Russian propagandists and pro-Kremlin telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that Ukrposhta has issued a stamp depicting veteran of the Waffen SS Galicia division Yaroslav Hunko. It's fake.

The case was studied by fact-checkers of the Center for Strategic Communications. They established that the latest stamp announced by Ukrposhta is not with the image of Yaroslav Hunko, but with Challenger 2, Leopard 2, Patriot, CAESAR and M2 Bradley. This brand is called “Weapon of Victory. Peace with Ukraine” and it can already be ordered. The head of Ukrposhta, Ihor Smilianskyi, announced this on September 25.

Thus, Russian propagandists continue to promote the narrative that there is Nazism in Ukraine, which Russians are fighting against. This is how Russian propaganda try to discredit Ukrainians, reduce Western support and whiten Russia. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake that in the Azov children's camp children read “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler.

Pro-Kremlin media in English and Spanish are disseminating information that a Russian intelligence group allegedly destroyed a Leopard tank, which Germany transferred to Ukraine along with a crew of soldiers from the German Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces). This allegedly happened in the Zaporizhzhia direction. Russian propaganda add that the seriously wounded mechanic has repeatedly stated that he is a member of the Bundeswehr, and together with the crew they are part of a German army unit. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the EUvsDiDiNFo project. The information disseminated by Russian propaganda contains no details — names and surnames, a clear time and place where the Russians destroyed the tank. Moreover, Germany's military support for Ukraine is limited to equipment and weapons, as well as assistance in training Ukrainian troops on German soil.

This fake is a continuation of the Russian narrative that Russia is fighting against NATO and Western countries in Ukraine. By inventing victories on the battlefield, Russian propaganda tries to raise the morale of Russians and justify Russia's difficulties on the battlefield. They say that the Russians are fighting with the German military, which is much more powerful than the Ukrainian army. Previously, we talked about the manipulation that Jens Stoltenberg allegedly confirmed that Russia invaded Ukraine “because of NATO”.

Users of the Russian segment of the Facebook social network share a video in which the Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk says that the occupiers allegedly stole 14 tons of humanitarian aid including food and medicine in Lviv. These are, in particular, 653 trucks. However, local residents are allegedly wondering how occupiers appeared in Lviv, and believe that the local authorities were engaged in looting. Facebook users also note that this US humanitarian aid for the sum of 34 million dollars arrived from Poland to Lviv. This is fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the VoxCheck project. Iryna Vereshchuk did indeed talk about the looting of humanitarian aid by the Russian occupiers, but in the Zaporizhzhia region, not in Lviv. On March 31, 2022, she reported: “12 buses for the evacuation of people loaded with humanitarian aid arrived in Melitopol. Unfortunately, humanitarian aid was taken away by the occupiers. This is 14 tons of food and medicine”.

Also, Russian propaganda snatched information about 653 trucks with humanitarian aid from the message of the State Border Service. The department's website states: “The Customs Service together with the Ministry of Defense discovered 653 cases of non-receipt of humanitarian aid”, in particular, they did not receive “such cargo as plates for bulletproof vests, night vision devices, thermal imaging cameras, drones, motor vehicles, etc”.

Russian propagandists combined all this with information about the abuse of humanitarian aid in Lviv, which became known as a result of an investigation by NZL.media/

Thus, agitprop tries to discredit the Ukrainian government, which, they say, constantly steals and sow discord among Ukrainians. Earlier, we refuted the fake that 342 million euros of European humanitarian aid was stolen in Ukraine.

Pro-Kremlin media are disseminating information that Germany and France allegedly promised the Ukrainian authorities early accession to the European Union if they help overthrow the Polish government. It seems that accession is impossible without changing the treaties, and it is Poland that is blocking these changes. Russian propaganda refers to Dominika Chosych, a correspondent for Polish television, who wrote about this. It's fake.

As the fact-checkers at the Center for Strategic Communications note, the Ukrainian authorities have not received such proposals from France and Germany. Moreover, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ihor Nikolenko, commented on this information on his Facebook page. He confirmed that there was no such proposal, and “[Ukraine] did not and does not have any intentions to interfere in the internal affairs of Poland”.

Nikolenko thanked the Poles who showed solidarity with the Ukrainians and noted that “Ukraine highly appreciates Poland’s support in repelling Russian aggression, support for our path to membership in the EU and NATO.”

