Pro-Russian propaganda resources are spreading statements by Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmytruk, in which he accuses President Zelenskyi of “genocide of his own people” under the leadership of “Western curators”. However, this is untrue.

This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Its experts note that Artem Dmytruk, although formally a deputy, is actually outside Ukraine, having illegally left the country. He actively cooperates with Russian propaganda, giving interviews to resources banned in the EU, in particular RT. In his speeches, Dmytruk promotes narratives about the “criminal regime of Zelenskyi” and accuses him of unleashing the war started by Russia and of the “genocide of the Ukrainian people”.

Accusations of “genocide” and other crimes are designed to undermine trust in President Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian government both among Ukrainians and internationally. Using traitors from Ukrainian politics, Russian propaganda creates the illusion of “internal resistance” in Ukraine. Dmytruk justifies Russia’s actions by shifting the blame for the war and its consequences onto Ukraine, which helps legitimize the aggression in the eyes of Russian audiences.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading information claiming that the President's Office is preparing for elections. Allegedly, state institutions in the Kharkiv region have been sent questionnaires containing questions related to support for and approval of President Zelenskyi.

However, the President's Office does not have a specific department responsible for conducting surveys. If government agencies were to organize social surveys, they would most likely hire specialized companies capable of providing such services. The inaccuracies in the questions further suggest that the forms were fabricated.

For example, according to Ukrainska Pravda, the President's Office regularly commissions private, closed surveys from sociological services. Meanwhile, the alleged survey forms do not include the name or address of the organization conducting the survey. Instead, at the bottom of the form, the address of the President's Office — Bankova Street, 11 — is listed, which points to this being a fake.

In the Russian segment of social media, users are spreading a claim that Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s company, Film Heritage Inc., allegedly purchased the Palace des Neiges hotel in Courchevel for €88 million. According to the propagandists, the hotel at the exclusive ski resort is now supposedly being prepared for renovation and reopening for the 2026-2027 winter season. As proof, they assert that information about the new owner has already been published on the hotel's website. This material was allegedly distributed by the French outlet Les Echos de la France.

However, Les Echos de la France is not a legitimate French media outlet but a “one-time” website created by malicious actors specifically to spread this narrative. Using the whois.com tool, which provides domain and IP address information, it was revealed that this domain was registered in late November 2024 on a Lithuanian server hosted by Hostinger.

This server has previously been identified in international fact-checking investigations, as Russian propaganda has used it multiple times to create fake websites for spreading disinformation.

The fake site, which was created just days earlier (on November 22), indeed claims that Film Heritage Inc. is the hotel's owner. However, no such mention appears on the legitimate hotel website. Neither any reputable Western media nor Monte-Carlo SBM - the business group that actually owns this property - reported any sales involving companies associated with Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

These so-called investigations into the property ownership of Ukrainian officials have become part of a systematic campaign to discredit them. This way, propagandists and Moscow-aligned entities aim to depict Ukraine as rife with corruption — which could further harm Ukraine’s European integration path, as combating and reducing corruption is one of the key requirements for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

Other similar fabricated cases which related to the acquisition of real estate with stolen funds include Zelenskyi allegedly purchasing a villa once owned by Hitler’s propaganda minister Goebbels for €8 million, and Zelenskyi’s mother-in-law supposedly acquiring a villa on the coast of Egypt using Western humanitarian aid intended for Ukraine.

Russian propagandists are spreading false claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly bought the Palace des Neiges hotel in Courchevel. According to them, the hotel has 70 rooms, a spa area, a swimming pool, and a restaurant, and its reopening is planned for 2026–2027, upon completion of renovations. However, this is a fake.

This was reported by the Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security. Its experts remind that such statements are part of a systematic Russian propaganda campaign, which since the beginning of the full-scale invasion has been circulating fakes that the Zelenskyi family is buying luxury real estate and luxury items. Previous alleged purchases include Sting’s villa, a royal residence in the UK, Goebbels' estate, and even Hitler's limousine.

These falsehoods have been repeatedly debunked as they lack any evidence. The goal of such manipulations is to discredit the President of Ukraine in the eyes of the public and international partners. The propaganda aims to create the illusion that the Ukrainian government is indulging in luxury and engaging in corruption during the war, allegedly misusing international aid. 

