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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric have reported that Western partners are tired of the war in Ukraine. And this is confirmed by the fact that a large number of requirements are allegedly “missed by foreign politicians” or they refuse to fulfill them at all. Also, the authors of the messages call Zelenskyi's visits to Rome, Paris and Berlin unsuccessful. According to anonymous telegrams, the only confident partner of Ukraine remains the United Kingdom.

In fact, such conclusions are unfounded. During a visit to Berlin on May 14, 2023, the President of Ukraine and the Chancellor of Germany issued a joint declaration. Germany also announced a large aid package. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted that Germany is providing a new military aid package worth a total of 2.7 billion euros, including further Leopard -1 battle tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Iris-T air defense systems.

On May 13, during a meeting in Rome, the President of Ukraine and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic made a joint declaration. “Within NATO, Italy continues to focus on direct support to Ukraine, contributing to a significant expansion of NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package to Ukraine”, the declaration says.

During the meeting in Paris on May 14, 2023, France also signed a declaration of support for Ukraine's move to NATO. In particular, the declaration states that “France continues to provide strong support for strengthening Ukraine's ability to defend itself and recalls that Ukraine has the right to choose its own security measures”.

However, by spreading such messages, propagandists want to show that the support of international partners has weakened, they are tired of helping Ukraine and devalue the results of a foreign visit. Russian propaganda needs such rhetoric to demoralize Ukrainians; to convince Ukraine that soon no one will help it, so that it will be left alone in the fight against Russia.

Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Zelenskyi sold Ukraine to a Western fund.

In anonymous telegram channels, where pro-Russian rhetoric is circulating, messages have appeared where you can find a photo taken in Kharkiv. It depicts a queue for free lunches. Propagandists claim that Kharkiv is mired in hunger, and there is not enough food for everyone.

Although the situation is not as good as in times of peace, such reports deliberately dramatize it. Moreover, even if there are people suffering from the problem of hunger, it was Russia's aggression that caused it.

Propagandists are constantly trying to exaggerate the scale of the problems in Ukraine in order to show the inability of the Ukrainian authorities to cope with the crisis. Thus, the propagandists want to shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of the aggression and persuade it to make concessions. Like, the Ukrainians understand that the “Kyiv regime” can’t do anything, so they need to stop their suffering and end the war on Russian terms. However, problems with food supplies, rising inflation, lower crops - all these are the consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine, and it is Russia that should be held responsible for this.

Anonymous telegram channels, where pro-Russian rhetoric is circulating, spread messages  showing a photo allegedly taken in Kamianets-Podilskyi, in which, at the entrance to the bike workshop, it is written that “parishioners of the UOC-MP” are not served there. Along with this image, the propagandists add a photo that shows a sticker on a telephone booth in Munich during the Third Reich, which forbade Jews from using the phone. Propagandists claim that this is yet another proof that Ukrainians have become neo-Nazis.

When trying to search for an image allegedly from Kamianets-Podilskyi published in such messages, it can only be found in pro-Russian Twitter accounts and Reddit threads. It's impossible to find it on social media. Accordingly, its reliability is doubtful, and the original source is incomprehensible.

This message is not used for the first time. Thus, the propagandists want to justify the crimes of the Russians and the aggression against Ukraine in general. Like, that's why they talk about denazification. The identification of the “oppression” of supporters of the UOC-MP with the genocide of Jews also devalues the scale of the tragedy of the Second World War.

Propagandists are constantly spreading information about the UOC-MP, inventing various fakes. In particular, Detector Media wrote about “blackened crosses” in the church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra because of the “blasphemy of Ukrainians”.

We, analysts of Detector Media, repeatedly noticed this thesis while monitoring social networks, in particular, on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Again, the message appeared in the information space as a reaction to the interview of the President of Ukraine for the American edition of The Washington Post, in which he stated: “if there is martial law in effect, we will not be able to hold elections. The constitution forbids holding any elections during martial law”.

Russian propaganda is not in vain raising the topic of elections in Ukraine, because in Russia itself they are now feverishly trying to find a way to hold elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories - ORDLO, Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, where, according to Russia, martial law has been in effect since October 2022.

