillus was found in the tap water of Kyiv and Odesa

Such information is distributed by various Telegram channels and the public of Kyiv, Odesa, and other cities. Reports state that tap water is unfit for use, so even brushing teeth and washing fruits and vegetables should only be done with boiled water.

However, it is not true. JSC Kyivvodokanal denied the information. "Information about allegedly low-quality tap water is part of the informational struggle that is taking place within the framework of the war with the Russian occupiers. Even during difficult times, during the period of active hostilities around the city, "Kyivvodokanal" strictly adhered to water treatment technologies and supplied safe drinking water to the homes of Kyiv residents. We will continue to do this in the future; there is no reason to worry about the safety of tap water," the company said.

A similar statement was made in Odesa: "As of 12 o'clock on June 10, 2022, there is no fact confirming the presence of the causative agent of cholera that has been found either in Odesa or in the Odesa region." Perhaps, in this way, Russian propaganda is trying to divert attention from the problems in the temporarily occupied Mariupol, where there is a real threat of cholera spreading due to the lack of centralized water supply and sewerage. It happened due to the occupiers who destroyed it during the city's capture. Thousands of unburied bodies of the dead have begun to decompose; garbage and filth have accumulated on the streets of the town and have not been taken to landfills since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Moreover, all sewage enters the sea and reservoirs, which creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of bacteria, including cholera vibrio; Now, there is a lack of medical facilities, qualified doctors, and medicines, making it impossible to provide medical care to the infected. The journalists of Suspilne spoke in detail about the situation in Mariupol.

Note that the occupiers are deliberately hiding information about the epidemiological situation in Mariupol and spreading the news about the opening of the beach season in the city.

Fake The French demanded a life sentence for Volodymyr Zelensky

According to the fact-checkers from StopFake, this information was published by the Russian propaganda media "RIA Novosti" concerning comments on one of the publications of the French publication "Le Figaro." Propagandists claim that the French "assure that the West is guilty of today's conflict," and "Zelensky has two options: life imprisonment or physical execution."

However, it is not true. Under the title "The war in Ukraine: can new rocket launchers change the course?" to which they refer, there is no similar comment. Only its subscribers can comment on the publication's articles.

According to fact-checkers, such comments either did not exist or were deleted because the moderators considered them unreliable. It is stated in the "Le Figaro" Moderation Charter: "If the moderation team cannot quickly verify the information or find a reliable source, the comment will be deleted so as not to mislead readers."

However, if there were such comments, they would not reflect the position of all French people but would be the opinion of a specific person.

Fake Azov fighters crucified and burned the militant alive

The fake, repeatedly refuted, is spreading on social networks again - about the crucifixion of an LPR soldier by the Azov Battalion. The VoxCheck project drew attention to this.

This video, in which a man is allegedly crucified and set on fire, has existed since 2015. Then the Russian media spread the video about the group "Kiber Berkut" - a Russian or pro-Russian hacker group - which allegedly received this video from the Azov fighters. According to the publication, there is no confirmation of the reality of this video or the fact that there is no Azov fighter in the video. Moreover, it is impossible to identify people on the video or confirm that it is not a production video.

At the same time, Kiber ​​Berkut has repeatedly disseminated fakes created by this group - non-existent orders, documents, fake videos, and photos allegedly obtained by Ukrainian hacking websites. The Azov Regiment reported in 2015 that it had nothing to do with this video. In addition, even the Russian media outlets that distributed the video wrote that there was no evidence that the video was authentic. But after the start of a massive information campaign against Azov in the Russian media in early 2022, this fake is again actively spread - and without the postscript "unverified video."

Disclosure Cars were assembled across the country at the "rally in support of Russia" in the Luhansk region

On the day of Russia, the propaganda media published a lot of news about the celebration of this date in the so-called "LPR," including a rally in the occupied part of the region. According to the propagandists, all this should have convinced the audience of Russia's support for the local population. But the fact-checkers from Russia received evidence that in the column of cars that went under the flags of the invader, there were cars with Crimean license plates, from Chuvashia, from other regions of Russia. They suggest that most of them belong to the Russian military. And in the column was an ambulance, which the occupiers seized from Ukrainian medics - and did not even stick the inscription on it in Ukrainian.

Fake Peter I only returned the lands to the Russian Empire, did not attack the neighbors, and did not wage wars of aggression

The fake about "Russia that did not attack anyone," which is constantly voiced by Putin, Patriarch Kirill, and other representatives of the Russian Federation, has received a new modification. Now, it seems that, as Putin said, Peter I was only "returning Russian lands" back, not seizing the lands of other states. "Peter І fought the Great Northern War for 21 years. It would seem that he was at war with Sweden; he took something there… He didn't take anything; he returned it! That's right. All of Ladoga, where St. Petersburg is founded. When he founded the new capital, none of the European countries recognized this territory as Russia; everyone recognized it as Sweden. And from time immemorial, Slavs lived there alongside the Finno-Ugric peoples, and this territory was under the control of the Russian state. The same is true in the western direction, which applies to Narva's first campaigns. Why did you go there? Turned and strengthened - that's what I did. We also had to return and reinforce. "

In fact, during Putin's Northern War, Peter I not only reclaimed part of Russia's lands (this is true because they were lost after the defeat in the previous war with Sweden) but also seized the territory of modern Estonia and part of modern Latvia, which never belonged to the Moscow state. Moreover, the Slavs who lived in Ladoga were not the indigenous people of these lands - they had captured them just before.

