Russian media are spreading a statement by an associate professor at a Russian university who predicts world hunger allegedly due to sanctions against Russian fertilizers. He denies the facts and says that Ukraine cannot be called the leading exporter of grain globally, that "without Ukrainian grain, there will be no famine in the world," saying that "the shortage of Russian fertilizers threatens serious problems," StopFake reports. "Russian propaganda is again trying to present itself as a victim, not an aggressor in this war. To this end, Moscow is spreading the narrative that it is not the war against Ukraine and the blocking of grain supplies from Ukrainian ports that will cause famine. Still, sanctions against Russia and, consequently, cause the lack of Russian fertilizers on the world market, "the fact-checkers said. In fact, according to ING Economics, Ukraine accounts for 12% of world wheat exports and 17% of world corn exports; Ukraine is also the world's largest exporter of oil. Ukraine is also the world's largest supplier of fertilizers, and Russia's war against Ukraine has disrupted its exports and logistics. Russia has also temporarily occupied some parts of the region in the south and blocked Ukrainian ports, thus hindering grain exports to world markets. At the same time, Europe has not wholly abolished the import of fertilizers from Russia, only imposed restrictions on the import of some Russian fertilizers, allowing the import of 2.6 million tons per year. Also, some countries plan to reduce their dependence on imports and fertilizers over time. 

This thesis is spread by referring to Spiegel's German newspaper, which published the article "Why is Germany so slow to supply weapons?". One paragraph in this text is currently being actively discussed on social networks and the media. Namely, Spiegel, citing unnamed sources "close to the German government" (i.e., not in the German government), writes: "There is concern that Ukraine may become overconfident if it wins a series of victories on the battlefield and decides to invade Russia, which will mean that German tanks will be inside Russia again. This concern underscores Berlin's distrust of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. And this is also the reason why Germany's defense industry is not allowed to supply battle tanks. "

However, in another part of the article, the German publication criticizes Chancellor Olaf Scholz for "a mixture of incompetence and reluctance" for "the desire to hide behind his allies." "It seems that Scholz would never have laid down any weapons without massive pressure from abroad and within his governing coalition," the paper said. "And this even though Kyiv needs all the help it can get."

At the same time, the thesis of "provoking Russia" is not new to Western politicians. For example, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, when explaining why NATO cannot close the skies over Ukraine, also said that it would "mean NATO's direct involvement in the conflict and carry the risk of a full-scale war for the whole of Europe." Or US President Joe Biden, who, on the day of the announcement of new military aid to Ukraine, in fact, asked: "not to shoot at Russia." "We do not call on Ukraine to strike outside its borders, and we do not give it such an opportunity with our decisions. We do not want to continue the war just to harm Russia, " he wrote in The New York Times. However, their statements are a precaution not to provoke an escalation rather than distrusting the Ukrainian government.

It is not the first time Spiegel has emerged alongside pro-Russian propaganda. Previously, the publication published a "study on Ukrainian tax evasion schemes" without methodology and other data. It was commissioned by the European United Left and Left-Green Greens, known for its pro-Russian stance. The Ukrainian media later republished this information concerning Spiegel. Read more about this in the article "How the Ukrainian media fell into the hands of Russian propaganda." The Cardiff University Institute for Crime and Security Research has also published research on how manipulations of leading Western media, including Spiegel, are used to spread anti-Western disinformation and promote Russia's pro-Kremlin ideas and geopolitical interests.

Russian media have reported that Pentagon officials are studying Russian equipment seized in Ukraine, including the Dagger missile, to "copy and get something for themselves." Russian propaganda refers to an article in The New York Times in these reports.

According to StopFake, the American publication did write that researchers from the Pentagon came to Ukraine to analyze Russian technology. However, their trip explores how Russia's military-industrial complex uses Western technology. "Researchers have found that ammunition and equipment, including missile guidance systems and laser rangefinders, contain microchips, printed circuit boards, motors, and antennas manufactured in the United States and the European Union," the statement said. "Currently, several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are investigating how components of their production entered Russia's weapons systems to circumvent the arms embargo."

