On December 13, this information was circulated in English on Twitter by the Russian Embassy in London. This post was shared among the English-speaking sector on Twitter. Also, the Russian media published relevant news with reference to the embassy.

On the embassy’s page, a video was circulated as evidence, in which the Ukrainian military is working with drones, attaching details with the inscription “OB” to them. Russian propagandists in the diplomatic mission believe that the Ukrainian military is apparently preparing to use chemical weapons, probably phosgene. Allegedly, the video shows gas cylinders with the inscription “OB”, which means “poisonous ammunition”.

In fact, the Russians distributed edited excerpts of a video published in a telegram by the Ukrainian military, the commander of the Madiar Birds aerial reconnaissance group with the call sign Madiar. He showed how Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance officers assemble the Molfar folk kamikaze drone with a warhead on their own. In another video, Madiar demonstrated how kamikaze drones work near Soledar at a Russian military point.

Russian propagandists are stuffing with fakes into the information space about the possible use of chemical weapons by the Ukrainian military in order to change the topic from their own failures near Bakhmut and Soledar, which they planned to capture before January 1, 2023.

Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of using and distributing banned weapons. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry recorded an alleged chemical attack on the Russian military from a Ukrainian drone and unmanned vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were found for spraying chemicals.

Ukraine ratified the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which includes phosphorus, in 1998. Then the entire chemical arsenal that Ukraine inherited from the USSR was destroyed. At the same time, Russia is using banned weapons in Ukraine.

In social networks and enemy telegram channels, a message is spreading that a probable photo of Stepan Bandera along with the German Nazi leadership has got into the network. Like, he is dressed in the uniform of the Wehrmacht, and even the reward is visible on the bust - supposedly the Cross of military merit. The authors of the message add that this photo is prohibited in Ukraine. It is not true.

Analysts of the Lithuanian project “15min naujenos” say that in reality in the photograph is not Bandera, but Reinhad Hellen, a well-known figure in the army intelligence during the Second World War, and later the founder of the German federal intelligence service. Fact-checkers say that the photo appeared on the web after 2014, in Livejournal, a blogging platform that is popular in Russia.

Propagandists have repeatedly spread fake stories about Ukrainian figures, including Stepan Bandera. The purpose of the fake is to nourish the narrative that Ukrainians are Nazis and are aimed at creating an idea of Ukrainian historical figures as exclusively Nazis and collaborators, which at the same time undermines the image of modern Ukraine and its authorities.

Pro-Russian telegram channels distributed information about allegedly secret training of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, police and fire protection of the Lublin voivodeship of Poland. They reported that Kyiv is preparing for a humanitarian catastrophe and is conducting exercises aimed at “preventing a massive uncontrolled flow of migrants”. Allegedly, Poland is afraid of the flow of refugees from a neighboring country.

In fact, according to VoxCheck, the study was reported publicly. On December 16, they were reported on their official pages by the State Emergency Service of the Volyn region, the State Migration Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The local media also wrote about them. There was no secret in the conduct of the training.

The purpose of the event was to work out the main actions in case of crowding at the border. Also, interaction with Polish colleagues was worked out to help citizens temporarily located at checkpoints across the state border.

Since the beginning of the war, the Russian media have been constantly writing about Ukrainian and Polish relations. In particular, that allegedly in the near future Poland will begin the occupation of the west of Ukraine, or that the number of HIV-infected people in the country has increased due to Ukrainian refugees. Thus, Russia is trying to sow discord between Ukraine and Poland.

The network disseminates information about the allegedly arrived at the National Institute of Surgery and Transplantation named after Shalimov of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, seriously wounded soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The report claims that the military is sorely lacking in blood. However, this is fake.

The fact-checkers of the NotaYenota project drew attention to the case on the network. According to fact-checkers, the information quickly gained popularity and was shared more than two thousand times. Reposts were made by such famous personalities as, for example, Israel army officer Yigal Levin and Ukrainian TV presenter Natalia Moseichuk.

In fact, this information is false. On the official pages of the National Institute of Surgery and Transplantation named after Shalimov of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine there is no information about the arrival of the seriously wounded. It should also be added that since February 24, 2022, there has never been a shortage of blood and its components in Ukraine. More than 100,000 volunteers have already been registered on the DonorUA platform, making it possible to meet all the needs of blood, both military and civilian.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists seek to sow panic and show that the situation at the front is very bad, because there are many wounded and they are critically lacking blood.

