Comments issued by pro-Ukrainian ones appear by the dozens under posts on public platforms, particularly Facebook. In fact, a significant portion of them may be spread by Russian bots. As can be seen from the screenshot, the same bots can express extremely different positions. For example, they can simultaneously support Russia's aggression against Ukraine, hate Russia, and wish Ukraine victory. This is a vivid example of how the Russian propaganda machine works, whose goal is not only to increase the number of Russian supporters and distort reality, but also to sow discord in Ukrainian society. Thus, thanks to scandals in social networks that may arise as a reaction to bot comments, Ukrainians are turned against each other, increasing the level of aggression and misunderstanding in society. Read MediaSapiens' text to find out how the botform works from the inside.

This is revealed by the British Foreign Office An expert study funded by Britain has shown exactly how Russia has developed a disinformation campaign designed to manipulate international public opinion about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, build support for the war, and recruit new sympathizers. This study has not yet been published. According to MediaSapiens, the British Foreign Office, citing this study, reported that in addition to Ukraine, Russia had targeted British ministers and world leaders from a number of countries. Traces of the deal were found on eight platforms, including Telegram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. In particular, according to the British Foreign Office, Russia's "troll factory" used Telegram to recruit and coordinate new fans, who then attacked the social media profiles of Kremlin critics, sending comments in favor of Vladimir Putin and Russia's war against Ukraine. Read more.

Semyon Pegov, a Russian journalist and war correspondent, filmed a story seemingly near Avdeevka, where a Russian soldier shoots down a Ukrainian drone with an anti-aircraft gun. The journalist talks about the successes of the Russian army against the background of the shots. This information could have been believed were it not for the beginning of the story, which Pegov apparently forgot to cut. He returns to the military man and signals that he is ready to turn on.

Russia printed an "urgent issue" of a newspaper in Transnistria, which talks about terrorist attacks and an allegedly official appeal of the region's residents to Russian President Vladimir Putin for help. This was reported by the "South" operational command.

"Operative way received information about sabotage - circulation of newspaper "Pridnestrovie" dated May 2, 2022 with allegedly official appeal of Transnistrian residents to Putin with a request for protection from attack of Ukrainian Armed Forces. By announcing this provocation, the actions of hostile forces are discredited," reported UC Yug. On April 30, the Telegram channel Nexta Live allegedly published a page of a special edition of the newspaper Pridnestrovie, dated May 2, 2022. Among the materials were an "appeal" by local residents to Russian President Vladimir Putin and a report of "numerous attacks" on the region.

It also referred to "dozens of people killed. In the "appeal," locals allegedly asked him "to activate the Russian army" in Transnistria.

Editor-in-chief of Pridnestrovie Alexander Karasev denied the authenticity of this page, saying that it was a fake and that the publication had not prepared such a special edition, writes the Moldovan edition NewsMaker.

Russian provocations in Transnistria, the occupied region of Moldova, have intensified in recent days. A few days earlier, the Russian military stated that their goal was to take over the south of Ukraine in order to have another exit to Transnistria.

Kremlin propagandists are spreading information that on Saturday, April 30, the Russian side reported the "evacuation" of 46 people from Mariupol.

"The Russian Defense Ministry reports that two groups of civilians, a total of 46 people, left the residential buildings adjacent to Azovstal on April 30 and were provided with lodging and food," RIA Novosti reported.

Later, Kremlin media outlets and channels telegraphed the evacuation of two groups of people, and one of them wanted to leave for Russia. After that, Russian media began to circulate videos of one of the evacuees complaining that the Ukrainian military, which she called "militants," "were not letting people out of Azovstal. Another allegedly evacuated man says that mines flew "only from the direction of the Azovstal plant," and was wounded as a result.

The pro-Kremlin channel of TV host Vladimir Solovyov distributed an exclusive video of the Azovstal evacuation on the morning of May 1, where a Red Cross representative says that there were 21 people in the party, among them several children and one woman with a bandaged arm. According to their information, the people were supposed to spend the night in a Russian filtration camp for refugees in the village of Bezimennoye and go to Zaporizhia.

Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, confirmed that it was possible to evacuate civilians from Azovstal. A total of 20 people were evacuated, including women and children. There is no confirmation of the rest of the evacuated people either by the Azov Regiment or the Red Cross.

This was reported in a telegram by the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andriushchenko.

"Today this photo went massively on Russian sub-publics, as if a trophy obtained in battle from the Ukrainian military. In fact, this medal is one of the exhibits of the Mariupol local history museum. Which was stolen the other day, along with paintings by Quindzhi and a unique library.

