Euphoria is a psychological state in which a person experiences elation, happiness and joy that are not justified by objective conditions. It can occur during listening to music, dancing and synchronized activities, including religious rituals, parades, and public celebrations. Russian propaganda uses states of intense emotion, including feelings of intense happiness and well-being, to manipulate public opinion and promote a particular agenda or ideology. The goal of the tactic is to create a positive emotional association with a certain phenomenon or political leader, often to sway public opinion in favor of a particular point of view. Russian propaganda uses this tactic to raise morale and greater unity of certain social groups by holding mass events, spreading fake news about the unprecedented successes of the Russian army at the front, the mass deaths of Ukrainian military personnel or the destruction of equipment.

Every year on May 9, Russia celebrates Victory Day on a grand scale - loud parades are held with the participation of military equipment, concerts with military songs, flash mobs and events like the “Immortal Regiment”, where participants walk in columns holding photographs of their relatives who participated in World War II. At the same time, Russia calls this war the “Great Patriotic War”, blurring reality and leveling the role of Ukraine and other countries in the fight against Nazism. All these measures are aimed at inducing euphoria and a sense of greatness among Russians - they say those are they who defeated Nazism, flew into space, had super-powerful nuclear potential, etc.

Russia also pompously celebrates Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23, a legacy of the Soviet past. This day is a day off; there are solemn ceremonies near the Kremlin, parades, mass celebrations, laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, concerts and spectacular fireworks. All this is intended to cause euphoria in people and fuel patriotism, as well as unite them into a strong social group, which thus heroizes the Russian military and encourages them to defend Russia from imaginary enemies. On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale war in Ukraine. This happened the day after Defender of the Fatherland Day. As propagandists systematically spread fakes and manipulations promoting the narrative of the dangerous “Kyiv regime”, this prompted Russians, on a wave of euphoria, to take up arms with great enthusiasm and fight against the far-fetched Nazism on the territory of a foreign state.

In 2023, in the occupied cities of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Russians also celebrated Defender of the Fatherland Day. “In the Novoaidar district, after 8 years, schools again held lessons dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day”, wrote in the pro-Kremlin media. Let us remind you that Russian troops occupied Novoaidar in early March 2022. In the temporarily occupied territories, Russian propaganda is trying to bring back the holidays that Ukraine canceled in order to give people a feeling of euphoria and create the illusion of joy and a happy life. They say that Russia will return both the holiday and pleasant emotions to the residents of Luhansk and Donbas.

In this context, it is worth mentioning the concerts in the Russian “Luzhnyky” on the occasion of the annexation of Crimea, which the Russians call “annexation” and “return to their native harbor”. Since 2015, March 18 is a day off in Crimea, and flash mobs and public events are held in a number of Russian cities. In particular, a large concert-meeting is being held in Moscow, at which Volodymyr Putin gives a speech and to which Russian show business stars are attracted. In 2022, the concert was called “For a world without Nazism”; its characteristic feature was the justification of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, patriotism, love for Russia and support for the Russian military. Celebrations are held every year to consolidate the positive impressions of the holiday and to ensure that the public does not cool down and systematically feels the euphoria of capturing new territories.

Euphoria paralyzes the ability to think critically, so when this state begins to pass, Russian propaganda tries to feed it with fake news about an inevitable victory over Ukraine and all Western countries or to hold another concert and mass event. Thus, Russian propagandists used the “euphoria” technique, spreading fake news that the United States welcomed Russian troops with the conquest of Bakhmut, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kyryl Budanov and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi allegedly “died” - they say, the “special services” work so skillfully. This tactic is not only designed to instill joy and a sense of expected victory among the Russians and boost morale, but also to demoralize the Ukrainians.

The American edition of Newsweek disseminated information that in Ukraine there is allegedly a possibility of “replacing the military leadership of Ukraine, headed by Valerii Zaluzhnyi”. The publication refers to sources close to the Ukrainian government. An anonymous person claims that this is allegedly due to “differences in the Ukrainian leadership on offensive strategy”. It's fake.

The case was investigated by fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that this was a hoax, and there was a direct connection between the military and political leadership of Ukraine.

Such fakes are spread in order to undermine the credibility of the authorities and feed the narrative that there are alleged conflicts between the military-political leadership of Ukraine. Earlier, we refuted the fake about Valerii Zaluzhnyi who allegedly believes that the Ukrainian counteroffensive “turned into a clownery”.

Propagandists in the Russian media are spreading disinformation based on an interview with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for The Washington Post. In particular, they claim that Valerii Zaluzhnyi allegedly accuses Western partners of turning the counteroffensive into a “clownery”. It's fake.

