Pro-Russian Telegram channels have been circulating a video, allegedly showing a Ukrainian soldier being executed for refusing to fight. The propagandists claim that such incidents are widespread, but are supposedly not being reported.

However, this video is a staged production. In the footage, the man, who is said to have refused to fight, is purportedly executed by hanging. However, the victim’s hands are not visible, suggesting that the individual is likely holding onto something above him. If this were truly an execution by hanging, the hands would logically be tied behind his back to prevent any chance of escape.

Another indication that the video is staged is the language used by the ‘Ukrainian soldier’ carrying out the ‘execution’. He asks the man, “Are you really refusing to defend our country?” in broken Ukrainian. Moreover, the pixelated uniform worn by the man posing as the ‘Ukrainian soldier’ could have been acquired in battle and used for such propaganda purposes.

This video is yet another example of Russian-produced staged propaganda. Previously, we have analyzed similar faked videos, including:

- (Fake) Ukrainian soldiers shooting ‘foreign mercenaries’ in the Ukrainian Armed Forces;

- (Fake) Russia Today publishing footage of a ‘captured Ukrainian saboteur’ detained in the Kursk region;

- (Fake) Posters with an ‘expired’ Zelenskyi appearing in Kyiv.

Pro-Russian sources have been circulating a screenshot supposedly from the website of the Polish Ministry of Digitalization, dated December 9, 2024, listing the most popular male names in the country. According to the screenshot, the top three names are Taras, Bohdan, and Stepan. The propagandists suggest that this indicates Ukrainian refugees are giving birth in Poland more frequently than Polish women.

However, this is a blatant falsehood, as reported by VoxCheck. There are no publications on the official website of the Polish Ministry of Digitalization regarding a list of the most popular male names for December 9, 2024. The last time the ministry published such a list was on August 6, 2024. At that time, the top three male names were Nikodem, Jan, and Aleksander. Additionally, the names Stepan, Taras, and Bohdan were not included in the ranking.

The Ministry of Digitalization of Poland has officially debunked the claim that Stepan, Taras, and Bohdan were the most popular names in Poland in 2024.

Earlier, we also debunked a Russian myth about Warsaw's alleged plans to annex western Ukraine.

Russian sources have circulated screenshots allegedly from a French media outlet, TF1 Info, claiming to show graffiti by the French artist OakOak. The graffiti supposedly depicts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi as a dog tied up next to French President Emmanuel Macron and former US President Donald Trump.

However, this claim is false, according to VoxCheck. TF1 Info has not published any such story, neither on their official website nor across their social media platforms like X, Facebook, or Instagram. Furthermore, the graffiti in question does not appear on the official pages of the artist OakOak.

In one of the screenshots, a beauty salon sign can be seen, written in both English and Korean. Using the Geo Spy Ai tool for image-based geolocation, it was determined that the building is located in Koreatown, Los Angeles, USA. Google Maps further confirmed the exact location where the photo was taken. As expected, no such graffiti exists at this address.

This incident follows previous debunked claims, such as fake information about a graffiti mural in Miami depicting Zelensky as a fly.

Russian sources have circulated a claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, through a shell company called Aldorante LTD, allegedly bought a mansion for €18 million on the French island of Saint Barthélemy and started building an underground bunker on the property. According to these propagandists, Zelenskyi is preparing an “escape plan”.

However, this claim is false, as reported by the StopFake project. The ‘news’ being spread does not contain any official documents or credible sources. Moreover, the real estate management company that sold the villa in October 2024 confirmed to StopFake journalists that the buyer has no connections to Ukraine and denied the claim about a bunker being built on the property.

Propagandists continue to systematically discredit Zelenskyi and his family by spreading fake stories about supposed expensive purchases. Previously, we debunked claims about alleged ‘new properties’ owned by the Zelenskyi family, including the home of Joseph Goebbels, a villa on the coast of Egypt, a winery owned by Sting, and others.

Russian sources are spreading the claim that the Ukrainian Church was allegedly forced to switch to the Catholic calendar to celebrate Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7. This decision, they claim, was imposed by the European Union to help Ukraine join the EU.

However, this claim is false, as reported by the VoxCheck project. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) independently decided to switch to the New Julian calendar in 2023. Catholic and Protestant denominations predominantly follow the Gregorian calendar.

