The network quotes the representative of the Russian foreign ministry Mariia Zakharova. She believes that the world is “demonizing Russia”, carrying out “forced Ukrainization” and supporting the culture of abolishing everything Russian that exists. Zakharova calls the report on crimes against Ukrainian culture an attempt to “shield the Kyiv regime” and “infringe on the rights of Russian speakers”.

According to the fact-checkers of the project “Beyond the News”, in this way Zakharova reacted to the statement of UN experts regarding the destruction of Ukrainian identity by the Russians, published on the eve of the anniversary of a full-scale war. UN experts published a report in which they note that Russia continues to “denigrate the history and identity of the Ukrainian people to justify war and hatred”. It says that among the important cultural sites of Ukraine affected by the shelling are museums, libraries and churches.

From February 24, 2022 to March 1, 2023, UNESCO registered 245 cultural heritage sites of Ukraine that were damaged or destroyed due to the war unleashed by Russia. There are 106 religious sites, 20 museums, 88 historical and/or artistic buildings, 19 monuments, 12 libraries among them although they add: according to other sources, there may be about a thousand damaged objects.

According to the report, in Mariupol, Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne, historical buildings were destroyed for 90%. More than 10 thousand works of art were taken out of the Kherson Art Museum. In the Donetsk region, the invaders use burial mounds as field fortifications. The report also reminds that Russians have destroyed important cultural monuments in the temporarily occupied Crimea since 2014.

Thus, the Russians are trying to deprive Ukrainians of their historical and cultural heritage. Also, such messages feed the Russian narrative about the inferiority of Ukrainians. And the words of Zakharova are an example of the substitution of concepts: they say they destroy and devalue Russian culture, and not Ukrainian. Earlier, propagandists said that Ukraine was striking at its own cultural heritage, and the Kyiv totalitarian regime was waging a cultural war against Russia.

Propagandists scoff at the statements made by the wife of the President of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, regarding victims of sexual violence by the Russian army as part of the war against Ukraine. They say that the data that she announced on March 4 at the United for Justice international forum, which was attended by lawyers from all over the world, are not true, and the very topic of sexual violence against women, children and men in war conditions is not of great importance.

In fact, the problem of sexual violence in war is becoming a “gambling” character. The Russian military perceives rape as revenge, and the victims of sexual violence and their suffering as a reward and trophy. Although it refers to women, there are also men among the victims of rape by the Russian military. Olena Zelenska said Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating 171 cases of sexual assault by the Russian military. 39 men and 13 minors are among the victims. In this case, we are talking only about those persons who dared to tell law enforcement officers about the rape. On the other hand, the number of victims may be even higher due to the fact that the topic of sexual violence in Ukraine still has its “taboos” in society.

By mocking the words of Zelenska, propagandists are trying to devalue the dignity of Ukrainians. Like, Ukraine is already known only for its prostitutes. Russian propaganda is stamping Ukrainians with sexual violence. This serves as repeated evidence of a lack of understanding of the rules of warfare. Detector Media has already investigated how propagandists mock Ukrainian women, speculating on stereotypes as part of gender disinformation.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Polish media is “hiding the truth”: they do not tell that “the United States is inciting discord between Ukraine and Russia” and are doing everything to hide “the real peacekeeping actions of Russia”. Like, all this is a consequence of russophobia, which the Poles feel towards the Russians.

Analysts of The Insider project investigated this case and determined that the material of the Mysl Polska publication became the basis for creating this message. This is a propaganda publication that spreads fakes and manipulations about the Russian-Ukrainian war. Consequently, the materials of the publication do not accurately indicate the position of the country in relation to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Analysts explain that in August 2022, Slovak, Czech and Polish investigators discovered that the Polish newspaper Mysl Polska was supplying content for one of the Russian propaganda editions, NewsFront. More than 7 percent of all content published on NewsFront is reprinted from Mysl Polska.

