The thesis of the division between Poland and Russia of Ukraine, and the preservation of the "neutral" third of Ukraine with its center in Kyiv, Russian propaganda has been promoting at least since 2014. It began to be actively dispersed from the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, "reinforcing" it with fake maps, which allegedly demonstrated Poland's intentions to capture the western regions of Ukraine; then forged documents with alleged orders to attack these territories; then scared by the alleged battalions of Poles in Ukraine; then talked about the "legalization of Poles"; then about the alleged plans of Poland "to side with Russia and then capture the western regions of Ukraine" and so on. At first, it was spread by pro-Kremlin telegrams, then picked up by the Russian media. Similar statements began to be heard from Russian politicians, intelligence, and "diplomats," such as the Russian Foreign Ministry and representative of the department Maria Zakharova. Currently, this thesis has been promoted at the level of the Russian Security Council, particularly: Secretary of this Council Nikolai Patrushev. He said on May 31 that Poland had allegedly moved from plans "to seize territories in western Ukraine," as evidenced by Polish President Andrzej Duda's visit to Kyiv and his statement that "the Polish-Ukrainian border will soon cease to exist."

In fact, Duda was talking about a new friendship agreement between Poland and Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine and Poland could soon introduce joint border controls, particularly border and customs controls. Zelensky also stated the possibility of creating a single conditional border when Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union. "We are relatives. And there are no boundaries or barriers between us. They have not mentally divided the Ukrainian and Polish peoples for a long time. Therefore, we agreed to implement this soon in a relevant bilateral agreement. First on the joint border and customs control, and then on a single conditional border when Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union, " said the Ukrainian president.

To fix in the minds of Russians who use state propaganda that Russia is "forever" present in the occupied territories of Ukraine, the Kremlin media spread a narrative about the "power of Kherson" or "power of Zaporizhzhia" regions. It is reported that the "authorities of the Kherson region" are asking Putin to deploy a Russian military base in the Kherson region. Then the "authorities of the Zaporizhzhia region" announce Kyiv's plans to "surrender Zaporizhzhia."

Telegram channels related to the Kremlin's foreign intelligence («Lehitymnyy,» «Spletnytsa,» «ZeRada,» etc.) are taking part in a planned disinformation campaign aimed at convincing readers that Poland intends to seize part of Ukraine. As proof of this, they are distributing photos of billboards, allegedly placed in Poland, with the image of the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces Jaroslaw Miki with the quote - "Time to remember history." This phrase calls for the annexation of Ukrainian regions, part of Poland before the Second World War. DFRLab researchers believe these images are fake; these posters do not exist as there is no BBC material, which allegedly showed the order of Mika with a plan to capture the Ukrainian regions. Fact-checkers have previously refuted this fake from Reuters and the BBC itself: such a plot did not exist, graphics, captions, and even advertising the BBC application was used to create a fake, which was distributed by many telegram channels in European languages.

Russian authorities and propaganda media have been promoting the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and worldwide for the past month. For example, pro-Kremlin telegram channels have tried to shake up the situation in Ukraine with reports such as "Ukrainians are on the verge of starvation and Western countries are exporting all grain" or "Ukrainian authorities are exchanging grain for weapons while civilian food prices have risen sharply." However, following allegations from foreign politicians and foreign media investigations that Russia is looting and exporting food from Ukraine's occupied territories and blocking supplies through Ukraine's seaports, Russian propaganda has begun to spread manipulations accusing the West and Ukraine of supply problems. It is said that Ukrainians are "to blame for rising grain and oil prices in Europe," that Ukraine "mined ports and coasts," or that "the West's decisions prevent the export of grain from Ukraine." At the same time, Russia completely denies its involvement in looting Ukraine's food supplies, blocking ports, and supplying grain.