The New Julian calendar is almost identical to the Gregorian calendar, with a difference of just one day, which will only appear in the year 2800. If the OCU had stayed on the Julian calendar, Christmas would have shifted to January 8 after 2100, and Epiphany would have been celebrated on January 20, as the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars would then be 14 days.

The transition to the New Julian calendar does not affect the date of Easter, which remains the same for both those following the Julian and New Julian calendars. The calculation of Easter is unified among all Orthodox Churches.

In total, 10 out of 15 autocephalous Orthodox Churches worldwide use the New Julian calendar. The decision to adopt it is significant for Ukraine as it helps to distance itself from Russian traditions and culture while aligning more closely with Europe and the broader Christian world. Russian sources are intentionally manipulating religious issues to sow discord among Ukrainians during and after the holiday season.

Russian Telegram channels have circulated a photo claiming it shows the new coat of arms of Odesa region, stating that it contains symbols of the Antichrist.  

However, this is false, as reported by the VoxCheck project. The image actually depicts the new logo of Odesa region, not its coat of arms. The design elements of the logo represent regional features and have no connection to Antichrist symbolism. Propagandists deliberately cropped the image, omitting an explanation of the logo’s meaning. The elements they compared to the Antichrist’s seal actually symbolize birds, an anchor, and tools of labor, among other things. There is a clear visual difference between the new logo and the Antichrist's symbol.  

The newly created logo does not replace the official coat of arms of Odesa region. It was designed to raise awareness about the region and complement the official symbols, not replace them.  

Previously, we debunked a claim that a priest from Ivano-Frankivsk called Trump the “Antichrist”.

Some users on social media are spreading false information that the 2025 State Budget of Ukraine allocates 3.5 billion UAH for the maintenance of the President’s Office.  

In reality, this claim is not true, as reported by the VoxCheck project. On November 19, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on the state budget for 2025, and on November 28, President of Ukraine signed the document. The budget outlines the total expenditures for the functioning of the President of Ukraine and the President’s Office, with a planned allocation of just over 782 million UAH for 2025. This is even less than in previous years: in 2024, the President’s Office received 1.1 billion UAH from the state budget, and in 2023, more than 1 billion UAH.  

It is important to note that the largest portion of the state budget in 2025 will go toward Ukraine's security and defense, with over 2.2 trillion UAH out of a total of 3.6 trillion UAH allocated for this purpose.  

This is not the first time misinformation about the funding of the President’s Office has been circulated. Earlier, a fake claim suggested that 18.8 billion UAH would be allocated for the functioning of the President’s Office in the 2024 state budget.

A video circulating online alleges that Russian President Volodymyr Putin announced the end of the so-called ‘special military operation’ (SVO) and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. In the video, Putin reportedly claims to have achieved his objectives and states that the West has provided Russia with all necessary security guarantees. The posts also claim that Putin has agreed to pay reparations to Ukraine.  

However, this video is disinformation, as reported by the VoxCheck project. A reverse search on Yandex revealed that the footage used in the video was taken from Putin’s speech at a ceremonial meeting marking the 220th anniversary of the Russian Ministry of Justice, held on September 20, 2022. In that address, Putin discussed the operations of prisons, the establishment of correctional facilities for convicted individuals, and plans for new prison placement schemes across the country.  

In the fake video, it is noticeable that Putin's lip movements do not match the audio, indicating the use of artificial intelligence-generated dubbing. The Hive Moderation tool, designed to detect AI-generated content, confirmed with 91% probability that the audio was AI-generated.  

Previously, similar fake statements attributed to Putin have been debunked, including one claiming that the number of Ukrainians living in temporarily occupied territories and Russia equals the population remaining in Ukraine.  

This is yet another example of misinformation aimed at misleading audiences about Russia's stance on the war in Ukraine.

A disinformation video is being spread on social media claiming that Ukraine is leading the world corruption ranking among other countries. Dozens of completely identical posts, which have garnered thousands of views and hundreds of comments, also claim that Ukraine, despite being ‘the world’s most corrupt country’, is ‘the last in terms of salaries’.

However, the disinformation videos lack any references to the source of the primary information. The authors of the posts do not provide any data on which ratings they refer to or where the corresponding figures came from.

