This thesis was spread in social networks, in particular in telegram channels and in propaganda media. Reports say that Bill Gates allegedly called Ukraine the biggest danger to the world and said that all evils will happen because of it. Like, Bill is convinced that in a few years aid to poor African countries will decrease against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. The authors of the messages refer to the website of the German publication Handelsblatt, which allegedly mentioned this. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the context of the material was distorted. Gates spoke about the latest challenges facing humanity, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war against Ukraine. At the same time, the philanthropist did not say that the biggest danger to the world in the next few years would come through Ukraine. On the contrary, Gates emphasizes that war is a great tragedy not only for the country where it takes place, but for the world as a whole. That is, there was no mention of Ukraine as the center of global danger.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists want to show Ukraine as a failed country and create the appearance that the whole world is supposedly opposed to it.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine will soon collapse due to Russian shelling of energy infrastructure. They say that it will become unbearable to live in Ukraine, and the number of victims due to lack of electricity “may be more than from nuclear weapons”. The authors add that Ukraine is paying for the shelling of the Crimean bridge, because before that Russia did not shell civilian infrastructure. In addition, the authors refer to the publication of Foreign Affairs and its probable material, which dealt with the collapse of Ukraine. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the context of the article was completely distorted. Foreign Affairs did publish an article “Ukraine's Coming Electricity Crisis. How to Protect the Grid from Russian Attacks”, which talks about the problems of the energy system in Ukraine. The material also predicts what could happen if effective measures are not taken to counter Russian shelling.

However, in the article, such a “forecast” is possible only under the worst-case scenarios, the journalist says that without “the support of the West”, and also “in case of further successful attacks by the Russian army on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure”, a collapse of the energy system is possible. At the same time, the author notes how such a catastrophe can be avoided.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to nourish the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to a lack of electricity or high utility prices. Thus, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize moods and create a feeling that “nothing will change”. Also calling the so-called collapse revenge for the Crimean bridge, the Russians once again seek to shift the responsibility for what is happening to Ukraine. Like, Russia is destroying the infrastructure solely because of the aggression of Ukraine. However, it is Russia that is the aggressor, and it is this country that started the war.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. It says the US is unlikely to hand over the Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of their difficult process of maintaining combat capability. The authors of the report add that the Ukrainian army is not capable of repairing tanks, so they will definitely not be sent. As evidence, they refer to the material of the Financial Times, where supposedly experts talked about this. This is manipulation.

Analysts of the StopFake project investigated this case and found out that neither the author of the article nor the experts interviewed stated that the United States was not ready to transfer the tanks. On the contrary, the publication says that after long discussions and requests from Germany and Ukraine, America nevertheless decided to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which is equivalent to one Ukrainian tank battalion. The fact-checkers note that the reporters only cited experts interviewed by the Financial Times who expressed concern about whether Ukraine could actually handle the maintenance of the tank. That is, the context of the article was distorted and the authors used convenient propaganda theses to justify “the unwillingness of the United States to transfer tanks”.

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists are trying to convince that the Ukrainian military is not capable of using Western weapons, they say, they don’t even know how to repair them. Thus, they also want to promote the narrative about the combat-ready Russian technology, which has no equal in the world. Earlier, Detector Media refuted the fake story about the alleged destruction of the Abrams tank by the Russian army, which had not yet arrived in Ukraine.

Telegram channels spread information that there are allegedly not enough ambulances in the Volyn region, since they are regularly transferred for the needs of the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Roman the Great. Also, many doctors were allegedly mobilized into this brigade, so there is an alleged shortage of professional personnel in the region. This is manipulation.

Reports of a shortage of doctors and ambulances are “fictitious”. The Volyn region indeed handed over nine ambulances to the military hospital and the 14th separate motorized brigade. Three more were donated by Lithuania as humanitarian aid. In addition to ambulances, SUVs and buses purchased with volunteers' money were handed over.