Fact-checkers recalled that back in 2014, after Russia's occupation of Crimea, the United States and other EU countries imposed the first restrictions on supplying weapons and selling high-performance computer chips to Russian companies. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, an embargo was imposed on the supply of advanced technologies to Russia, such as the export of semiconductors, computers, lasers, telecommunications equipment, etc. At the same time, the NYT material refers to X-101 cruise missiles, Azart radio stations, and reconnaissance drones, but there are no Dagger missiles among them.

Read more.

Zelensky gave instructions to the mayors of American cities. On June 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a video address to the Conference of Mayors of the United States, urging American cities to renounce "brotherhood" with Russian ones. Of course, Russian propagandists did not miss this speech and distorted the words in their way, giving Zelensky "anger" and the power to instruct American mayors.

In his address to the 90th Annual Conference of Mayors, which unites more than 1,400 American mayors, the President of Ukraine said: "Chicago and Moscow. Jacksonville and Murmansk. San Diego - Vladivostok. Albany and Tula. What do these connections give you? Probably nothing. But they allow Russia to say that it is not isolated even after such a war. Each of you sees how the Russian army is at war and what it is doing with the peaceful cities of Ukraine. Her cruelty is no different from the tyrannies of the past. "

He stressed that 3,620 settlements of Ukraine came under Russian occupation, many of which are no longer suitable for civilized life.

"This is the reality that Russia has brought: when there is no connection in the cities, there is no electricity, there is simply no water. When bombs and missiles can destroy any building - even a kindergarten or university. When the whole city can just be burned, "the president said.

Zelensky invited the mayors of American cities to implement a project to rebuild Ukraine. As we can see, in his words, there is neither aggression nor a commanding tone on the part of Ukraine.

Due to the war, we remind that twinning ties with Russian cities were severed by several Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Zhytomyr, and others. Also, on September 2, 2014, due to the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, Prague severed twinning relations with Moscow and St. Petersburg.

After the ambassadors of the European Union approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia on June 2, the pro-Kremlin media intensified the thesis that it would not affect Russia as much as the West. Russian propagandists write that the European Union has analyzed who is harmed by anti-Russian sanctions and decided to reconcile with Russia. Due to specific sanctions against Russia in the EU, inflation has been breaking all records recently, with grain and vegetable oil prices rising significantly. Therefore, the sanctions imposed by the European Union under the sixth package could lead to a "price shock," an increase in interest rates, and a decline in the population's purchasing power.

One of the sources of the manipulative idea of ​​reconciliation was a column by scholar William Moloney in the American publication The Hill entitled "Can Russia win a PR war against the West?". A writer citing the New York Times suggests that the United States and its allies are no longer staunch supporters of "victory" for Ukraine and harsh "punishment" for Russia as they were at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And that now they are trying to find an acceptable way to compromise to end the war. But nowhere in the column does the author claim that the European Union has decided to reconcile with Russia. Even though the European Union has approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus in connection with Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. In particular, the EU has decided to ban the purchase, import, or transit of crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia. Excluding the use of Russian oil will take six months for crude oil and up to 8 months for other refined products.

If restrictive political and economic measures against Russia had not destroyed its economy, Putin would not have had to repeat as a mantra that "sanctions against Russia are largely provoking a global crisis." He has recently blackmailed the EU and the US by unblocking Ukrainian ports for grain exports after anti-Russian sanctions are lifted. And on June 4, he came up with another option, if Ukraine wants to export grain, it can do it, but not through ports, but through Belarus, and for this, the EU will need to lift sanctions from Minsk.

And if in Russia, an analog of McDonald's was invented, Russian companies have already faced a technological crisis due to Western sanctions. According to the Financial Times, they can not replace their electrical and computer equipment from global manufacturers who have completely stopped doing business in Russia.

In fact, Russia's real place is a lot of noise out of nowhere. All of Russia has less GDP than one state of California or Texas. The only valuable contribution of modern Russia to the world economy is oil and gas. 

Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has spread fake information that Ukraine will receive only 15% of the $ 40 billion allocated by the United States to help Ukraine. Most of the money will go to the United States and other countries - but Ukrainians will have to return all 40 billion US dollars.