Polish journalist Chosych, as determined by investigators of the BezBrekhni (No lies) project, whose words contain hidden Kremlin narratives, is playing along with Russia.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to create a quarrel between Poland and Ukraine, reduce the assistance of the Poles and discredit Western countries, in particular France and Germany. Detector Media reported on the message that Poland was “expelling” Ukrainians from the country to serve in the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Pro-Kremlin telegram channels are disseminating information that graffiti allegedly appeared in Venice, Italy, related to the Ukrainian counteroffensive directly “showing the essence of the counteroffensive”. Russian propaganda refers to an article allegedly from the ANSA news agency and distributes a screenshot from their website with this graffiti. In the photo one sees an image of a man and the inscription “the counteroffensive does not end,” almost completely covered by water. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. They found that there is no such article or photo of this graffiti on the ANSA website.

Russian propaganda continues to spread disinformation about the failed Ukrainian counteroffensive on behalf of foreign media in order to further their message about Ukraine's failure at the front. Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to cause panic among Ukrainians and demoralize military personnel, as well as show that the West does not support Ukraine. Previously, we refuted the fake news that graffiti with “Zelenskyi the cannibal” was created in Berlin.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric and users of the Russian segment of Facebook are disseminating information that the Kyiv Mama Gochi restaurant is supposedly running a special promotion - visitors are offered “kebabs with Karabakh smoke” and a shot “to Pashynian”. Russian propaganda is also distributing a video of a restaurant and a sign with the action. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the MythDetector project. The video, distributed by agitprop on September 20, has been edited. Russian propaganda shows a chalk inscription on a black board, where the center is noticeably darker than the edges. The Mama Gochi restaurant published a post on its Instagram page on the same day, where the real menu is visible on the board, and noted that this video is fake. In fact, there was neither such a kebab nor such a shot on the menu. Representatives of the restaurant informed the fact-checkers who contacted the police that this fake was damaging the reputation of Mama Gochi.

Moreover, the fact-checkers checked the video frames using the Forensic application, which allows one to extract metadata from documents on social networks, and the visual manipulation tool InVid. They found that Forensic shows one type of manipulation in place of the telegram channel logo and the menu board. It was also established that fake posts were spread by similar posts, published mainly on September 20, and the first videos appeared in the telegram channel “Ostashko! Important” (its logo is contained in the video), owned by a Russian propagandist.

Russian propagandists are trying to dehumanize Ukrainians and show them to be cruel. They say that the escalation of the armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh is a reason for jokes. By accusing Ukrainians of being indifferent and mocking towards other countries, Russia is diverting attention from its own crimes and the aggression it is showing towards Ukraine. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake that in Ukraine they sell the House of Trade Unions candle with the aroma of marshmallow on the fire.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly delivered an ultimatum to Poland: if Warsaw does not lift the grain embargo, hundreds of thousands of well-armed refugees from Ukraine will organize Maidans in all Polish cities. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not threaten Poland - there is no information about the allegedly issued ultimatum in any of the official channels of the President of Ukraine. And among the quotes in the interview there are no such statements either.

Moreover, the majority of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. They are not “well armed” as Russian propaganda claims.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and create a quarrel between Ukraine and Poland. By spreading such fakes, Russian propagandists are trying to reduce the support and assistance of the Poles. Previously, we refuted the fake that NATO is preparing for the defeat of Ukraine and the occupation of the western part of Ukrainian territories.

Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric and Kremlin propagandists are distributing a video of an employee of Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s security service allegedly accompanying him to the UN General Assembly allegedly starting a fight in New York at a local bar, The Campbell Bar, not far from the UN building. In the low-quality video, we first see footage of the visit of the Ukrainian delegation to the United States, and then the crush of a group of men. Russian propaganda refers to the American publication USA Today, which apparently published this video. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. The video published by propaganda is a forgery. It is impossible to identify the men in the video, and the text accompanying the video is riddled with errors. Fact-checkers analyzed the bar in the video and compared it with The Campbell Bar - they are visually different. Also, the bar administration, authorized representative of the company Scott Gerber, said in a comment to StopFake: “This video is a fake. This was not the case at the Campbell Bar”.