As VoxCheck fact-checkers found out, the messages are illustrated with photographs from the final meeting of the medical council of the Volyn medical center for emergency medical care and disaster medicine. During the meeting, the head of the Center, Volodymyr Shmal, said that 72 emergency teams were working in the medical center in November, provided with everything necessary. In December, another 7 brigades were formed. The center's car park was also updated - 5 new ambulances were bought. As for doctors, the official noted that certain personnel changes are now taking place. However, they are not associated with mobilization - some doctors have retired, and some have changed jobs. Shmal did not say anything about the lack of staff due to the mass mobilization of doctors. Moreover, according to the legislation, hospitals have the opportunity to “book” specialists from mobilization.

Thus, Russian propaganda is trying to undermine trust in the authorities and local governments and scare Ukrainians that they will be left without proper medical care. Previously, for this purpose, fakes were spread about the business trips of doctors to the combat zone.

This is reported by Russian media and pro-Russian telegram channels. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi put into effect the decision of the National security and defense council of Ukraine on sanctions against Rosatom and ZNPP. This is manipulation.

Sanctions were not imposed against ZNPP. Based on the decision of the National security and defense council, by Decree of the President of Ukraine, sanctions were imposed against the Russian corporation Rosatom and 199 companies included in its structure. Including two Russian companies: JSC “Operating organization of zaporizhzhia NPP” and the Federal state unitary enterprise “Zaporizhzhia NPP”. As StopFake notes, with the help of these companies, the occupiers are trying to legalize the operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP for Russia, including the connection of the Ukrainian power plant to the Russian energy system.

Russian propaganda is trying in this way to promote the message that the allegedly temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and enterprises on them now belong to Russia. Earlier, propagandists wrote that Zaporizhzhia enterprises fell under EU sanctions. Like, this indicates that the EU recognized these enterprises as Russian.

This thesis appeared in anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. In their messages, they used the Gender Zed NGO post about same-sex sex among Zaporizhzhia cossacks. Like, the Ukrainian LGBT community is trying to distort the “real” Ukrainian history and is trying to make all the cossacks “perverts”. Moreover, the Russian propaganda focused on the part of the message about transgender people in the Orthodox Church of that time. This is manipulation.

The message of the organization is not scientific and cannot be perceived as genuine information, as the authors themselves point out. In addition, the material says that in the Zaporizhzhia Sich there were cruel punishments for same-sex sexual practices. The authors of the message do not claim that all cossacks were gay, but simply explain that the fact that gays among the cossacks were quite real. According to a number of studies, the human population is 7-10% of homosexual people. Therefore, it is quite clear that they could be in the Sich as well.

Russian propaganda actively manipulates topics related to the LGBT community in Ukraine and beyond. Russia, using LGBT disinformation, despises the democratic system, opposing it to the Russian world. Detector Media refuted the main myths about the representatives of the LGBT community, and also told how Ukrainian LGBT activists help in the fight against Russian occupiers.

Pro-Kremlin media disseminate information that, according to a poll, 94% of German citizens do not support the supply of tanks to Ukraine. However, allegedly contrary to public opinion and under pressure from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, they were forced to agree on the supply of German tanks to Ukraine. This is manipulation.

In fact, according to the results of a regular public opinion poll, 46% of Germans supported the delivery of tanks to Ukraine, 43% were against, and another 11% refrained from answering. In terms of party affiliation: 66% of the supporters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), 61% of the Greens and 49% of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) supported the transfer of tanks to Ukraine. Among the far-right Alternative for Germany party, 84% opposed the decision. It is their opinion, as the fact-checkers of Myth Detector note, that propagandists give out in the opinion of the Germans as a whole. However, in the elections in 2021, the party won the support of 10.3% of the vote. Therefore, such generalizations are incorrect. According to a poll conducted by Civey for Der Spiegel after the decision to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, 54% of the population supported this decision.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that the West does not want to help Ukraine with weapons, relying on non-authoritative sources of information or disfigured quotes. Thus, Russia is trying to undermine the authority of Ukraine at the international level, to show the weakness of the Ukrainian government. Propagandists continued to disseminate distorted opinion polls in Germany. They wrote that allegedly more than 70% of Germans are against increasing military assistance to Ukraine, or 40% of Germans are convinced that NATO provoked Russia into a war with Ukraine.

