This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that a shipment of humanitarian medical aid, namely anesthesia drugs, was allegedly delivered to Ukraine; their expiration date has supposedly expired. The authors of the reports claim that due to the use of expired drugs, “in one day in Dnipro, 12 people died after anesthesia”. And in Kharkiv, five deaths seem to have been registered as a result of using the drug.

Analysts from the StopFake project took up the case and explained: the authors of the fake publication did not provide any confirmation regarding the information about the expired batch of humanitarian aid medicines. However, experts suggest that the basis for creating this stuff was the situation in Dnipro, when in one of the clinics, after planned operations, 11 patients ended up in intensive care. According to the regional prosecutor's office, one of the patients, an 11-year-old boy, died. The State Service of Ukraine for Medicines and Drug Control then reported that patients suffered a severe adverse reaction to medications used during surgical interventions. Doctors were unable to save two patients.

However, this case has nothing to do with the import of low-quality medicines into Ukraine through humanitarian aid. The civil service has temporarily banned the sale and use of several batches of medications that are likely to have caused severe adverse reactions during operations. The pre-trial investigation is currently ongoing.

By speculating on this situation, propagandists seek to demonstrate that in Ukraine as a state, supposedly, no one is interested and even partner countries are ready to supply expired medicines. At the same time, the authors hint at the contrived inability of the Ukrainian healthcare system to conduct audits of supplied medicinal products. After all, this is how the Kremlin’s henchmen nurture mistrust of Ukraine among consumers of disinformation.

Read our other documented case: Ukrainian soldiers allegedly suffer from HIV en masse because they are offered free testing.

This thesis was spread by pro-Kremlin media. The reports say that Ukraine does not care about the medical field and it is gradually “declining” - and then epidemics of various diseases will soon begin. They wrote that outbreaks of hepatitis A were already allegedly observed in five Ukrainian cities and recognized that this was an epidemic. They also refer to the statement of the general director of the Kyiv City Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Serhii Chumak, who stated a high probability of a measles outbreak in Ukraine in 2023.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project analyzed this case and explained that in the 2024 budget, funding for medicine, on the contrary, was increased, and the highlighted facts about measles and hepatitis A contain manipulations or lies.

For example, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine actually reported an outbreak of hepatitis A in Vinnytsia. But the situation was defined as an emergency at the regional level; there was no talk of an epidemic at all. And, as experts explained, cases of hepatitis A are recorded in Ukraine every year - this is a seasonal disease that most often spreads in the cold season. The disease is usually spread by unwashed hands or by using or drinking contaminated water.

As for a possible measles outbreak, Serhii Chumak actually talked about it. In general, the disease is cyclical, and the last outbreaks were recorded in 2018-2019. Over the nine months of 2023, 46 people fell ill with measles in Ukraine - this figure is four times more than was recorded for the entire 2022. Analysts note that the risk of an outbreak is not due to a lack of funding or doctors, but to the low level of measles vaccination.

Russian Foreign Ministry representative Mariia Zakharova is promoting the narrative that turbulence in Ukraine is growing, and that election campaigns are even starting to gain power in the country. Officials and those in power allegedly do not take into account ordinary Ukrainians, many of whom are on the brink of survival, and think only about their own benefit.

This message was recorded by the Center for Countering Disinformation. Such statements from a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry are nothing more than an attempt to root the opinion in Ukrainian society about internal conflicts among the top leadership of Ukraine. On the other hand, propaganda resources continue to discredit the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and refer to the statement about the inappropriateness of elections in Ukraine under martial law. Finally, the enemy aims to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt among the Ukrainian society regarding the possible course of action in the country, using one of the propaganda tactics.

Florian Philippot, the leader of the French Patriots party, said on a social network that, by refusing to hold presidential elections in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly staged a coup. They say this is due to the fact that citizens probably would not re-elect him.

Analysts from The Insider project drew attention to this message. They note that Filippot is the leader of a Eurosceptic party that has not done well in elections. He is already known for his speeches with anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, and his theses are actively disseminated by Russian media.

The very idea of a coup d’etat is that Zelenskyi adheres to Ukrainian laws prohibiting elections during martial law. Analysts of The Insider note that the chances of Zelenskyi’s hypothetical defeat in the elections are difficult to consider as a high one, since he remains the most popular politician in the country. For example, the results of a survey by the PolitiKum telegram channel indicate Zelenskyi’s electoral rating at 45%. According to data from the Razumkov Center published in October, the president's trust rating is now the highest in the country - 75%.