Moreover, the American publication USA Today did not publish material about the fight that Zelenskyi’s security guard allegedly started. There is no information on this case on the publication’s website or on the company’s social networks.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian delegation in the United States and reduce Western support. Previously, we refuted the fake that Suspilne compiled a video of Zelenskyi’s speech at the UN General Assembly.

Pro-Russian propagandists disseminated such information on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels where they broadcast pro-Russian narratives. The reports say, among other things, that instead of the end of the war promised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, locals are suffocating from the continuous burning of the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. However, this is fake.

This case was analyzed by VoxCheck specialists. They found out that in Zaporizhzia  there are organizations that carry out cremations, but this does not happen in the city itself, but outside its borders, in particular, in Odesa, Kharkiv or Kyiv. But analysts were unable to find the user who complained about the supposedly continuous operation of the crematorium in the city.

Thus, the Russians want to intimidate the civilian population. They say that in Ukraine everything is so bad at the front that the bodies of the dead are burned around the clock, even in residential areas. The enemy is trying to demoralize Ukrainians by manipulating the number of losses. Detector Media has already refuted the Russian fake about the creation of mobile crematoria in the Ukrainian Territorial Defense brigade.

This information is disseminated by pro-Kremlin media. The authors of messages on this topic note that on the day of the autumn equinox on September 22, Azov allegedly performed a satanic ritual. The Russians add stolen photographs from the unit’s social networks to the publication. However, this is fake.

The fact-checkers of the BezBrekhni (No lies) project found out that every year on September 22, soldiers of the regiment honor the memory of the dead. This is a tradition for fighters. Nothing satanic or forbidden happened during these events. There are days of remembrance for the dead in most religions of the world. And many of the unit’s customs are associated with ancient Slavic holidays, so the day of the equinox was chosen for celebration.

Thus, Russian media devalue and discredit the defenders of Ukraine. This is not the first time that the enemy has been promoting the narrative of Satanism and Nazism of the Azov regiment, which we have written about many times before.

A number of anonymous telegram channels disseminating pro-Russian rhetoric published photos and videos in which allegedly Defense Minister Rustem Umierov masturbates on camera and addresses a potential partner. The authors of such reports argue that such actions jeopardize Ukraine's reputation, especially in international negotiations, and show shortcomings in the selection of personnel in the Ukrainian government. In publications containing these materials, propagandists used disparaging language towards Umierov himself. However, these photos and videos are fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this. Using the sites Search4faces and PimEyes, they found out that the person in the video is indeed Russian Davyd Kasaiev. In particular, in the public domain one can find a photo of Kasaiev with the background that is visible in the “leaked” videos. Also, some telegram channels indicated that videos and photos with allegedly Rustem Umierov were filmed long before the start of his career. However, if one compares the photo of the real Umierov from 12 years ago and the videos published by the Russians, one can see the difference. In particular, one can see differences in the shape of the nose, face and eye shape. The timbre and manner of speech in the video do not match Umerov’s voice. In addition, such actions are not a characteristic of a politician’s professional activity and it is not worth assessing the reputation behind them, especially with the use of derogatory language.

Using such fakes, propagandists aimed to personally discredit Umierov before his appointment as Minister of Defense of Ukraine and prevent this. They continue their personal attacks on him, in particular by spreading fake quotes from Umierov, which we wrote about earlier.

On anonymous telegram channels, propagandists are actively distributing an alleged quote from the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umierov, where he allegedly calls for the mobilization of 16-year-old teenagers into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, because “why can guys make children from the age of 16”. However, this is a fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that Umierov did not make such a statement, and there is no mention of him on the Defense Minister’s social media accounts. In addition, the photo with the “quote” shows the UNIAN media logo. In fact, this quote is also not on the UNIAN website or pages on social networks. The publication has not maintained the “Quotes of the Day” column in the telegram since March 11, 2022. Current Ukrainian legislation, in particular the Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service”, allows military service only from the age of 18.

Using such fakes, propagandists want to cause panic among Ukrainians and deliberately exaggerate the pace of mobilization. Like, everything is so bad in Ukraine that it has to mobilize teenagers. Detector Media has already refuted a number of fakes and manipulations on the topic of mobilization in Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in pro-Kremlin telegram channels. Reports say that the German fast food chain Burgermeister allegedly launched an advertising campaign - “to talk about something more important than Ukraine”. Instead, they suggest talking about “a new line of tasty and juicy burgers”. The publications add a screenshot allegedly from a promotional video. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed this case and found out that the video was compiled using a video editor. At the same time, representatives of the German burger joint noted that they did not create such a campaign and had nothing to do with the creation of the video. And to edit this video, the propagandists used cuttings of various news stories about Ukraine, and in the second part of the video they placed a real Burgermeister advertisement posted on the main page of the site.