This message was circulated on social networks, in particular in the French segment of Twitter. The report says that Volodymyr Zelenskyi calls on NATO to launch a preventive nuclear strike on Russia. The authors of the messages cite an episode from Zelenskyi's online speech at the Australian Lowy Institute and add a short video. The tweets were shared by the propaganda media, who called Zelenskyi's words “a call to start a world war with unpredictable horrific consequences”. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts at the StopFake project investigated this case and found that the meaning of the quote was distorted, because in fact Zelenskyi did not call for a nuclear strike on Russia. In the short video, the president says that NATO needed to launch “preemptive strikes” on Russia to keep it from using nuclear weapons.

However, on the same day, press secretary Serhii Nykyforov explained his words, saying that Volodymyr Zelenskyi had in mind the period until February 24. Because then, according to the president, it would be worth taking preventive measures to prevent escalation. And there was no talk of a nuclear strike from Ukraine at all.

By spreading this manipulation, propagandists are trying to promote the narrative that Russia is allegedly fighting not only with Ukraine, but also with large organizations, such as NATO. Like, the Russians are protecting the world from the war that Ukraine allegedly unfolds.

Such messages are distributed in anonymous telegram channels and Russian media. They say that Kyiv began to openly threaten Moscow. Like, against the background of the victories of the Russian army, the West began to look for ways to turn the tide. Allegedly, Washington plans to seize the temporarily occupied Crimea. This is manipulation.

The propagandists used the words of Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Office of the President, as the basis. He said that Ukraine has begun negotiations with partners on the supply of long-range missiles and aircraft. Podoliak noted that aviation is needed to cover the military, and missiles are needed to destroy Russian weapons depots, including in Crimea. It was this thesis that the propagandists used for manipulation. Using the tactics of substitution of concepts, the Russians began to call attacks on warehouses with weapons terrorist attacks.

Russia systematically spreads messages that discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the inhabitants of the temporarily occupied Crimea. Earlier, they wrote that the Ukrainian army plans to “recapture” Crimea in Russia, and after the liberation, it will deport 800,000 Crimeans. Or propagandists claimed that Ukraine “changed its mind” about returning Crimea, and Ukrainians rejoice that war has come to the peninsula.

A video is circulating on social networks, in which, allegedly, American President Joe Biden confirms that the Third World War has already begun. Like, for the offensive in Ukraine they will use equipment and aircraft with American pilots and crews. This is manipulation.

Part of the video and a quote taken out of context are being distributed on social networks. Biden's quote was taken from his speech at the Democratic House of Representatives conference in Philadelphia back in March 2022. As the VoxCheck fact-checkers explain, Biden is clear that Russia's military aggression against Ukraine will not escalate into World War III. Further, he notes that this is possible on the condition that, along with weapons, the United States will send American specialists to Ukraine. It was this part of speech that was used for manipulation.

Russian propaganda has previously spread the message that the Third World War is going on in Ukraine. This message is used, among other things, to explain the duration and failures of the so-called “special military operation” as they say that Russia is at war not only with Ukraine, but also with the “collective West”.

Videos circulating online show large flocks of dark birds flying near buildings. They write that these videos were allegedly filmed in Kyiv. The Russian media write that this was due to the anti-religious policy of the “Kyiv regime”: state-sponsored sacrilege, the destruction of churches and the persecution of priests. This is manipulation.

Part of the video was actually filmed in Kyiv, and part in Houston (USA) back in 2017. Video from Houston in 2020 was used as “proof” of the effects of typhoon Molave in Vietnam. The migration of large numbers of birds has nothing to do with conspiracy theories or “satanic rituals”.

As the Myth Detector fact checkers explain, this bird behavior is called murmuring. Scientists consider murmurations a way to protect themselves from predators or to exchange information about favorable feeding grounds.

Such manipulations of Russian propaganda nourish messages about the “destruction” of the Moscow patriarchate church, about the need to “desatanize” Ukraine, which promotes paganism. Russian propaganda deliberately divides Ukrainians by religion in order to exacerbate internal disputes and further destabilize the situation in Ukraine.

