Russian propaganda is spreading information that the administration of the Zaporizhzhia region has allegedly announced that the region will not return to Kyiv's control, saying that it is "historically Russian territory." The StopFake project drew attention to this.

In fact, Russian media do not cite the position of the Ukrainian government or the position of local residents of the region, but the words of the protege of the occupying power in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region Vladimir Rohov, who is not the first year a mouthpiece of Russian propaganda. Back in March 2022, the National Police of Ukraine opened a criminal case against him for collaborating. "Zaporizhzhia region is the territory of Ukraine both legally (enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine) and historically. On these lands, the Zaporozhian Cossacks were formed, and the Zaporozhian Sich was created. Even after the region became part of the Russian Empire, the largest number of Ukrainians lived in the region, ” StopFake reminded, adding that part of the Zaporizhzhia region is currently under temporary occupation.

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The video of the US ambassador in Georgia, Kelly C. Degnan, broadcast in Georgian, has spread on social networks. In this video, she allegedly says that Georgia needs to open a so-called second front against Russia. The video quotes Degnan as saying: "To make sure that the armed forces are on high alert and that the United States is supporting Georgia in its steps towards NATO membership. It is an incredible opportunity for Georgia, and time cannot be wasted. " These words are followed by footage of the explosion, which gives the impression that Degnan talked about hostilities.

Russian media are spreading the statement of one of the pro-Russian officials that the Sea of ​​Azov has allegedly changed its status, and now the water area allegedly "belongs" to Russia and the occupation administration of Donetsk. This statement is part of Russia's narrative of "inland seas." "This is how propaganda began to call the Black and Azov Seas after the beginning of the armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and the Kremlin's temporary occupation of Ukrainian Crimea by the Kremlin. The narratives that Ukraine allegedly "lost" its rights to the peninsula and the adjacent Black and Azov Seas in 2014 are disinformation, " StopFake explained.

In fact, according to all international norms, in particular, the central UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Ukraine has the full right to use the Black and Azov Seas. This right is not affected by the status of Ukrainian Crimea as "temporarily occupied" or by the Russian armed blockade of the Azov Sea coast and local ports.

Along with the fake about "changing in the status of the Sea of ​​Azov," Russian propaganda is spreading information that it has "succeeded in ruining NATO's plans to consolidate and build military bases in the region." Russia is constantly exploiting the topic of "NATO aggression" to justify its illegal actions, such as the occupation of Crimea or a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Fake of NATO's intention to dominate the Black Sea has been circulating for at least 20 years and was actively used in early 2014. StopFake noted that Russian propaganda has now shifted the message from the Black Sea to the Azov coast. However, the North Atlantic Alliance forces did not declare their intention to "build military bases" on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.

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Information, that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station captured by Russian troops held 30,000 kilograms of plutonium and 40,000 kilograms of enriched uranium, was first spread by a Wall Street Journal journalist on social networks; from where it was picked up and disseminated by the Russian media. Russia can use this fake to spread the message that Ukraine is allegedly preparing to "resume nuclear weapons production" because enriched uranium and plutonium could potentially be used as raw materials for nuclear weapons.

Russian media have spread a distorted quote from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who allegedly said that Turkey did not want to get involved in the "show about Ukraine," saying that Ankara would not join sanctions against Moscow, and Russian companies could do business in the country.

StopFake writes that the quote of the President of Turkey was distorted, and words about the show were taken out of context. In fact, Erdogan said that Turkey opposes encroachments on Ukraine's territorial integrity and is trying to do everything possible to bring the parties to a peace agreement. Regarding the "show", according to the Turkish leader aa.com.tr: "President Erdogan emphasized that instead of participating in shows that do not contribute to resolving the crisis, Turkey is making every effort to cease fire in the region and then sign a permanent peace agreement, maintaining political and humanitarian relations with Russia. "

Russian media and pro-Kremlin telegram channels reported that two battalions of Poles had allegedly arrived in Ukraine and would soon be sent to fight in the Donbas. This fake began to spread against President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement about the bill on the special legal status of Polish citizens in Ukraine, which should become a "mirror respect" for Poland, which passed a law on support for Ukrainian citizens. It came into force on March 13 and regulated the legality of Ukrainians' stay in Poland and provided them with comprehensive support.

Despite this, StopFake writes, Russian propaganda spreads the thesis that the Ukrainian bill aims to " legalize Poles who want to take part in hostilities against Russia." In fact, for this purpose, the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine was created in Ukraine, where citizens of other countries serve. It includes Poles and volunteers from the Netherlands, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, and other countries. But there are no separate Polish battalions in Ukraine. Only Belarusians have their battalion named after Kastus Kalinowski, recently enlarged to the regiment. The Polish Government Security Center also denied allegations that Polish troops had arrived in Ukraine.