In fact, it is not the case: indeed, $ 6 billion - or 15% of the total - will go directly to the Ukrainian army. And, for example, more than 8 billion - to restore weapons stockpiles for the US Army itself, which has already handed over a lot of equipment to Ukraine. But other programs for which the United States allocates 40 billion are humanitarian aid, including refugees from Ukraine to the United States and other European countries; these are funds for stabilizing inflation, economic recovery, etc. You can read in detail what the funds will be allocated for this assistance here. And all these programs, in different ways, help Ukraine and Ukrainians - both in the country and abroad. Another part will go to strengthening NATO troops in Europe.

Volodin's manipulation was spread by many Russian media simultaneously, claiming that this assistance would need to be returned. However, this is an aid, not a lend-lease - a program of a simplified system of purchasing weapons for Ukraine in the United States. It means that you will need to return the money - just later, not at the time of purchase and delivery.

Fact-checkers from Myth Detector noticed the spread of similar posts on Facebook. They write that Denisova was allegedly fired for lying about Russian children, women, and men raped by Russians. It is a fake and a manipulation. The ombudsman was fired for several reasons, including that she had few members of the humanitarian corridors and did not fully perform her duties. Denisova considers her dismissal illegal and links it to political reasons. Human rights activists also call her release unlawfully.

Human rights activists and media critics criticized Denisova's work, including her reports of raped children. According to those who signed the open letter to Denisova, she abused the details and details, which, firstly, could re-injure the victims, and secondly, could help identify them. They also demanded that Denisova provide the data she owns to the police so law enforcement officers could start court cases or disseminate less information about crimes that have not yet been proven. The public conflict also affected Denysova's daughter, Oleksandra Kvitko: she works on the psychological helpline of the Ukrainian Parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights, especially with victims of sexualized violence. She wrote a lot on social media about her clients, which led to accusations of violating professional ethics.

In any case, Denisova's dismissal is not evidencing that the Russian occupiers did not rape Ukrainians. It is evidenced by numerous articles in Ukrainian and foreign media that spoke with victims and witnesses and the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, which investigates more than 11,000 cases of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including rape. The case of one rapist and murderer has already been sent to court.

Collaborator Sergey Shvaika, who calls himself the "military-civil administration of the Skadovsk district," said that the Kherson region has finally received water, and farmers have started sowing.

According to StopFake, it is another manipulation within the general narrative of the Kremlin propaganda. For many years, after the closure of the Crimean Canal, farms in the Kherson region suffered from a lack of water. It is not the case because the Canal did not supply water only to Crimea all these years. In the Kherson region, he worked as usual.

In addition, according to the fact-checkers, sowing did not start not because of the lack of water in the area but because of the occupation and hostilities that hindered the start of work. Wheat is usually sown in March and April.

Russian media and social network users spread this statement. To such reports, they add a screenshot of the post of the People's Deputy of Ukraine Pavlo Frolov, which is about expressing distrust of Denisova through stories about forms of sexual violence. Russian-language posts about Denisova also stated that the Rada had admitted that she had lied and fired her. However, this is not the case. In fact, Verkhovna Rada deputies said several reasons for distrusting the Ukrainian ombudsman, including complaints about Denisova's activities, leaks of confidential information, her stay abroad, and low participation in the organization of humanitarian corridors. Denisova was fired not because of released the publication of facts about sexual violence. It has also not been proven that these facts were untrue, so it is impossible to say that there were no such violent cases. Instead, many instances of sexual violence by Russian soldiers are corroborated by victims' stories and documents obtained by international organizations. Read more.

The pro-Kremlin media spread this manipulative thesis, noting that training plans for protection against chemical weapons for 2019 were found at the Red Cross base in Mariupol. At the same time, Russian propaganda "reminds us" that pro-Russian militants then allegedly "reported the preparation of a provocation with chemical weapons in Mariupol." Thus, Russia is trying to convince that the Red Cross and the Ukrainian authorities allegedly "prepared a chemical attack." Such messages should operate on the principle of "information alibi." The Russian media is preparing an information background so that the Russian authorities can shift responsibility for the crimes committed in Ukraine.