Russian media disseminate information that allegedly in Ukraine, electricity from schools and kindergartens was redirected to ensure the operation of ski resorts. Like, the Ukrainian military massively complain to the local authorities that their relatives are sitting without light and heat, while the electricity is not turned off in ski resorts. This is manipulation.

The situation with power supply in the Transcarpathian region is really difficult. In some settlements of the Khust district of the Transcarpathian region, there really was uninterrupted power supply for two days in a row, while in other cities and villages electricity was supplied according to the schedule. This angered the locals. The situation was described in an article on the Zakarpatpost website on January 29. According to the StopFake fact checker, the local authorities promised to find out why this situation arose and to resume power supply in all settlements according to the schedule. There was no talk of the fact that the authorities deliberately “redirected” electricity from schools and kindergartens and “gave” it to recreation centers. This is an unfounded fiction of propagandists, since outrages do not occur point by point, but by certain lines.

By spreading such messages, Russian propagandists are trying to devalue the work of Ukrainian energy workers and workers who ensure the operation of critical infrastructure as well as to show the inability of the authorities to solve energy issues. Previously, Russian propaganda spread messages: that Ukraine is resuming the export of electricity, and that is why people turn off the light, that Kyiv is the only city in the “former Ukraine” where, with the help of the West, energy supply is quickly resumed. They also tried to divide the Ukrainians, spreading the message that Odesa was without electricity, because “their electricity was given to the West of Ukraine”.

Previously, Detector Media explained how the Russian army and propaganda are trying to destroy Ukraine's energy system.

Russian propaganda is spreading information that the United States seems to be supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia because of its interest in access to titanium deposits. This is manipulation.

The Russian media are spreading the news with reference to an article in the American edition of Newsweek called “The battle for Ukraine’s titanium”, which really discusses the prospect of investing by American companies in the development of deposits of this strategically important metal, including for the production of weapons. The article also says that Russia will receive a strategic advantage if it controls mining in the occupied territories, although it did not name the seizure of Ukrainian titanium deposits among the reasons for the war. The United States still depends on Russian titanium, and therefore does not impose sanctions on the oligarchs who own factories for the extraction and processing of titanium ore. And the occupation of Ukrainian titanium deposits can strengthen this dependence.

The article does not say anything about the fact that the United States supported Ukraine in the war precisely because of titanium reserves. The point is only that after the end of the war, American investors could meet the development of these deposits. But according to the authors of the article, Russia waging an aggressive war could hide behind fictitious reasons, pursue the goal and seize Ukrainian resources.

This message was circulated on social networks and in the Kremlin media. It says that Ukraine should accept an inevitable defeat from Russia, as it depends on the West. Like, Ukraine is now on the verge of losing, so it is likely, according to the authors of the message, that it “may disappear from the map of the world”. The publication refers to an article published on the Chinese portal Sina. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts of The Insider project investigated this case and found out that in fact the Sina platform is not the media or any official resource, but a huge online platform with registered users. That is, anyone can place anything on it. That is why under the material about the “inevitable defeat of Ukraine” it says: “The content of the above article demonstrates the author's own views and does not reflect the views or positions of Sina.com”. An article is an unofficial position of a country or even a platform, but only one user.

Fact-checkers add that an unknown user of the platform has published five articles since January 24, in which he glorifies the Russian army and predicts an inevitable defeat for Ukraine.

By spreading such manipulation, Russian propaganda resorts to subterfuge and tries to convince the Russians of their victories. Allegedly, the Russians are supported by a strategic partner or a “strong” state that should be trusted. Consequently, Russia wants to distort reality and wishful thinking.

This manipulation was spread on social networks and pro-Kremlin telegram channels. The report says that tanks supplied by the West are ineffective. They say that the invaders are able to destroy all Western equipment with their own, domestic alternative. As proof, propagandists refer to the material of the Danish Defense Academy, where this is allegedly discussed. However, this is manipulation.