We are waiting for the appearance of "wheelbarrow", machine gun "Maxim" or German MP40 as a proof of Nazism in Mariupol. Feycomets are looters...", - he noted.

The head of the Kherson regional organization of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Dementii Bilyi, said that in temporarily occupied Kherson, the collaborators spread the message that they were not going to hold a referendum. This began after the Russians failed to organize a referendum on the creation of a pseudo-republic of the "Kherson People's Republic" ("KPR") and recognition of the occupied government.

According to him, in addition to the desire of the Russians, it takes a lot of people to hold a "referendum."

"Ballots can be printed and distributed on APCs or Tigers guarded by machine guns. But commissions are needed to organize the voting. Lots of commissions. And someone has to send people to these commissions. Some party or public organization or council of deputies. A small group of traitors, which the occupants managed to recruit during two months of occupation, is clearly not enough for this complex process," wrote Belyy in Facebook.

According to him, without members of the commissions, without officials with at least some lists of voters, without agitators who will tell them that "it is necessary to participate in the voting," without the media, posters of information posters - it is impossible to organize at least some "semblance " voting.

"Thousands of military personnel with machine guns and in balaclavas will not be able to tear the Kafirs away from the fighting so that they would spend the whole day in all the villages and towns in the region handing out ballots and then counting the votes. And, most importantly, there are not that many willing voters in Kherson oblast to at least hold that "referendum. The absolute majority of the region's residents are hostile to the idea from the KNR," explains the political scientist.

On April 16, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova reported that the Russian military is planning to hold a pseudo-referendum in the Kherson region in early May. On 25 April, the Russian military seized the building of Kherson city council.

According to the National Police of Ukraine, a fake cyberpolice chatbot - "People's Avenger" was created in Telegram.

The agency explains that through the real bot you can report the location of Russian equipment or left tags. In total, Ukrainians sent more than 47 thousand messages to the bot. "Because of such results, the invaders are on fire, so they create fake bots of the National Police. So they are trying to somehow minimize their losses and get your messages instead of Ukrainian law enforcers. Be vigilant and don't give the orcs any chance to mislead you. Report the actions of the invaders only through official resources", the law enforcers said.

Margarita Simonyan admitted that any propaganda videos produced by RT are deleted on average in two minutes on social networks.

"The problem is that we are blocked everywhere, everyone is under sanctions, so it doesn't matter whether it's our own brand or another brand, they immediately find where their ears grow from and immediately cover it up, two minutes is the average life of our video." To spread its own propaganda, RT plans to post videos of prisoners and civilians it records in Russian-occupied territories, translate them into European languages, and encourage Russians to spread them in personal messages to people living in Europe. She called this attempt to spread Russian propaganda a "people's information militia."

"There is no other way out - centrally on other platforms it doesn't work. We are being burned out." Recall that most of the recordings of captives and citizens forcibly removed to Russia were recorded under pressure and under the supervision of the FSB.

According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine the Navy, taking advantage of the emotional state of relatives and loved ones of military personnel, the attackers call from hidden numbers and offer to facilitate the release of their loved ones from captivity for a monetary reward. ""Thus, the attackers also want to know the personal data of Ukrainian defenders. Representatives of military authorities or state institutions do not collect funds! The issues of the release of prisoners of war are in the exclusive competence of the state authorities only," the message reads. "

According to MediaSapiens, offers to vote for one of the TV channels are sent to users in personal messages. In the text of the message they add a link to "voting," which was created through Russian Tilda. However, the message does not describe the conditions, reasons, or other details of the so-called voting. Fraudsters only offer to choose between "1+1" and "Inter", and then ask to log into your Instagram account and enter your data to enter the social network It is clear that people do not get any money after that, because this is a typical fraudulent scheme. According to MediaSapiens, after that users' accounts are hacked and messages are sent to their pages "with a request to lend 3,000 hryvnias".

Throughout April 19, the Russian propaganda media and pro-Russian telegram channels were actively spreading the video of "that terrible explosion at Azovstal." In particular, it appeared in the "Trukha-Ukraine" telegram channel. The short video does indeed show something exploding, but it is not an explosion at the Azovstal plant, but explosions at ammunition depots in Balakleya, which occurred in 2017. The fake video was brought to the attention of Toronto Television. Previously, the Russian occupants struck Azovstal with super-heavy air bombs. There were at least 1,000 civilians in the underground shelters of the steel mill. According to Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, the Mariupol plant was bombed and destroyed almost completely, Ukrainian fighters are pulling people out from under the rubble. As a reminder, Russian TV channels, including the Russian Ministry of Defense channel, are spreading information that there are allegedly no civilians hiding in the shelters of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. They try to convince us that the video with the civilians was not filmed at the plant, but "in other shelters. This is not the first time that Russia has assured that there are no civilians in the facilities it hits. In this way the Russian Ministry of Defense seeks to justify the crimes of its military on the territory of Ukraine. However, this always turns out to be untrue and peaceful people are killed by Russian strikes.