The level of corruption perception in the world is measured by many private companies, but the most extensive rating is provided by the independent organization Transparency International in its annual studies. According to the results of 2023 (the rating for 2024 has not yet been published), Ukraine scored 36 points out of 100 possible in the global Corruption Perceptions Index and ranked 104th among 180 countries. At the same time, Ukraine showed an increase in the rating by 3 points - this is one of the best results in 2023 in the world. Thus, Ukraine ranks approximately in the middle of the rating and is very far from the title of ‘the most corrupt country in the world’.

Russian media have spread the news that eight cottages belonging to so-called ‘Ukrainian generals’ have allegedly burned down as a result of large-scale fires in Los Angeles. The amount of damage, according to the fakers, is about $90 million.

The publications claim that the Ukrainian military allegedly purchased the real estate with funds that the West allocated to Kyiv as part of financial assistance after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Against the backdrop of the groans about the catastrophic shortage of money and weapons coming from Kyiv, this information is particularly striking. Perhaps the money intended for the construction of defense structures was used to build the generals' ‘dachas’, the publication writes.

But to create this video, propagandists used photo and video footage of the fire in Los Angeles, as well as a fake quote from the Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi: “When you steal money from people who are fighting for their lives, be prepared that the fire of war will overtake you even on another continent”.

In fact, Mykhailo Drapatyi never made such statements or commented on the fires in the USA. The video clip used his photo from an interview published in August 2022 on the official Facebook page of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There, Drapatyi talks about the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the plans and actions of the enemy.

The so-called ‘investigations’ into the property of Ukrainian officials are turning into a systematic campaign to discredit them. Thus, propagandists or Moscow's henchmen seek to portray Ukraine as a cradle of corruption schemes - which may further harm Ukraine's European integration path. After all, combating corruption and reducing it is one of the main tasks of the state on its path to the European Union.

Here are other cases involving the ‘possession’ of real estate with ‘stolen funds’: how Zelenskyi allegedly bought the villa of Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels for 8 million euros; or how Zelenskyi's mother-in-law allegedly purchased a villa on the coast of Egypt with Western humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Reports claiming that McDonald’s plans to return to Russia have recently appeared on Russian platforms. These headlines are based on the fact that the company filed over 50 trademark registration applications with the Russian patent office. The applications include names of beverages, menu items, and company slogans.  

However, such conclusions are premature. The renewal of trademarks by the company does not indicate that McDonald’s is resuming operations in Russia. Rather, this move is aimed at protecting its intellectual property and preventing third-party companies from using its brand or technologies without authorization. This measure also helps to avoid unfair competition, where local businesses might exploit McDonald’s recognizable brand to mislead consumers. Additionally, it ensures the company retains the option to resume operations in the future, should the Russian war against Ukraine come to an end.  

To recall, McDonald’s decided to leave the Russian market in May 2022, in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the company stated that “the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, along with the unpredictable business environment, led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable and does not align with the company’s values”. 

The news is spreading online that Volodymyr Zelenskyi, through the shell company Aldorante LTD, has purchased an estate for 18 million euros on the French island of Saint Barthélemy and begun construction of an underground bunker. Proponents suggest that the President of Ukraine is thus preparing an escape plan.

The information was allegedly published by French media, but the French-language video with “evidence” and “documents” distributed by propagandists could not be found online. But this information from propagandists is a careful fake, part of a disinformation campaign designed to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his entourage in the eyes of Europeans. From the address indicated on the “documents” in the video, it was possible to understand that we are talking about Villa Stellae — a luxurious mansion with an ocean view, six bedrooms, a terrace and a private garden, located on the resort island of Saint Barthélemy.

The villa was managed by local property management company Sibarth until October 2024, when the company posted a message on its Facebook page that the previous owners had sold the property: “We sincerely thank the seller for their trust, and we sincerely congratulate the new owners on the acquisition of such a prestigious home”. The propagandists created the fake based on this post.

Here are other cases involving the ‘possession’ of real estate with ‘stolen funds’: how Zelenskyi allegedly bought the villa of Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels for 8 million euros; or how Zelenskyi's mother-in-law allegedly purchased a villa on the coast of Egypt with Western humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Information is circulating on social media claiming that Ukraine will no longer evaluate citizens' fitness for military service. Allegedly, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has made this decision by disbanding the relevant commissions responsible for such assessments. These claims suggest that the evaluation process for determining military eligibility has been completely abolished.  