Pro-Russian Telegram channels are spreading information that Dmytro Savchenko, an officer of the 1st Separate Assault Battalion “Da Vinci” of the 67th 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, allegedly criticized the interview of the President of Ukraine for the FoxNews channel, in which Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke about the probable defeat of Ukraine in the event of a reduction in aid from the United States. The propagandists attribute the following quote to Savchenko: “We need to remind the [overdue one] that it is not the Americans who have been saving Ukraine since 2014. But Ukrainians - with their blood, their homes, their bodies, their savings”. The propagandists add that, allegedly, according to Savchenko, Zelenskyi usurped power after May 20, 2024 and continues to lie to Ukrainians.

In fact, this is another fake, Savchenko did not say anything of the sort. The propagandists refer to the unreliable Ukrainian media, which is known for publishing outright fake and unverified materials, in which numerous violations of journalistic standards can be traced. In addition, Savchenko did not publish any such information on his social media. And the words that the propagandists attribute to Savchenko were not repeated by any reliable sources.

This piece of disinformation is intended to fuel the Russian narrative about the “illegitimacy of Zelenskyi”. Previously, we recorded numerous fakes being spread as part of this narrative. In particular, we refuted the information that posters with the overdue - or “expired” - Zelenskyi allegedly appeared in Kyiv.

Propaganda Telegram channels claim that in 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly sold a third of Ukraine to BlackRock, transferring the country's economic sovereignty to the United States. However, this is actually manipulation.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes about this. Its experts found out that back in November 2022, the Ukrainian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BlackRock to attract investment in the restoration of Ukraine. This is standard international practice, not “selling the country”. The propaganda ignores that by 2022, Russia itself was actively cooperating with BlackRock, and after the start of the war, it lost access to global capital markets. Now Russian resources are being sold to investors from the Middle East, but this is being kept silent.

The aim of this disinformation is to sow distrust among Ukrainian citizens towards the leadership, accusing it of “betraying” national interests. Russia also creates an image of a “cunning West” that allegedly “exploits” Ukraine for its own purposes, contrasting this with Russia’s “protective” position. The Kremlin uses such fakes to distract attention from its own economic problems, such as the sale of resources to foreign investors due to sanctions. The goal is to undermine international trust in Ukraine, making partners doubt its sovereignty and independence.

A Polish pro-Russian Telegram channel has spread information that the Verkhovna Rada has “declared war” on the tombstones of fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, on which they are allegedly depicted together with Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Thus, relatives of fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, on whose tombstones a joyful Zelenskyi is allegedly depicted with a soldier “on a shield”, must remove the image of the Ukrainian president from the tombstone within 60 days. Otherwise, as the propagandists write, local authorities “will simply dismantle the tombstone”. In reporting this, the pro-Russian Telegram channel refers to a video in which information is provided in Ukrainian.

In fact, this is another fake of propagandists. There is no such resolution on the official portal of the Verkhovna Rada. Also, no reliable Ukrainian media published such information. In addition, in the subtitles to the video, the fakers made a mistake, writing the word “dismantles” with an extra letter “u”.

After all, it is not at all common practice in Ukraine to depict President Zelenskyi at the graves of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, although the video states that there are “at least 21,400 such cases”. The data provided is unfounded, and its source is not indicated.

The aim of the fake is to discredit President Zelenskyi and desecrate the culture of memory in Ukraine. We have repeatedly recorded similar fakes that speculate on the graves of fallen Ukrainian soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, earlier we refuted the information that Ukrainians had destroyed the grave of a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who died in Mariupol.

Russian anonymous Telegram channels are actively disseminating a statement by American commentator Jackson Hinkle that Zelenskyi should allegedly “thank Putin and God” for avoiding a ballistic missile strike. This statement is part of an information campaign aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian leadership and justifying Russian aggression.

Experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security have found that Jackson Hinkle is a propagandist who has repeatedly spoken out in support of Moscow. His actions are part of Russia’s information operations aimed at an American audience. In fact, the ballistic missile strike that Russia used on November 21 is an escalatory step that violates international law. This type of missile is usually designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Such an act is not only a terrorist attack, but also a demonstration of disregard for diplomatic norms. It serves as a tool of blackmail, trying to intimidate the international community.

In this way, propagandists try to create an image of Russia's “peacefulness” and Ukraine's allegedly provocative role. Propaganda also tries to convince people that Western allies support “Ukrainian aggression”. They legitimize further Russian crimes, such as nuclear blackmail.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading manipulation of Zelenskyi’s statement about Crimea, referring to the Ukrainian president’s interview with the American channel Fox News. In particular, they are promoting the thesis that the return of Crimea is “worth forgetting”.