Specialists in the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that in fact Zaluzhnyi did not say anything about clowning. At the same time, commenting on the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, he noted that despite the lack of a number of necessary types of weapons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian army “is moving forward every day, even if it is only 500 meters”. Therefore, he is “irritated” by statements that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is moving “slower than expected”.

Thus, propagandists want to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine and create a false impression of Russia's victory on the battlefield. In addition, they want to show Ukraine and its government as ungrateful for the help of Western partners.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that Russians should be “killed” as a nation. The authors refer to an interview with Zaluzhnyi edition of The Economist. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project took up this case and found out that Valerii  Zaluzhnyi did not say this. It's just a propagandist's invention. In an interview, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about the destruction of the Russian military stationed on the territory of Ukraine. He has been talking about the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. But he stressed that in a war, Russians and any other enemies need to be killed, and the Ukrainian army should not be afraid to do this. That is, Valerii Zaluzhnyi meant Russian occupiers, not civilians.

By spreading this fake, the propagandists are trying to expose the Ukrainians and the leadership as aggressors. Allegedly, the Ukrainian army is capable of killing civilians. This is how the authors whitewash themselves by hiding their true actions.

Users of the Ukrainian segment of Facebook massively complain about advertising on Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In advertising posts, they distribute a screenshot allegedly from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine with “a refutation of speculations about the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi”. The report also says that this is an official statement from the ministry and thus the authorities hide that something happened to Zaluzhnyi so that the allies continue to provide weapons. Users also distribute a screenshot of the alleged message of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, where he notes about “losing the war”, “unsuccessful counteroffensive” and “disclaimer of responsibility”. Allegedly, because of it, he disappeared from the information space. It is not true.

There is no “refutation of speculations” on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, moreover, it is not in the web archive either. So, the screenshot, which is distributed on Facebook with an alleged statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry about Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has been edited in a photo editor.

The Espresso edition drew attention to the case. They determined that this “advertising” was distributed by two accounts - “Verniom”  (We’ll return it) and “Stout Pugh”, but it is not known to whom they belong.

Regarding posts on behalf of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, there are no such statements on his Facebook page. The “advertisement” published on Facebook about Zaluzhnyi contains a photo fake and is designed to discredit the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as sow discouragement among Ukrainians.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi did not appear at the emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on June 6. Like, this once again proves that he disappeared. The authors add to the posts a photo published by the Office of the President and add that it has been edited with a photo editor. That is, according to them, Zaluzhnyi was added to the photograph. It is not true. 

Fact-checkers of the Center for Countering Disinformation explain that the photo has not been edited. To be sure, they used a special application to determine if the photos had been edited. Checking the photo gave no indication that the photo was compiled. Consequently, the authors of the messages simply threw in false information. Let us remind you that this fake is part of a series of propaganda stuffing about the “death” of the military leadership of Ukraine. So, the authors seek to demoralize the Ukrainians.

Propagandists are spreading a video on social networks, which allegedly depicts the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi in a national outfit. They claim that this is what it looks like after surgery to treat head injuries. It's fake.

Analysts of the MythDetector project drew attention to it. They found out that the video was created using a deepfake, where Zaluzhnyi's face was superimposed on an already published video of a Ukrainian blogger. In addition, propagandists previously distributed photoshopped images that allegedly show damage to the head of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This information has already been repeatedly refuted by videos and photographs showing Zaluzhnyi without injuries.

Thus, propagandists are trying to personally discredit Valerii Zaluzhnyi and cause panic among Ukrainians. Detector Media has recently repeatedly denied reports of the “death” of Zaluzhnyi.

Propagandists in the Russian media spread information that the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi is no longer alive and that he was replaced with a double. Like, in the latest videos, Zaluzhnyi has a different eye color. It's fake.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They watched the relevant videos and saw that Zaluzhnyi's eye color was still the same. The propagandists simply chose a shot that was beneficial to them, where the light falls so that the eyes appear brown, not blue. In addition, in all media materials released later, the color of the eyes is gray.

 By writing such stories, propagandists want to demoralize the Ukrainian population and cause panic among them. Like, the commander-in-chief was killed, which means that now the Ukrainian army is doomed to failure. However, they have repeatedly tried to personally discredit Zaluzhnyi and arouse distrust in him. For example, inventing fakes that he and his family are laundering funds abroad.

Screenshots of the alleged cover of the magazine with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi are distributed in the Russian segment of Facebook, telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. In the caricature, Zaluzhnyi and the Ukrainian soldiers are sitting in a boat and sailing along the Styx River - the river, according to mythology, is a transition to the other world. This cartoon is fake.