We have repeatedly debunked fake news regarding fake graffiti or covers on foreign magazines/newspapers or advertisements. Thus, propagandists seek to show that their rhetoric (for example, that Zelenskyi is hated by the whole world) is also repeated in the West. So it may seem to readers that the public is really dissatisfied with Ukraine. And especially when the authors use elements of popular culture, hinting that people are laughing at the situation in Ukraine and that the Ukrainian agenda for Europe is a reason to laugh.

Read the latest fakes on this topic, where Russia turns a blind eye to false works of street art and pop culture: 

Allegedly, in The Hague, the capital of European justice, they created graffiti depicting Zelenskyi hanging on the gallows. Or look at the fake cover of the allegedly British newspaper The New European, where the Ukrainian president was sitting on the lap of the Dalai Lama. Or about the fake cover of the numb Volodymyr Zelenskyi from the figure of the dictator Putin and Jesus Christ.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly made a statement about Crimea, which “is Russian territory and will always be so”. The authors of the fake message add that the Turkish president is supposedly giving a clear signal to the whole world that continuing to arm Ukraine is “pointless and futile”. Such publications refer to Erdogan’s interview with the American PBS television channel. It's a lie.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated this case and found out that the Turkish President did not make such statements in an interview, and propagandists simply made it up. At the same time, he said that, in his opinion, today it is impossible to force Russia to leave the temporarily occupied peninsula, but “time will tell”.

Turkey has taken a strong position in supporting Ukraine and condemning the occupation and subsequent annexation of Ukrainian Crimea by Russia. But he emphasized that the Crimean Tatar people remain loyal to Ukraine, but not to the aggressor. And during a speech at the Crimean Platform summit on August 23, 2023, the Turkish leader also emphasized that Crimea is part of Ukraine, and Turkey speaks about this “at all international platforms”.

Find out here what propagandists wrote about the bilateral meeting between Putin and Erdogan in Sochi on September 4, 2023.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that on September 20, Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke at a special meeting of the UN Security Council dedicated to Russia’s war against Ukraine. At the same time, propaganda telegram channels promoted messages that the Ukrainian president was not supported and was not listened to during his speech; that Western officials “ran away” from the Security Council meeting room in protest against Zelenskyi. But in support of this thesis, the authors added video evidence - supposedly an excerpt from the live broadcast of the United News marathon, where Ukrainian media workers allegedly resorted to editing. So, at one of the moments in which Zelenskyi was giving a speech, they inserted what seemed to be a shot from the audience, as the president was already sitting and listening to someone. That is, they hinted that the Ukrainians were deceived in this way, just to create the impression that the hall was full during the official’s speech. And the anonymous telegrammers summed it up: “such a product will only be useful to the Ukrainian viewer”. However, this is a lie.

In fact, Zelenskyi’s speech was broadcast live at the Marathon with a completely different translation. This can be checked by comparing two video excerpts - a fake one and one from a real broadcast. That is, at least Suspilne has nothing to do with the probable compilation of the broadcast. But we managed to find a video with exactly the same translation as in the propaganda passage. It was published on the official TSN YouTube channel. However, the fake legacy here also differs from the broadcast: it does not record the moment when, during the delivery of a speech, the synchronization with Zelenskyi sitting in the hall is superimposed. It’s easy to determine this by starting from a fake video and finding that moment already in the TSN broadcast. Most likely, the video was edited by the authors of the fake publications. Information about the “editing” of the live broadcast was subsequently picked up by the Kremlin media.

