This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine is using munitions unsuitable for combat. They say that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are sorely lacking weapons, so the military is using old weapons. The authors add that in this way the equipment will break down quickly, and nothing will resist Russian technology. They add to the publication a photograph allegedly from the Ukrainian composition of weapons.

The case was noticed by StopFake fact-checkers who found out that the thesis about the use of damaged weapons is unfounded. The propagandists did not provide evidence, since in fact the image is a warehouse of Russian weapons, which was recently found by the State Special Transport Service in the Kharkiv region. Suitable shells were given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the damaged ones were disposed of. That is, the photo showed Russian weapons and the shells were indeed damaged. However, this does not apply to the Ukrainian army and their combat stock.

The propagandists reflected the situation and passed off Russian equipment as Ukrainian. The authors use the rhetoric about the use of damaged ammunition or equipment to convince the lack of decent combat capability in the Ukrainian army. Thus, it is propagandists’ wishful thinking, they say that Ukraine allegedly constantly loses.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that in fact Ukraine allegedly does not want to rebuild the destroyed Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, but Russia is able to restore it already “in a year”.

Analysts of the StopFake project explained that such a thesis is unfounded. According to Ukrhydroenergo, the station blown up by the Russian invaders has been completely destroyed and cannot be restored. The construction of the new hydroelectric power plant  will last at least five years, subject to the work of Ukrainian specialists around the clock and seven days a week. Fact-checkers are sure that Russians are throwing populist statements without any justification since it is impossible for such a short period (1 year) to restore the entire HPP.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say the world is illegally sanctioning Russia by taking Russian assets as its own. Like, planes, money, real estate - it's all been confiscated illegally. As an example, the authors cite the case when Canada confiscated an An-124 cargo plane and subsequently handed it over to Ukraine. The authors called it “thefts” and “world Nazism”.

The case drew the attention of EU vs Disinfo fact-checkers, who explained that in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many of its EU allies or international partners, including Canada, have imposed severe international sanctions on Russia's aviation sector. Thus, the imposed sanctions prohibited aircraft registered in Russia from accessing European, American, Canadian airspace.

The Russian An-124 cargo plane was detained at Toronto airport on February 27, 2022, because it belongs to two Russian companies that fell under Western sanctions. Therefore, the thesis that the seizure of the An-124 cargo plane is illegal is absolutely unfounded. This action is fully consistent with Canadian and international law, given the sanctions imposed.

Sanctions are legal restrictions imposed under international and European law in response to violations of international law. This is where Russia's actions fall - a full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine, the killing of Ukrainian civilians, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, etc. The propagandists are simply trying to whitewash themselves and present themselves as victims suffering from crushing “illegal” sanctions. However, sanctions are governed by international law and have nothing to do with the arbitrariness of European states.

Propagandists claim that the EU allegedly thoughtlessly blames Russia for any problem, as well as for blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, but in fact it was destroyed by the “Kyiv regime” with Western weapons.

This message was brought to the attention of the EUvsDisinfo project specialists. They found out that he was an unsubstantiated accusation and a combination of other messages. Allegedly, military support from the West continues the war and continues the suffering of civilians.

Propagandists spread such information in order to once again justify Russia's aggression. However, in reality, it is Russia that causes significant damage to the Ukrainian economy and kills thousands of people. It is Russia that is trying to destroy Ukraine, its people and culture, project experts say. NATO member countries independently decide on the provision of assistance to Ukraine and it is not illegal, since Ukraine uses it for self-defense, provided for by the UN Charter.

In addition, Russia wants to shift responsibility to Ukraine for a number of provocations, artificially creating for it the image of a “terrorist regime”. Propagandists equate the explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant with fakes about “dirty bombs”, devaluing the scale of the disaster. However, Russia blew up the dam. In particular, this is evidenced by the data on seismic activity in the area of the Kakhovka HPP, recorded by the Norwegian seismic station in Romania. Detector Media has already written about what propagandists said about the bombing on the day it happened.

Propagandists create and distribute publications that Ukraine has imprisoned journalists from abroad for publishing “inconvenient truths” about Russian aggression. They say that such “Western values” are supported by the Ukrainian government, hiding behind the silence of the West.

As the main example, the authors of such publications use the situation with a citizen of the United States and Chile, journalist Gonzalo Lira. Allegedly, he was imprisoned only for what he said: “facts recognized by Kyiv.”