At the same time, propagandists calling the actions of other countries against Russia “russophobia” imply an allegedly groundless phenomenon, which consists in hatred for everything Russian: from products to culture. However, the so-called russophobia is a response to the actions of the Russian army, leadership and people. The Russians bear collective responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence. World condemnation and sanctions against the aggressor are the consequences of Russia's criminal actions, and not just “a manifestation of hatred for Russians as a people”, as Moscow is trying to convince everyone. Russian propaganda also wants to convince that “hatred of the Russians” blurred the eyes of many Europeans, thus trying to whiten themselves and become a victim, not an aggressor.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that in Europe, in particular in Spain, they are afraid of “possible nuclear threats from Ukraine”. That is why, according to the authors, the leadership of Spain is introducing a campaign to fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction in order to protect itself from “provocations of Ukraine”.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to this case and found that this is another conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda that has no evidence. Probably, as analysts explain, the basis of this conspiracy thesis was the Spanish national security meeting held in February. The meeting adopted a draft national strategy to fight the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Both the meeting and the draft document had nothing to do with Ukraine, since only national security measures were discussed. Moreover, there were no statements from Spanish officials regarding the so-called “protection from Ukraine”.

By spreading this message, propagandists want to convince that Ukraine is an aggressor and that it carries out so-called provocations and terrorizes Europeans. Thus, the authors of messages use the tactics of reflection, attributing their actions to opponents. Because intimidation and “nuclear blackmail” is one of the ways Russian propaganda achieves its goals.

We recall that earlier Detector Media also denied a fake, which claimed that radioactive substances were allegedly brought to Ukraine to prepare provocations against Russia.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the US plans to hold talks with Russia in order to “somehow agree to achieve peace”. The authors note that the United States is allegedly at war with Ukraine against Russia, and then America will independently make decisions on negotiations with Russia.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to this case and determined that this thesis is unfounded and has no evidence. The West supports Ukraine with military and financial assistance and does not take a direct part in the war. In addition, Western partners act on the principle of not discussing issues related to Ukraine without Ukraine. That is, Ukraine is also a participant in all international processes, no one can make decisions on behalf of Ukraine without the knowledge of the Ukrainian leadership.

According to analysts, there are no significant differences between the United States and Europe in the position on Russia's war against Ukraine. In the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of February 9, 2023, it was unequivocally noted that the EU will support Ukraine for as long as necessary. Western countries, including the United States, are determined to help Ukraine in its victory.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to convince that Ukraine is supposedly a puppet in the hands of the West, which acts in its own interests and does not take Ukrainians into account. At the same time, Russian propaganda promotes the thesis of a truce as the only way to end the war, so that Russia in the international arena will be considered and tried to “somehow negotiate”.

Russian and pro-Russian telegram channels began to circulate Ramzan Kadyrov's quotes that the “diabolical regime of Ukraine” is fighting against the “defenseless”, so this can be considered a “war without rules”. Kadyrov's statements are linked to reports of an alleged “Ukrainian reconnaissance sabotage group” (DRG) that allegedly attacked two villages in the Briansk region, took Russian civilians hostage and fired on a car.

Versions of the event in the Briansk region were specified several times both in terms of the number of victims, and the location of the so-called DRG (reconnaissance sabotage group), and the purpose of their stay in Russia. Despite this, the Russians immediately, without clarifying the circumstances, took advantage of the situation and accused Ukraine of terrorism. Like, the Ukrainian military commits crimes against peaceful Russians. The Ukrainian authorities called these statements a provocation and denied Ukraine's involvement in the events in the Briansk region. In the end, representatives of the “Russian volunteer corps” took responsibility and called the events an attempt to show that there are also free people in Russia who are ready to fight against the Putin regime.

Thus, Russia uses the tactics of reflection and shifts the responsibility for anything to Ukraine. Like, Russia does not attack first, but “strike back”. In fact, Russia is an aggressor state that started a war against Ukraine and commits war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, including against children.

Reports are circulating on pro-Russian telegram channels that Ukrainians are building defensive structures on the border with Russian-occupied Transnistria. They say that Ukraine is justifying itself by strengthening its own security, but ‘in fact” it is preparing provocations to draw Moldova into the war.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages that Ukraine is going to draw neighboring states into the war, including Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary or Belarus. The propagandists also wrote that in one way or another Ukraine was involving the USA, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia, etc. into the war. Propaganda claimed that military personnel of NATO countries or representatives of the OSCE are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russia uses the tactics of substitution of concepts in order to present itself as a victim of global aggression, and not as an aggressor state.