Propagandists spread such statements in order to personally discredit the President of Ukraine. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other Russian accusations against Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

This thesis was spread on social networks in the Russian segment. Reports say that female doctors are leaving Ukraine en masse for the temporarily occupied territories. In support of this thesis, a video is cited: a recording of a telephone conversation with a so-called doctor, a woman, from the Lviv region, who allegedly wants to go to temporarily occupied Mariupol and is looking for an apartment to live in. The authors argued that the woman allegedly received a draft notice and therefore she wanted to leave.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project dealt with this case. They explained that female doctors and pharmacists should indeed register with the military from October 1, 2023, but registration with the military does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on traveling abroad. The Ministry of Health notes: registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. The travel of this category of women is unlimited.

Therefore, most likely, the video is staged. After all, women are not mobilized in Ukraine  although the heroine of the video, during a telephone conversation, used the argument about mobilization as one of the main reasons for her irresistible desire to “escape” from Ukraine. In addition, this video is distributed only in the Russian segment of social networks. Experts cited other points from the telephone conversation:

For example, a woman said that she was only interested in an apartment in a new building and thus hinted that Russia was rebuilding Mariupol - a city that the occupiers really destroyed to the ground. Read in our Newspeak section how Moscow actually “rebuilds”  captured and destroyed cities and villages, calling them “a piece of paradise”.

Of course, it is almost impossible to verify the authenticity of the recording of a telephone conversation, since we can only refute the facts listed during the conversation. And this information includes false facts that, most likely, the Kremlin can use for its own purposes. For example, spread panic among Ukrainian women.

This thesis was spread on social networks in the Russian segment. Reports say that in fact, all current wars are the result of the US aggressive policy in the world. And they explain that the reason for the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the Israeli war against Hamas, is the White House, which seeks to create “zones of instability” and sow discord.

Analysts from the EU vs Disinfo project took up the case and explained that this is a typical conspiracy theory of Russian propagandists. So they are trying to absolve themselves of responsibility for military aggression, explaining it by external influences. The authors convince us that most often, peaceful people who suffer from “external control” pay taxes “God knows where”, are zombied by “Western values” and have literally lost the right to be heard. That is, they show that such an “impact” is not good and leads to stagnation in all spheres of people’s lives. To strengthen their argument, they add information about Israel's war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Accordingly, the war in Israel was caused by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Consequently, the Kremlin benefits from aggravation in the Middle East, because it distracts attention from what the Russian army is doing in Ukraine.

Let us recall that the Institute for the Study of War's statement as of October 7 said that the Kremlin is using the Hamas attack on Israel for information operations aimed at weakening support for Ukraine by the United States and other Western partners.

Pro-Kremlin media are disseminating information that the summit regarding the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Malta allegedly became a failure for Ukraine. Russian propaganda refers to an article by Bloomberg. It is not true.

The case was examined by the fact-checkers from the Center for Strategic Communications and the BezBrekhni (No Lies) project. In fact, at the summit held in Malta, working groups were created on practical issues. Moreover, thanks to the help of Qatar, several Ukrainian children have already been returned home.

The Center for Countering Disinformation notes that the number of countries that took part in the summit in Malta increased from 15 (at the negotiations in Copenhagen) and 42 (in Jeddah) to 66 states and international organizations. The summit was attended by representatives of the USA, EU, UK, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil and India. That is, it destroys the Russian myth about Ukraine losing the support of the Global South.

Moreover, at the summit for the first time it was possible to adopt a document in which, as a result of these meetings, the intention to convene a Global Summit at the level of the leaders of the countries participating in the Peace Formula was confirmed. The global summit will be held to ensure that state leaders approve all the provisions of the Ukrainian peace formula.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to devalue the results of the Malta summit, discredit Western countries and promote the narrative that Ukraine needs negotiations with Putin for the sake of peace. As for Bloomberg journalists, they do not have enough information to correctly assess the results of the summit - this is what makes them advantageous for Russian propagandists.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell is holding an urgent European Congress in Kyiv at the end of October to “make empty promises” to the Ukrainian government. They say that he was chosen to be the caretaker of Europe, but he is not doing well in this role, since there is no unity among European leaders on the situation in Ukraine. He was allegedly appointed to this “position” at the last meeting of the Bilderberg Club, where it was determined that Europe would de facto become a US colony.