However, in reality, the journalist was arrested for spreading openly anti-Ukrainian aggressive rhetoric and Russian disinformation. For example, Lira called Ukrainian President Zelenskyi a “thug”, EU leaders “incompetent” (supporting the words of Russian Prime Minister Medvediev), and also accused the US and Poland of intentions to “divide Ukraine”. The journalist justified Russia's actions by saying that it needed the entire territory of Ukraine so that there would be no worse problems. In addition, he called on the International Criminal Court to arrest the ex-president of Ukraine Poroshenko for allegedly “killing children in the Donbas”.

All these and other statements by Lira were once drawn to the attention of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council. By spreading this message, Russia wants to shift the responsibility for its actions to other forces and divert attention from its own systemic problems with freedom of speech.

Propaganda anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric claim that Ukraine is on the verge of a food crisis due to problems with the dairy industry. Like, Ukrainians do not buy their own milk, because there is no money to buy it, and the export of dairy products from Ukraine fails for some reason.

Although the authors of such reports recall that the number of cattle has decreased due to the war, they do not point to Russian aggression as the root cause of these problems. Everyone is again pushed to the West, which supposedly helps only with rhetoric. They also transfer responsibility for this to the countries of Central Asia and Moldova. As a result, according to propagandists, Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy and a food crisis.

However, its main reason was the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, since the fighting restricts both the cultivation of livestock and feed, and the sale of dairy products. In addition, plant-based milk alternatives such as almond, soy, oat, coconut milk, etc are becoming more popular due to ethical consumer concerns or intolerance to the lactose found in cow's milk. With this in mind, dairy consumption is declining globally.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to artificially increase the scale of the problem and cause panic among Ukrainians. In addition, in this way, they traditionally want to shift the responsibility for Russia's actions to third parties.

The thesis that Russia is trying to end the war that Ukraine started in 2014 was promoted by Putin at meetings with military corps. He stated that “we are not the aggressors, the aggressors are they [Ukrainians], but we are trying to end the war by force of arms”. However, such conclusions are unfounded.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading the thesis that allegedly Ukraine unleashed a war back in 2014, began to conduct hostilities against itself, and subsequently refused to sit down at the negotiating table. Since 2014, Russian propagandists have used the tactics of substitution of concepts and talked about the “civil war” in Ukraine. Behind this term, Russia's participation in the hostilities in the East of Ukraine was hidden. Now the Russians are conducting a “special military operation” on the territory of Ukraine.

By spreading such messages, Russian propagandists are trying to justify their actions and shift the responsibility for them to the victim. Allegedly, Ukraine started the war in 2014, and Russia is now trying to stop it. However, Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, started a war in the East and annexed Crimea. Earlier, Detector Media reported that a war broke out in Ukraine over the ban on the Russian language.

The thesis that the West is violating international law by supplying weapons to Ukraine was promoted by Putin at meetings with war correspondents. He also stated: “We have a lot of depleted uranium ammunition, we will use it in response”. Such a thesis is unfounded.

By annexing part of Ukrainian territory, launching a massive offensive, and committing war crimes since the invasion, Russia is violating international law and a number of international security agreements and the rule of law. In particular, it ignores treaties that guarantee the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states, as well as the rules of law governing the basic principles of warfare. In May, Russia initiated a meeting of the UN Security Council on the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine. Then the representative of Japan to the UN said that Ukraine is defending itself from aggression, and the international community is providing assistance “so that peace and security reign in the world”. And the representative of France to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, noted that Western partners supply weapons to Ukraine legally whereas Russia buys weapons - illegally - to replenish its stocks. “Russia buys drones from Iran, and missiles and ammunition from North Korea. By these actions, Russia violates the UN resolution”, Nicolas de Riviere said.

By spreading this message, Russia is trying to discredit its Western partners and portray them as violators of international law. Thus, propagandists are trying to divert international attention from Russian war crimes, violations of rights and treaties and shift responsibility for what has been committed to others. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is a tool of the West to undermine Russian statehood.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that in fact the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was built with the expectation that it would withstand a nuclear strike and not collapse. The authors add that no one is to blame for the destruction of the dam, because this is a man-made impact on the environment. They imply that the Kakhovka HPP allegedly self-destructed over time. They also assure that the Russians do not seem to be involved in undermining the dam. 