“We cannot spend tens of thousands of our people dying for the return of Crimea. We understand that Crimea can be returned diplomatically”, the propagandists quote.

Russian propaganda manipulated Zelenskyi’s words, and this is reported by StopFake. That is, this quote is real, but taken out of context and used to “confirm” the thesis that the president of Ukraine allegedly recognized the captured Crimea as “lost”.

Initially, the interview discussed the issue of the likelihood of territorial concessions as such in order to reach peace agreements with Russia. Zelenskyi called such a scenario impossible and emphasized that Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of the territories even before the full-scale invasion in 2014. The answer about the “possibility of returning Crimea through diplomatic channels” was given in response to the correspondent’s clarifying question about “the readiness to give up Crimea in order to find a peace agreement”. After all, earlier in the interview, the president noted that Ukraine currently does not have enough forces to reach the 1991 borders through armed means.

Russian propagandists often spread manipulative information about the occupied territories, which concerns both the coverage of the situation on the front and public sentiment. In addition, Russian propagandists have once again resorted to substituting concepts. Since the thesis about the diplomatic path of returning the annexed Crimea does not define it as “lost” for Ukraine.

Read more: 85% of the population of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine allegedly supports Putin.

Russian media is spreading disinformation that the Ukrainian military leadership is allegedly restricting access to reliable information for the Ukrainian president in order to remove him from office. This statement is based on the words of the so-called British expert Alexander Mercouris. However, it is untrue.

This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Mercouris is the editor-in-chief of the pro-Russian English-language website The Duran, which regularly disseminates Kremlin narratives. He is presented on Russian channels as a “Greek political scientist” or a “British expert”, although he is known for his scandalous reputation. Mercuris previously worked at the Royal Court of Justice of the United Kingdom, but was disqualified from practicing law for creating fake letters and fabricating false stories.

Such statements are aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian leadership, creating tension, and undermining trust in the Ukrainian president. They are part of a broader information war waged by Russia.

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service is spreading a statement about the alleged US preparations for holding elections in Ukraine with the aim of removing Volodymyr Zelenskyi, which is part of a large-scale information campaign against the Ukrainian government. This message, launched back in November 2023, has been reinforced since the spring of 2024 by fakes about the West's plans to remove Zelenskyi from power. This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

Such disinformation messages are part of the operation Maidan-3, aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Ukraine, in particular by discrediting the initiatives of the President of Ukraine, such as the Peace Formula and the Victory Plan. In light of these manipulations, the Ukrainian authorities have also repeatedly explained the legal impossibility of holding elections during martial law, refuting speculations about a change of power through foreign influence. The goal of this approach is to create the illusion of an alleged loss of support for Ukraine from Western partners, focusing on false claims about the “unrealistic” nature of Ukrainian peace initiatives.

The purpose of spreading this fake is to try to undermine Ukrainians' trust in President Zelenskyi and discredit him in the eyes of the international community. It also aims to sow doubts among Ukrainians about the stability of their government and relations with international partners.

A screenshot of a message on the Facebook page of the OCU priest Roman Hryshchuk has been circulated online, in which he allegedly cursed those who laugh at President Zelenskyi's Victory Plan.

“Such behavior means only one thing: the person has nothing human left, and Satan has already taken over his mind. Therefore, I curse everyone who lost their minds today and insulted the President of Ukraine”, the post says.

However, this is a fake photo. The fakers edited Roman Hryshchuk’s message, replacing the original text with “curses”. The real post was about what to do if a priest curses.

In fact, the caption to the post and the video itself were about what to do if a priest curses. Hryshchuk indicated that a subscriber approached him with this question, since, according to her, a local priest cursed some of the parishioners. He did not say the words that the propagandists cited, moreover, Hryshchuk did not make statements about Zelenskyi or the Victory Plan. Fake news sites replaced the original text of the message with “curses”.

The Internet is spreading alleged “announcements” about a poetry competition for the Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language, which allegedly took place on October 27 in Ukrainian schools. In this announcement, schoolchildren are asked to write poems on the topics “We are ready to die for the Motherland” and “Volodymyr Zelenskyi is our immortal leader”.

But in Ukraine there is no holiday called “Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language”. On October 27, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language. In 1997, the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma supported the initiative of public organizations and signed decree No. 1241/97 “On the Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language”, which was celebrated on November 9 until 2023. Considering that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine switched to the new Julian calendar style, the Day of Ukrainian Literature and Language was moved to October 27.