Russia launched a new wave of disinformation messages about drawing Moldova into the war after Russian missiles violated Moldovan airspace. Thus, Russia is trying to be proactive and absolve itself of responsibility for war crimes. Like, Ukraine provokes other states and draws them into the war, not Russia. The Russians recently shared a “document” allegedly confirming that Ukraine was preparing to attack Transnistria.

Pro-Russian publications tell foreign audiences that the US is actively recruiting jihadists from ISIS and al-Qaeda to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia and other countries that were part of the USSR. “Recruitment” and “training” takes place at the Al-Tanf military base in Syria, mainly among militants from the Caucasus and Central Asia. They seem to be studying how to make and use improvised explosive devices, as well as explosive methods. Like, the US security forces are demoralized, and therefore obsessed with the idea of bleeding Russia in any way, even using terrorists.

EU vs Disinfo analysts drew attention to the spread of the message. They note that this is an unfounded claim, there is no evidence of the training of militants. In addition, the US is leading the global coalition to defeat ISIS and other international counter-terrorist initiatives.

Thus, Russian propaganda uses intimidation tactics and fuels narratives about the US as an enemy of Russia. Earlier, Russian propaganda wrote that a group of radical Islamists went from northeast Syria to Ukraine to fight as mercenaries on the side of Kyiv.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on Telegram broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that all operators of foreign weapons, such as the Challenger 2 tanks or the AS90 artillery mount, are “foreign mercenaries”. They say that Western countries do not trust Ukrainians and entrust their equipment on the battlefield only to foreigners. The authors of the reports note that the Ukrainian army is only engaged in “protecting equipment” and in some cases, according to them, “foreigners allow Ukrainians to steer”.

Such a thesis is unfounded, because the Ukrainian military use foreign weapons on their own. For example, recently a group of Ukrainian military arrived in the UK to train to use the AS90 self-propelled artillery mount. Earlier, the British government announced that it would transfer Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine for use. This indicates that the Ukrainian army and Ukrainians in particular are entrusted with the use of weapons. This is not the only case when the Ukrainian army is sent for training and taught to use foreign weapons.

As for the so-called “foreign mercenaries”, Russian propaganda replaces the concept and calls the foreign legion mercenaries. The Foreign Legion is legally part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the exact number of its members is not reported, like all other fighters. In theory, both the Ukrainian military and members of the foreign legion can use weapons. The ban does not apply to Ukrainians or the foreign legion, since they are all part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Accordingly, foreign countries, sending their weapons for use to Ukraine, give the Armed Forces of Ukraine the right to operate them.

Russian propaganda has repeatedly spread manipulations about so-called foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. The propagandists claimed that the military from the EU countries fought on the territory of Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion, or the number of foreigners in the Ukrainian army would soon exceed 50%. Thus, propaganda wants to create an appearance that is actually at war not with Ukraine, but with the so-called collective West.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say that the West is provoking Belarus to war. Like, the leaders of Western countries have a clear secret plan, recently revealed by Russian intelligence. At the same time, the authors of the messages add that Russia has never involved Belarus in the war, because they are sister countries.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case and determined that the Western countries have no “secret: plans, since the leaders of the countries are not at all interested in the escalation of the war. Analysts are sure that this is a hoax and another conspiracy theory of Russian propaganda. In the conditions of the Russian aggressive war against Ukraine, European countries are forced to strengthen their borders, build up the defense capability of their armies in order to resist any external aggression. Therefore, the security of Ukraine means the security of the countries of Europe.

At the same time, Russia is trying to convince that Belarus is not an accomplice to the war, although it is not. Belarus serves as a springboard for Russian troops, missiles and aircraft both before and after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The American Institute for the Study of War says that Russia is trying to “put pressure on Belarus so that it officially supports Russia in the war”. That is, Russia is the aggressor, but by no means the countries of the West. Moreover, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Lukashenko, acknowledged the participation of Belarus in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Propagandists systematically discredit the West and other international partners of Ukraine and accuse them of resolving and prolonging the war. Like, the West wants the escalation of the war, while Russia is defending itself. Thus, propagandists use the tactics of reflection, attributing their actions to opponents.