Telegram channels massively disseminate information that there is a list of places where draft notices will be handed out in each of the regions. Like, from January 11, 2023, draft notices will be handed out anywhere in Ukraine, because the law does not regulate the place of their delivery. Anyone can view the list of places where this will take place in order to avoid serving the draft notices.

In fact, information about clearly defined territories where draft notices will be handed out is fake. Local recruitment and social support centers did not report this either on their official pages in social networks or on official websites. So, there is no reason to believe this information. As the fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Liar) project, the message about the delivery of draft notices dated January 11, is also not true. In Ukraine, mobilization has been going on for 10 months, starting on February 24, 2022. Every man of military age can get a draft notice.

According to fact-checkers, public administrators on social networks disseminate such messages deliberately, realizing that they are manipulating socially important information. Such manipulations help the authors of telegram channels to increase their audience. In addition, such messages also shake the situation in society.

In social networks and enemy telegram channels, reports are spreading that Cheburashka is banned in Kyiv schools. Like, because of the successful distribution of the new Russian film, Ukrainian teachers banned the hero and recognized him as an occupier. The probable announcement depicts the hero himself and the inscription: “If you like Cheburashka, go to your Russia”. However, this is fake.

Analysts at The Insider project say that in fact there is no such announcement. Moreover, no publications about Cheburashka were found in the Ukrainian segment of social networks. A photo of the announcement featured in all pro-Kremlin media publications is with metadata erased. The photo was published many times, but exclusively on pro-Kremlin resources.

Propagandists have repeatedly spread fakes about Ukrainian schools and their organization. Consequently, they are trying to distort the impression of Ukrainian education and represent the educational institutions of Ukraine as a center of hatred and propaganda.

A photo of graffiti allegedly from Berlin is circulating on the network, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is depicted as a pimple that needs to be squeezed out. The reports say that the graffiti was allegedly painted by artists from the Polish group Typicaloptical. It's fake.

The MythDetector project fact-checkers checked the information about the graffiti and found that it doesn't actually exist. The place shown in the photo is indeed in Zurich, not in Berlin.

The fact-checkers then contacted the communication manager of the Department of Civil Engineering and Waste Management of the city of Zurich, who confirmed to the specialists that there were no drawings or traces of paint on the square.

By spreading this fake, propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian president and create the appearance that the world community does not support Zelenskyi. Allegedly, if not only Russian propaganda talks about the absurdity of the Ukrainian leadership, but also others, including activists who make caricatured graffiti, then this is true.

In addition, Russian propaganda regularly spreads fake graffiti or, for example, covers with Zelenskyi to humiliate and distort reality as if he is not fully supported.

Social networks and anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels spread information that Ukrainians will allegedly canonize US President Joe Biden as a saint. Like, he made a huge contribution to the development of the state and helps in the fight against the aggressor. The authors of such messages add a screenshot, which depicts an alleged petition on the change.org website with a corresponding request to Epifanii, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine. However, this is not true.

First, there is no such petition on change.org. Consequently, the propagandists created a pseudo-petition with the help of a graphical editor. Secondly, this statement is baseless since the Orthodox Church of Ukraine cannot list the President of the United States as a saint. To do this, at a minimum, Biden needs to profess Orthodoxy.

Social networks and enemy telegram channels spread information about Ukraine's preparations for the mobilization of women and children. Like, advertising with a call to join the territorial defense units contains hints that they will mobilize “everyone in a row”: both women and children. However, this is not true.

In fact, this is an unfounded statement. Such ads do exist and feature a crying baby and the slogan “Protect your children”. The advertising banner also featured the hotline number of the command of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Actually, volunteers from 18 to 60 years old, both women and men, can join the territorial defense. Everything happens on a voluntary basis. We are not even talking about general mobilization.

Russian media and pro-Russian resources are spreading information that Turkey is supplying Ukraine with Cold war-era cluster bombs. The primary source of the messages is an article in the American edition of Foreign Policy. Its authors refer to anonymous sources among US and EU officials. It's fake.

The message was denied by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar. He noted that information about the supply of cluster bombs is deliberately disseminated in order to blow up Ukrainian-Turkish relations and create a bad image of Ukraine and Turkey in the world. According to StopFake, the Foreign Policy material “Turkey sends Cold War cluster bombs to Ukraine” contains value judgments without specific evidence provided by witnesses or participants in such shipments.