In fact, as of May 21, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia has blocked 22 million tons of food in Ukrainian ports and is gradually stealing it, exporting it, and trying to sell it. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was using food supplies as a weapon. She added that Russia was accumulating its food, using its export delays "as a form of blackmail" to provoke rising global prices or "exchange wheat for political support." New satellite images from Maxar Technologies have shown two Russian dry cargo ships loading Ukrainian grain at the port of occupied Sevastopol. According to Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova, Russia exports grain from occupied Berdiansk to occupied Crimea and then to Russia; the occupiers are trying to remove the remnants of grain from the port of Mariupol by rail. Russia also exports looted Ukrainian grain to third countries through the ports of the occupied Crimea. The Matros Pozynich ship, which had already transported the stolen grain to Syria, returned to the Black Sea and was reloaded. After leaving the Crimean port, this vessel indicated the destination port of Beirut in Lebanon, " Denisova said.

 According to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, Russia uses Croatian MEP Mislav Kolakusic to spread the Kremlin's message that "sanctions against Russia will not stop the war in Ukraine." "The other day, during a speech in the European Parliament, M. Kolakusic said that if the European Union does not want to finance the war, it should also impose sanctions on the United States, which supplies weapons to Ukraine. This statement is manipulative because Russia has waged war against the Ukrainian people and is trying to seize foreign territories. Periodically, a member of the European Parliament retransmits messages from Russia about the "dependence of the EU on the United States" and discredits Ukraine's allies in the international arena, "the statement said. Such a message is beneficial to Russian propaganda to discredit Ukraine's allies in this war, saying that the sanctions imposed by EU countries are not enough to stop it, while the United States is inciting aggression and doing everything to make the war last longer. In fact, the United States, as an ally, is providing Ukraine with weapons to defend its integrity and sovereignty, which Russia has encroached upon by starting a bloody war.

Russian media widely spread the opinion of the Permanent Representative of Crimea to the President of Russia, Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean Government Georgiy Muradov. According to him, gross violations of the rights of the Russian-speaking population have made the Ukrainian state "unviable" and "this is former Ukraine."

"It was primarily related to the rights of the state-building Russian people, whose language rights are enshrined in the tenth article of the Ukrainian constitution. However, these principles were grossly violated," he said.

He added that Russia would no longer restrict the rights of Russian-speaking citizens and that "the lands of these territories have historically been Russian, and their population mostly speaks Russian." It is not the first year that Russian historical propaganda has spread this narrative, saying that Crimea and Donbas have always been Russian and that southeastern Ukraine is, in fact, Novorossiya. Instead, Ukrainian historians claim that only 5.6% of the written history of Crimea belonged to Russia (11.4% to the Crimean Khanate). Russians made up a relative majority, but only 4% throughout the written history of Crimea, and an absolute majority of only 2.5%. Donbas has traditionally had a regional identity, although the majority of the population, at least in rural areas, was and is Ukrainian, according to the study book Revision of History: Russian Historical Propaganda and Ukraine.

We remind you that Article 10 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that “the state language in Ukraine is the Ukrainian language. The state ensures the comprehensive development and functioning of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of public life throughout Ukraine. Ukraine guarantees the free development, use, and protection of Russian and other languages ​​of national minorities of Ukraine."

This article aims not to ban Russian but to promote the development of the Ukrainian language. However, during Viktor Yanukovych's presidency, there were attempts to amend Article 10 by introducing Russian as the second state language.

In Ukraine, the eastern and southern regions are mostly Russian-speaking, or instead, they were. According to a study by the Rating Sociological Group, Russia's war against Ukraine has dramatically changed the situation. According to the survey, the number of those considering Ukrainian their mother tongue has been growing steadily over the last decade: from 57% in 2012 to 76% in 2022. There is also a steady decline in the Russian-speaking part of Ukrainians: in 2012, there were about 40% of such respondents, and at the beginning of the war - 18%.

"The unprecedented unity of society against the background of the war had a substantial impact on the attitude to the status of the Ukrainian language: today, the absolute majority (83%) for the Ukrainian language to be the only state language in Ukraine. This opinion dominates in all macro-regions, age, and language groups. On the other hand, in a poll, almost a quarter of citizens supported granting state status to the Russian language before the war, and today - only 7%, " the sociological group said.