Reports that Ukrainians can get back the value added tax they paid are spreading in social networks. In particular in Facebook. Messages of such content appear in the network not for the first time. In a message advertised on Facebook, a page called UA News with stolen branding TSN informs that "every resident of Ukraine can get a refund of value added tax from 7000 to 90 000 hryvnia". And in order to get the money, you need to follow the link and click "get compensation." "Next, you are assured that you are on the official website of the authorized unit for financial protection of the population - EKC PNGK. Probably, you mean the Unified Compensation Center for the Return of Unpaid Monetary Funds, which does not exist in Ukraine! Scammers engage in phishing, because they ask you to specify an email and the last six digits of the bank card number you use most often (!). Of course if you use it often, there is most likely money on it. The purpose of such scheme is to trick you into giving out your personal confidential data. Most likely, having specified this data, the next step is to enter the card expiration date and CVV2 code. Thus, the attackers will get access to all the funds in the account", - write the fact checkers of the project "Brekhunets".

The Kremlin media spread disinformation materials about how "the Ukrainian regime, imitating the Third Reich, sends children to war," according to the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. For this purpose, they use videos imitating interviews with children deported from Ukraine during the war.

According to the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, the main targets of the enemy are first of all civil servants, whose phones, according to the occupiers, can be used to collect confidential information.

Russians in Kherson distribute false leaflets in which they convince that "the Russian armed forces are not at war with the Ukrainian people," and that the war began because of "Western plans" to destroy the Russian and Ukrainian peoples. The war itself is called an operation to eliminate the anti-people Kyiv regime.

The leaflets blame the Ukrainians themselves and their elected authorities for the Russian aggression: "the grief you have suffered is the result of the criminal policies of the Kiev regime.

Such actions by Russian propagandists are a direct admission that this war has nothing to do with the mythical "defense of Donbass. Its goal is the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and the occupation of all of Ukraine, the press service noted.

Ukrainians are urged to collaborate with the Russians and noted: "Do not think it will be quick and painless." This statement becomes especially relevant given that, according to satellite images from the company Planet Lab, at least 824 new graves have appeared in the city cemetery in Kherson during the occupation.

As of today, Ukrainian and international investigators are thoroughly investigating all the crimes committed by the Russians. They will be evidence for a special tribunal over both the direct perpetrators and the Russian top brass.

Fraudsters have created a fake website similar to the website of the "Help is easy!" program, which is a charity foundation of PrivatBank.

The bank's press service warns that the fake copy aims to steal personal financial data of Ukrainians.

"PrivatBank does not make benefit payments through websites! The bank's charity programs work to provide centralized assistance to the AFU and humanitarian organizations.

If you received notifications about such fakes, you should by no means follow the link to fraudulent resources! We do not work to stop and eliminate this and similar fraudulent resources," - say the bank.

The Russian media and state officials, including Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova, lie that people who find themselves in Russia voluntarily go there from the occupied territories - both those occupied in the last 8 years and those seized during the 2022 invasion.

Numerous testimonies of people taken to Russia, as well as other facts, confirm that this is being done forcibly. First, the Russian military purposely blocks green corridors - and people have no choice but to leave the shelling for Russian territory. Second, they are placed in filtration camps, interrogated by FSB officers, have their documents and cell phones taken away, and are threatened to receive Russian publicity.

StopFake writes more about the forced removal of Ukrainians to the Russian Federation.

Information about a new fraud scheme with an international scope under the guise of an American foundation and the name of the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany is spreading on the net. As factcheckers from "On the Other Side of the News" write, a fake fundraiser was announced to save poor children in Ukraine.

According to the reports, on March 26 Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, posted a profile on Facebook and on the 28th he started obsessively asking for money to support Ukrainian refugee children. The messages use emotional triggers like "urgency," "hunger," "disease," "human trafficking," etc., and there is also a link to a "rescue fund" page." It's all a scam, however. ""There is only an official page of the Ukrainian embassy in Germany on Facebook. The ambassador's account is actually only on Twitter. Through his profile Mr. Melnyk mostly appeals to world leaders, sanctions, embargoes and military support for Ukraine, but he does not collect donations from users of social networks and does not advertise any foundations.