The specialists of the NotaYenota project took up this case and determined that such a thesis is unfounded. They explained why it is beneficial for propaganda to come up with different versions of the terrorist attack at the hydroelectric power plant and came to the conclusion that in this way they blur the information field, throwing in different versions of the incident. Further, the fact-checkers said that their colleagues from the Texty.org project talked with the chief engineer of the project of the Ukrhidroproekt Institute, Mykola Kalinin. Actually, this enterprise specializes in the design of energy facilities on rivers. Expert Mykola Kalinin explained that the Kakhovka HPP was indeed designed and built so that it could withstand a nuclear strike from outside. Therefore, any theories that it somehow collapsed itself are absolutely unfounded. He further emphasizes that the dam was built to withstand any blow from the outside, but not from the inside.

He thinks it was several simultaneous explosions from within. That is, the hydroelectric power plant was mined from the inside of the building itself and the entire complex. And the explosions were not heard, since the main array of explosives was located in the internal premises of the hydroelectric power plant, below ground level. 

Thus, the authors try to whitewash themselves and deny their crimes. Allegedly, the Kakhovka HPP self-destructed, because “its time has come”. Read in our selection what else the propagandists wrote about the blowing up of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the Western economy is “losing its former potential” and is declining to critical levels. The authors say that GDP in Europe is only decreasing every year, which indicates a poor economic situation. In Russia, despite the war, all indicators are only increasing. This was stated by dictator Putin at the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum.

The fact-checkers of The Insider project took up this case and found out that the European Commission recently published the Spring Economic Forecast, according to which the GDP of the EU countries in 2023 will grow by 1% (the previous forecast, winter, assumed an increase of 0.8%). Growth of 1.7% is projected in 2024. That is, the thesis about a decrease in economic indicators in the EU, in particular GDP, is unfounded.

Regarding Russia, the Trading Economics team of economic analysts notes that in the first quarter of 2023, Russian GDP decreased by 1.9% compared to the corresponding period last year. According to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2022 has been a bad year for the Russian economy. According to experts, in 2022, Russia's gross domestic product fell by at least 2.2% in the best scenario and to 3.9% in the worst case. The Russian economy will shrink in 2023 as well. GDP is expected to contract by 5.6% or 3.3% according to the organizations.

In addition, the Yale University study examined in detail the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy, concluding that “sanctions are catastrophically destroying the Russian economy”. And according to the latest figures from the European Commission, the EU economy is “resilient and ready to face challenges, in particular those caused by Russia's war against Ukraine”.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine may engage in fake operations and shelling of nuclear facilities in order to blame Russia in the first place. The authors add that in the conditions of “lack of military progress” Ukraine will demand provocations.

Fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project took up this case and determined that the propaganda thesis appeared against the backdrop of news from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine that the Russians are preparing a large-scale provocation to simulate an accident at the ZNPP. Actually, as the GUR later stated, the Russian special services began provocations with the use of chemical weapons. Meanwhile, the fact-checkers explained that Russia is committing provocations in order to primarily blame Ukraine for this. And the real victims of the provocation will be the occupiers who then Russia will expose as victims of the “Ukrainian regime”. The Main Intelligence Directorate notes that the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine use exclusively conventional means in the course of hostilities with Russian troops. Conventional weapons are weapons that are subject to control in terms of international treaties. That is, Ukrainian troops use only permitted weapons and do not use others.

Russia simply reflects its actions and thus tries to present itself as a constant victim of Ukraine's “aggression”. Propagandists mirror their actions to divert attention from the current agenda.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that draft law No. 7114, allegedly declaring a state of war, registered on February 24, 2022, has disappeared from the website of the Verkhovna Rada. The authors argue that mobilization is illegal. They add a screenshot to messages that show a citizen's request for public information. In response to a request, the Verkhovna Rada stated that the draft law No. 7114 was not in the database.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project drew attention to the case, and they found that Volodymyr Zelenskyi submitted the draft law “On declaring a state of war” for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada on February 24, 2022, and it was indeed not approved. However, this does not mean that we are not at war. For example, back in March 2022, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar explained that it was not necessary to adopt a special law or decree declaring war. She cited Article 3 of the UN Resolution “On Aggression” of 1974 and stressed that an invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state on the territory of another state, bombardment or blockade of ports is qualified as an act of aggression.