Thus, propagandists are trying to portray Zelenskyi as an unsuccessful politician, whose opinion is not listened to or who is ignored at international events, “running away” from the meeting room. Among other things, fake makers are also trying to convince people that the President of Ukraine has usurped and owns the entire Ukrainian media space: it is known that the public broadcaster is financed from the state treasury and should not be influenced by political forces. And if journalists allegedly indulged Volodymyr Zelenskyi and compiled the moment for broadcast, the Ukrainian authorities are ready to direct the agenda, seemingly in places beyond the reach of the state, and impede freedom of speech.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular on Telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports talk about “mass arrests” of Ukrainians of draft age in Germany - and that later they are allegedly sent to the front lines. Video evidence, the testimony of one of the men who witnessed such a situation with his own eyes is attached to the reports. It is not true.

Specialists of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and established that on September 5, the representative of the president in the parliament, Fedir Venislavskyi, stated that there will be no mass extradition of male evaders to Ukraine from abroad. In fact, the “deportation of conscript men” is generally impossible, since there is no legal basis for it. Ukrainian diplomatic institutions cannot deport Ukrainians for mobilization, just as EU power structures are not authorized to form any units of Ukrainians on their territories. That is, there is no legal mechanism or precedent for the mobilization of Ukrainians as EU members.

At the same time, Ukrainian law enforcement officers can investigate and prove in court the facts of illegal border crossing under martial law. And for extradition from abroad, it will be necessary to prove the guilt of each conscript under the laws of the country of his stay in a local court.

That is, if the extradition process is used for Ukrainian conscripts abroad, it will be applied only to evaders who illegally crossed the border.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, are disseminating information that the Ukrainians allegedly included Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Peacemaker database, which publishes information about the enemies of Ukraine and is a center for studying signs of crimes against the national security of Ukraine, peace, human, security and international rights. He got into this database allegedly because of “participation in acts of humanitarian aggression against Ukraine” and “dissemination of Kremlin propaganda”. The media also write that “wheat and apples are to blame for it”. It's fake.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Countering Disinformation. They found that there is no mention of the President of Poland on the website of the Peacemaker base. So, Russian propagandists used a photo editor to create a fake screenshot.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainians, sow discord between the friendly states of Ukraine and Poland and reduce the help of the Poles. Previously, we refuted the fake that France congratulated Ukraine on Independence Day with a billboard with a map without Crimea.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, are disseminating information that supposedly “Romanians are selling the most trump spots overlooking the strikes of drones and missiles in Ukraine”. Also, users of the Russian segment of social networks are distributing screenshots with marks of these places. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. On Google Maps, they found a place that Russian propaganda used to create a fake. The fact-checkers have established that the mark on the fake screenshot was placed near the place where drones fell as a result of a Russian attack on Izmail and Reni in early September.

There is no mark on Google Maps. However, after examining the map, the fact-checkers found a mark in the same place where the “bombing of Ukraine” could allegedly be observed. It is misspelled in Russian as “observation platform” and does not contain any additional information. Therefore, it follows that the tag about the location of the “bombing of Ukraine” was either added in a photo editor, or created in private list mode, which other users cannot see.

Moreover, there are no mentions of such places in Romanian media and social networks. The Romanian military themselves are intensely monitoring Romania’s ground and airspace, and border guards prohibit photographing and filming Ukraine from the coast of Romania.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit Romania and its inhabitants and broadcast the opinion that Romanians do not support Ukraine. They say that for them missile attacks on our state are like a show and a way to have fun. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake that NATO is preparing for the defeat of Ukraine and the occupation of the western part of Ukrainian territories by Romania and Poland.

Russian media, broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric, are disseminating information that Ukrainian refugees are allegedly engaged in giving birth to children for sale in special bunkers in Switzerland. “Children are bought as goods by foreigners, and a Swiss company earns billions from this”, Russian propaganda writes and refers to the American podcast Redacted. It's fake.

The case was noticed by the checkers of the StopFake project. The American podcast Redacted, which Russian propagandists refer to, was created by the spouses Clayton and Natalie Morris, who are engaged in spreading conspiracy theories, myths about vaccination and Kremlin narratives regarding Ukraine. Applications about the birth of children in special bunkers are accompanied by a video where one can see bomb shelters with children, cots and medical personnel.

The fact-checker, using an image search, established that the footage used by the propaganda was filmed by the Ukrainian company BioTexCom, which deals with surrogacy. During the full-scale invasion, the company equipped a bomb shelter. However, there was no talk of “Swiss bunkers”. Moreover, surrogacy is prohibited in Switzerland.