Analysts of the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to this message. They note that it stems from conspiracy theories about the EU. In particular, the Bilderberg Club is a forum of annual meetings with a hidden agenda and list of participants. At the same time, Russian propaganda constantly portrays it as a secret world government that appeals to the theory of a “new world order”.

In response to accusations that the EU has allegedly lost sovereignty and become a vassal of the United States, project experts note that the United States is a strategic partner of the European Union in spreading peace and stability throughout the world. Together they are two of the world's greatest donors of humanitarian aid. In addition, the EU and the US have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and the closest integration of their economies in the world.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to divert attention from Russian aggression against Ukraine and crimes committed by Russians, as well as express their disagreement with the general position of EU countries regarding Russia’s actions. Detector Media also refuted other fakes, messages and manipulations of Russian propaganda directed against the EU.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that a number of European countries, and especially Ukraine and the Baltic countries, are systematically destroying historical memory. They say that they have forgotten about the lessons of the Second World War, and they worship racist, neo-Nazi and extremist ideas.

Analysts of the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to this message. They note that the Kremlin media repeatedly scares with the “rebirth of Nazism” in the West and “historical revanchism” against Russia. The myth of Nazi Ukraine is refuted by the fact that Nazi and communist ideologies were banned in Ukraine at the legislative level in 2015.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to justify Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, providing a false need for “denazification”. By baselessly calling all Ukrainians Nazis, they deliberately portray Ukrainians in a negative light. Detector Media has refuted a number of fakes and manipulations using this message.

Pro-Kremlin resources claim that on the evening of October 29, mass riots at Makhachkala airport allegedly occurred as a result of information “stuffing” by telegram channels controlled from Ukraine. They allegedly announced the arrival of a flight with refugees - Israeli citizens - in Dagestan. In addition, propagandists claim that they have already established the probable involvement of Iliia Ponomariov, a former State Duma deputy under the control of the SBU, in the situation at the airport. One of their arguments is that Ponomariov even had an “interview on this topic” before.

Propagandists do not provide any evidence for their statements. They assume that a “provocation” was prepared, but for some reason their government allegedly deliberately did not notice the problem. At the same time, some opinion leaders in Russia do not condemn the actions of the Dagestanis, but rather dissociate themselves from the situation, which is another reputational blow for the Kremlin. For example, Russian blogger Yurii Podoliak says that activists behaved in a similar way on the Maidan in Kyiv. They say that everything happened according to the same method, and the participants in the riots seemed to be working for the “Kyiv regime”.

It should be noted that in this case, pro-Russian sources use one of the propaganda tactics called “scapegoat” - they make amends for the Dagestanis and shift responsibility for the events in Makhachkala to Ukraine. Previously, we wrote about how Russian propaganda uses anti-Semitic stereotypes against Ukraine.

Russian propagandists are disseminating information that Ukrainians are constantly discussing the topic of joining the EU due to the fact that they are now losing the war to Russia. At the same time, pro-Kremlin sources claim that Ukraine will never join the EU, and the promises of European leaders are nothing more than empty words. They say that even the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, is bluffing: he realizes that none of his promises will ever be fulfilled. He allegedly uses the situation in Ukraine to increase his personal rating, on the one hand, and to gain the favor of Washington, on the other.

The information was analyzed by the fact-checkers from the EUvsDISINFO project. They found that, despite accusations against EU representatives of the insincerity of their relations with Ukraine, it is possible to clearly trace the steps and efforts taken by both sides towards the integration of Ukraine into the EU. On February 28, 2022, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership. In June of the same year, the European Commission presented its favorable findings on the EU membership applications submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. According to the conclusion of the commission on Ukraine’s application for EU membership, our country noticed the European vector of movement and granted Ukraine candidate status by unanimous consent of the leaders of all 27 EU member states. This happened on June 23, 2022.

The path to EU accession is a relatively long technical process. In June 2023, the European Council called on Ukraine to continue reforms in the country and fight corruption. At the same time, the European Council assures that it will work closely with Ukraine and support its efforts to fully comply with all necessary conditions for accession.