In addition, after the start of Russia's full-scale aggression, Volodymyr Zelenskyi issued a decree “On the introduction of martial law in Ukraine”, adopted on February 24 by the Verkhovna Rada. This document empowers military administrations to assist in the organization of mobilization and communicate to the population the order of the military commissar to announce mobilization.

By spreading this message, Russian propaganda wants to prove that, as they say, the war is staged in Ukraine, but in general the state of war has not been declared. Like, there is no war, and mobilization is also impossible. Thus, propagandists deliberately hide the fact of a full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine.

Propagandists are spreading materials on social networks with the message that during the Cold War the United States was the main democracy, and the Soviet Union was a totalitarian regime with expansion ambitions. However, with its completion, the opposite is now true - the United States has become a police state, and Russia has become a real democracy. Russian propaganda argues that US foreign policy is the main threat to world peace, global security and stability.

Analysts of the EUvsDisInfo project drew attention to the message. They argue that such messages are examples of the standard anti-Western narrative of Russian propaganda. It idealizes the observance of the freedoms and rights of Russian citizens. Project specialists note that hundreds of thousands of Russians migrated from the country in search of better guarantees for their rights and freedoms. The project also cites an article in Foreign Policy magazine, which believes that Russia's actions are exacerbating the decline of democracy even in Africa, as it ignores the rule of law and an independent judiciary in its activities on the continent.

Thus, the propagandists are trying to justify the war against Ukraine with the fact that Russia wants to spread “real democracy”. Like, the United States has long planned to attack Russia, because it is a real stronghold of democratic values. Therefore, Russia seems to have started the war - to protect itself from the threat to its security. However, the only threat to the security of the region and the world is the actions of Russia itself, namely the aggression against Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine is introducing compartment cars for transgender people because Ukraine wants to “europeanize”, supposedly despite the real wishes and demand of the public.

In fact, the women's compartment initiative is not limited to transgender people. First of all, this idea originated on Twitter, where the user complained of discomfort in a compartment in which three men and she were traveling. Subsequently, the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia came out with a statement that they were ready to conduct a test period for the use of women's compartments in order to assess demand. Meanwhile, the chairman of the board of the company, Yevhen Liashchenko, said that the goal is to help women feel more comfortable and safer through a set of measures, one of which will be a pilot project with women's compartments. They will test them for several months and, together with society and specialists, will decide on the scale of the initiative. That is, women's compartments are for women, and for women with children, and for transgender people. At the same time, to say that the public does not want the introduction of women's compartments, especially for transgender people, is also unreasonable. If the user was supported in the comments on Twitter and even made a petition to the relevant site (24,684 out of 25,000 votes have been collected at the moment), there is still a demand for the proposal.

Thus, the propaganda moved away from the real problem - the safety of women in public space. Allegedly, it is more important for Ukraine to show that they are “europeanizing” and do not consider the desire of Ukrainian women. First of all, it's about safety. Even the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia explained that the safety of Ukrainians regardless of gender is a fundamental priority of the company. Actually, for this they introduce an initiative with women's compartments, and not “boast” to someone.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that due to the constant Russian shelling, the occupiers managed to destroy many equipment and, in particular, a third of the annual production of missiles before the Patriot.

The fact-checkers of the StopFake project worked on the case and found that such a thesis is unfounded. No one knows how many weapons were provided to Ukraine in order to talk about the exact amount of equipment destroyed. In total, there are more than 240 Patriot launchers in 19 countries of the world, thousands of missiles are produced for them with different characteristics and according to different needs. Different countries have different needs and the corresponding number of launch missiles. Such a number is not constant, which means that propagandists simply throw in false information.

The authors often speculate on the topic of Western weapons and exaggerate their achievements, saying that they destroyed a certain number of weapons. For example, earlier we refuted the fake that the Russians destroyed five Patriot launchers. We also explained the message that allegedly all Western equipment is poor, so it is unsuitable for use in Ukraine. Thus, the authors are only trying to convince everyone of the effectiveness of Russian technology. It seems that it has no equal, but all Western equipment can be easily destroyed. So, Moscow wants to create the appearance that Russian troops are constantly winning.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say Volodymyr Zelenskyi is hiding the fact that the Russians have never fired on civilian infrastructure. Allegedly, he passes off every rocket attack as “the shelling of a civilian object, and not a military one, as it really is”. The authors also believe that during the last rocket attack in Dnipro on May 26, the Russians allegedly got into a military facility where specially trained people are repairing equipment.