According to the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international group on combating the use of cluster munitions, the Russian army used them hundreds of times in 2022 in ten of Ukraine's 24 regions. This could have affected more than 600 civilians. Thus, Russian propaganda uses the tactics of reflection and tries to cover up its own crimes.

Previously, propagandists accused Ukraine of allegedly supplying Azerbaijan with banned phosphorus munitions; allegedly Ukraine used chemical weapons against the Russian military in the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian propaganda also said that supposedly Russia does not have banned chemical weapons.

Russian media and pro-Russian telegrams are spreading videos of church fires. Allegedly, a fire occurred in the Holy Ascension church in the village of Ovadne, Volodymyr district, Volyn region. They say that the church was set on fire, because in Ukraine there is a “struggle against Orthodoxy”, and the priest “refused to leave the Moscow Patriarchate”. It is not true.

Information about the fire was denied by both rescuers and local authorities. The fire was not registered in the regional department of the State emergency service. According to the head of the Ovadne community, Serhii Panasevych, the video does not show their church.

Fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Lier) project found out that this is a video of a fire in the church of St. Theodosius of Chernihiv in the village of Novooleksandrivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which occurred on January 19, 2021.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages about “harassment” and “discrimination” against the Moscow Patriarchate Church in Ukraine. Previously, reports of an attack on a priest in a temple were used to nourish this message. They also wrote that the transfer of churches from the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is “a struggle for influence on the minds of people”; allegedly Ukraine is “destroying” the greatest religious denomination; and that allegedly Ukraine needs to be “desatanized” and “deshaitanized”.

Reports are circulating on social networks that allegedly the German Bundestag has urgently adopted a decision according to which Ukrainian refugees will receive a “welcoming” bonus of 500 euros at Caritas offices. Such assistance is allegedly funded by German taxes. The video gained thousands of views and caused discontent among the Germans. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the Correctiv project asked for clarification from the office of Caritas and the Bundestag and received confirmation that the video was fake. The Caritas Association does not pay or offer any “welcoming” payments. The Bundestag did not make such a decision; moreover, there was not even such a project. The fact-checker also notes that the primary source of the video is an account from which false information about financial assistance to Ukrainian refugees was also previously shared.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads fakes to discredit Ukrainian refugees. In particular, fakes were circulated earlier in Germany, allegedly social services pay for the services of a hairdresser instead of Ukrainian refugees; as if Ukrainians go to Germany, draw up social benefits and immediately return home; and as if Ukrainians resell items received in Germany as humanitarian aid.

Reports are circulating on social media that a sculpture in the shape of a nose has been installed in Milan, around which white powder is scattered. Like, the Italians called the sculpture “Zelenskyi's nose” because it reminds them of the Ukrainian president. This is not true.

In Milan, indeed, they placed a sculpture in the shape of a nose, but it has nothing to do with Volodymyr Zelenskyi. A sculpture with a nose and cocaine is located in the Corso Como shopping mall in Milan. It was created by the Italian activist and artist Christina Donati Meyer. The activist sought to use the sculpture to protest the increase in drug trafficking in Milan, especially cocaine. MythDetector fact checkers note that this sculpture is actually called Bianco Natale, Milano-Medellin (White Christmas, Milano-Medellin).

Russian propaganda systematically creates fakes to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyi both in Ukraine and abroad. To do this, propagandists use cartoon graffiti and fake covers of satirical magazines.

A screenshot of a message allegedly sent by the SSU (Security Service of Ukraine) is being circulated on social networks. The message refers to the need for men who are abroad to urgently appear at “points for the preparation and recruitment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. If the man does not show up voluntarily, the SSU plans to go to court “in order to deport the person liable for military service to Ukraine”. This message is fake.

As StopFake journalists found out, the box of this message was first published in the Typical Odesa telegram channel, which distributes Russian propaganda. Subsequently, it was published by other propaganda telegram channels.

The message contains grammatical and factual errors: for example, there are no “points for the preparation and recruitment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. They are officially called territorial recruitment and social support centers. It is also known that the SBU does not use the telegram channel to send any messages.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims to have “avenged” the murdered Russian mobilized who died in the dormitory of a vocational school in Makiyivka on the night of January 1, 2023. Russian propagandists write about a “retaliation strike” against Kramatorsk, which allegedly killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers. But these statements by the Russian Ministry of Defense are fake, refuted by foreign media, the Ukrainian army leadership, and even Russian “patriotic channels”.