The Kremlin is afraid of losing its leverage over Ukraine and is trying to neutralize its aspirations to become a member of the EU by repeating this disinformation narrative. Russia’s position is the same regarding Ukraine’s entry into NATO.

Anonymous telegram channels in the Russian segment are distributing a photo of an allegedly Ukrainian military ID of “foreign mercenary” Brian Boenger. The document contains the fighter’s personal data, and also contains a separate photograph: a photograph of both guys kissing. This is how the authors convince that this is a photograph of an American. They also add that this ID was found in the Zaporizhzhia direction and that “his beloved friend waits in vain for the military” hinting at the probable destruction of the American military man.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project began analyzing the case and found that the photos of the military ID were partially compiled. The figure of the American fighter Brian Boenger is real, and he fought in Ukraine. Using a reverse search, the fact-checkers found that the image of an American soldier’s military ID was indeed published in journalistic materials back in 2016.

And to create a fake photograph, propagandists superimposed on the image of a real military ID a photo of a stranger and a photo of two guys kissing.

Moreover, Brian Boenger is not a “foreign mercenary”; in April 2016, he entered into an official contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At that time, the decree allowing foreigners or stateless persons to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was signed by the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko back in November 2015.

Russian propaganda systematically fuels the narrative that professional military personnel from other states - the so-called “foreign mercenaries” - are fighting in Ukraine. Thus, Russian propaganda also tries to justify the failures of the Russian army. They say they are not fighting “weak” Ukrainians, but “specially trained NATO members” or Americans. Moreover, Russian propaganda spreads fake news about hiring students, the unemployed, and they like to show that in Ukraine there is no one left to fight and they are recruiting “everyone in a row”.

By the way, in our Newspeak section we talked about Russia that recruits mercenaries, in particular, Wagner group representatives. This is essentially a terrorist organization within the Russian army.

Anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric disseminate information that Ukrainians will allegedly use ATACMS weapons systems transferred from the United States against civilians. “The vile hand of the United States always promotes death, because we know that these weapons in the hands of Ukrainian Nazis will be used against civilian targets”, the message said. It is not true.

The case was investigated by the fact-checker of the EUvsDiSiNFO project. There is no evidence to support that these weapons will be used against civilian targets. There is also no evidence that Ukrainians attack civilians, unlike Russia, whose crimes have been documented by human rights organizations and the UN.

Moreover, in September 2023, the United States introduced the so-called Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, the purpose of which is to track and prevent civilian deaths from weapons supplied by the United States, including to Ukraine.

Thus, Russian propagandists are trying to promote the narrative that Russians are fighting Nazism in Ukraine, as well as demonizing the Ukrainian military, saying that they don’t care about the Ukrainian people. Previously, we talked about the message that Ukrainian refugees in Europe are demonstrating their “Nazi tendencies”.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on anonymous telegram channels claim that with the expansion of the BRICS bloc to include six new members (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia), it will be able to control 80%.

The message was noticed by specialists from the VoxCheck project. They found out that according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of 2022, the BRICS bloc accounted for about 19% of global oil production (in the original composition with Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Russia). New data from the organization indicates that after expanding production of crude oil products, BRICS will increase to about 41% of global production. Data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as of 2022 indicate that after the accession of new members, the BRICS share will be about 47% of global production of crude oil products. The Energy Institute (UK) estimates that the expanded group will account for 43.1% of global oil production.

By spreading such messages, propagandists want to show the “weakness” of Ukraine’s allies and cause concern among Ukrainians about whether they should continue to respond to Russian aggression. Detector Media has already written about how Russian propaganda artificially praises BRICS and presents the bloc as a geopolitical victory for Russia, using the example of materials about the bloc’s summit.

On October 19, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved in the first reading the “Bill on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine”. This happened after six months of disputes between state deputies and “curses” of supporters of the UOC-MP in Ukraine. The adopted law may force the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be more willing to compromise with the authorities on a number of issues - from leaving the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra to more constructive cooperation of the church leadership.

The Moscow Patriarchate is one of the largest centers of Russian influence on the territory of Ukraine. The Center for Countering Disinformation reported that Russian propaganda negatively perceived the bill banning religious organizations associated with Russia, and Russian ex-President Dmytro Medvediev described such a policy of the Ukrainian government as “heavily involved in cocaine and Satanism”.