This message is being promoted in pro-Russian telegram channels. Like, despite the pessimistic forecasts, the Russian economy is successfully resisting all the blows of the West. Allegedly, Russia's GDP decreased by only 2.1%, although experts predicted the collapse of the economy.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, today Russia is the most sanctioned country in the world, and now it is sanctions that are the most effective tool of influence on the aggressor country by the civilized world community. According to experts, the Russian economy has so far survived thanks to high energy prices and a tough economic policy. However, the cumulative effect of sanctions will soon become fatal for the Russian economy.

The narrative that sanctions do not harm Russia is one of the most common Russian propaganda narratives. Propagandists systematically spread messages that Russia is a serious economic player and that sanctions against Russia are useless. This time, the message is being shared against the backdrop of the tenth round of EU sanctions against Russia. By spreading such messages, Russia is trying to devalue the sanctions. Like, they are not effective, so they should be canceled. In fact, if the sanctions were inactive, Russia would not have to make so much effort to cancel them.

Read more about the most common narratives and messages of Russian propaganda in Eastern Europe in the Detector Media investigation.

Such a message is spreading in pro-Russian telegram channels in the context of the announcement of a new military aid package from the United States. They say that after the Ukrainian army receives GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb) precision bombs with a range of more than 150 kilometers, there will be no “safe” areas in the temporarily occupied territories.

In fact, for Ukrainians, the danger is Russia and the Russian army, which occupied part of Ukraine. After the start of a full-scale invasion, the entire territory of Ukraine is only relatively safe, because Russia can launch missile strikes at any time in any area. The shelling was carried out on residential buildings and critical infrastructure facilities, which are a war crime. The Ukrainian military is using precision weapons to destroy Russian warehouses and against the Russian army, not against Ukrainian civilians living in the temporarily occupied territories.

By spreading such messages, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit the Ukrainian army, military assistance from partners and nourish the narrative that “Ukraine has bombed Donbas for 9 years”. Russian propaganda also meekly resorts to dividing Ukrainians according to their place of residence.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. Like, Ukraine and Russia are attracting support: Biden is leaving for Kyiv, and Xi Jinping is going to Moscow.

However, this message is built on manipulation. Joe Biden did visit Kyiv, but the visit of the Chinese leader to Moscow is still scheduled for the coming months. Despite the unprecedented military assistance Ukraine has received since the start of the full-scale invasion, Western partners have repeatedly said that their military does not and will not fight in Ukraine. Reports of Xi Jinping's possible visit to Moscow also speak of a more active Chinese role in ending the war.

The message about the beginning of the Third World War is not new, it was promoted at the beginning of a full-scale invasion. Also recently, an edited video from a speech by Joe Biden was distributed on the network, in which he allegedly confirms the beginning of the Third World War. Thus, Russian propaganda uses intimidation tactics. Also, this message is used to explain the duration and failures of the so-called “special military operation” - they say, Russia is at war not only with Ukraine, but also with the “collective West”.

For a long time, Kremlin publications have been spreading the message that the “collective West” is mired in its own lack of spirituality and attracts Ukraine. As “evidence” propagandists come up with different stories, such as, for example, the legalization of pedophilia and bestiality in Spain. They also take decisions and ideas out of context, as if the Church of England had decided on a gender-neutral definition of God. The message was repeated by Russian President Volodymyr Putin in his annual federal address. In particular, he stated that “only a man and a woman can be a family”, “moral degradation” does not exist in Russia, and that one of the reasons for the war against Ukraine is “protection of world morality”.

Such reports are obviously speculation, since the concept of spirituality is subjective, but the problem of discrimination on any grounds, including sexual and gender identity, is not. If to talk about fakes on pedophilia and bestiality, in this case we are talking about the recently adopted package of progressive laws in Spain. In particular, they ensure women's rights to go on paid “menstrual leave” and remove a number of restrictions on abortion. However, these laws do not cover bestiality or pedophilia. In the story of a gender-neutral definition of God, the main institutions of the Anglican church have only announced their desire to address this issue this spring. In addition, the appeals of Europe and the United States in this context are only advisory in nature, and the government of Ukraine has the final say on whether to implement them or not.