According to Ihor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian artillery hit dormitories No. 28 and No. 47 in Kramatorsk. But four film crews of foreign media - Antti Kuronen, a Finnish journalist from the Yle television and radio company, CNN journalists, Daniele Raineri, a correspondent for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, and Reuters journalists - visited these two buildings and did not find any evidence of the death or injury of Ukrainian military or civilians. Moreover, both buildings are almost unscathed - only one had broken windows, the other building was not damaged at all. Local residents heard the explosions, but did not see any ambulances or the work of rescuers. Russian missiles definitely hit near the buildings: one crater is located near the school, the other missile, judging by the photographs, hit the garage. The Grey Zone telegram channel, close to Wagner's private military company, wrote that although the hostel buildings themselves were not destroyed, the Russian command “should hold their noses, since the decision-making center is probably located in the garage”. Other z-patriotic channels called Konashenkov's statements a lie. The Ukrainian army also said that the Russian Ministry of Defense is lying.

Collaborator Volodymyr Saldo, who calls himself the “interim governor” of the Kherson region, spread a fake in an interview on Volodymyr Soloviov’s channel that the Ukrainian military is randomly shelling Kherson, and the Russian army has nothing to do with the shelling. In addition, he said that the Ukrainian military were shelling the Ukrainian city with “mobile mortar groups”.

What “mobile mortar groups” are, according to Saldo, is not clear, as it is not clear why the Ukrainian army should shell a city with civilian Ukrainian citizens at all. At the same time, Saldo claims that Ukrainian “mortar groups” only fire at “significant objects”, they do it at night and solely because they are afraid of “security units”, as if they are shooting those who do not follow the instructions to “shell Kherson”.

The “security units” that travel around the city with “mobile groups” are an invention of Saldo himself. But the fake information about “mortar mobile groups” of the Ukrainian army appeared during the first stage of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014. This is written in the publication “Bridge”.

At that time, Russian propaganda spread the same stories about Ukrainian “mortar mobile groups” that allegedly shelled Luhansk, Donetsk and other occupied cities of Donbas. It is clear that there were no “mobile groups”, and Luhansk, Donetsk and, for example, Shakhtarsk were fired upon by militants of various criminal groups such as the Zaria (Star) battalion. The head of the so-called LNR (Luhansk national republic), Valerii Bolotov, spoke about this in an interview with Russian media in 2016. There is other evidence that Luhansk was shelled by the Luhansk residents themselves, who joined illegal armed formations. Read more about this here.

Russian media and users of the Georgian and Russian language segments of Facebook are distributing BBC infographics, allegedly created according to the American edition of Forbes, from which it follows that the military-political leadership of Ukraine enriched themselves during the war. But this is fake.

Russian media report that Volodymyr Zelenskyi's capital has grown from $650 million to $1.5 billion. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, and adviser to the head of the presidential office Mykhailo Podoliak also seem to have become billionaires; Volodymyr Klychko’s fortune reached almost 800 million dollars.

As noted by the Myth Detector project, a created graphic is a forgery. On December 27, 2022, Forbes Ukraine did indeed publish a list of the 20 richest people in the country, but none of the Ukrainian politicians mentioned in posts of Russian-language media appears on it. The top five richest Ukrainians in 2022 look like this: Renat Akhmetov, Viktor Pinchuk, Konstiantyn Zhevaho, as well as two IT entrepreneurs - Oleksii Shevchenko and Maksym Lytvyn. Everyone who used to be on the lists of the richest people in Ukraine, and those who were in the top 20 for the first time, have significantly lost their fortune this year. The BBC actually created its own infographic based on the Ukrainian Forbes data, all the data of it coincide with the Forbes data, and there is no president, no defense minister, or other officials in it.

We recall that earlier Russian media have already spread fakes about the status of Volodymyr Zelenskyi and called him a dollar billionaire. According to estimates, in fact, Zelenskyi's fortune is estimated at 20-30 million dollars.

Such a message is distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that electricity prices will change dramatically. Like, by July 1, 2023, Ukrainians should expect an increase in electricity prices up to 47%. It is not true.

According to the StopFake fact checkers, the price will not change for all consumers. The increase in electricity tariffs will affect only non-residential consumers. That is, for consumers-entrepreneurs, for example, those who buy electricity for their own business. Experts say that this is due to the shelling of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. For non-residential consumers, the price of electricity by July 2023 will increase by 18%, not 47%.