Or the text itself contains many errors, indicating that the author of this “advertisement” has a poor command of the Ukrainian language. For example, the sentence “Poems glorifying Ukraine and fighting enemies!” is syntactically incorrect, since poems cannot “fight” enemies.

We have documented fakes many times, whether they involve fake graffiti, foreign magazine covers/newspaper columns, or advertising videos. In this way, propagandists aim to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Zelenskyi is hated by the whole world) is also repeated in the West. This may make readers think that the public is really unhappy with Ukraine. And especially when the authors use elements of popular culture, implying that people are laughing at the situation in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian agenda is a reason for Europe to laugh.

Propagandists are spreading information on anonymous Telegram channels that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly deliberately destroying the Ukrainian people under the pretext of war in order to turn Ukraine into a camp for migrants from Europe and transfer all the country's resources to Western corporations. However, this is not true.

This message is a typical example of Russian disinformation aimed at undermining morale and creating panic. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was an act of aggression on the part of Russia, not a conscious policy of the Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine is defending itself against an aggressor that has violated international law and the country's sovereignty. President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian leadership are fighting to preserve the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, not to “destroy the people”. Their goal is to preserve the Ukrainian state and protect its population from threats from the aggressor.

The claim that Ukraine will be used as a “migrant camp” is a completely baseless conspiracy theory. Ukraine seeks to integrate into the European community as a full partner, and there is no indication that the country will become a hub for migrants deported from the EU. Such rumors are classic Russian attempts to stoke fears and social instability. The claim that Ukrainians are “fighting to give resources to Western corporations” is part of anti-Western propaganda. Ukraine receives aid from Western countries to protect itself from Russian aggression, not to give up its resources. This aid is aimed at supporting the defense and reconstruction of the country. The use of ethnic stereotypes and hints at “outsiders” who are supposedly going to take over Ukraine is an attempt to sow discord among Ukrainians and undermine the unity of society. Such narratives are dangerous and are intended to create an atmosphere of mistrust and fear.

Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Zelenskyi and his government in order to reduce public support and sow doubts about the motives of the war for Ukraine's independence. In this way, propagandists are also trying to present Western aid as a threat to Ukraine's sovereignty, which is not true. These types of messages are aimed at emotional influence in order to demoralize Ukrainian society, spread fear and doubt about the country's future.

A Polish pro-Russian Telegram channel has spread information that Hezbollah has struck Israel with “rockets” allegedly signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. A fragment of a 155-millimeter artillery shell found near the Israeli city of Haifa allegedly contains Zelenskyi's signature. In reporting this, the propagandists cite “local media”, in particular The Jerusalem Post.

The response message adds that Zelenskyi had previously visited a military ammunition plant in the American city of Scranton, where he inspected the work of the military-industrial complex and called for an increase in ammunition supplies to Ukraine. At the same time, as the propagandists report, ammunition from this plant was delivered directly to the Hezbollah warehouse or was resold by the Ukrainian side.

In fact, there is no real evidence that Hezbollah fired shells with Zelenskyi's signature at Israel. The Ukrainian president did visit the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in September 2024 during a visit to the United States and left his signature on some shells. However, these shells could not have reached Hezbollah, since the Scranton plant is fully loaded with Ukrainian supplies.

After all, The Jerusalem Post, which the propagandists cite, did not report on its website or social media that Hezbollah had fired shells at Israel with Zelenskyi’s signature.

Pro-Russian sources are distributing a photo of what appears to be the cover of the Scottish newspaper The National with the headline “Zelenskyi provokes nuclear crisis” on the front page. The newspaper also asks: “Why does Zelenskyi's victory plan pose a threat to the world's nuclear security?”

In fact, The National did not publish such material, and the newspaper's cover was edited. This is written about in the StopFake project. In its official account on the X social network, the publication published what the issue of The National for October 18, 2024 looked like. The front page did not contain any news about Volodymyr Zelenskyi or Ukraine in general. It was about the ceremonial farewell to former Scottish Prime Minister Alex Salmond, who died of a heart attack on October 12, 2024.

Russians have been speculating on the topic of nuclear weapons since the publication of the Victory Plan by Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his statement that the guarantee of security for Ukraine could be either nuclear weapons (which the state renounced in 1996) or NATO membership. Despite the fact that the president clarified that Ukraine is not developing and does not plan to restore nuclear weapons, Putin has already managed to accuse Ukraine of provocations. However, it is Russia that regularly uses nuclear blackmail as an instrument of foreign policy.