In such a way, Russia is again turning to the point of humiliation and ridicule of representatives of the LGBT community. Moreover, such a method of propaganda renews its true aggression against Ukraine. However, it shows that if one analyzes the statistics on the level of sexual violence in the countries of the EU and Russia, Russia itself is in a worse condition. Detector Media has previously explained why the topic of Russian disinformation is important for representatives of LGBT communities.

Kremlin publications spread the message that Ukraine and its statehood are in fact an artificially created project of the “collective West”, which has the informal name “Anti-Russia”. This message was echoed by Russian President Volodymyr Putin in his annual federal address. In particular, he stated that the so-called “anti-Russia” was created in Austria in the 19th century and that Russia is fighting precisely against this “anti-Russia”, since the Ukrainian people are “occupied by the West”, especially the United States. Earlier, the President of Russia said that Ukraine was artificially created in Austria-Hungary or other Western countries.

Journalists of the Ukrainian news service BBC drew attention to this message. They note that there is a number of historical evidence that refutes the above claims.

Thus, Russia again wants to shift the responsibility for its crimes to the victim. In addition, this is how the propagandists want to justify their aggression against Ukraine: because of the fight against the “external enemy”. It seems that Ukraine does not matter, because it is “controlled” from the outside. Detector Media has previously explained how Russia devalues Ukrainian statehood with the phrase “Kyiv regime”.

Russian media are spreading the message that Ukrainian President Zelenskyi and Moldovan President Sandu have conspired to escalate the situation in Transnistria. Propagandists claim that it is they who are trying to provoke Tiraspol to aggression, and it is for this that Maia Sandu wants Moldova to join NATO. In addition, the Russian media are convinced that the ex-Prime Minister of Moldova was replaced precisely at the direction of the US State Department and Zelenskyi.

Analysts of the EUvsDisInfo project drew attention to the message. They note that the pro-Kremlin media continue to perceive Moldova as part of the sphere of Russian influence. With this in mind, they are spreading narratives that criticize the current pro-Western government of Moldova. In particular, Russia accuses the Moldovan government of ending the dialogue with Russia on the discount on gas supplies, as well as supporting Ukraine. Last July, President Sanda announced her intentions to strengthen Moldova's combat capability while maintaining neutrality.

Thus, the Russian propaganda wants to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to use it to escalate the situation in Transnistria. Also, because of such messages, propagandists want to convince Ukrainians that even the closest allies have turned their backs on Ukraine, but reality proves the opposite.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that during the visits of foreign officials, air raid sirens are activated by order of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Like, this will convince partners to supply weapons to Ukraine, because this is a frightening experience. The authors of the reports cite an example when on February 16, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. The authors claim that Ukraine specifically turned on the air raid alert in Kyiv then. The publication also adds a photo of both ministers and the inscription: “The head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry could not be persuaded to supply weapons even after the air raid sirens were turned on”.

This thesis has no confirmation, since the air raid signal is activated with each new threat to the airspace of Ukraine. On February 16, according to the alert map, 70 air raid signals were announced throughout Ukraine, two in Kyiv including. The Ukrainian leadership does not turn on the air raid alert intentionally. The whole process of turning on a signal does not depend on only one person, but is carried out by a number of specialists.

Propagandists spread this message to create the appearance that Ukraine is doing everything possible to beg for weapons from Western partners. Like, the Ukrainian government resorts to deception and “tricks”.

We recall that Detector Media has already explained the message in which Zelenskyi allegedly does not turn on the air raid sirens so as not to frighten the Ukrainians.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that Ukraine is allegedly engaged in ethnic cleansing of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, that is, genocide. They say that Ukraine sends ethnic Hungarians to the front, and does not “touch” others. The authors of the messages add that, at the same time, the Ukrainian leadership wants to get rid of ethnic Hungarians in the territory of Transcarpathia to the detriment of Hungary.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated this case and found that no facts confirm that representatives of national minorities in Ukraine, in particular Hungarians, are disproportionately called up to the Ukrainian army. A citizen of Ukraine liable for military service can carry it out on an equal basis with everyone, regardless of whether such a person belongs to the category of national minorities or not. In addition, the Hungarian authorities did not make any official statements about the so-called genocide of the Hungarians in Transcarpathia or “ethnic cleansing”.