The fake about Poland's alleged plans to take control of the western regions of Ukraine has spread on media. Earlier, Russian propagandists imagined that Poland wanted to send troops to Western Ukraine or take control of Western Ukraine with the help of NATO peacekeepers. This time, pro-Kremlin blogger Yuriy Podolyaka is spreading the message that Poland plans to move to the side of Russia and then seize the western regions of Ukraine. In the video, he claimed that after the occupation of western Ukraine, Poland would begin the denazification of the Ukrainian population. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine reminds us that the message that Poland is preparing to annex the western part of Ukraine remains one of the central narratives of Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine, which aims to split good relationships between Poland and Ukraine. All news with such a message is based only on the author's personal opinion and is confirmed in advance by falsified "facts". On May 20, Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that the victory of Ukraine as the complete restoration of territorial integrity would be the best end to Russia's war against Ukraine. It once again confirms the good neighborly relationships between Poland and Ukraine. Read more.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation under the CNSD, this is the thesis spread by veteran U.S. intelligence officer Paul Pilar in the global information space. He also calls on Western countries to make concessions to Russia and stop a new so-called cold war.

Anonymous telegram channels devalue the ability of small countries to help Ukraine. Using the example of the statement of the Estonian authorities about their assistance to Zhytomyr region, the propagandists ironize about the area of the country and describe the schemes of redistribution of funds to create funds, whose work will not be felt by an ordinary Ukrainian. We are also talking about a "scheme" under which, in return for assistance in reconstruction, Estonian companies will receive access to the resources and profitable economic cases of the region. Please note that the message is not based on a single fact, refers to an anonymous source, and probably aims to devalue the partnership with European countries in the eyes of Ukrainians and representatives of local authorities.

Such a thesis is actively spread by Russian propagandists. In particular, one of the mouthpieces of the Kremlin, Vladimir Solovyov. "Ukraine will most likely never join the EU, the European "partners" have once again abandoned this country. Even if Ukraine becomes a candidate for EU membership, its chances of actually becoming a member of the union are very small. European leaders do not need Ukraine as part of the European Union," Solovyov stated. In these kinds of appeals, he quotes French President Macron at the conference on the future of Europe at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on May 9. Then Macron said that Ukraine's accession to the EU may take dozens of years, and therefore he suggested creating some new format of cooperation with the countries that are close to the European Union in spirit, but not part of it. As the fact checker of the Brekhunets project writes, Macron did make such a statement, but he also added that "by its struggle and its courage, Ukraine is already a member of Europe and the Union". And he sees the prospect of creating a new "European political community", including welcoming Ukraine, in particular in parallel with the procedure of accession to the EU, which could last "dozens of years". These words do not say that Ukraine is not wanted in the EU and will never get there, but Russian propaganda benefits from spreading this thesis once again, indicating that no one needs Ukraine except Russia, which seeks to "liberate" it from the awful. influence of the United States and European Union countries, which only use it.

Russian propaganda levels Ukraine's victory in the Eurovision song contest and points to the bias of Europe. The words "Please help Mariupol, help Azovstal, right now!" said by the soloist of the band Kalush Orchestra are considered by the Russians as a political slogan, which, according to the rules of the contest, leads to the disqualification of the participant. At the same time, the organizers of the contest noted that the uncoordinated statement was more of a humanitarian nature; this decision was also preceded by a similar statement by "UA: Public service broadcasting". Slogans in support of Ukraine were also voiced by other artists, in particular representatives of Georgia and Iceland.

The narrative of a "weak" or "non-existent" state under foreign control has been used by Russian propagandists for many years, but these theses have been disseminated en masse since 2014. The same theses are also promoted during the war, but not only in the Russian media - they also penetrate the Western press. The VoxCheck project collected and refuted the most common theses in Italian and German publications.

Since the end of 2013, of the many messages about "external governance," there continue to be statements in the information space about a "coup d'état" in Ukraine, which the West, namely Victoria Nuland and the US State Department, has financed and artificially created. Also, conspiracy theories about "Pentagon biolaboratories" and "secret NATO bases" are promoted in the Western press, and it is constantly noted that the West is trying to "destroy the economy of Ukraine" - seemingly to prevent Ukraine from becoming a competitive state.