“Zelenskyi has abolished medical commissions that assess fitness for military service. Everyone will fight!”, users are writing.

Actually, at the end of 2023, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi actually signed Law No. 12178, which provides for the liquidation of medical and social expert commissions (MSEC) in Ukraine. It was these bodies that established the degree of loss of a person's working capacity (disability). In the case of a positive decision, this made it possible to be released from the obligation to serve in the army. At the same time, the agitprop kept silent that the law signed by the president also provides for the creation of an analogue of MSEC - “expert teams for assessing the daily functioning of a person”, which have already begun their work on January 1, 2025.

The explanatory note to the aforementioned law states that the decision to eliminate the MSEC was related to outdated approaches used by the commissions, and not to the elimination of the ‘service’ as such.

And the final fitness for military service during martial law in Ukraine is determined by the Military Medical Commission, not the MSEC.

A Polish pro-Russian Telegram channel, citing representatives of the ‘Mykolaiv underground’, spread information that hospitals in the city of Dnipro are overflowing with ‘high-ranking NATO military personnel’. These patients are ‘so high-profile’ that SBU officers are allegedly on duty at the entrance and on the floors of hospitals, demanding that doctors sign confidentiality agreements. This secrecy regime is allegedly introduced in the event of ‘serious incidents involving Alliance generals’.

However, this information has nothing to do with reality. The Polish pro-Russian Telegram channel, which spreads the ‘news’ about NATO generals in Dnipro hospitals, regularly produces disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

In addition, this is not the first time that propagandists have referred to the so-called ‘Mykolaiv underground’. We previously reported on a fake that ‘black transplantologists’ had arrived in the Sumy region - the source of this disinformation was precisely representatives of this ‘resistance movement’.

Recently, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reported that, in addition to direct work for Russia, the myth of the ‘Mykolaiv underground’ was created for propaganda purposes. After all, in reality, Russian special services do not have a powerful network in Ukraine. In most cases, they either simply pay or promise to pay unwitting citizens of Ukraine for carrying out certain assignments. Instead, the agitprop talks about a ‘numerous ideological underground’ that supposedly selflessly helps Russia ‘liberate Ukraine’.

Russian sources claim that the news about the Ukrainian military capturing the first North Korean fighter is a fake, as the photo with him was allegedly distributed online on February 24, 2022. As proof of this, propagandists cite a screenshot of a reverse image search from Google, which indeed indicates that the photo was published on Reddit in the UkraineWarVideoReport community on the first day of the full-scale war.

However, this screenshot is disinformation, writes the StopFake project.

Yonhap news agency, citing South Korean intelligence, reported on December 27, 2024 that on December 26, the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured the first North Korean soldier in the Kursk region of Russia. However, the very next day, the soldier died from complications after being wounded. In the same days, photos of this prisoner of war began to circulate on the Internet.

In turn, the screenshot from Google Images that Russian propagandists are spreading is either edited or an example of a typical Google search technical glitch that occurs when searching for posts on Reddit. This issue has been discussed repeatedly on Reddit - a number of posts have been dedicated to it, but it is still unknown what exactly causes this glitch.

Moreover, the propagandists published a screenshot not of the publication itself, where the date is clearly visible, but of the result of a Google search query.

February 24, 2022 is the date of the creation of the UkraineWarVideoReport community on Reddit: it is a pro-Ukrainian resource where English-speaking users share information and materials about the Russian-Ukrainian war. The photo of the first captured fighter from North Korea was indeed published here, not two years ago, but on December 27, 2024.

We previously wrote about how Russia is hiding losses among the North Korean military.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading a fake video allegedly from UNITED 24, claiming that women in Kyiv protested demanding the cancellation of priority exchange lists for fighters from “nationalist battalions”, which are keeping other servicemen in captivity longer. The video also includes footage of MP Oleksandr Kunytskyi, who allegedly advised women to “return to their women’s affairs” and raise children, and to “leave the decision on the exchange to the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.