According to StopFake project analysts, the cited material does not actually say that Western tanks will be ineffective in the fight against Russia and there are no statements about how all of them will be smashed by Russia. One of the experts in the material only says that their importance should not be overestimated and that they can really play their role during the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Propagandists spread such manipulation to convince everyone of the effectiveness of Russian technology. It seems that it has no equal, and all Western equipment can be easily destroyed. Detector Media talked about a fake in which Russia allegedly destroyed a tank that had not even been handed over to Ukraine yet, as well as how certain European countries, in particular Denmark, regret that they provide weapons to Ukraine.

Such information was disseminated in telegram channels and pro-Kremlin media. The report says that such an opinion is allegedly shared by the speaker of the head of the UN, Stéphane Dujarric. The authors of the messages refer to his statement in which he allegedly said this and add that the West is supplying more and more weapons to Ukraine. According to them, this could “lead to even worse development”. However, this is manipulation.

As the analysts of the StopFake project explain, the propagandists distorted the official's quote. Asked by a journalist about the prospects for the end of Russia's war against Ukraine and the use of Western weapons, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the current processes do not indicate that “a just peace in accordance with the UN Charter and international law” will be achieved soon. That is, it is assumed that Russia, a terrorist country, does not at all profess a policy of peace, diplomacy and democracy. On the contrary, it brings war and destruction, which just denies the key values of the UN, which the spokesman mentioned.

Based on the context of this statement, analysts are sure that Dujarric implies the concept of war as a phenomenon and possible escalating threats from a terrorist country, but this does not apply to the issue of arms supply, because the spokesman noted that in general the war continues and this is already bad . However, the UN will do everything to bring peace to Ukraine.

At the same time, the Russian media omitted a part of the quotation with “….in accordance with international law”, which primarily indicates a compilation and an attempt to manipulate the opinion of readers. This concept implies the withdrawal of Russian troops from all the territory of Ukraine within its recognized borders as of 1991.

Propagandists have repeatedly manipulated the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine. Thus, they want to convince people that the countries of Europe do not give up their weapons of their own free will and allegedly regret this. Also, this manipulation is intended to nourish the narrative that the supply of Western weapons continues the war in Ukraine.

We recall that earlier Russia has already spread disinformation that certain European countries, in particular Denmark, regret that they provide weapons to Ukraine.

Social networks and telegram channels spread information that the NATO reconnaissance aircraft Boeing E-3 Sentry, which recently arrived in Romania, will participate in Poland's operation to seize the territory of the western regions of Ukraine. One of the sources of these messages is Illia Kyva's telegram channel. This is manipulation.

An American Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft used for early warning radar recently arrived in Romania. It will monitor Russian military activity on NATO's eastern border. “Operations to seize the territory of Western Ukraine” is a fiction of Russian propaganda. As StopFake notes, it was Russian aggression and a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that forced NATO to increase security measures on its eastern border.

Russian propaganda constantly promotes the narrative that Poland intends to take over the West of Ukraine. Earlier, as part of this narrative, propagandists said that Poland considers the West of Ukraine to be its “colony”. Russian propaganda also spread fakes about a referendum on the accession of the West of Ukraine to Poland and convinced that the West of Ukraine would be given to Poland if Warsaw paid the US debt instead of Kyiv.

The news was spread by Russian media and picked up by pro-Russian TV channels. Like, the decision to supply Western tanks Abrams and Leopard 2 to Kyiv will not only lead to a military escalation, but also pose a threat to the health of civilians. Allegedly, tanks are dangerous due to the fact that they use shells with depleted uranium. Allegedly, due to the use of shells, the area is polluted and outbreaks of oncological diseases occur. Also, allegedly, Russia can consider the use of these shells as the use of a dirty bomb. This is manipulation.

International organizations, in particular the IAEA, the UN Environment Agency, the Scientific Committee on Risks to Health and the Environment of the EU Commission, have come to the general conclusion that the impact of radioactive radiation from depleted uranium is insignificant. Radiation exposure from depleted uranium is very low compared to natural radiation. According to the results of medical examinations of military personnel who used such projectiles during hostilities, they did not find the effect of depleted uranium on their health.