All of these fakes are easy to refute - for example, no one will "destroy" a competitor through its financial support, which the West constantly provides to Ukraine, and the non-existent NATO bases in Ukraine have still not been found, even by Russian propagandists who daily report on the "destruction of Ukrainian military infrastructure" while destroying schools, housing and hospitals. Read more about these fakes in VoxCheck and Detector's Mediabreakdown.

The other day the propaganda publication "Komsomolskaya Pravda" published an article with the title "What is the secret of the Ukrainian army". In the text the author Sergey Markov allegedly tries to analyze why the Ukrainian army gives a decent fight to the Russian - "one of the strongest in the world". That is, the Russian propaganda already admits that the Ukrainian military is able to resist Russia and tries to look for various explanations for this "phenomenon". In particular, calling the Ukrainian army an amazing and very strong combination of a Russian soldier, a fascist officer and an American general and claiming that almost the entire leadership of the Ukrainian army during 8 years of war was trained by Americans. American, British passports, as well as individual salaries that they receive there," the author of the text claims.

In fact, Ukrainian generals do not have dual citizenship and do not work for the Pentagon. In particular, General Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the AFU, a Ukrainian military officer who studied and served in Ukraine specifically, was Commander of Troops of Operational Command "North" (2019-2021), Chief of the Joint Operational Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - First Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces (2018), Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of Troops of Operational Command "West" (2017). Commander of the 51st separate mechanized brigade (2009-2012). In addition, the Ukrainian army has servicemen from different cities and regions of Ukraine, and they communicate both in Ukrainian and Russian. There is no reason to claim that Russian is the main language in the Ukrainian army. Thus, by claiming that Ukrainian generals are people trained and paid by the U.S., Russia tries to justify the defeat of its troops, saying that the Ukrainian army is strong only because of this.

This was stated by the Russian propaganda media, citing the words of the speaker of the State Duma of Russia Volodin. This is not the first time the politician has accused the United States of "wanting to organize a famine in Ukraine." He claims that the famine in Ukraine will come because of the US intentions to return all the grain stored in Ukraine to the world markets. He argues that "instead of real help, the U.S. only wants to take back what it needs.

First, in this way Russia again seeks to discredit Ukraine's allies in helping to wage war and supply arms. Russian propaganda benefits from spreading the thesis that the U.S. and other countries do not help Ukraine and Ukrainians in any way, but instead make things worse. Secondly, problems with grain and other food in Ukraine may arise not because of the U.S. and intentions to sell Ukrainian grain, but because of the war that Russia unleashed by destroying Ukrainian infrastructure and occupying cities. As a reminder, it recently became known, that Russian Kafirs are removing stolen food from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on a large scale. Obviously, the food problem in Ukraine could arise as a result of the actions of the Russians, not the United States.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, this is the thesis spread by Russian propagandists in the media. In particular, reports say that the U.S. and its allies are trying to prolong the war in Ukraine in order to dispose of obsolete weapons and try out modern weapons in real combat conditions. "With the start of the war, 14 partner countries are providing Ukraine with the latest weapons and equipment, past armed conflicts in Syria, Libya and Afghanistan. The supply of Western weapons has significantly changed the situation on the front: the occupiers have gone on the defensive in almost all positions, and in some directions the AFU has gone on the counteroffensive. Ukraine achieved a decisive advantage over the Russians thanks to the combat capability of the army and the courage of the people," the Center reported. In fact, the war in Ukraine is being dragged on not by NATO or the US, but by Russia, which does not stop fighting and destroys Ukrainian cities, kills civilians, and hits infrastructure and residential buildings every day. Previously, Russian propaganda has repeatedly stated in various terms that Ukraine is ruled by the West and is at war with Russia because of pressure from NATO and the United States.