This message is beneficial for propaganda, as the authors want to nourish the narrative that Ukraine itself is allegedly engaged in genocide. Thus, propagandists want to hide their own war crimes, the murder and genocide of Ukrainians, and at the same time whitewash themselves.

"Detector Media" previously denied the fake that Russia would transfer the alleged Transcarpathian prisoners of war to Hungary in order to achieve justice.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this in the context of developing a bill to abolish March 8, May day and Victory day. In the messages, propagandists appeal to Soviet approaches to celebrating Victory day and claim that the cancellation of the holiday allegedly deprives Ukrainians of reasons for pride and the feeling of a victorious people.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is indeed considering a proposal to create three new holidays instead. In Ukraine, since 2015, as in European countries, the end of World War II has been celebrated with the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation (May 8). This is a day of mourning and memory of tens of millions of victims. The Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation does not cancel the historical significance of the events of the Second World War, but shifts the focus to the memory of the price - the lives of millions of people.

Russian propaganda is trying to discredit any attempts by Ukraine to separate its cultural space from Russian and resort to messages about “common history”, “brotherhood”, etc. Previously, propaganda wrote that the “Kyiv totalitarian regime” was waging a cultural war against Russia.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this with reference to the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary,Szijjártó Péter. Like, all European countries, except Hungary, defend the need to fight on. Only Hungary is interested in a ceasefire and peace talks. According to Szijjártó, the war in Ukraine is becoming more and more brutal and human lives need to be saved, and this can only be done with the help of peace.

Hungary, despite its supposedly neutral position, really systematically “plays” along with Russia. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has previously explained that the war started because of Russia's opposition to NATO expansion. Orban also opposed sanctions against Russia. Such theses coincide with the narratives of Russian propaganda. Actually, like Szijjártó’s proposal for peace negotiations.

Western countries have repeatedly said that only Ukraine will decide how and when to start the peace process and whether to start it at all. The partners also promise to provide support to Ukraine “as much as necessary”.

Russian propaganda systematically manipulates the subject of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Like, Ukraine refuses to negotiate and cease fire. Thus, Russia transfers responsibility for the unleashed war to Ukraine. The position of Ukraine regarding the negotiations has not changed - negotiations are possible only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine. Earlier propagandists claimed that Zelenskyi could have stopped the war, but the West did not let him do it.

Foreign pro-Russian resources write that Russian and Belarusian athletes are discriminated against because they are not allowed to participate in international competitions even under a neutral flag. Like, the Baltic countries, Poland and Great Britain have created coalitions to fight the Russians and Belarusians. According to propaganda, this is racism. Propagandists also write that governments are interfering in sports instead of dealing with the affairs of state importance. EU vs Disinfo analysts drew attention to the spread of the message.

On February 28, 2022, the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee really recommended that international sports federations and organizers of sporting events “not invite and prevent the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions”. Such a decision is connected with a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and in no way can be qualified as racism. Propagandists use substitution of concepts to portray Russians and Belarusians as victims.

Now there is a discussion of the possible participation of Russians and Belarusians in the 2024 Olympics. However, a group of 35 countries, including the UK, Germany, USA, France and Japan, have agreed to demand the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the 2024 Olympics.

The Russians use international measures to promote disinformation, create provocations and scandals, which are then used by Russian propaganda. According to the President of Ukraine, the presence of representatives of the aggressor state at the competitions is a manifestation of violence and lawlessness.

Videos of alleged mass protests in the Netherlands are being circulated online. Users claim that people allegedly protest against the provision of weapons to Ukraine and demand the restoration of farms that went bankrupt as a result of sanctions against Russia. This is manipulation.