Ukraine, having adopted the corresponding bill in the first reading, neutralizes another level of influence on the Ukrainian population through religion. Previously, we wrote about whom adherents of the Moscow Patriarchate call “sinners”.

In the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, information is being spread that Ukraine will allegedly not receive reparations from Russia, because Volodymyr Zelenskyi “did not introduce a state of war”, and minor citizens of Ukraine will not have the status of “children of war”. It is not true.

The message was investigated by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. They turned to the former Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine in 2015–2019, a teacher at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Serhiii Pietukhov, for comment. He said: “Russian reparations are a matter of international law. Reparations are a form of compensation for harm caused by one state to another. In this case, the international community has no doubt that there is a war between Ukraine and Russia, or in the terminology of international law, an international armed conflict. A formal declaration of war has long been no longer required in international law and is not a criterion for assessing damages or the debt to pay reparations”.

Pietukhov also explained that the status of children of war can be accepted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, regardless of the declaration of a state of war. This is a domestic decision and “no one within the country questions the existence of war”.

Consequently, the message that Ukraine will not receive reparations because it did not declare war on Russia is intended to create distrust in the Ukrainian authorities. Earlier,  Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine did not declare war on Russia.

Propaganda resources are disseminating information that Kyiv is preparing a provocation at the Kremenchuk hydroelectric station “according to the Kakhovka scenario”. They say that Ukraine replaced the station in order to create public tension and blame the Russian army for the attack on the hydroelectric power station.

The information was processed by the fact-checkers of the StopFake project. They found out that there is no evidence of the mythical mining of the Kremenchuk hydroelectric power station by the Ukrainian military. Russian propaganda is based on its previous lies that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up by Ukraine. All critical infrastructure facilities, which include hydroelectric power plants, are constantly under the protection of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the police in wartime. After the Russian terrorist attack with the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the Ukrainian Defense Forces tightened patrolling of the stations.

It is Russia that attacks the critical infrastructure of Ukraine - as a result of massive shelling of the occupiers in the autumn-winter period of 2022-2023, not a single thermal or hydroelectric power station remained undamaged in Ukraine.

This thesis was spread on social networks and in pro-Kremlin media. The reports say that no one notices the humanism of the Russian army, because it supposedly wages war according to all customs while Hamas kills civilians. The authors add that the West should consolidate forces against other forces, and not Russia, which is supposedly “nobly”  defending itself.

But Russia is once again promoting the thesis about “countless NATO headquarters” in Ukraine and hinting that Western officials have an allegedly unhealthy interest in Ukrainian territories. Allegedly, Ukraine is already governed from the outside, and Ukrainian deputies, military personnel and other actors in the political process are generally incapable of making any decisions without prior approval.

Moreover, the Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that suffer from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities and civilian infrastructure. In addition, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. The Kremlin’s baseless rumors about “shelling of military targets” exist to fuel the narrative of the West’s struggle against Russia.

For example, Russia recently shelled the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region. The missile attack on the village was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest during the entire period of a full-scale invasion in the region. And this is just one of dozens of cases in which Russia kills and terrorizes civilians. And with comparisons about Hamas, propagandists are trying to whiten themselves against the background of another armed conflict.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social media claim that Ukrainian soldiers sent abroad for treatment and refugees contracted infections in Ukrainian hospitals and then spread these diseases to the EU. They say that these infections are resistant to most antibiotics, and this supposedly proves that the United States is testing bioweapons in Ukraine. In doing so, they refer to an article by the Financial Times.

The message was noticed by the fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project. They found out that this was not true. An October 2 Financial Times article titled “Ukrainian infections show rising threat of antibiotic resistance” stated that Russia's invasion of Ukraine back in 2014 contributed to the rise in drug-resistant infections in Western Europe. As the authors point out, this could be due to the toxicity of heavy metals in the balls, which caused injuries and wounds that could lead to infections, as well as the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. The situation was also complicated by the fact that medical facilities in combat regions were often damaged, tests to determine the necessary antibiotic were largely lacking, and local residents forced to leave the region could carry these diseases. The article also pointed out that after the start of the full-scale invasion, due to the arrival of Ukrainian military and refugees in EU countries, there was indeed an increase in the number of drug-resistant infections. In particular, they explain this by the fact that in some regions the healthcare system was overloaded.