Pro-Kremlin media actively spread the opinion that the temporarily occupied cities of Ukraine are preparing to celebrate Victory Day openly for the first time in many years and that the St. George Ribbon is becoming increasingly popular among the local population, especially among children. A video circulated on social networks shows a Victory volunteer in Mariupol tying a St. George's ribbon to children's clothes and asking what it means. The girl replies: "It's beautiful" and says that she has never worn such ribbons before.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmila Denisova reported that in Melitopol, temporarily occupied by Russian troops in Zaporizhzhia, children are forced to wear St. George ribbons and learn poems about the war. "From the media it became known that in the occupied Melitopol of Zaporozhye region forced children to wear St. George ribbons and learn poems about the war. Such actions are committed by school principals cooperating with the occupation troops," she stressed. According to Denisova, teachers distribute children's thematic drawings and videos of schoolchildren reciting poems about the war with St. George ribbons on their chests online. There is information that this is happening without parental consent. The ombudsman stressed that school is one of the means of educating a child, the formation of the worldview, which is continuously connected with the upbringing in the family. According to her, "this imposition of the racist ideology in educational institutions is aimed at destroying the Ukrainian identity in the minds of children". Denisova stressed that these actions of the Russian invaders are a violation of Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This document stipulates that the education of a child should be aimed at fostering respect for the child's parents, cultural identity, language and national values of the country in which the child resides, his country of origin. The above is direct evidence of genocide against the Ukrainian people.

According to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, the "St. George's Ribbon" is an element of Russian propaganda. The formation of the symbol "St. George's Ribbon" has a long and complicated history. It first appeared on the Order of St. George, founded in 1769 by Empress Ekaterina II. The Order became the highest military award of the Russian Empire and was given to officers for special courage in battle. Later, a whole set of awards associated with St. George was formed: the Order, the medal, the cross and the flag. They were accompanied by the St. George ribbon, which, according to official statutes, consisted of three black and two yellow stripes. It was also allowed to use orange instead of yellow.

The most likely version is that the gamma of the ribbon was taken from the black-yellow-white flag of the Russian Empire. Another version is that the color symbolizes the fire and smoke, which emphasizes its military nature. Read more here.

In 2015, instead of the "St. George's Ribbon" as a symbol of remembrance of victory and honoring the victims of World War II, Ukrainians were suggested to use the red poppy flower. Striped black and yellow ribbon in the perception of Ukrainians became a negative symbol, which is associated with danger and terrorism. Since 2015. On May 8 and 9, Ukraine celebrates Memorial and Reconciliation Day and Victory Day over Nazism in World War II. The traditional slogan of these commemorative days "We Remember - We Win!" this year is somewhat modified at the state level and sounds like "We defeated the Nazis - let's defeat the Rashists too!.

According to the Center to Counter Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, Russian propaganda spreads this thesis, confirming it by saying that Hungary will veto the embargo on the import of Russian oil, which the European Union plans to include in the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. The veto of the embargo was announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on May 3. Since 65% of Hungary's oil consumption comes through the Druzhba pipeline, and there are no alternative lines to the country, the draft sixth sanctions package includes exceptions for Hungary and Slovakia, which are allowed to extend imports until the end of 2023. ""But due to the prohibition of transit through the Hungarian territory of military aid to Ukraine, the EU has launched a legal process, the result of which could be the termination of Euro-donations for Hungary. The reaction of EU countries prompts the Hungarian leadership to withdraw its veto of the EU oil embargo against Russia," the Center said in a statement.

This thesis is actively disseminated in the Ukrainian segment of social networks, convincing users to give up all leisure and joy. This topic often becomes the subject of quarrels and accusations, which only serves Russia's plans. Its goal is to divide Ukrainians among themselves in order to undermine the situation inside the country, redirect aggression from Russians, and demobilize the society that has united against the aggressor. By the way, Russian propaganda also spread the theses about "bad refugees from Ukraine" for a similar purpose. A military psychologist and expert in the field of information and psychological operations Oleg Pokalchuk explained that you can and should laugh and rejoice during war.

In fact, when you spend your leisure time outside your own homes - it has a double positive impact: first, you unload and help your mental health; second, you support the country's economy when you go to a cafe, for example. So do not give in to Russian provocations, because any mutual accusations and quarrels only play to the advantage of the occupants. Of course, Ukrainians who are relatively safe or abroad should not forget that other citizens, especially those close to the war zone, may be sensitive to certain content. However, propagandists play on Ukrainians' feelings of guilt in the so-called home front. Why Ukrainians should get rid of the "survivor" syndrome read here.