A pro-Russian resource published photos of documents allegedly belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which reportedly "surrendered to Russia." Borova village council reported that one of the photos showed a resident of their community who does not serve in the Armed Forces and at the time of the occupation was in the village and working at one of the local farms. "The occupiers came to him and took him away, but the boy returned home three days later. Therefore, we can assume that other photos of the documents from this post were obtained similarly and have nothing to do with reality, " the Borova village council said.

Russian media spread a fake that the United States allegedly "developed viruses in Ukrainian biolaboratories, including monkeypox," and lay it in Europe "Ukrainian refugees." In fact, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has officially stated that no cases of monkeypox have been reported in Ukraine.

At the same time, an anonymous telegram channel administered by Russia's intelligence services, «Spletnytsa, is spreading conspiracy theories, drawing parallels between an outbreak of monkeypox and a coronavirus pandemic, saying it was an artificial disease that was allegedly launched on purpose. Smallpox was first detected in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, cases have been reported in 11 African countries. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the disease occurs mainly in the rainforests of Central and West Africa and is sometimes exported to other regions.

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A fake is being spread on social networks that Viber messenger will allegedly be paid "next Saturday." The message also says that this information should be "sent to your ten friends so that it remains free." In fact, messaging on Viber, like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, is free. The fake about the alleged "paid Viber" was spread at least since 2018, and since then, the message's text has not changed. Such statements do not mention the date when the messenger is supposed to be paid, which indicates untruthfulness or manipulativeness. Also, this intrusion has other features of a fake: the lack of a primary source and a call to spread messages between your contacts.

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However, this is another lie of the Russians. The head of the city department of education and science, Olena Buynevych, said that currently only the security guards, teachers, and the directorate, which are preparing for the end of the school year, are in the mentioned educational institutions Suvorov district mentioned by the Russians.

"Russia's Ministry of Defense is lying. Well, not for the first time. They do not get used to it. I understand and share the concerns of the residents of densely populated neighborhoods of schools № 40 (was in previous reports), 14, and 71. There around the skyscraper. Typical sleeping areas are private sector islands and large "Czech" and " Khrushchev. There are no "firing positions, armored vehicles, and artillery." There is a watchman, a principal, and teachers. People fill out magazines, go online lessons, prepare for the end of the school year, "the official added.

Under her post on Facebook, residents of Odessa confirmed in comments that there are no military or armored vehicles near schools.

The network is spreading a fake about the "order" to remove bayraktars from the hotspots of the front. A document with "Head of the President's Office" is attached to such posts. This document is allegedly a scan of a letter from the President's Office to Valeriy Zaluzhny. However, the fake authors broke through and indicated his position incorrectly, calling him the Chief of the General Staff, not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Instead, the Chief of the General Staff in Ukraine is Lieutenant General Serhiy Shaptala.

The Russian media disseminate such information regarding the statement of the Center for Defense Management of the Russian Federation. The reports say that the Ukrainian military, in particular soldiers of the Azov, allegedly forcibly detained civilians with children in a kindergarten in the village of Borova, Kharkiv region. There, the Ukrainian military allegedly equipped barracks and placed heavy military equipment, artillery, and multiple launch rocket systems on the institution's territory. According to StopFake, despite loud statements from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the information that the Ukrainian military forcibly keeps civilians in Borova kindergarten is not valid. This was stated by the local authorities of the village on their official Facebook page, "Borivska selyschchna rada." 

There are now a lot of myths and speculations about life in Russian-occupied Kherson. In particular, the myth is spreading that in Kherson it is necessary to pay in Russian rubles for all goods and services. However, this is not the case. The myth was refuted by a Kherson journalist who is currently living in the occupation. She shared true information with the fact-checkers of the project "On the other side of the news". According to her, the Ukrainian financial system continues to operate in Kherson and payment in rubles is simply impossible. In the Kherson region, in particular in Genichesk, the Russians are trying to introduce cash payments in rubles, but these are just attempts, and not very successful. Although if you try hard, you can still get cash, in particular on a bank card. Be that as it may, Kherson residents are very hopeful that they will not be able to pay in rubles.

Such information is spread on social networks. In particular, the Russian-speaking and Georgian-speaking segments of Facebook. Such reports say that the Russian military captured American Admiral Eric Olson at the Azovstal plant. A photo of prisoners of war is attached to the posts. According to users, one of the militaries depicted is Eric Olson. However, according to the fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project, the allegation that US General Eric Olson was taken prisoner at Azovstal is unsubstantiated, and the photo related to his alleged arrest was actually taken on April 14 in Luhansk; therefore, Olson, in the post which the photograph was added is not mentioned at all. According to fact-checkers, a widespread photo, allegedly taken at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol and showing captured US General Eric Olson, was actually published by the Kremlin-controlled Sputnik on April 14. The photo shows Ukrainian prisoners of war. Fact-checkers add that any official open-source does not confirm the information about the arrest of Eric Olson at Azovstal. The circulated photo was also checked by the Italian organization FACTA.