The VoxCheck experts once again note that there are no US biological laboratories in Ukraine, and no country is engaged in the production or testing of biological weapons here. They also found that antibiotic resistance is an international trend that occurs due to the limited number of effective drugs available and the low number of new drug developments. According to the publication, even states that spend a lot of money on financing the healthcare system cannot cope with this problem.

Propagandists spread this message to discredit Ukrainians and create artificial panic about their presence in Europe. They say that helping Ukrainians is dangerous. Detector Media also wrote about other messages and fakes with which Russia is trying to discredit both the Ukrainian military and refugees.

Pro-Kremlin media write that at one of the OSCE meetings on security cooperation, the so-called ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rodion Miroshnyk, was not allowed to attend the meeting. In the messages, the authors claim that the OSCE was “simply afraid” that a Russian representative might reveal “facts that are inconvenient for the Western public”. And they summarize that such actions are “russophobia”.

The analysts of the StopFake project analyzed the case and explained that the decision to not allow Miroshnyk to attend the meeting is solely due to the incompetence of the “ambassador”,  who is actually a collaborator and former press secretary of the ex-president and fugitive traitor Viktor Yanukovych.

In 2014, Miroshnyk cooperated with the Russian occupiers and became part of the Kremlin-controlled “administration” of captured Luhansk, a fictitious body. He has been wanted in Ukraine since 2017.

That is, the so-called russophobia is nothing more than a response to the actions of the Russian army, leadership and people. Russians and collaborators bear collective responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which they supported either with appropriate statements or silence. Worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the aggressor are the consequences of Russia’s criminal actions, and not vice versa, as Moscow is trying to convince everyone.

This thesis was spread in the Ukrainian segment of Facebook. The reports say that Ukraine allegedly did not declare martial law or war on Russia in general, which means that Ukraine is fighting illegally. In particular, they argue that such actions of the Ukrainian leadership are involved in an irresistible desire to seize Western resources.

There is a war going on in Ukraine, and this is understandable without announcements. For example, politician and diplomat Andrii Shevchenko explained in a comment to MediaSapiens that from a legal point of view, a declaration of war is an external matter of the state. He adds that international law does not focus on words or statements, but on actions. Therefore, from the point of view of international law, what is happening is an obvious war, a violation of the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Back in March 2022, former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar explained that there is no need to adopt a special law or decree on declaring war. She cited Article 3 of the 1974 UN Resolution on Aggression and emphasized that an invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state on the territory of another country, bombing or blockade of ports qualifies as an act of aggression.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that women with medical education began to “escape” from Ukraine en masse, because from October 1, 2023, medical and pharmaceutical workers must register with the military. In support of this thesis, propagandists show alleged data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and explain that more than 25 thousand women with medical education allegedly left Ukraine over the past two weeks.

The VoxCheck analysts investigated the case and found that the State Statistics Service does not publish such statistics, and therefore, no data on the migration of doctors and pharmacists simply exists. That is, propagandists came up with this information. After all, migration statistics on the State Statistics Service website have not been updated since January 2022 due to martial law. Experts explained that in Ukraine, at the state level, the migration movement of the population is monitored according to several indicators: the number of arrivals and departures and the corresponding coefficients of these processes. Moreover, such indicators are formed annually, not weekly. And they do not separate out information about the professions of those who arrived and those who left, that is, such data is not collected. Data can be classified by type of area, gender, age, etc.

Also, statistics on the migration movement of the population are published by the State Migration Service of Ukraine. But this body also does not provide information on the distribution of migrants by profession.

Since October 1, 2023, medical and pharmaceutical workers must indeed register with the military, but registration with the military does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on traveling abroad. The Ministry of Health notes that registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. The travel of this category of women is unlimited.