Russia is trying to legitimize this narrative in the information space, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain the protracted nature of hostilities to Russians, writes the Center for Countering Disinformation. The point is that one of the first theses that Russia is at war with the whole world was voiced by Major General of the Russian Federation Minnekaev at the end of April. He compared the "special operation" to World War II, noting that "both then and now the whole world has turned against Russia." Later, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that "NATO has entered into a proxy war with Russia," while Russian State Duma Speaker Volodin suggested that the leaders of the countries supplying weapons to Ukraine should be prosecuted as war criminals.

This statement appeared in the Russian propaganda media after the events that took place in Khust, Transcarpathia, on Saturday, April 30. Women in the town picketed the local military registration and enlistment office and demanded an explanation as to why their men, allegedly serving in territorial defense, were being sent to the war zone without proper equipment. Video of the picket appeared in both the Ukrainian and Russian media. However, the latter first and foremost began to call Khust a Nazi town, because it was for a time the capital of Carpathian Ukraine. and claim that more and more people in Ukraine do not believe in the victory of Ukraine and are discouraged by the actions of the authorities. And also allegedly women are constantly protesting against the fact that their men are being taken to war, and even in the western regions, where there is no fighting, "there is already beginning to be unrest." In fact, there are few such cases. So far, such protests have only taken place in Khust, and no other cities in Ukraine have been recorded so far. At the same time, residents of the western regions are agitated not because of distrust of the authorities, but because Russia has unleashed a bloody war in Ukraine and is hitting not only the eastern or southern regions, but the western regions as well. In addition, according to a sociological survey conducted by the research panel "Own opinion" with the support of the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences, as of mid-April about 79% of Ukrainians answered the question "How much do you believe in Ukraine's victory in the war with Russia?" "I fully believe". More than 14% said that they "rather believe", 2% of respondents answered "rather do not believe" and "do not believe at all"; 4,3% consider that they "find it difficult to answer" this question.

This is the thesis spread by Russian propagandists, claiming that Carpathian Ukraine was "a small pro-Nazi state" and no one had heard of the Ukrainians of Transcarpathia before 1939. In Russia, the opinion "the Carpathian Sich was a Nazi Ukrainian organization" had spread before. In her study "Revision of History: Russian Historical Propaganda and Ukraine," Olena Sorotsynska analyzed this narrative of Russian historical propaganda: "Secrets" of Carpathian Ukraine: how the Nazi murtads built their 'state'", "In Ukraine another invented Ukrainian 'holiday of independence' is widely celebrated - the 80th anniversary of the proclamation of independence of Carpathian Ukraine" - these are some of the headlines of Russian media about Carpathian Ukraine. Some Russian media identify the OUN with Carpathian Ukraine and claim that this state is a product of the Abwehr. "On September 4, 1938, a meeting was held in Uzhgorod on the initiative of members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists at which the Ukrainian National Defense (UNO) was created. This was the Nazi center that later created the so-called Carpathian Ukraine," writes Novorossiya Information Agency. The occupation of Carpathian Ukraine by Hungarians is explained by the fact that Hungarians were more valuable allies for Hitler than the UUN, so he gave permission for Hungary to seize these territories. "The country of the victorious Euromaidan," which is known to have "no fascism," continues to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the pro-German Carpathian Ukraine declaration of independence," according to the Rus' Unity resource. This is meant to demonstrate "the gravitas of the Ukrainian fascist idea," which, they say, is flourishing today."

The electronic version of the publication is available at the link.