Putin is again using this manipulation and outright lies to convince the electorate that the war against Ukraine is not a war of aggression but only the restoration of historical justice. But appealing to the events of the XVII and XVIII centuries does not make sense - since then, any country has changed borders many times. After World War II, world security architecture insisted that governments not try to redistribute borders or return the former lands to their state.

You can read more about the history of the Great Northern War here.

Manipulation 16 million tons of wheat exported by Ukraine will not affect the world and can not cause famine in Asia and Africa

The Russian media is constantly speculating on the food crisis, which all international organizations warn about. Most often, they write that Ukraine itself blocks ports and therefore does not export grain to countries that usually buy Ukrainian agricultural products. Are they claiming that Ukraine is selling its grain in exchange for weapons, or is it exporting grain to Europe to create an artificial famine in Ukraine itself? But there is a new thesis - there is not enough Ukrainian wheat at all, so the lack of exports can not affect most people worldwide.

For example, Soloviev and other propagandists write about it on telegram channels. In fact, it is a manipulation. First, the 16 million tons Russian propagandists write about is only an approximate level of wheat exports. But Ukraine does not only export wheat - in 2020/2021, the state exported almost 60 million tons of grain. And among them - barley, beans, corn, flour, and oil. And Ukraine cannot export all these products to Asia and Africa due to Russia's blockade of ports.

Secondly, Ukraine had convenient transport links with the countries it supplied grain, making it cheaper. Now, due to the impossibility of delivering them there from Ukraine, they are becoming more expensive - and therefore, countries are forced to buy less. Several countries, including Egypt and Lebanon, are a quarter dependent on grain supplies from Ukraine. The figures are as follows: 25 million tons of corn and wheat are equivalent to the annual consumption of all the world's least developed economies. And it was Ukraine that met the grain needs of these countries. In addition, recent years have been dry in many countries, so grain production has declined altogether - and this could lead to famine in the world's poorer countries. Ukrainian grain is now in dire need of Ukrainian grain.

Fake In Ukraine, the Armed Forces will mobilize women

According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, pro-Russian Telegram channels are spreading photos of a document on the conscription of women, which was allegedly signed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Shaptala. The document states that "by June 15, 2022, it is necessary to prepare lists of women on the military register and carry out mobilization activities, and by June 31, 2022, to organize activities for military registration of women aged 18 to 60 years." However, this is a fake, and the document attached to the posts is also false.

According to Oleh Honcharuk, military commissar of the Chernihiv Regional Territorial Center of Manning and Social Support, there is no need for compulsory conscription. The Center adds that this fake is designed for "domestic" consumers and aims to create centers of social instability in some regions of Ukraine. " Such a fake is needed to destabilize the situation in the country. He said things were going too badly at the front, so the authorities would mobilize women because there was a lack of human resources. However, some Ukrainian women join the Armed Forces voluntarily, without announcing mobilization.

Fake The Ukrainian Armed Forces blew up the last bridge connecting Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk

Russian media are spreading fake allegations that the Ukrainian Armed Forces blew up the last bridge connecting Sievierodonetsk with Lysychansk. It is a fake because the Russian occupiers purposefully destroyed the bridges across the Siverskyi Donets for many weeks. It was repeatedly reported by the head of the Central Executive Committee of the Luhansk region, Sergei Gaidai, and other official sources.

In fact, three bridges connected the two cities. Two have already been destroyed by Russian artillery, and it is unknown whether the third remains intact. Still, civilians remain in Sievierodonetsk, part of the military, for whom the bridge is an important link and evacuation route. And it is the Russians who are destroying the ways of military retreat and evacuation of people - the American Institute also reported this for War Studies.

On the other hand, Russian attempts to destroy bridges across the river are illogical; researchers say: "Russian troops should seek to capture bridges, not destroy them because they have problems forcing the Siverskyi Donets River. They may hope to block Ukrainian defenders in Sievierodonetsk by cutting off their retreat. Still, it seems unlikely that the benefits of capturing a relatively small number of Ukrainian military personnel outweigh the costs of building a river crossing," ISW said.

Analysts do not see the logic in the actions of Russians - but the examples of Chornobaivka and Bilohorivka show that Russians are constantly acting against logic. And always trying to build pontoon bridges instead of those that destroyed themselves.

Fake The Ukrainian military, blocked at the Azot plant, is holding hostages

This thesis is spread by pro-Kremlin propaganda media, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. Reports say that Russian invaders allegedly "blocked 300-400 Ukrainian servicemen" on the Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk territory. Russian media also claim that the UAF fighters are "holding hostages" at the plant and "negotiating the occupiers" capture. However, this is not true.

In fact, according to StopFake fact-checkers, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to control the Azot industrial zone and chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region. Also, the Armed Forces do not hold hostages - people are hiding in the bomb shelters of the plant from the continuous Russian shelling. According to the head of the Luhansk DMA, Sergey Gaidai, Russia has failed to establish "quick and easy" control over the city, as announced. Gaidai also denied reports that "the Ukrainian military is blocked at the plant and wants to be taken, prisoner." "Information about the blockade of the Nitrogen plant is a complete lie spread by Russian propagandists. The rest of the "details" are a sick fantasy of Rodion Miroshnyk, a collaborator. Our people are holding the Sievierodonetsk industrial zone and destroying the Russian army in the city," Gaidai said.

Fake Residents of Kherson region may not repay loans taken from Ukrainian banks

This was stated by collaborator Vladimir Saldo, who was appointed by the Russian occupiers as the so-called "head" of the Kherson regional state administration. According to him, "there will be no responsibility" for non-repayable loans. The Center for Combating Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine stressed that this information is not true.