Russian propaganda is conducting an information campaign to discredit German and American tanks that are being planned to transfer to Ukraine. They had previously argued that these tanks would not change the situation at the front. Like, American Abrams tanks are unsuitable for use in Ukraine in winter. It was also argued that Russia would consider Germany a “party to the conflict” if there was permission to supply tanks to Ukraine. More details.

Telegram channels and social networks are circulating reports that dangerous Romanian-made cookies have been found in Kharkiv. The messages refer to information from the Kharkiv state food and consumer service. The messages say that supposedly it would not surprise anyone if such cookies were given out as humanitarian aid. They say that only spoiled foreign-made products can be received free of charge. This is manipulation.

The State food service indeed spread information about Romanian-made cookies, in which they found a high content of acrylamide. Such messages were spread throughout Ukraine, moreover, in other countries too. As the Kharkiv anti-corruption center explains, Ukraine, like other states, received a warning about a dangerous product through the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and informed people about it. The Kharkiv anti-corruption center notes that there is no information about whether this brand of cookies was sold at all in the Kharkiv region.

That is, propagandists used messages about potential danger to sow panic among Kharkiv residents. Like, humanitarian aid is either not given out, or dangerous products are offered.

Propaganda media and pro-Russian telegram channels spread the information that the US is not handing over the heavy Abrams tank to the Ukrainian Armed Forces because it cannot move in the snow. This is evidenced by the video, which shows how the Abrams tank unsuccessfully tries to climb a snowy hill. This is manipulation.

The video used by the propagandists does not give grounds to draw general conclusions about the possibility of using tanks in Ukraine. As the fact-checkers of The Insider project note, there are videos of winter exercises involving Abrams tanks in social networks, in particular in 2016 in Norway. The video shows how Abrams tanks move without problems in deep snow and icy roads, and when quickly descending from a snowy hill, one of them demonstrates an extreme driving technique - a controlled skid.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at a briefing that so far, Abrams tanks have not been handed over to Ukraine because they are demanding to be maintained and need aviation fuel.

Thus, the propagandists are trying to convince the audience that any supply of Western weapons will in no way affect the military course of events. Propagandists are also trying to disrupt the supply of German Leopard tanks.

Telegram channels spread messages that there is a problem with humanitarian support in the Kharkiv region. Allegedly, problems arise in different settlements after the de-occupation. Volunteers seem to be unable to deliver aid for various reasons. They also write that the Kharkiv regional military administration reported that they had received a large batch of humanitarian aid from the UN, but people did not receive anything. Like, the products hit the shelves of stores. This is manipulation.

On the website of the Kharkiv regional administration, information is published on the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population. In particular, over the past week (January 16-22), about fourteen thousand food packages were handed over to the communities of the region. The website of the Humanitarian coordinating center has a map for tracking humanitarian assistance to the population. As the Kharkiv anti-corruption center notes, there may indeed be problems with receiving humanitarian assistance in some settlements of the occupied territories. However, Russian propaganda distorts the real state of affairs, in particular, humanitarian aid from the UN. It contained mattresses, bed linen, solar lamps, dishes, hygiene products and other household items, and not food, as the propagandists claimed.

Thus, propagandists are trying to create the illusion that Ukraine not only does not help people in the de-occupied territories, but is more comfortable with “hell for civilians”. Like, people are allegedly arrested for organizing sporting events or baking bread during the occupation; or they do not issue humanitarian aid and punish others for receiving it from the occupiers.

The Russian media are spreading a quote from Swiss official Guy Parmelin. Allegedly, he said that Switzerland refused to commit suicide over the transfer of Russia’s frozen financial assets to Ukraine and believes that there are no legal grounds for confiscating Russian money. This is manipulation.

The Swiss official said nothing about Switzerland's refusal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. Moreover, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis, in an interview with Tages-Anzeiger, confirmed that he supports the idea of confiscating frozen Russian funds and using them to restore Ukraine. StopFake fact-checkers note that currently the funds are not transferred to the Ukrainian side due to the lack of an appropriate legal framework, but this issue is already being discussed by a number of countries.