The Red Cross, like the United Nations, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and others, is studying the effects of chemical weapons and trying to prevent their use. This is not the first time Russian propagandists have spread fakes and manipulations about the alleged "preparation of provocations with the use of chemical weapons by Ukraine." The propaganda also manipulates the fact that Ukrainians are provided with means of protection against chemical weapons - this allegedly proves Ukraine's intention to use them. In reality, it is protected in the event of a chemical attack by the Russian Federation.

Such information is spread in Rivne telegram channels. In particular, in the Rivne Holovne channel. Such reports add a link to the instruction, which will "help" to get support in cryptocurrency and also claim that help is supposed to receive by every Ukrainian who applied by May 31. However, this is a manipulation. As the fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” project found out, the official Binance website states that on April 26, 2022, the company launched the Refugee Crypto Card for Ukrainians. “Ukrainians who have been inspected by local non-profit organizations and applied for Binance Refugee cryptocurrency cards will receive 75 BUSDs, equivalent to $ 75 per month for three months. The cryptocurrency BUSD will be automatically converted into local currency when paying by card. We also note that the card's message has 8% cashback is true.

However, the statement that EVERY Ukrainian will be able to get this "plastic" is not valid! After all, according to the company's official report, the cards will be available only to those Ukrainians who were forced to travel to the European Economic Area due to the war with Russia, " the fact-checkers write.

It was reported by the Russian propaganda agency "Ria Novosti" concerning the appointment by the Russian military "Deputy Chairman of the Region" Kirill Stremousov. "Crossing the border from Mykolayiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions is very dangerous because of the systematic shelling of Ukrainian militants. After the latest shelling, they killed civilians in the buffer zone. Therefore, we do not recommend going to Ukraine under any circumstances, " Stremousov said.

Kherson has been under Russian occupation since early March. Kherson residents are offered to leave the region either to the annexed Crimea or to the part of the Zaporizhzhia region controlled by Russian troops.

After the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials said his goal was not to occupy Ukrainian territory. However, Russian-controlled administrations were formed in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine. Russian-controlled administrations were formed, whose leaders argued that the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions should be accepted into Russia. Recently, Putin signed a decree giving the right to simplified acquisition of Russian citizenship to residents of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine. And now, the Russian military has blocked exits to the territory controlled by Ukraine in the Kherson region, patrols in Kherson have been intensified, and the number of Russian block posts has increased, according to the operational command "South."

In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Mayor Ihor Kolykhayev said that it was currently impossible to leave Kherson safely. Russian shelling prevents Kherson residents from leaving the temporarily occupied city for safer settlements. Many residents still dared to evacuate on their own and came under fire. Among them were both wounded and dead. The Russians continue to fire on civilian infrastructure in settlements along the administrative border of Mykolayiv and Kherson oblasts.

Earlier, the operational command "South" reported that the Russians set a fee for leaving the occupied Kherson region, at checkpoints offered a pass for $ 1,000 or their equivalent. However, then began to open fire on the trail insidiously. Thus, the Russian army is trying to keep the civilian population to "create for its leaders and commanders a picture of the satisfaction of the local population with the" Russian measure. "

Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has once again criticized anti-Russian sanctions and said the famine could result in many countries. In his opinion, the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Joseph Biden, should be aware of the consequences in Ukraine. Otherwise, they may go down in history as presidents who staged a famine on the planet. As in many regions of Ukraine, spring field works were not carried out thoroughly. The European Union has banned the supply of Russian and Belarusian fertilizers, and sanctions against Russia have hit countries that have previously had food problems and provoked rising grain prices in all countries, including Europe. And, of course, "Russia has nothing to do with it." This "no" Russia started a war against Ukraine, "no" Russia blocked Ukrainian ports, leaving more than 20 million tons of grain in storage. And, of course, "no" to Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to unblock Ukrainian ports for food exports if the West lifts sanctions against Russia. No Russian media outlet supplemented the speaker's statement with truthful information. Leaders of many countries have repeatedly stated that Russia has gone down in history as a country through which 400 million people on the planet cannot receive grain from Ukrainian farmers. Ukraine fed exactly so many people before the war.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has officially stated that Washington is provoking a food crisis in Ukraine by depriving it of grain supplies. US President Joe Biden's statement on the need to find opportunities to export 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine coincided with the signing of the law on Ukrainian "land lease." It turns out that Kyiv will pay for weapons with wheat, "she said. Ukraine is one of the largest food exporters - of grain and other agricultural products. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has blocked grain exports from Ukrainian ports in the Black and Azov Seas. According to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, most of the traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been blocked due to the Russians` blockade. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that almost 25 million tons of grain are currently in Ukrainian granaries. Ukraine cannot direct them to the world market. The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, called on Russia to unblock the ports of Odesa. Beasley wrote on Twitter - "400 million is the number of people in the world who Ukrainian farmers fed before the war. Zero is the number of people fed by Ukrainian farmers today if the ports of Odesa are not opened immediately. " As for the land lease, the story began on April 7, when the US Senate approved the bill. On April 28, the US House of Representatives passed by an overwhelming majority a bill to supply arms to Ukraine under the land lease program by an overwhelming majority. On May 9, US President Joe Biden signed the document. And the next day, May 10, during a speech at the White House on the US government's efforts to combat inflation, Joe Biden drew attention to 20 tons of grain blocked in Ukrainian storage facilities through Russia. According to him, Ukraine is trying to find ways to bring grain to the world market, which would reduce global food prices. Under normal circumstances, the export of this grain would have started long ago, but Russia's aggression hinders this, the US president emphasized. "We are working with our European partners to bring this food to the world market, and it could help lower prices. But it is difficult - again - because of the invasion of Putin and Russia in Ukraine, " Biden said. He noted that the consequences of the pandemic and Putin's war affect not only the American market but have the global scale. "That's why we're seeing historic inflation in countries worldwide," Biden said. US Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine Kristina A. Kvien explained that the land lease program is a mechanism that allows the US president to supply weapons quickly, writes "Yevropeyska Pravda." Contrary to its name (the word lend means "to borrow," to transfer temporarily), we are not saying that Ukraine should return everything it receives under this mechanism. The idea of ​​a lease is different. When the United States sells or transfers weapons to another country, the government must go through an export procedure, obtain approval, and meet certain restrictions. And in order not to face these restrictions, it is proposed to transfer weapons by lease. Frankly, this is just a procedure to speed up the supply of weapons. Therefore, of course, the land lease will not lead to the emergence of any crazy debt in Ukraine after the war, " she said. Consequently, we are not talking about any calculation of grain for weapons. But the fact is that the cause of the food crisis is Russia's war. Especially since, on May 21, Biden signed a law providing $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $ 20 billion in armaments.  

Pro-Russian online publication in Ukraine "Strana.ua" regarding the words of the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing Oleksiy Kucherenko scared Ukrainians that "Naftogaz" raised natural gas prices and now for heating, a two-room apartment will have to pay up to 10000 hryvnias. Several other media outlets have spread this manipulation.

On May 10, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the draft Law of Ukraine "On the peculiarities of regulating relations in the natural gas market and the field of heat supply during martial law and subsequent recovery." The bill provides a moratorium on rising natural gas prices and tariffs for heat and related services.

However, the gas supply company Naftogaz of Ukraine reassured: "It will not affect the payments of Ukrainians." The company keeps the gas price within the annual tariff plan "Fiksovanyy." This decision was made due to martial law. The gas price is UAH 7.96 per cubic meter with VAT, without the cost of distribution (supply). Contracts between 2.2 million Ukrainian households and the company will be automatically renewed.

Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, the Russian particular services-controlled telegram channel NachShtabu, and other pro-Kremlin media outlets reported that civilians were allegedly not allowed into their apartments in the village of Lyutizh in the Kyiv region because military personnel had settled there. However, according to NotaYenota, they call the village of Lyutizh - “Lyutezh,” and there is no such settlement in Ukraine. Along with these manipulative theses, Russian propaganda is also distributing videos.