This thesis is unfounded, because the Russians strike at not only military facilities. For example, today in Dnipro, Russians attacked a hospital where there were peaceful Ukrainians. As a result of a Russian missile attack on the hospital, one person was killed and 15 others were injured, including children. Propagandists write that the Ukrainian leadership deliberately hides the fact that all the “destroyed” objects belong to the military infrastructure. Allegedly, it's easier to blame the enemy “for all the troubles”.

However, the Russians deliberately write that their goal is exclusively military facilities in order to whiten themselves and show that they supposedly do not commit war crimes against Ukrainians. The shelling of residential buildings in Ukrainian cities, for example, in Uman or Dnipro and in many other Ukrainian cities, is definitely not military facilities. The Russians purposefully destroy civilian objects and commit genocide of Ukrainians, hiding behind military infrastructure. And the Ukrainian leadership does not actually hide the information and allegedly transfers the blame to the Russians, but speaks directly about their war crimes.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Western equipment supplied to Ukraine is completely poor. They say that equipment gets stuck in the fields and generally breaks down quickly. As proof, the authors cited a photo where the M2 Bradley BMP allegedly got stuck in the Ukrainian black soil. In the photo of the combat vehicle, one can see a white cross, allegedly proof that Ukrainian troops are using it. The authors also add that this is “a vivid demonstration” of how Western equipment is exploited in Ukraine. That is, they hint that all weapons and equipment quickly fail.

The specialists of the VoxCheck project took up this case, explaining that the white cross on the vehicle was added in a photo editor, and the photo shows the M2 Bradley in Baakub (Iraq) in 2006. That is, propagandists created a fake photo to confirm that “Western equipment cannot be used in Ukraine”. Of course, when using machinery on the field of battle, it can break or fail. However, propagandists exaggerate the significance of faulty equipment and explain this by its “absurdity”. Repairing equipment on the battlefield is quite understandable, because no one is protected from malfunctions. At the same time, propagandists want to prove that Russian technology is much better than Western technology, and it “does not break at all”.

By spreading this message, the authors seek to convince everyone of the effectiveness of Russian technology. It seems that it has no equal, but all Western equipment can be easily destroyed. Thus, the Russians want to create the appearance that the Russian troops are constantly winning. For example, we recently refuted a fake claiming that Russia “destroyed” five Patriot launchers.

This thesis was circulated in telegram channels and Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) decided on May 24 to switch to the New Julian calendar. According to it, Christmas will be celebrated in December. “How does this relate to the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy? This is the CC (Catholic Church) already”, the propagandists wrote. Also, the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmytro Pieskov, called the decision of the “schismatic OCU” to celebrate Christmas on December 25 “madness and bacchanalia”. He suggested waiting until Ukraine “announces that there is no longer a Ukrainian language, but an American language”.

However, such conclusions are unfounded. On December 25, Christmas is celebrated not only by Catholics, but by Orthodox, Catholics, as well as Greek Catholics. However, no one knows the real date of the birth of Jesus Christ, this date is arbitrary. In the West, Christmas is celebrated mainly according to the Gregorian calendar (i.e. December 25), while in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, a large number of believers follow the Julian calendar (January 7), which is not very accurate. During the revolution, the Ukrainian People's Republic switched to the new Gregorian calendar, and with them the Bolsheviks. However, the church remained on the Julian calendar. Because of this, there are discrepancies in dates.

Dmytro Pieskov's statement about a “schismatic OCU” continues the propaganda narrative that only the Russian Orthodox Church or the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is canonical. And the statement about the American language continues the narrative about Ukraine's dependence on the West.

By spreading this message, Russian propagandists are trying to convince Ukrainians and the world that Ukraine's actions are contrary to religious canons. Also in this way, Russian propaganda justifies Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting the need to save the “canonical Orthodox Church”. Earlier, Detector Media told that there is no “canonical” or “non-canonical” church and why there is no “Catholic Christmas”.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the US Department of Defense, pharmaceutical corporations and other representatives of the “civilized” West have been conducting horrific medical experiments on Ukrainians for almost two decades. According to the authors, these experiments were designed to change Ukrainians' worldview about the West and abandon friendship with Russia. The war is the result of the anti-Russian policy of the West and Ukraine.