In this way, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit Switzerland, show that the event is profiting from Ukrainian refugees, and deal a reputational blow to the companies supporting them. Previously, Detector Media refuted the fake news that Ukrainian refugees in Germany are being urged to learn the vocabulary of cleaners in order to find work.

In the Russian segment of Facebook, information is being spread that during Volodymyr Zelenskyi's speech at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, most people left the hall. “The whole world is with them”, social network users add ironically. This is allegedly confirmed by two photographs: in one, Zelenskyi is standing behind the podium, and in the other, the hall is not completely filled. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the StopFake project. People did not leave the hall during Volodymyr Zelenskyi's speech on September 19. There is a video from the meeting on the official UN YouTube channel, which clearly shows that the room was filled only at the beginning of the session. The President of Ukraine spoke at the end of the first half of the six-hour session, immediately after the President of Turkmenistan. Immediately after his speech, the cameraman showed the hall not completely filled. Having compared the speeches of the King of Jordan, the presidents of Poland and Turkmenistan, the fact-checkers came to the conclusion that during Zelenskyi’s speech the number of people in the hall almost did not change.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit UN members and spreading the opinion that the West is tired of war, and Western partners are disdainful of the President of Ukraine. Previously, we talked about the manipulation that Zelenskyi would not be allowed to speak before the US Congress.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric are disseminating information that on September 6, the Russian military fired at the location of the Ukrainian military in Kostiantynivka. Russian propaganda notes that there are supposedly photos and videos of the wounded that confirm this. It's fake.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the VoxCheck project. On September 6, Russian troops shelled a market in Kostiantynivka, killing 15 people. Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko, speaking on the United News telethon, said that only the civilian population was affected, and there were no military units there.

By disseminating information that the Russian military is targeting exclusively military targets, Russian propaganda is trying to whitewash the Russians and show that they allegedly do not commit war crimes against Ukrainians. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake news that the Russians fired at a meeting of Lithuanian and Polish NATO officers in Chernihiv.

Propaganda resources began publishing reports about the “shooting down” of a Ukrainian Air Force helicopter in the area of the temporarily occupied Lyman without evidence. They say that the “first shots” of the Russian military’s successful testing of the Mi-8 helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have appeared. However, this is fake.

Researchers at the StopFake project debunked this case using Google's reverse image search tool. As it turned out, the information provided is not true. These “first shots” only show a helicopter burning in the sky. They have nothing to do with the allegedly downed Ukrainian helicopter. An identical photograph has been used by various media outlets for several years. The oldest publications found by the search engine date back to 2020.

We also managed to find a video from which Russian propaganda took its “proof” of the alleged destruction of Ukrainian equipment. The British TV channel SkyNews published a video back in February 2020 with the same footage, but with a completely different caption. According to their journalists, it shows a Syrian military helicopter shot down by rebels. One can understand that this is the right helicopter from the same ignition of the fuselage (the place where fuel, landing gear, engines can be placed) of the aircraft and the color of the sky.

Previously, we also documented a similar hoax about the Russians “massively destroying” M1 Abrams tanks, although they had not even been delivered to Ukraine at that time. We also denied information that the Russians destroyed the first Leopard tank on the battlefield. This also turned out to be untrue.

Russian propagandists in anonymous telegram channels claim that on September 5, the Susupilne supposedly published the news “In the Odesa region, a military man was detained on suspicion of raping a 10-year-old girl”. They say that the criminal is a soldier of the 41st mechanized brigade. It's fake.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that as of September 12, the article had a different title, namely “In the Odesa region, a man was detained on suspicion of raping a 10-year-old gir”. Neither the police nor the Susupilne identified the suspect as a military man. A backup copy of the news as of the morning of September 10 shows the same title. Consequently, the propagandists edited the screenshot of the news.

By using this fake, Russia wants to discredit the Ukrainian military and cause distrust of the population in them. They say that only rapists and unhealthy people serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, the Russians justify their aggression against Ukraine. Detector Media also debunked other fakes regarding the Ukrainian military.