Previously, we analyzed the Russian message that Ukraine was trying to provoke Russia into a nuclear strike.

Russian Telegram channels are distributing a photo of graffiti that allegedly appeared in London. According to the propagandists, it was created on a wall under a bridge near Paul McCartney's house. The graffiti allegedly depicts The Beatles with Volodymyr Zelenskyi “stealing a wallet” from George Harrison.

In fact, this information is not true. This fake first began to spread in August 2024, and now it has been given a “second life”. This is reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation. There is no real evidence of the existence of such graffiti. Also, not a single reliable British publication reported on such a drawing in London. The fact that the graffiti image is fake is also indicated by the fact that it is being distributed mainly in the Russian segment of social networks and among pro-Russian foreign audiences.

With this disinformation, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian president, in particular, before a Western audience. We have already documented such fakes many times. For example, about graffiti with an F-16 aircraft lost in Ukraine, which allegedly appeared near the Pentagon.

Propagandists are spreading information on social networks that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly bought Hitler's ceremonial car for $15 million. However, this is a fake.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council reports on this. Its experts found out that this fake comes from the Seattle Tribune website, created just five days ago, and the article with this information does not have an indicated author. The material presents a photo of a car allegedly parked near the President's Office, and claims that it was published by a well-known Ukrainian Telegram channel. However, there is no such photo on the aforementioned Telegram channel.

This fake is one of many aimed at personally discrediting the President of Ukraine and his family. Propagandists are trying to present Volodymyr Zelenskyi as a person making wasteful and provocative purchases during the war, undermining his reputation and reducing the level of trust in him. By spreading fake news about the leadership's misconduct, propagandists are trying to sow distrust among Ukrainian society and reduce support for government institutions. The choice of Hitler's car in the fake is intended to evoke associations with Nazism, which is part of Kremlin propaganda that constantly tries to create an image of the Ukrainian government as “neo-Nazi”.

Propagandists claim on social networks that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly hid from the Russian army in bunkers for two days. They say it was impossible to reach him by phone. Russian propaganda is spreading this information with reference to a statement by former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. However, this is manipulation.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Security draws attention to it. Its specialists found out that Russian propaganda distorted Stoltenberg’s words in an interview with the FT, in which he actually spoke about communication difficulties and enhanced security measures that had to be resorted to in the first days of a full-scale invasion, when Russian troops were in close proximity to Kyiv. Commenting on Zelenskyi’s behavior after the start of the full-scale invasion, Stoltenberg admitted that he “completely underestimated” the Ukrainian president.

Propaganda is trying to present the Ukrainian president as a weak, indecisive leader who allegedly hides at critical moments rather than acts. Russian propaganda is also trying to deflect criticism of Volodymyr Putin, who is often called a bunker dictator due to his isolationist tendencies and fears for his own safety. The spread of fake information about Zelenskyi aims to remove this image from Putin and reduce the severity of criticism directed at him.

Pro-Russian telegram channels spread information that almost no one came to see President Zelenskyi speak from the UN rostrum at the 79th General Assembly of the organization. The hall was allegedly almost empty, only a few people came. The propagandists explained this by saying that everyone was simply tired of the “Ukrainian crisis”.

However, this information is fake. If one watches the broadcast of the speech of the President of Ukraine, one can see the opposite. Representatives of delegations of many countries were present in the hall. In particular, this is clearly noticeable at 2:21 and 14:23 minutes of the video.

This disinformation was spread as part of a campaign to discredit Zelenskyi, also feeding the narrative of his “illegitimacy” after May 21, 2024. The propagandists fear the all-round support of Ukraine by its partners, so they claim that in reality everyone is already fed up with the “Ukrainian crisis”.

Read also: Show-off against the backdrop of global problems: how Russian propaganda portrays Zelenskyi’s visit to the US – MediaSapiens.

A number of pro-Russian internet users have spread the “news” that the newly elected Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum allegedly explained her refusal to visit Ukraine by saying that if she wanted to see a “drug addict” (allegedly referring to Zelenskyi), she would have taken a walk in the Mexican city of Tijuana.

However, this information is not true. This is reported by journalists from the StopFake project. The original source of the disinformation is social network user X Olha Bazova. She publishes and distributes pro-Russian messages, although the description of this profile in English states: “I specialize in humorous political analysis, exposing hypocrisy and satire”. In response to her post, the author of the account even noted that this was a joke and the President of Mexico did not make such statements. However, part of the audience perceived the statement as true (as was intended), and distributed the “news” without specifying that it was fake.