There was a recreation center in the village of Lyutizh, where the Renaissance Spiritual Center, headed by Volodymyr Muntyan, a self-proclaimed Protestant and the 13th Apostle, holds its meetings. According to the NotaYenota project, this recreation center was transferred to the defenders of Ukraine for use. So in this video, civilians are not trying to get to their apartments, but representatives of the "Renaissance" are holding rallies. "Currently, rallies are being held around the base from sectarians of Renaissance Spiritual Center - this thesis actively posted on his social networks “Apostle” Volodymyr Muntyan and propaganda trash are picked up this thesis in their “news.” On his page, there are dozens of video appeals from the "parishioners" of the church, which tell either about the Armed Forces or about those disguised in the uniform of the Armed Forces, that there is looting, and so on. There is no evidence other than emotions in the video of the sectarians. As a result, the information on the video is completely distorted. "Renaissance sectarians are provoking the military," the fact-checkers said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said that the pace of the Russian military in Ukraine had slowed down consciously, allegedly deliberately, "to avoid casualties among the civilian population." Russian politicians and officials have spread similar messages that the Russian army is fighting in Ukraine "not in full force" or "everything is going according to plan." In particular, in this way, Russia is trying to justify its defeats in Ukraine and create the illusion of control over the situation.

Thousands of peaceful Ukrainians, including children, have fallen victim to Russian aggression. A report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights shows that as of May 24, 3,942 civilians had been killed in a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of May 25, according to the Prosecutor General's Office, 238 children had died, and another 433 had been injured in the Russian aggression.

The Russian media spread this manipulative thesis, StopFake reports. It is part of a widespread message that Ukraine allegedly "abandoned" the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, saying that "people are forced to survive on their own, cook food in makeshift field kitchens." In fact, gas supplies to these areas have been cut off because shelling by the Russian military has damaged the main gas pipeline. On May 23, the gas transmission system operator of Ukraine announced that the damaged section of the gas pipeline had been located. Still, it was currently impossible to resume gas transportation due to active hostilities. The Luhansk Regional Military Administration clarified that the gas pipeline was damaged when the Russian military tried to cut off the Luhansk region from the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway. In Donetsk Region State Administration added that the central hub through which gas went to the Donetsk region is now in the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region.

On May 21, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, shared a photo on her Twitter page with a demonstration burning of textbooks on the history of Ukraine and compared it to Nazism. In comments, pro-Russian accounts accused her of spreading fake. The photo was first published in July 2019 and depicted the burning of books in Kaliningrad. It had nothing to do with textbooks on Ukrainian history.

The ambassador distributed an original photo of the burning of books on Ukrainian history in Crimea in March 2010. Using the image search program, StopFake experts could find the earliest publications of this image on the Internet. They were taken in 2014.

An article from January 7, 2014, on the Censor.net website, is devoted to the torchlight procession of Russian nationalists in Crimea, who called for "expelling, sweeping away once and for all" Euromaidan.

"However, it was later established that the action to burn textbooks on Ukrainian history and other literature took place in March 2010. "Russian communities in Crimea, the «Russkyy blok,» and Natalia Vitrenko's party called on the newly appointed Minister of Education of Ukraine Dmytro Tabachnyk to remove history books from the school curriculum put into circulation by former Minister Ivan Vakarchuk," Censor.net reported.

The participants of the action burned books "Modern History of Ukraine," "History of Ukraine," and Yaroslav Hasek's novel "The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik," translated into Ukrainian and physics textbooks. The article emphasizes that representatives of Russian communities regularly held similar anti-Ukrainian actions. Read more.

Such a statement by the chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin, was spread by the Russian media and pro-Kremlin telegram channels. According to him, 35 percent of the 40 billion will be used to finance the US military, 45.2 percent will be spent on other countries, 4.8 percent will be used to help refugees, reopen the USA embassy in Ukraine, and additional diplomatic support.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, USA President Joe Biden signed a law providing $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine. According to the document, the funds should be used for military and humanitarian aid. $ 20 billion of these funds will go to armaments, and the rest is direct budget and humanitarian aid.