There were indeed protests in the Netherlands, but they have nothing to do with the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The demonstrators opposed the government's initiative to introduce a central bank digital currency. VoxCheck fact checkers found that the protests took place in Amsterdam on February 5, 2023. The organizer of the demonstration and the protesters believe that the government is trying to limit the freedom of citizens to spend money anonymously and at their discretion, and technology can be used to control the society of the Netherlands. The demands of the demonstrators were neither about the provision of weapons to Ukraine, nor about the restoration of farms.

Russian propaganda is trying to create the appearance that the level of support for Ukraine in European countries is falling. Propagandists have previously spread fake messages about protests against arms supplies to France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova, Belgium, etc.

This thesis is spread by anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say that if Kyiv had adhered to the Minsk agreements, there would not have been a full-scale war. Ukraine allegedly wanted to “cede” the Donbas and provoked Russia to invade at the direction of “Western curators”. More messages on this topic on the telegram appeared after the statements of the press secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anatolii Hlaz. He stated that the Minsk agreements allegedly “fulfilled their role well”, namely, they helped “stop the escalation of the conflict”.

By spreading such messages, Russian propaganda is once again trying to shift the blame for the invasion from Russia to Ukraine. Like, if Ukraine did not break promises, everything would be fine. Thus, Russia is changing reality. However, it was Russia that repeatedly violated the Minsk agreements and attacked Ukraine. In addition, the Minsk agreements did not stop the escalation, but only postponed it for a while.

Recently, Viktor Medvedchuk, accused of high treason, a former People's deputy of the pro-Russian “Opposition platform - for life” party, spoke on the topic of the Minsk agreements on the air of the Belarusian state television. In particular, Medvedchuk repeated the narratives that he had been spreading in recent years. Like, Ukraine “bombed the Donbas” and in every possible way evaded the reintegration of the territories “for the sake of votes” in the elections. At the same time, he presents himself as the only possible mediator for the success of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. And he claims that nothing happened with Minsk through his mediation as he had no influence on its execution.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that, according to the order of the Office of the President, the air raid sirens have been turned off. Like, this will ensure the peace of Ukrainians who are traumatized by them. The authors of the report add that the leadership of Ukraine does not immediately report some hits, so doubts and mistrust creep in among Ukrainians. According to the authors, with each new air raid signal, Ukrainians are preparing for explosions, they feel in total danger, because they expect an explosion. At the same time, Zelenskyi allegedly independently decides whether to turn on the air raid sirens, which is a manifestation of arbitrariness and “manual leadership”.

This thesis has no confirmation, since the air raid signal is activated with each new threat to the airspace of Ukraine. Between the moment of fixing the aircraft / missile / enemy aircraft and the actual launch of the siren, a few minutes pass, and maybe even less than a minute. One phone call is enough. After that, the siren in the desired regions is turned on by local authorities. That is, this process does not depend on one person, Zelenskyi in particular, but on a number of specialists who lead various processes. For example, according to the alarm map of Ukraine as of February 13, it was today when the air raid spread across Ukraine for the last time: in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions and lasted about an hour and a half. The air raid in the Luhansk region has been going on since April 4, 2022. And during the period of February 6-12, there were 277 air raid signals throughout Ukraine.

By spreading such a message, the propagandists want to nourish the narrative that supposedly Ukraine does not care about Ukrainians and leaves them to their fate, for example, by turning off air raid sirens. Thus, they want to arouse distrust in the state among Ukrainians, whom, they say, no one will protect.

Such a message was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Europe planned the cataclysm and in this way decided to punish Turkey for its attitude towards Russia. They say that everyone suffers from the fact that they support Russia “trying to help it”, and Europe at the same time punishes them. The authors of the messages add that Europe is using the so-called “tectonic weapon”.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated this case and found that this is a conspiracy theory of propagandists. There is no evidence to support this, besides, there is no evidence for the existence of “tectonic weapons”.

A “tectonic weapon” is a hypothetical device or system that can trigger earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or other seismic events at specific locations, interfering with Earth's natural geological processes. According to the propagandists who used this definition, Europe used precisely this “weapon”.

Fact-checkers add that there is a 1978 Convention on the Prohibition of military or any other hostile use of environmental methods. It has been ratified by 75 states, including EU states. In fact, the convention prohibits the use of artificial methods of causing earthquakes, tsunamis and other phenomena for one's own benefit.