It should be noted that the newly elected Mexican president did indeed decline an invitation to visit Ukraine. However, she explained this by saying that she wanted to focus on the domestic political situation, and not “unwillingness to meet with drug addict Zelenskyi”. Claudia Sheinbaum does not plan to travel much in office, and therefore will only attend the most important international events. The president also added that she will continue her predecessor's policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries and will support the peaceful resolution of all conflicts.

Recently, the Mexican Foreign Ministry sent Putin an invitation to the inauguration of the new president, but another Russian representative will attend the ceremony instead. Ukraine has called on the state to arrest the Russian president if he arrives, since Mexico recognizes the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023, but the Mexican side has rejected this request as well.

With this fake news, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Zelenskyi and claim that international leaders are neglecting the Ukrainian president. We previously wrote about the fake news that Zelenskyi was invited to speak at a drug rehabilitation center because he is a “good role model”.

Russian propaganda resources are spreading false claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly trying to use tricks to drag the United States into a war with Russia. The propagandists claim that during his visit to the United States, Zelenskyi wanted to obtain permission to strike Russian territory and thus drag Washington into direct military action. This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

In fact, Ukraine is developing cooperation with the United States and other Western partners solely to obtain support for the defense of its territorial integrity in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. Kyiv does not seek to drag the West into war. Permission to use Western long-range weapons against targets in Russia is necessary to weaken the aggressor and force it to sit down at the negotiating table on fair terms.

This fake is part of Russia’s information campaign aimed at intimidating Western countries and attempting to undermine their resolve to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine. The narrative of “escalation leading to war between the US and Russia” is used to create tension and fear among Western partners in order to force them to reduce their support for Ukraine.

Former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly started a war against the Russian-speaking population of Donbas by launching an anti-terrorist operation during which the Ukrainian army allegedly killed women, children and innocent people. This was noted by the Center for Countering Disinformation.

The Center's experts explain that the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas was a response to the Russian-backed armed aggression that began after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ukraine did not initiate the war, but acted within the framework of international law, defending its territory and citizens from pro-Russian separatists and Russian troops. The accusation of mass murder of civilians is part of the Kremlin's disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian government and justifying its aggressive actions.

Russia is trying to create an image of Ukraine as an aggressor country that violates the rights of the Russian-speaking population. This is done in order to justify its actions on the international stage, in particular the occupation of Crimea and support for militants in Donbas. The spread of such fakes is aimed at causing tensions between different ethnic and linguistic groups in Ukraine, especially among Russian-speaking citizens, which could lead to internal destabilization. Russia is also trying to influence public opinion in Europe and the United States in order to reduce support for Ukraine from the international community. With such statements, the Kremlin seeks to portray the conflict in Donbas as an internal civil conflict, rather than an act of external aggression.

Russian propaganda resources, citing Mira Terada, an “international human rights activist” and head of the Foundation for Combating Repression, are spreading information about the alleged supply of Ukrainian children to British pedophiles through the Olena Zelenska Foundation. Terada also claims that Ukrainian women are forced to give birth to children.

In fact, this is another fake, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports. Mera Terada did not provide any evidence for her words. In addition, the so-called “international human rights activist” is Russian, and her real name is Oksana Vovk. She is known for having spent almost four years in prison in the United States for money laundering and violating anti-drug laws.

After serving her sentence, Terada returned to Russia, where she headed the Anti-Repression Foundation, founded by war criminal and former head of the Wagner group Pryhozhyn.

The so-called foundation regularly spreads fakes about Ukraine and its allies. And the “international human rights activist” herself personally and through her “foundation” spreads fakes throughout Ukraine.

Propagandists on anonymous Telegram channels are spreading information that the West is actively discussing a possible replacement for Zelenskyi. They say he has lost the trust of his partners. This was stated, in particular, by Russian propaganda favorite Scott Ritter.

However, these claims have no basis and are absolutely groundless. This is what experts from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security point out. They note that Scott Ritter is a well-known propagandist who is actively used by Russian propaganda. He is a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, convicted in 2011 for pedophilia and other crimes. He was released on parole after 2.5 years in prison.

The message that the West is allegedly “looking for a replacement for Zelenskyi” is part of Russian propaganda aimed at convincing Ukrainians of Ukraine’s lack of sovereignty and excessive dependence on the West. These messages also aim to discredit the Ukrainian leadership by creating an image of the president as a loser who is about to be eliminated at the behest of his “overseas masters”.