However, UNITED 24 did not publish such a video, and Oleksandr Kunytskyi did not make such statements. Once again, propagandists created a fake video to spread Russian narratives by using authoritative sources.

Russian propaganda systematically uses disinformation aimed at manipulating public opinion and accusing Ukraine, for example, of disrupting or delaying negotiations on the exchange of prisoners of war. In addition, it discredits representatives of the Ukrainian government in order to undermine trust in the political elite among Ukrainians and create unstable socio-political sentiments.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading information that draft law No. 10449 on mobilization measures and military training allegedly allows for the possibility of lowering the mobilization age to 18 years.

“18-year-old Ukrainians who have completed basic military training or military service will automatically become eligible for military service and can be sent to the front”, the propagandists write.

However, this is a fake. In April 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted amendments to draft law No. 10449 on mobilization measures and military training. This provides that starting in 2025, Ukrainian universities will introduce mandatory basic military training for men aged 18 to 25. However, there is no mention of lowering the mobilization age.

Previously, Russian propaganda spread messages about “socially unjust mobilization”; the intentions of the Ukrainian authorities to fight until “the last Ukrainian” and the “absence” of a future in the country. For Ukrainians, the topic of involving persons who are not subject to mandatory mobilization is debatable, and just one mention of lowering the mobilization age provokes significant social discourse. But propagandists do not miss the opportunity to incite hostility within the country and sow hatred towards the Ukrainian legislative authority, in particular, by creating such infomercials.

Russian propaganda sources are spreading a fake video by the American online publication Wall Street Journal that claims that Ukrainian soldiers from “nationalist battalions” are receiving medical care at the frontline, as WSJ journalist Ben Solomon allegedly reported.

“Hundreds of ordinary soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are dying on the battlefield because of this unspoken rule”, they write in the video.

However, this information is not true, as reported by VoxCheck. The Wall Street Journal did not publish such a video, and Ben Solomon did not make similar statements. That is, Russian propagandists created another fake video with a link to a well-known reliable media outlet to promote narratives aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian army.

Thus, Russian propaganda speculates on the topic of the unprofessionalism of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the contemptuous attitude of the Ukrainian command towards soldiers in order to undermine the trust of Ukrainians in the army. In addition, propagandists demonize the term “nationalism” in the context of choosing a conscious path for Ukrainian society. First of all, in order to split the population of Ukraine into camps of “their own” and “alien”.

Russian sources are spreading Putin's statement that there are as many Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia as there are in Ukraine.

“There are already as many Ukrainians living in Russia as in Ukraine, and perhaps more. We are happy for them, they are people of our culture, part of our people”, he said.

However, this is a fake, and this is reported by VoxCheck. Among all the data from Russian sources, the largest total number of Ukrainians in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories is 12 million people. However, this statistic is questionable, and representatives of the Russian non-governmental organization Civil Assistance indicated that this number may be overestimated. According to Ukrainian data, about 30 million Ukrainians live in the territories controlled by Ukraine. At the same time, it is impossible to calculate accurate data in war conditions. A comparison of the available, albeit inaccurate, data proves that the total number of Ukrainians in Russia is significantly smaller than in Ukraine.

A common thesis of Russian propaganda is that refugees from Ukraine are better off in Russia. Thus, Russian propaganda promotes the message, for example, about the exploitation of Ukrainians as cheap labor in Europe. This tactic is beneficial to propagandists, as it is aimed at justifying Russia's criminal actions. However, they do not note that Ukrainian refugees find themselves on Russian territory not of their own free will, but because of Russia's own armed aggression against Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are spreading information that 76,000 Ukrainian soldiers from the Lviv region died at the front. In addition, propagandists write that, according to Chinese estimates, the total losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces exceeded 1.8 million people killed.

However, this is disinformation, the VoxCheck project reports. In fact, Russian resources do not provide any confirmation of this data - they do not indicate the source of the statistics on the number of dead fighters from the Lviv region. That is, it is unknown where the information came from that the number of dead exceeds 76 thousand from just one region.

It is worth noting that the Lviv Regional Military Administration or other representatives of local authorities have not commented on the losses of military personnel from their region. In turn, the thesis “China confirmed 1.8 million losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” has been spread on Russian channels since at least April 2024. However, the situation is similar here, there are no official comments from China on the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in open sources.