Specialists of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case and found out that such a thesis has no evidence, because it is a conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. There are dozens of civilian health laboratories in Ukraine that work to research and reduce the threat of dangerous diseases, some of which receive financial and other support from the US, the EU and the World Health Organization (WHO). At the same time, Russian propaganda describes such institutions as military facilities, deliberately blurring the line between biological weapons and biological research.

Regarding the so-called experiment that will turn Ukrainians “to the right side”, this is a conspiracy theory. There are no such experiments in theory, because it is impossible to influence a person's worldview with the help of a drug experiment.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the cancellation of the upcoming elections is an expected move from Zelenskyi who wants to stay in power longer. According to the authors, Zelenskyi understands that he will not be able to secure a victory in the presidential election, since society is “extremely unhappy” with him. Like, Volodymyr Zelenskyi is losing Ukrainian lands and at the same time the support of Ukrainians. The authors argue that Zelenskyi wants to seize all power in Ukraine.

However, this thesis is unfounded. According to Ukrainian law, elections cannot be held under martial law. That is, Zelenskyi will remain president until the end of the war. This is not his desire, but a forced step in order to avoid violations of the law and various conflicts. Moreover, no one “drags out” the war if the Russians shell Ukraine every day. Recently, the head of PACE Tiny Kox spoke about the possibility of holding Ukrainian elections. He explained that elections should be held in Ukraine, however, most likely after the end of active hostilities, when martial law will still be maintained. He acknowledged that it is difficult to hold elections under such conditions. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities at the PACE event said that the elections should be held in 2024. The head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Mariia Mezentseva, said that the Ukrainian authorities are now striving to adhere to the usual calendar. That is, 2024 is the year of presidential and parliamentary elections as planned, and 2025 is the year of local elections.

The Ukrainian government does not refuse to hold elections, but rather seeks ways to hold them. However, politicians consider all the risks associated with the war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine. Under such conditions, Russia is preventing the elections from being held, as they shell Ukrainian cities and villages on a daily basis, and the Russians kill Ukrainian civilians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” is Nazi, and Ukrainians use it, glorifying “Nazism” in this way. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariia Zakharova in response to a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on May 15. During the briefing, the chancellor shouted “Glory to Ukraine!”.

Specialists of the StopFake project worked on the case, explaining that the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” is not a “Nazi slogan”. Historians have recorded the use of the congratulations “Glory to Ukraine!” by the Ukrainian national movement at least since the end of the 19th century. In addition, they began to massively use “Glory to Ukraine!” during the Ukrainian revolution in the period 1917-1921. Subsequently, this congratulation was introduced in the UNR Army. And at the Second grand meeting of the OUN (under the leadership of Stepan Bandera) in 1941, a resolution was approved in which the obligatory answer was added to the greeting “Glory to Ukraine”: “Glory to heroes!”. This formula is still in use today. Since 2018, the slogan has also been used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine. That is, the slogan has nothing to do with so-called Nazism. Moreover, the slogan existed long before the creation of the OUN.

By spreading this fake, the propagandists once again speculate on the topic of Ukrainian nationalism and distort it into “Nazism”. It seems that being a Ukrainian is already a reason to receive accusations of Nazism from the Russians. Recently, we refuted a similar case, which said that Zelenskyi allegedly put on a jumper with an embroidered coat of arms of the OUN, although it was the Ukrainian coat of arms.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, seems to rarely appear in public space. The authors of the messages convince that Zaluznyi is actually no longer alive, or he was allegedly removed from the public space, since he “did not deserve Zelenskyi’s trust”. It is not true.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project investigated this case and found that Valerii Zaluzhnyi is still on duty. That is, this is a conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. Recently, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar also refuted this information and said that Valerii Zaluzhnyi was “on the spot”, and all the fakes in relation to the death of the commander in chief were a Russian propaganda stuffing.

By spreading this fake, propagandists seek to demoralize Ukrainians and show them that “there is no one to protect peaceful Ukrainians anymore”. Thus, propagandists sow panic among Ukrainians.