Such a message is distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that since Ukraine and Moldova have agreed to cooperate in the field of air defense, Ukraine will have the right to shoot down missiles in Moldovan airspace. It is not true.

In fact, according to VoxCheck fact-checkers, neither Ukraine nor Moldova announced such agreements. Recently, however, the countries have agreed to cooperate on air defense. There is no information about whether the possibility of Ukraine shooting down missiles in Moldovan airspace was discussed at the meeting at all. The official parties to the talks made no such statements.

The allegedly new cover of the comic magazine Humor Times is being circulated online. The cartoon depicts locusts, symbolizing the President, who is eating all the money. However, this is fake.

Such a message is distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that the liturgy was held in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra only with the participation of the military and the press. They say that other people did not want to participate in the liturgy, because they recognize only the Ukrainian church of Moscow Patriarchate. However, this is a lie.

As StopFake experts say, a number of media covering this historic event noted that the Christmas service gathered a huge number of believers. Various photos and videos of the Christmas liturgy show that there are not only journalists and military personnel in the church, but also just believers. The festive liturgy at the Lavra was also broadcast by national TV channels. On the broadcast, one could see who was in the temple during the service.

Propagandists spread this fake to convince everyone that the UOC is not popular among the Ukrainian population and that such a church is considered schismatic. That is, one that has separated from the real, canonical one.

Such a message is distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that Russia is defeating Ukraine, and this was even noted in the United States. Allegedly, the United States is convinced that Ukraine will lose. As evidence, propagandists refer to the material of the Reuters news agency, in which they allegedly talked about this. However, this is not true.

In fact, as StopFake experts say, the US Department of Defense did not note the total success of Russia, and even in some areas. However, it is true that the latest briefings by the US Department of Defense said that although heavy fighting is underway for Bakhmut, Ukraine continues to hold the city. Consequently, the United States did not recognize the actions of the Russian troops as completely successful.

This thesis is spread by Russian propaganda media, as well as telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. The reports say that Ukraine has switched to “aggressive blackmail” of European allies and allegedly began to “openly threaten to unleash hostilities” on the territory of the European Union if it refuses to supply heavy armored vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to propagandists, if the Germans do not hand over heavy armored vehicles to Kyiv, the Europeans will have to forget about peace. The reports add that foreigners have already understood the danger of flirting with the Kyiv regime. However, this is all fake.

Ukraine does not threaten Germany with war. The fact checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to the case. According to them, the disinformation is based on a quote from Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksii Danylov, who spoke on January 4. However, Danylov did not make any statements about Ukraine's intention to “unleash a war in Europe”. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council reflected on the risks for the countries of the European Union that arose in connection with Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. That is, on the contrary, Danylov spoke about the possible expansion of Russian aggression to other European countries.

In the German-language segment of Facebook and Twitter, a photo is circulating, which depicts Olena Zelenska in a private jet. The captions on the photo indicate the cost of things and jewelry that Zelenska allegedly put on herself. In particular, a Rolex watch for 18,000 euros. Also, two Louis Vuitton bags for 20,000 euros each. In posts with this photo on social networks, users write that it seems that the wife of the President of Ukraine spent 40 thousand euros on Christmas gifts for herself during her last visit to Paris in December 2022. And ordinary Ukrainians are dying and begging while she spends money on jewelry. But this is a fake photo: Zelenska's face was embedded in a photo of another real person.

The photo was noticed by the German fact-checkers of the publication Correctiv, who found out that the original photo shows entrepreneur Richard Hart, who posted his photo on Twitter in April 2022.

Russian media and telegram channels write that on January 2, rockets destroyed a “stronghold and ammunition warehouse”, which was allegedly located at the Altair ice arena in Druzhkivka. But this is fake.

As StopFake writes, both local authorities and local residents confirm that Altair was used as a part of humanitarian aid. For example, the head of the department of culture, family, youth and sports of Druzhkivka city council Yuliia Pyvovar in a commentary for Svoi.City:

“This is not a military facility at all. This is a completely civilian facility. We had a humanitarian aid warehouse on the ice arena, that is, there we had mattresses, blankets, pillows, there were containers for drinking water, directly the supply of drinking water that we had in the community. There were means for heating there, that is, potbelly stoves, heaters. This is, in general, the facility that we used to store humanitarian aid. There has never been any military there since the beginning of the war”, Pyvovar said. This information is confirmed by local residents in social networks, writes StopFake.