Such information was spread by Belarusian propagandists, particularly Ksenia Lebedeva, on Belarus 1 TV channel. The plot said that the "Bandera" planned to capture Belarus's Brest and Gomel regions. According to the propagandist, the Bandera dream of adding to Ukraine part of the Brest and Gomel regions and from Russia such lands that passed into “their” composition in the XVIII century. "Why is the south of Belarus so important for Ukrainian nationalists? Because back in 2018, almost five years ago, they planned that this territory could become a strategical base for the introduction of Russian troops into Ukraine just in case, ” Lebedeva said. According to the fact-checkers of the project Brekhunets, the propagandist Lebedeva added that under such conditions she expressed the opinion of "the same nationalists" who allegedly believed that Ukraine would be in the circle of unfriendly states, including the West. However, this is not true. Ukraine is a peaceful country that has not carried out any attacks on any sovereign states and does not seek and did not seek to seize new territory. Instead, Russia seeks to seize Ukrainian territory, which in 2014 annexed Ukrainian Crimea and attacked Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and in 2022 started a full-scale war.

The Borova community in the Kharkiv region has denied a fake spread by Russian propagandists about the placement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a local school - the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center reported.

Russian propagandists, citing the head of Russia's National Defense Management Center, Mikhail Mizintsev, said Azov National Battalion fighters were holding hostages children and civilians in the basement of a school in the village Borova in the Kharkiv region. The fake report said that in the kindergarten "Berizka," Ukrainian defenders equipped barracks and deployed military equipment in the area. Propagandists are spreading lies that the Ukrainian military keeps civilians not only in the basements of the garden but also in the school. According to the Russian side, the hostages include women and children.

Russian propagandists are spreading this message, the Center for Disinformation Protection said.

According to Russian propagandists, "neutral Finland has decided to exchange available Russian gas for NATO membership. Residents of Finland refused to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Finland will buy more gas from the United States at an inflated price to cover the deficit. "

Russian media spread another disinformation statement by Maria Zakharova about "the activities of American bio laboratories in Ukraine," which allegedly "engaged in activities aimed at enhancing the pathogenic properties of plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases using synthetic biology." That is why Ukrainian citizens are allegedly being "massively tested" for tuberculosis at the entrance to the European Union.

According to StopFake, this Russian fake is designed to frighten and sow distrust of Ukrainian citizens in European countries. After arriving in the EU, Ukrainian citizens do not undergo any medical tests, including tests for the presence of tuberculosis. Due to Russia's aggression, European countries have lifted all restrictions on Ukrainians entering the European Union. The European Commission explains that "the absence of travel or medical documents (e.g., vaccination certificate, COVID-19 test) will not prevent you from entering the EU". The European Union has also weakened customs and veterinary controls for Ukrainians: “Ukrainian citizens are free to enter the EU with their belongings and pets.”

The European Commission's information bulletin states explicitly that even with the absence of a biometric passport for travel abroad, a regular passport, or any other identity document, Ukrainians have the right to enter the European Union on humanitarian grounds. In this case, the undocumented Ukrainian should remain available to local authorities in a safe place in the EU. Learn more about "biological weapons" from fleas, mosquitoes, and lizards.

Russian media took the adviser's phrase out of context to the head of the Office of President Mikhailo Podolyak to convince their audience of the "correctness" of his narratives about the "genocide of Russians in Donbas." According to StopFake, the agitprop, namely, the pro-Kremlin channel "Tsargrad TV" used Podolyak`s quote, in which he said during the national telethon: "Adviser to the head of Zelensky's office Podolyak wanted to organize a total genocide in Kharkiv region, as well as in LNR and DPR. Until the word 'Russian' is forgotten here at all".

In fact, Podolyak, commenting on the probable course of events in Ukraine, replied that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would talk about how the counterattack would occur. For him, it is a principle "to liberate the Kherson region and the Zaporizhzhia region, and it is not even discussed. We must also be tough on collaborators and Russian troops in those areas. We definitely need the aquatorium of the Azov Sea. I support the word "Russians" being forgotten in the Kharkiv region, and I am for the word "Russians" to be forgotten in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. And that all these criminal elements, who call themselves some kind of "power" there, will not exist anymore, even physically. Because they are ordinary bandits. "

This information was spread by the Turkish newspaper Aydınlık, which belongs to the pro-Russian Vatan party. The pro-Kremlin media widely spread this lie. They said that Ukraine does not release foreign ships from ports to prevent an attack on Odesa. "If the Russians launch an operation in Odesa and strike at Turkish ships, it is believed that tensions will arise in Turkish-Russian relations," the newspaper said.