Myth Detector specialists drew attention to the case. There was no such cover in any May issue of Courrier International, including the special issue. On May 25, a cover was published with serial number 1699, which does not include Zaluzhnyi. This is the last issue of the magazine to date. However, Russian propaganda published a detailed cover on the edition numbered 1700. Also, Courrier International's website does not have this cartoon in the specials section.

Thus, propagandists are trying to show that the West is allegedly tired of the war and really supports Russia, while in Ukraine they do not value human lives. Earlier, Detector Media debunked such reports, in particular, the “cover” of The New European with a caricature of Zelenskyi.

This thesis was spread on telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Allegedly, Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi was seriously injured and had an operation. Telegram channels write that no one except the Office of the President sees him, and “one can be skeptical about this information, but publicly Zaluzhnyi has not appeared in public for a long time, which only reinforces the rumors that everything is not all right with him”. It's fake.

Information about the serious injury of Valerii Zaluzhnyi has no evidence, because this is a conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. The “death” of the Commander-in-Chief has been repeatedly refuted by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar. Also, on May 24, 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, after which he noted in his telegram that “the Commander-in-Chief, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the commanders of the Khortytsia and Tavria United strategic grouping of troops reported on operational information”. The presence of Zaluzhnyi at Headquarters was also confirmed by NSDC Secretary Oleksii Danilov, he wrote about it on Twitter.

On May 25, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, blogger and journalist Anatolii Shtefan “Stirlitz” published a video with Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In the video, Shtefan says: “Finally, on May 25, I want an open terrible secret, a very terrible secret about the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, and then the camera is moved to the side where Valerii Zaluzhnyi is sitting at the table. The Commander-in-Chief thanked all Ukrainians and said: “Together we will definitely win and not only today”.

By spreading the narrative about the elimination of Ukrainian commanders, Russian propagandists are trying to sow panic among the Ukrainian population. Allegedly, no one will protect the Ukrainians without the military leadership. Also, these narratives should demoralize the Ukrainian military and encourage the Russian occupiers. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii  Zaluzhnyi was allegedly killed, and the commander of the territorial defense units, Ihor Tantsiura, was allegedly killed in Bakhmut.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, seems to rarely appear in public space. The authors of the messages convince that Zaluznyi is actually no longer alive, or he was allegedly removed from the public space, since he “did not deserve Zelenskyi’s trust”. It is not true.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that Valerii Zaluzhnyi is still on duty. That is, this is a conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. Recently, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar also refuted this information and said that Valerii Zaluzhnyi was “on the spot”, and all the fakes in relation to the death of the commander in chief were a Russian propaganda stuffing.

By spreading this fake, propagandists seek to demoralize Ukrainians and show them that “there is no one to protect peaceful Ukrainians anymore”. Thus, propagandists sow panic among Ukrainians.

Let us remind you that we recently refuted similar fakes regarding the death of the military leadership. This was one of the cases about the commander of the territorial defense units, Ihor Tantsiura, who, according to Russian propaganda, was allegedly killed in Bakhmut.

Kremlin propaganda media and anonymous telegrams are spreading the information that the Russian military has liquidated Ukrainian commanders. It is not true.

This information was refuted by Deputy Defense Minister Anna Maliar. On her telegram, she wrote that “everyone is alive” and noted that during the week there were three messages about the liquidation of Ukrainian commanders.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to sow panic among Ukrainians. Like, they are destroying the military leadership, so soon there will be no one to defend Ukraine. The propagandists also hope to demoralize the Ukrainian military and raise the spirit of the Russians. Earlier, Detector Media denied a fake that Major General Volodymyr Oliynyk, commander of the territorial defense units, was allegedly killed in Kyiv.

Russian media are spreading reports that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi is allegedly using his daughter as a “live offshore” to acquire real estate abroad. As a result, propagandists claim that Zaluzhnyi's image in the West will “fall” like a house of cards. It's fake.

The Insider drew attention to the case. According to their research, the original source of the fake is anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. It was they who had “scans” of registration certificates for villas in Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria and in the Chilean city of Valparaiso. The authenticity of the “scans” is indicated by the English spelling of the name of Zaluzhnyi's daughter as Kristina Zaluzhnaya. Ukrainian documents use Ukrainian transliteration of names, respectively, the true option is Khrystyna Zaluzhna. In addition, the analysts of the VoxUkraine project checked the cadastral codes for real estate indicated in the “evidence” and found out that they are fake.

Thus, Russian propaganda wants to undermine the reputation of the Ukrainian military leadership abroad and cause discouragement among Ukrainians.