Let us remind you that we recently refuted similar fakes regarding the death of the military leadership. This was one of the cases about the commander of the territorial defense units, Ihor Tantsiura, who, according to Russian propaganda, was allegedly killed in Bakhmut.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say authorities are reporting how Ukrainians have lessened “anti-Russian” sentiment. Like, the Ukrainians are glad of the shelling and are gradually trying to go over to the Russian side. The authors add that, of course, the “situation” has not changed dramatically, because Zelenskyi constantly keeps Ukrainians in his “claws” and feeds hatred towards Russians by introducing a policy of “russophobia”.

Such a thesis is unfounded. First, the authorities did not issue such a statement or even publish any study that could indicate a change in sentiment. At the same time, propagandists talk about the opposite in order to subconsciously push Ukrainians towards “reconciliation”. Allegedly, if the majority already treats the Russians well, it is worth “forgetting everything”. At the same time, they also note the policy of so-called russophobia, which Zelenskyi allegedly implements to make Ukrainians treat Russians badly. However, even without the political campaign of “russophobia”, it is clear that the Russians are aggressors who daily commit war crimes against peaceful Ukrainians. Ukrainian cities, towns and villages are being destroyed, and people are being killed and raped. The so-called Russophobia is a direct impact on the inhuman actions of Russia against Ukraine and Ukrainians.

In addition, according to the results of a social survey by the Rating group conducted in August 2022, 81% of Ukrainians have a negative attitude towards Russians (in April 2022 there were 69% of such people, in April 2021 - 41%), 14% are neutral, only 3% positive. That is, we are not talking about a decrease in “anti-Russian” sentiments, the level of negative attitude towards Russians has increased in the conditions of a full-scale war.

This thesis was spread in social networks, including in the Russian segment of social networks. The reports say that the Russian language is 400 years older than Ukrainian, which generally arose in the 16th-17th centuries under the influence of the Polish language.

This case was considered by the fact-checkers of the Myth Detector project, who explained that such a thesis is unfounded. The Ukrainian language comes from the Proto-Slavic language, which originated on the territory of Kyiv Rus. Although the development of the Ukrainian language was hampered until the 18th century, its foundations were laid a very long time ago - the East Slavic language group was formed in the 13th century after the collapse of Kyiv Rus. That is, after the collapse of Kyiv Rus, there was a division into Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian languages. They formed about the same time.

The Polish language belongs to the West Slavic linguistic group, and Ukrainian cannot be derived from it. Of course, for some period the Ukrainian language did not have much space for development, since it was always politically dependent on others (Russia, Rzeczpospolita). Both Polish and Russian have had a significant impact on Ukrainian.

This is not the first time Russian propaganda has hinted at the “artificiality” of the Ukrainian language, which allegedly comes from Russian or Polish, or is generally a “dialect”. Thus, Moscow seeks to mentally unite Ukrainians with Russians, they say, we have a common language, traditions and customs, so everyone is almost “blood brothers and sisters”.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric reported on May 17 that approximately 10 explosions were heard in Odesa, there were “strikes at military facilities”. According to anonymous telegram channels, “the Russians realized that there was no good air defense in Odesa, they moved everything to Kyiv”, and therefore they are attacking this particular city.

However, such conclusions are unfounded. From May 17 to May 18, Russia launched 30  missiles, of which 29 were destroyed by air defense forces. This was stated by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, on the air of the United News telethon, the speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, said that during today's missile strike over Odesa region, 8 missiles were shot down. This refutes the message that all air defense systems were installed in Kyiv.

Yurii Ihnat noted: “The capital is attacked most often, so this city, obviously, needs more protection”. He also added about “the eastern and northern regions – there is also a very serious vector of work and air defense is also working there. Therefore, we distribute our forces where it is most needed”.

By spreading such a message, Russian propaganda is trying to intimidate Ukrainians, arouse distrust in the authorities and split society. Like, the amount of air defense is not enough to close the whole of Ukraine, so the Ukrainian authorities determine “more and less important” areas.

This is not the first time propagandists have been spreading this message. Previously, it was promoted on the telegram channels of Mykolaiv, Odesa and Kharkiv regions. In October 2022, Detector Media talked about a message that air defense was taken from Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions, and Kyiv and Dnipro were “excessively” protected because they were “more strategically important” for the authorities.