The International Chamber of Navigation reported that as of May 5, at least 40 foreign civilian ships remained in the ports of the Odessa region. They are at anchor due to the blocking of shipping by Russia, according to the site "Suspilne. Media". Andriy Klymenko, project manager at the Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Russia had previously mined the sea routes from the Bosphorus to Odesa. However, they said it was Ukrainian mines.

Information about the fact that the Ukrainian military allegedly showed their lined tanks as Russian military equipment is spread by Russian media and telegram channels. Reports claim that Ukrainian soldiers were allegedly caught falsifying the news about tanks. According to StopFake, the federal channel "Russia 24" dedicated a story to one of such fakes in the news program. "Russian media claim that the Ukrainian military is incompetent and is photographed against the background of their own lined Bulat tanks, pretending to be Russian equipment," the fact-checkers wrote. But the photo does not show Ukrainian Bulat tanks, as explained in an interview with StopFake expert on tank technology Alexander Kostur. He added that in the story of the channel "Russia 24," there are images of two different tanks, but neither is a tank "Bulat" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the expert, there were no such tanks in the Ukrainian army at all. Read more.

Such a thesis along with the video was spread by Russian propaganda media referring to the Russian Defense Ministry. The video, which the publications add, allegedly captures the moment "when American M777 howitzers and a Ukrainian artillery crew are hit by the Kub drones-kamikaze." The reports also stated that "after the strike, the Ukrainian military tried to hide in the woods. As soon as they hid their howitzers and tractors there, artillery struck the forest. All equipment and American howitzers were destroyed," propagandists wrote. However, this video is fake. According to StopFake, Russian media edited two videos into one in order to falsify the "destruction of American howitzers. A number of reasons point to this fake: the inconsistency of the footage with the May seasonal weather, geo-positioning, and the absence of footage of broken Ukrainian equipment in the video. More details.

Russian propaganda media spread this message. Reports say that refugees from Ukraine who left for the Czech Republic will soon not have money for food due to the abolition of financial assistance from the state. The Russian media clarify that this situation will arise due to changes in the law Lex Ukraine, which regulates the residence of refugees from Ukraine in the Czech Republic. According to the publication Nashi Groshi, the changes have indeed been made, but not as reported by Russian sites. For example, the Russian newspaper Novy Den notes that humanitarian aid of 5,000 Czech korunas (about 200 euros) now will be paid only once and only after registration in one of the municipalities. "At the same time, the website does not mention that the aid will be canceled only if the refugees already have free housing and humanitarian aid (provided with food and hygiene). That is why Russian sites are full of manipulative headlines from the category "Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic will soon have nothing to eat" and "refugees will be deprived of benefits if they do not fall into a dizziness," Nashi Groshi wrote. Read more.

This was stated by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry. "The other day Ukrainian nationalists deployed air defense equipment in the Odessa film studio. The militants of the terror defense forces are going door-to-door to identify residents who adhere to the nationalist logic of rejection," Zakharova said. However, this is a fake. On the page of the Odessa film studio denied Zakharova's words. Also her statement called a fake the speaker of the Odessa regional military administration Serhii Bratchuk on the air of the national marathon. In addition, he stressed that such statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry are an informational alibi for the upcoming attack, which they want to create for themselves. However, he added that the Odessa Film Studio does have military equipment - a rare World War II vehicle that is used during filming.

This information was spread by the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. The publication published a text with the title: "British Mercenary: 'We Didn't See Any Corpses in Buche'" by Valentin Alfimov, editor of the political department. The text states that "Andrew came to Ukraine to defend its independence. But, like other 'wild geese', decided that life was more important after all, laid down his arms and surrendered. Already sitting in his warm office, he gave an interview to "RT in Russian," where he told how the Ukrainians took him to Bucha a couple of days after our units had left there." The text goes on to quote this Andrew as saying that he was in Bucha on April 3-4 and did not see any bodies or destruction there. However, the original interview to which the author of the text in Komsomolskaya Pravda refers says that around April 3-5, Andrew did not see any destruction, but not in Bucha itself, but on the outskirts. He says so: "But, again, we were not in Bucha itself, we were kept in the outskirts. However, Komsomolskaya Pravda and Russian propagandists benefit from another claim that what happened in Buchea was only a decree by the Ukrainian army to discredit the Russian military. In addition, the propagandists constantly manipulate the topic of Bucha and claim that everything was fine there. they also occasionally emphasize that the Ukrainian army intends to arrange a "new Bucha" in various places in Ukraine in order to discredit the Russian one again. However, thanks to these lies the propagandists only seek to justify the criminal actions of the Russian military.