On December 8, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi wrote on his Telegram channel that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, and another 370,000 have been injured.

International media are also counting losses in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The latest estimate was published in The Economist on November 26, 2024. According to the publication's journalists, at least 60-100 thousand Ukrainian soldiers died in the war and, probably, about 400 thousand more were wounded. The journalists based their calculations on data on the death of soldiers from merged or published reports of intelligence services, comments from representatives of defense structures, researchers, and observers.

However, it is currently almost impossible to verify either President Zelenskyi’s data or the data of international analysts from open sources. The Economist does not provide links to all the sources it considered in its calculations, and points out that they are difficult to verify independently.

Previously, we recorded a fake video that the hosts of an American TV show were “laughing” at a story about the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Propagandists are circulating an image on social media that allegedly represents the cover of The Nation magazine with the headline: “Unequal duel. Volodymyr Zelenskyi failed to win - everyone is talking about Putin again. Including Zelenskyi himself”. However, this is not true.

This was reported by experts from the VoxCheck project. They found that the actual cover of the January 2025 issue of The Nation looks completely different. On the magazine's website, in the Archive section, all issues and their covers are available, but the one being shared online is not among them—neither on the official website nor on the publication's social media. The fake cover features images of Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Volodymyr Putin, along with the publication date—January 2025. However, according to the editorial team, this issue was finalized for publication by the end of 2024, and its cover does not reference the presidents of Ukraine or Russia.

The dissemination of a fake magazine cover with a critical headline aims to undermine Volodymyr Zelenskyi's reputation, portraying him as a weak leader unable to achieve victory or effectively engage in political confrontation. Such fabricated materials also attempt to suggest that international attention on Ukraine is allegedly fleeting or insignificant, contrasting it with the supposed constant focus on Russia and its leader, Volodymyr Putin. Spreading fake content resembling authoritative Western publications helps create the impression that Ukraine is not receiving the necessary support from its partners or that the international community is skeptical of its leadership. This could affect the morale of Ukrainians and their allies. Propagandists may use such fakes to create the perception that global attention is fixated on Putin rather than Zelenskyi or Ukraine, thereby reinforcing the notion that Ukraine’s struggle for independence lacks sufficient backing or prospects.

Russian propagandists circulated a post on pro-Russian social media, purportedly from the charity foundation Lviv-Opir. The post claimed that soldiers from the 225th Separate Assault Battalion stole a washing machine from a house in the Kursk region. However, this is photo manipulation.

Experts from the StopFake project investigated the claim and found that the screenshot of the post was fabricated. They also located the original post on the Facebook page of the Lviv-Opir charity foundation. In the original, it is stated that Ukrainian soldiers received a washing machine from the Rak family. The foundation not only organizes collections but also facilitates the delivery of essential items to soldiers from concerned citizens.

In the fake publication, the Russians alleged that the washing machine was taken by fighters from the 225th battalion who were stationed in the Kursk region. However, the original post mentions servicemen from the Kharkiv region without specifying the unit. The legitimate post does not mention the theft of equipment; instead, it expresses gratitude for the assistance provided. Furthermore, the timestamps of the posts differ: the original was published on December 4, 2024, at 01:04 AM, while the fake appeared at 02:04 AM the same day. This time difference aligns with the time zones of Ukraine and Russia, suggesting that the fake was likely created by Russian users.

The spread of fake reports about thefts or misconduct by Ukrainian soldiers aims to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Such narratives create a negative image of the Ukrainian military both domestically and internationally, undermining support for their actions among citizens and allies. This disinformation may also seek to foster internal divisions in Ukraine, sowing doubt and mistrust among the population toward their military and volunteers. It can impact morale, trust in the government and the army, and reduce support from international partners.

This type of disinformation reinforces Russia's aggressive narrative and its denial of truth, attempting to portray Ukraine as a country where everything, from the government to the military, is uncontrolled or immoral. It serves to justify Russia’s aggressive policies and actions against Ukraine. Russian propagandists also use such disinformation to depict Ukraine as lacking unity, suggesting that Ukrainian soldiers engage in theft or behave uncontrollably. This could be an attempt to portray the situation in Ukraine as chaotic and undisciplined. Overall, such disinformation seeks to create misunderstandings, weaken trust in Ukraine and its military, and form a negative image of the country and its representatives.