As for the fund itself, it, like the ambassador's page, looks real, but in fact is fake. If the con artists used the ambassador from Germany for the deal, the foundation was stolen in the United States. The foundation page is carefully copied from the Save the Children organization. The logo, tabs, addresses, photos - everything imitates the real organization, which is now engaged in, among other things, helping children affected by war in Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries where military conflicts are ongoing or may arise," the fact checkers report.

In particular, Russian propaganda media reported on the shelling by Ukraine of a border guard unit in Kursk Region, bordering Sumy Region. According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, as of April 14, there had already been several "terrorist attacks" on the Russian border, which the Russian leadership accuses of being carried out by Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups. In addition to the "terrorist attack" in Kursk Region, the Russian Federal Security Service reported that on April 14, a border checkpoint in Bryansk Region was shelled from Ukraine, which damaged two vehicles, but no one was injured. The so-called terrorist attacks from Ukraine as a method of provocation were reported the other day by the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. According to the Center, the enemy will carry out a series of terrorist acts at the Russian border consolidation of Russians against Ukrainians.

The fraudsters' messages say that allegedly at the link everyone officially working has the opportunity to receive monetary support from the state in the amount of 3000 hryvnias. According to the fact-checkers of "Stop Fake Dnipro" project, the link opens "Privatbank" page, where you have to indicate your card number and CCV code.From what data you enter, we can conclude that the project is fraudulent, which aims to steal money from the cards of people who will register using the link "Neither "Diia", nor Ministry of Digital Transformation send any SMS or messages in social networks. The crediting of funds is reported by the "Action" app and push notification bank, which contains only text - no links," the fact checkers said in a statement.

Attackers have launched a fraudulent scheme in Facebook: offer Ukrainians 8,900 hryvnia "assistance from the EU" when passing the survey. As the factchecking project "Brekhunets" writes, the advertising of the fraudulent site with the "survey" is targeting, in particular, Volyn residents. According to "Rayon.in.ua", this scheme is used for the fourth time - previously recorded such cases in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Fraudsters ran ads on Facebook from the page under News of Ukraine, which was created on March 30. This ad uses stolen branding TSN, flags of Ukraine and the European Union. "The message itself is not on the page, which means that it was published through an advertising office. Under the message - only one positive comment from a user who allegedly has already received funds," - told the project "Brehunets".

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that the Russian special services plan a series of terrorist attacks by bombing residential buildings, hospitals and schools in Russian cities, as well as missile and bomb attacks on Bilhorod or one of the cities of occupied Crimea. Russia plans to blame the Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions for this. "It is entirely possible that these terrorist attacks will be presented as a revenge of the Ukrainians for Bucha and Kramatorsk and as an excuse for brutality against the Ukrainian civilian population", - told the CID and specified that these attacks will also be carried out mobilization. In the Center for counteraction to disinformation added that it is confirmed by fake videos with reading out the order of Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the attacks on the territory of Russia.

According to the Zaporizhzhya regional military administration, in Energodar, the enemy managed to create a radio station "Radio Russia", on the waves of which they spread false and disfigured information, hostile propaganda and spinning songs that sing Putin and the greatness of Russia. "In addition, the Kafirs, with a propaganda purpose, distribute photos of themselves distributing allegedly humanitarian aid from Russia to the city's pensioners. Judging by the photo, only four people received food. At the same time, enemies seek out and kidnap men of the Vasilyevsky district, accusing them of far-fetched accusations of murder and terrorism," reads the report. We should remind you that we should not trust Russian propaganda, because from such media as the radio in Energodar, only information that benefits the enemy directly will be disseminated.

According to Euvsdisinfo, Russian propaganda, with the help of trolls, once again tried to blow up Polish support for Ukraine. On April 4-5, when the world learned about the Russian military crimes in Bucza, Poland faced a large-scale troll attack that had at least three dimensions: Polish officials were sent threatening emails, the media were spammed, and social media once again stepped up discussion of the Volyn tragedy. Such a campaign of disinformation and manipulation was not only primitive and awkward, but also failed to take into account the current mood in Polish society. The current situation obviously irritates the Kremlin. 2.6 million Ukrainian refugees entered Poland after Russia attacked Ukraine, and now Ukrainians in Poland are receiving very large amounts of aid. While the Russian war machine tries to bomb more Ukrainians into leaving their homes, the Kremlin disinformation machine will probably continue to manipulate difficult topics, using tropes of racism, xenophobia and painful events from the past, as it did in the case of the Volhynia tragedy. to discredit Ukrainians," the newspaper wrote.