Thus, Russian propaganda nourishes the narrative that Ukraine is a weak state that will not win the Russian-Ukrainian war. Also, with such messages, propagandists are trying to demoralize the fighting spirit of Ukrainians and encourage Western states not to send weapons to Ukraine.

Russian media, as well as social media users, are spreading information that President Zelenskyi allegedly admitted that the supply of Western tanks will not be able to change the situation at the front and turn the tide of the war. This is manipulation.

As StopFake writes, in an interview with the ARD TV channel, Zelenskyi said that Germany still cannot decide on the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. He also said that the decision of an individual country to transfer or not to transfer a dozen tanks cannot significantly affect the course of the war:

“When they (the Russians) have a thousand tanks, not a single country that can give us 10 tanks, 20 tanks, 50 tanks, solves the problem. But they do one very important thing: they motivate our warriors to fight for their values, because they show that the whole world is with you”.

That is, it was about the decision of one country, specifically Germany, to provide or not provide tanks to Ukraine, and Zelenskyi's words are essentially a response to Olaf Scholz's frequent statements that Germany cannot provide Ukraine with heavy weapons because it is afraid to become a “party to the conflict”. Thus, Zelenskyi responded precisely to Scholz's words that Germany's decision would indeed not significantly affect the course of the war,  but the course of the war is influenced by the decisions of dozens of Ukraine's allied countries, and it is collective efforts (including providing tanks to Ukraine) that will help Ukraine win the war.

And it is even known exactly how many tanks Ukraine needs to return the territories occupied after February 24: in an interview with The Economist, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that this requires 300 tanks, about 700 infantry fighting vehicles and 500 howitzers.

By manipulating Zelenskyi's words, Russian propaganda is trying to convince the audience that Ukraine will not be able to win the war, despite any help from Western partners, and thereby influence public sentiment in Ukraine.

Pro-Russian and occupation telegram channels say that the Security service of Ukraine (SBU) arrested a resident of Kupiansk for baking and selling bread to locals during his stay under Russian occupation. Like, this is another act of the “terror of the Kyiv regime”. This is manipulation.

In fact, the former chief engineer of the Kupiansk bakery plant is accused of collaborating with the aggressor state. The detainee is accused of helping the Russians to export Ukrainian grain to the territory of Russia, to Rostov-on-Don.

As StopFake writes, the man not only openly supported the occupation authorities, but also forcibly took away the seals, stamps, statutory documents and personal files of employees from the chief accountant of the enterprise, and then handed them over to representatives of the occupation administration. For this, the occupation administration of Kupiansk appointed him the chairman of the “Food resources” enterprise created by the Russians, which exported Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territory to Russia.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads fakes about the situation in the liberated territories of Ukraine. Earlier, they said that a pensioner from Kupiansk would be judged for organizing football matches during the occupation, and in Kherson, the Ukrainian military began repressions against civilians.

Such a message is being shared by propagandists in their telegram channels and in the Kremlin media. The report says that during his speech in Davos, Zelenskyi allegedly “revealed Ukraine's weakest point” and assured that it was the air defense system. However, this is manipulation.

In fact, StopFake's fact-checkers examined the case and found that propaganda resources omitted the context in which it was said and reduced Zelenskyi's response to just this phrase.

The propagandists distorted the president's quote. In fact, it was an answer to the question of how Ukraine defends itself from the destruction of civilian infrastructure by Russia. This is what the actual quote looks like:

“Defend our weak points. Defend places with partners where the enemy hits. Air defense system. This is our weak point. Maybe this is not a weak point in Ukraine compared to other states,”. That is, we are talking about the fact that, in general, our air defense is quite powerful, however, unfortunately, there is a hit on civilian infrastructure. Therefore, it does not cope with all enemy missiles or drones.

In addition, earlier Volodymyr Zelenskyi repeatedly said that the air defense in Ukraine is strong enough, and in 2023 it will become even more powerful.

By spreading this manipulation, the enemy is trying to prove that the means of Ukrainian defense or, for example, weapons are meaningless and can be quickly destroyed. Allegedly, not a single Western technique can be compared with the domestic Russian one.