The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance has prepared information materials about Carpathian Ukraine. Read more about Carpathian Ukraine.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Russia is conducting a dangerous information and psychological operation aimed at creating the illusion of stabilizing life in the territories occupied by Russian troops. "Most Russian media outlets have begun to spread the thesis that the occupied territories are "gradually returning to peaceful life," and news feeds are littered with headlines about life returning to peaceful life in Berdyansk, and in Melitopol or even Mariupol. However, such publications are part of a hostile operation to create an image of Russian military peacekeepers who, after a "forced war, restore order and bring peace. At the same time, such an image is attempted to be maintained by distributing humanitarian aid to the population," the Center said. in these cities, unfortunately, does not go.In the occupied territories, Russia continues to commit war crimes.In particular, create a humanitarian blockade, not allowing civilians in Mariupol to be evacuated to Ukraine, forcibly deporting people to Russian territory, or even mobilizing men into the Russian army.

In the Ukrainian segment of social networks, particularly in tektok, as well as in the media, excerpts of an interview Russian actor Smolyaninov gave in the program "Tell Gordeeva" circulate. He claims that, in fact, many Russians are worried about the war in Ukraine, but are afraid to go to rallies against the war and feel like hostages. When you're a hostage, you have two options: either run away if you can, or stay and love everything the way it is. And sing songs of praise. And the more you hate, the louder the songs," said Smolyaninov in an interview. Also in the interview, the actor remembered his relatives in Ukraine and how he spent his childhood here - with his grandparents. In addition, he added that despite what is happening in Ukraine, despite the killing of civilians and the terrible destruction of cities, he feels no guilt, because he did not make the decision to introduce troops into Ukraine. He believes that specific people are responsible for this. Those who signed the orders. The actor also to some extent excuses President Putin, saying that his whole life can be called a "special operation" and claiming that the decision to attack Ukraine was for Putin the result of the so-called search for enemies.

Note that recently there have been more and more posts on social media from famous Russians saying that they love Ukraine, have relatives, do not support the war and did not give orders to attack. In this way, society again wants to form an image of so-called good Russians who are not to blame for the war, do not support aggression, and supposedly cannot do anything about the fact that the Russian leadership decided to unleash the war. However, this is a crude manipulation created to distract the attention of Ukrainians from the atrocities of the Russians and to show again that Russians and Ukrainians are brotherly peoples who are ready to sympathize with each other. In reality, many Russians support Russian aggression against Ukraine. Such a conclusion can be drawn from sociological and journalistic surveys of Russians. It is also obvious that Russians are not trying to stop the war in Ukraine, because the rallies that took place in the first weeks of the war were numerous, and now they have stopped altogether. Not just Putin is to blame for the war in Ukraine, but every Russian and Russian woman. Read more of this story from the Detector Media.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Russia is again resorting to manipulation of the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. In particular, Russia is using former U.S. Defense Secretary adviser Douglas MacGregor for informational blackmail. "This Western-oriented expert spreads narratives about the "inevitable defeat of Kiev," Russia's "invincible army," and intimidates the world that "Putin may use nuclear weapons." On April 22, on U.S. Fox News, McGregor predicted that further arms supplies to Ukraine would seemingly lead to an escalation on Russia's part. In McGregor's opinion, Ukraine must give Russia Crimea and Donbass so that the path does not have to "launch a nuclear strike. On April 25, in an interview with the Spanish publication El Mundo, D. McGregor stressed that allegedly supplying Ukraine with weapons was a waste of resources because, for reasons unspoken by the "expert," "Kiev is doomed," according to the Center. In fact, this is not the first time Russia has intimidated the world with the use of nuclear weapons and its almost the strongest army. However, as we can see, the Ukrainian army gives a decent response to the Russian one. Thus, by intimidation method, Russian propaganda as if it wants to hide its defeats, showing that they have not yet used all the weapons from their arsenal.

Telegram channels controlled by Russian special services, in particular Legitimny, are spreading a new message: it is necessary to surrender Ukrainian cities without a fight, because "Russia will get its own anyway," that is, occupy Ukrainian territories - but let it be better "like in Kherson than in Mariupol. ". At the same time, the messages of the telegram channels promote two theses: first, the occupied territories are "not bad," "social payments" are distributed there, and "almost everything works. Secondly, there is no point in resisting because Russia will win anyway.

Recall that the consequences of Russia's occupation of any Ukrainian cities are hundreds of murdered and tortured civilians, systematic kidnappings of activists and representatives of any government agencies, mass rapes, mass graves and looting or raiding.