This information was disseminated by propaganda media. Reports say Russian troops launched missile attacks on Kyiv, specifically targeting depleted uranium ammunition depots. Thus, the authors of the publication wrote that Kyiv was “threatened” by the fate of Chornobyl, because after the explosion, all the uranium dust allegedly dispersed throughout Kyiv. Therefore, they even urge Kyiv residents to evacuate as quickly as possible in order to save themselves from radiation. However, this is a lie.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project analyzed this case and determined that Russia could not destroy such ammunition, since Ukraine had not even received it yet. In addition, over the past few days there has been no information about warehouse explosions in Kyiv or the region. Only on the 6th, following a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he announced the provision of a new aid package to Ukraine, including weapons, including depleted uranium shells for American Abrams tanks. The official did not note any dates for the likely delivery of weapons to Ukraine. And the Ukrainian media did not publish news about the receipt of such weapons. This is just a stuffing of Russian “news” resources that came up with the material.

Moreover, Russian propaganda is trying to portray depleted uranium weapons as capable of destroying people and generally emitting radiation. Yes, depleted uranium is indeed a radioactive substance, but it is not so dangerous that its use is prohibited. To put it simply, the projectile “does not emit radiation”. That is, the influence of radioactive radiation from depleted uranium is insignificant. For example, BBC military expert Pavlo Aksionov explained that shells with depleted uranium cores are not prohibited by any conventions. The point is that such projectiles consist of a thin core (spire), made of heavy and durable alloys using tungsten or depleted uranium. And in fact, depleted uranium is located only on the core, if there is such a thing at all. And not the entire projectile carries radiation, as propagandists are trying to convince us of.

The Russians are constantly manipulating the nuclear issue. Last autumn, propagandists and Russian officials were convincing people that Ukraine was creating a “dirty bomb” and was preparing to use this weapon with supposedly nuclear waste - depleted uranium. Ukraine is already being called a “huge threat” to a nuclear disaster, allegedly precisely because of the supply of such weapons.

Here's how Russian propaganda raised the nuclear issue in its propaganda dumps - read the latest:

They wrote that Ukraine was allegedly preparing a nuclear strike against Russia; or explained how Ukrainian troops allegedly carried out fake attacks on nuclear facilities to blame the Kremlin although it is known that Moscow resorts to nuclear marching, constant terror and ultimatums. Read and remember how in the summer of 2023, a terrorist country intimidated Ukrainians with an explosion at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Volodymyr Zelenskyi recently allegedly signed a law allowing members of the LGBTQIA community to travel abroad freely. In the publication, the authors add a screenshot of “news” from the Public website. It is not true.

The case was examined by StopFake analysts who first checked the authenticity of the screenshot itself and found that it was not real. The authors of the fake publication simply used another piece of news with an image of Zelenskyi and changed the name in the photo editor. In addition, on the official website of the president and in the special “Decrees” section there is no information about such a legislative initiative. If one searches there for the LGBTQIA community itself, there are only petitions with various calls, including for permission to travel abroad. And yet, petitions are an attempt by private individuals to appeal to the authorities and advocate for some initiatives. Volodymyr Zelenskyi has nothing to do with the creation of this petition.

The fact-checkers reminded that men aged 18 to 60 years are prohibited from leaving the country according to the Law of Ukraine “On mobilization preparation and mobilization”. If there are documents confirming the condition of such persons as incapable of military service, for example, this category of people can go abroad. But this, of course, is not the only condition. Transgender people also have the right to travel abroad if they have a number of documents. This is stated in the report of the LGBT rights center “Our World”. One needs to have a certificate of transgender transition, contact the civil registration authorities and get a new birth certificate and then a biometric passport. Human rights activists explained that without the appropriate documents and the conclusion of a medical commission - if transgender women have the gender “husband” indicated in their documents - such a person will be subject to mobilization.

Russian propaganda once again instrumentalized the LGBTQIA community and portrays people as weak, unlucky and wanting to “flee abroad” and not perform military service. In this case, the Kremlin appealed to the entire community—lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, intersex people, and others—and thus hinted at the “frailty” of these people. That even Volodymyr Zelenskyi is allegedly ready to send them out of the country. But the presence of LGBT people in society, and in the army in particular, testifies to the opposite attitude towards the community in Ukrainian discourse.

For example, back in 2018, the association “Ukrainian LGBT Military for Equal Rights” was created in Ukraine. The founder of this organization was the then volunteer of the Donbas battalion, and now a fighter of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade, Viktor Pylypenko, who made his first coming out as a veteran combatant. The organization itself says that it has 300 LGBTQIA military personnel, including 20 couples, and these are only those who have an active social position.