On October 5, 2023 at 13:24, Russian invaders attacked the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region. The Russians hit a local store and café, where a funeral was being held for a fellow villager who was a military man. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko said that in total there were 60 people on the territory, and at least 52 people died, including a child. Also recorded were seven victims who were seriously injured - they were at a distance of at least 50 meters from the café itself. On the air of the national telethon, the minister also said that 330 residents lived in the village and “from every family, from every yard, one person was present at this memorial dinner”. Anonymous telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric are spreading messages that Ukraine struck the village, and this happened, supposedly, at the request of Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Propagandists convince people that in fact the tragedy is “beneficial” for the Ukrainian leadership for its own profit. In particular, we are talking about receiving additional humanitarian assistance and increasing financial support. In addition, they wrote that there were Ukrainian soldiers in the café, which means that the Russian army was allegedly targeting military and military targets. But they finally explain: “The West has reduced its negativity towards Russia, so Ukraine is obviously increasing it”.

However, the head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration, Oleh Syniehub, said that there were civilians and cars at the scene of the strike. Subsequently, the chief of police of the region, Volodymyr Tymoshko, confirmed this to the Suspilne. The Kremlin seeks to hide its own criminal actions against Ukrainians, hiding behind “military targets” that are supposedly a legitimate target. However, it is not military facilities that are suffering from Russian missiles and drones, but Ukrainian peaceful cities, villages and civilian infrastructure. Moreover, any attack on another country, even on military targets, is a crime. Among the dead was the son of a military man, who was reburied that day. The son was also a military man. He was in a café with his wife and mother - they died from a rocket hit. But the memorial site is not a military target, and the son of a fallen soldier did not perform military duties during the memorial dinner.

The head of the Kharkiv region police also explained that it has already been established precisely that the hit was made by an Iskander ballistic missile. This is the type of missile in service in Russia. The head of the Kharkiv Military Regional Administration said that it was a “targeted strike” and the hit was in the very center of the building, which resulted in so many casualties.

The authors resort to conspiracy theories when they write that Zelenskyi seeks to profit from the war in Ukraine and personally gives orders to shell Ukrainian cities and villages. These attempts indicate the demonization of Ukraine and the creation of an erroneous impression about it among partner countries. For example, similar rhetoric is used on anonymous telegram channels in response to the arrival of foreign politicians in Ukraine. Then propaganda systematically promotes the thesis that the worries in Ukraine are not real, but only attempts to intimidate foreigners and get as many weapons as possible.

The missile attack on the village on October 5 was the largest in terms of casualties in 2023 in Ukraine and the largest since a full-scale invasion in the region.

In the American segment of the social network Facebook, a message is being circulated that NATO allegedly sent troops to Ukraine to fight Russia. The post contains a video in which a man expresses support for the candidacy of US ex-President Donald Trump in the White House elections in 2024 and notes that “NATO troops have been sent to Ukraine”.

As fact-checkers of the PolitiFact project note, there are no reliable news or official sources that could confirm the message that there are no NATO troops in Ukraine. The man in the video refers to Russian sources.

Moreover, NATO press officer Matthias Eichenlaub commented to the fact-checkers, where he noted: “There are no NATO troops in Ukraine”. The official website also contains no information about these military personnel in Ukraine. “And we have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine. That would be even more dangerous, destructive, and even more deadly”, the alliance’s website says.

Russian propaganda continues to spread messages that Russia is fighting the West on the territory of Ukraine. Thus, the Russians are trying to justify their defeats at the front and absolve themselves of responsibility for crimes in Ukraine.

A number of anonymous telegram channels with pro-Russian rhetoric are disseminating information that on Ukraine’s Independence Day, children sang the Ukrainian Anthem in English. They say that this proves that Ukraine has, in fact, already fully become a “puppet” of the West, which means it has lost its independence.

The specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to the manipulation. They found out that the anthem was performed by students of Nadvirnianskyi Lyceum No. 1 in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and this video was posted on the official Facebook page of the institution on March 6, 2017. Accordingly, the children did not complete this version for Independence Day. Project analysts also note that international partners do not stop expressing their support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, citing numerous speeches by the US President, NATO Secretary General and other officials in Western countries. In addition, they remind that the anthem of Ukraine was also heard in concert halls of other countries, where spectators greeted it standing.

By spreading this message, propagandists want to undermine trust in Western partners and justify Russia’s crimes against Ukrainians. They say that Russia is really helping Ukraine maintain its independence in front of the “collective West” and if Russia loses, Ukraine will finally be occupied by Western countries. Detector Media has already written about how the Russians are scaring Ukrainians with the “occupation” of the western regions of the country by Poland.