Russian propagandists spread a video on social media, particularly on several pro-Russian anonymous Telegram channels, claiming that a professor from the University of Bristol spoke about the characteristics of mythical archetypes. According to the video, Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly a modern embodiment of a vampire. However, this is fake.

Experts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found that the original video has a different format and content, and Professor Ronald Hutton does not mention Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The original audio track was altered using artificial intelligence. A check through the Hive Moderation tool showed with 99% probability that artificial intelligence was used to create this video. The fake video includes the university’s logo, which is not present in the original. The video on the university’s TikTok page contains English subtitles, but their format is different. For the forgery, other illustrations of vampires were used, combined with photographs of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. In the original video, the professor is mainly shown speaking, without images of mythical characters.

Propagandists spread such disinformation for several main reasons. Spreading fake videos portraying state leaders in an invented or negative light aims to diminish their authority. Such manipulations can create the image of a leader who is allegedly dangerous or inadequate, influencing public opinion both in Ukraine and abroad. By associating leaders with mythical archetypes, propagandists aim to create fear or disgust toward certain individuals or ideas. This can undermine trust in governments, organizations, or international partners supporting Ukraine. Using artificial intelligence to create fake materials allows for effective manipulation of reality. Since fake videos look quite convincing, they can make people believe that an authoritative scientist or figure actually said what is being claimed.

A video is being circulated online, purporting to be from UNESCO. It claims that Ukraine has destroyed more monuments than the Taliban in Afghanistan - 5,400 monuments to cultural figures and cultural heritage sites over two years. The Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, Mechtilda Rössler, allegedly stated in this regard: “Such an attitude towards monuments and history is typical of terrorist regimes, but not of European civilization”.

However, UNESCO did not publish such a video on its official resources. Mechtilda Rössler is no longer the director of UNESCO and did not make such a statement. The video was created from photos from open sources, not related to each other. And besides, Mechtilda Rössler is no longer the director of the World Heritage Center.

Using reverse search, it was possible to find out that propagandists used photos from open sources for the fake video. In particular, photos with Taliban militants were published on the official website of the AFP publication in August 2024.

The Taliban is a political and military group whose goal is to liberate Afghanistan from foreign military presence. The movement is made up of many different tribes and peoples inhabiting the country, with different views, including religious ones.

The movement's ideology was based on the religious movement of Islam, Ash'arism, which is part of the Sunni tradition. The Taliban's political program was based on calls to organize life in Afghanistan on the basis of the norms of Islamic law - Sharia - in its radically traditional interpretations. According to the Taliban, anyone who contradicts the ideology of Ash'arism is subject to persecution.

Their rule was characterized by religious intolerance towards non-believers and cruelty - for example, thieves had their hands cut off.

Social media is spreading information that Ukraine's delegation at NATO membership talks consists of bloggers. As proof, the posts include photos of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte interacting with Ukrainian influencers.

But the photo was taken during a one-time visit by Ukrainian influencers, dedicated to the thousand days since the start of the full-scale invasion. The negotiations with NATO are being conducted by government officials.

The alliance's official website states that the guests were invited to highlight NATO's continued support for Ukraine. In addition, the content creators presented a digital painting created in collaboration with artist Andrii Babenko. It reflected the importance of the partnership between Ukraine and NATO, as well as the courage and determination of the Ukrainian people.

Actually, on an ongoing basis, official negotiations between Ukraine and NATO are conducted by state officials, in particular the president, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc. Within the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is a permanent representation of Ukraine in the organization - the Mission of Ukraine to NATO.

In addition, in 2023, the Ukraine-NATO Council (UNC) was established - a body within the framework of which meetings are held to promote political dialogue and Ukraine's accession to NATO. The meetings are attended by heads of state and government of the alliance member states and Ukraine. Meetings are also held at the level of working committees: on innovation and countering hybrid threats, on strategic communications, on political issues, on security and defense sector issues, and the military committee. In addition, a number of working groups are subordinate to these committees. Thus, Ukraine's cooperation with NATO takes place within the framework of permanent and already established mechanisms, and it is not delegated to bloggers.