Russian propagandists spread such information. In particular, a message appears on social networks that Kharkiv is planned to be handed over to the occupiers because the city is allegedly firing the Kharkiv Heat Networks utility company. Employees "Kharkiv authorities, by all indications, are confident that the city will come under Russian control. Otherwise, why should they destroy the entire structure of Kharkiv heating networks? The municipal enterprise Kharkiv Heat Networks dismisses all employees without compensation for unpaid salaries for three months. Operators are being fired, without whom it is impossible to start the heating season. So, do they understand that they will not have to start it? ” - it is written in a fake, widely spread the message. However, this is not true. According to the fact-checkers of the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, from the first days of the war, boiler operators, locksmiths, welders, and other employees of Kharkiv Heat Networks, risking their lives, saved the city's heating system. Currently, repair works are carried out every day. There are reports about the work almost daily on the city council's website. Also, work on preparing for the new heating season has already begun and is not ending. However, the number of residential buildings in Kharkiv decreases every day, which could not be connected to heat due to shelling. That is, not all communal workers are fired from the enterprise.

Another myth that is spreading about life in the Russian-occupied Kherson. However, this is a manipulation. This was reported by a Kherson journalist who is currently living in the occupation. She shared accurate information with the fact-checkers of the project "On the other side of the news." According to her, some regularly pay on time, and some payments, such as disability and alimony, are not paid. They are trying to solve the problem. Pensions are paid, but there are nuances: they receive only on time on the card, and there are often problems with cash - it is difficult to deliver it to the community due to the blockade of the region and the regional center by the Russians, but they try.

In an editorial, The New York Times reported that Ukraine's success in the war with Russia now looks unrealistic and that Ukraine may have to cede territory. According to the NYT, if the conflict leads to actual negotiations, "Ukrainian leaders will have to make painful territorial decisions, which will require any compromise." Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, does not consider it impossible for Ukraine to win the war with Russia and regain the territories occupied by the Russians.

"According to experts, Ukraine should freeze three times in winter, run out of electricity in March, and the Russian flag would rise over half of the country. Remember when you hear another horror story that the country will not survive next winter and people will be left on the streets without work. If every time someone said "it is impossible," we would give up, and our country would not exist. If you hear that "Ukraine will have to sacrifice territories because Russia is strong," these are the words of a loser who has already lost. We have no other country; we know what we are fighting for. That is why we will win,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

The Russian media widely spread such information regarding the American publication Bloomberg. The source of this manipulation was a column by Indian writer Pankaj Mishra, "Ukraine should beware of the British who give it gifts." First, the writer's opinion does not reflect the opinion of Bloomberg L. P. and its owners. Secondly, in his column, the writer assumed that Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs Elizabeth Mary Truss, and Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace were seeking to improve their political careers during the war in Ukraine. And that removing Johnson from the office will not solve the issue of British support for Ukraine. In November 2021, Boris Johnson said that the United Kingdom supports Ukraine because it was committed to democracy and freedom, not because of its hostility to Russia. On March 2, 2022, at an extraordinary session of the United Nations General Assembly, 141 countries condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And 39 countries, coordinated by Britain, have filed the largest number of war crimes in the history of the International Criminal Court.

Third, according to the writer, one of the British representatives' demands is to oust Russia from Crimea.

On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 28, the first meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in the Gomel region. Several meetings have taken place since then. While negotiating, Russia has continued to kill civilians, shell and occupy Ukrainian territories, particularly in the east and south, to have a land route to the occupied Crimea and Transnistria. The Crimean issue was discussed on March 29 in Istanbul. Then the Ukrainian delegation, on its initiative and not under the influence of Britain, suggested that Russia fix in a separate clause of the agreement that the status of Crimea and Sevastopol would be resolved within 15 years in bilateral talks during peacetime.

Dozens of Russian media outlets wrote about the fact that Russians cannot listen to the song that won this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Facebook and Instagram. Their messages say that "access for Russians to the song of Eurovision 2022 winners - Ukrainian hip-hop group Kalush Orchestra is blocked in social networks Facebook and Instagram (banned in Russia, owned by Meta Corporation, which is recognized as extremist in Russia)." Such messages also add that this track cannot be added to both social networks and cannot be listened to if you are in Russia. However, as it turned out, access to the song in social networks is blocked to Russians not by Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, but by the company that owns the recording. Since Sony Music suspended all operations in Russia on March 10, 2022 and does not release new content in the country, the winning track and is not available for Russians to listen to in social networks. This is not the first time Russia has spread fakes on social networks. In particular, a video of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg with Russian voiceover was recently circulated on social networks, in which he allegedly says, Facebook is closing down and leaving Russia. However, this is also untrue