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine are to be held on October 29, 2023. However, after the declaration of martial law and in accordance with Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On the legal regime of martial law", elections of the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and local governments are prohibited. To hold elections, one must either declare the end of martial law, or make appropriate changes to Ukrainian legislation and obtain the consent of the Constitutional Court on the legality of holding elections under martial law.

Active hostilities and constant attacks by Russians against peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine make it impossible for an act of will to be expressed - polling stations can become easy prey for Russian missiles or drones. In addition, part of the territorial communities are under occupation, so the potential elections would not take into account the votes of local residents. Millions of Ukrainians are out of the country, and if the problem of lack of polling stations near the foreign constituency arose before, now the voting process would be simply impossible. There is also a question about the current voter lists due to the increase in the number of IDPs. A separate issue is the Ukrainian voters who ended up on the territory of Russia. For security reasons, Ukraine liquidated all of its polling stations in Russia back in 2018. Whether this category of citizens will be able to get into the embassies in Georgia, Kazakhstan or Finland to vote is an open question. In addition, it is unlikely that a sufficient number of international observers will be able to come to a warring country. Moreover, elections are billions spent from the state treasury, of which, in the current realities, almost half goes to war. Finally, during martial law, freedom of speech and information may be significantly more restricted than during times of peace. The Russians are well aware of these arguments, but still resort to the tactics of substitution of concepts. Like, elections are impossible not because of Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, but because of Zelenskyi's personal whim. Allegedly, he deliberately slows down various processes, impedes the holding of elections in order to stay in power. However, it is Russia that really contributes to the postponement of elections in Ukraine, which continues to conduct active hostilities against Ukraine.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. After the start of the “military operation”, the Ukrainian leadership urged young people and children to flee the war to Europe, reports say. Allegedly, there they can find shelter or guardians. According to the authors of the messages, now the Europeans use young people as labor force, and they are in no hurry to return the children to their native lands.

Fact-checkers EU vs Disinfo took up this case and explained that Europe does not “abduct” Ukrainian children, but on the contrary, it helps to adapt to a new environment, provides resources for learning and a quiet life. All Ukrainians who fled the war can receive refugee status. Both children and families. European countries provide asylum, but people can return at any time without restrictions on movement. That is, the EU is not engaged in either “deportation” or “kidnapping”.

But Russia is vice versa deporting Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories. It calls it salvation, but this is only a substitution of concepts. On March 15, 2023, UN international experts published a report containing the results of the investigation into Russian aggression against Ukraine. The report contains war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers. A separate block of the UN report is devoted to the results of the investigation into the forced displacement and deportation of Ukrainian children by Russian occupiers. That is, this is indeed a war crime, which is why the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, children are taken out not only from Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but also from other occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, children were taken out of Kherson. As of December 29, 2022, 13,876 Ukrainian children are known to have been expelled by Russia. Ukraine regards such actions as the abduction of its citizens. Analysts of Detector Media conducted their own investigation on how Russia justifies deportation and other war crimes in Ukraine. You can read it here.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric report that Volodymyr Zelenskyi sold Ukraine through an agreement with the American company BlackRock. Reports say that from now on, this company allegedly owns “the largest enterprises in Ukraine, which were nationalized from Ukrainian oligarchs”.

Specialists of the Center for Strategic Communications drew attention to the case. The message comes amid news that the Ukrainian government has begun cooperating with the world's largest investment company, BlackRock. However, in reality, this is not about selling Ukraine to a Western fund, but about valuable cooperation, thanks to which Ukraine will attract foreign investment in the future to restore the Ukrainian economy after the victory. But Ukraine will take the main financial expenses. The funds raised will be directed to the development of agriculture, energy, infrastructure, production, and information technology.

By spreading this message, propagandists are trying to discredit the Ukrainian authorities in the eyes of Ukrainians and emphasize once again that Ukraine depends on the West. Earlier, Detector Media talked about the message that Ukraine is allegedly a tool of the West to undermine Russian statehood.

Anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric promote the thesis that it is better for Ukrainians to emigrate from Ukraine, because life here will only get worse, especially after the war. As an example, they add a screenshot of the message of the Ukrainian writer Larysa Nitsoi, where she “condemned the wounded soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for saying “thank you” in Russian as well as a video where passers-by make comments on listening to Russian music. Like, after the war, all “inadequate Ukrainians” will do this and mock the “adequate” ones.

The telegram channels also write that “if one is not going to wear an embroidered shirt in a restaurant or does not speak the state language, they will sometimes have uncomfortable situations”.

However, remarks on the use of the Russian language in everyday life are not a reason to go abroad. In Ukraine, there is no criminal punishment for communication in Russian, and even more so in private communication. The Verkhovna Rada also supported a bill on a partial ban on Russian music in public transport and public places, but it does not apply to singers included in the List of Musical Performers condemning the war against Ukraine.

By spreading such messages, propagandists are once again trying to stir up hostility over the language issue, discrimination against Russian-speaking Ukrainians and split Ukrainian society. Also, such messages help Russian propaganda to create the image of unbearable Ukrainian radicals who are ready to mock everyone who does not agree with their opinion. This radical image has become one of the elements of Russia's exculpatory rhetoric. Like, the Russians attacked to save the Russian speakers, etc. By the way, earlier propagandists spread the message that a war had begun in Ukraine because of the ban on the Russian language.

The propagandists are spreading the message that the “Kyiv regime” allegedly seeks to gather around itself the Nazi elite, and the only way to fight it is to destroy all the military and military equipment used in the counteroffensive. In addition, propagandists openly call for the overthrow of the Ukrainian authorities for the above reasons.

Analysts of the EUvsDisinfo project drew attention to the message. They noticed that the message is indeed repeated regularly in Russian propaganda media. The myth of “Nazi Ukraine” has been at the heart of Russian disinformation since 2013-2014, when they tried to discredit Euromaidan protesters in this way. In fact, right-wing groups did not gain much popularity either during Euromaidan or during the 2019 parliamentary elections.

In addition, in 2015 Ukraine passed a law condemning Nazi and communist ideology. The law prohibits the public use and promotion of Nazi and communist symbols.

Thus, the propagandists want to justify the crimes of the Russians. Like, Russia protects the world from the invasion of neo-Nazism. However, according to EUvsDisinfo analysts, right-wing groups do not have significant political or social influence in Ukraine.

Propagandists spread the message that on May 2, 2014, “Nazi groups” organized a “brutal burning” of protesters in the House of Trade Unions in Odesa and thus killed 48 people.

It was brought to the attention of the EUvsDisinfo project. The project specialists claim that the trial, which would clearly identify those responsible for the events of May 2, 2014 in Odesa, has not yet taken place. At the moment, 5 court cases and 3 open investigations related to the events are known. In addition, the chronology of events can be followed by reports from The Guardian and DW. Project analysts also recommend watching the documentary “May 2. Without myths” for a better understanding of the events that took place then in Odesa.

They emphasize that this message is not new and is often repeated on the anniversary of the tragedy. Thus, propagandists want to create a stereotype about “Ukrainian Nazis” and justify Russia's crimes by shifting responsibility from the aggressor to the victim of aggression.

This thesis was circulated on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that the Offensive Guard is a “group of evaders to defend the regime of Zelenskyi”. Like, the brigades of the Offensive Guard are subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which means that they will protect Ukrainian officials from civilians and from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Allegedly, the Offensive Guard will work in the event of mass protests by Ukrainians, hindering freedom of speech.

The fact-checkers of VoxCheck drew attention to the case, and found that the brigades of the Offensive Guards were created to conduct combat operations since the National Guardsmen, policemen and border guards fought at the front even before the full-scale invasion of Russia. The main goal of the Offensive Guard is to form assault brigades that will liberate Ukrainian territory. Currently, 9 brigades are being formed. All these units participated in the fighting, but under a different name or in a different structure.

That is, the Offensive Guard, like the Armed Forces of Ukraine, serve Ukraine and the Ukrainians. This is not an initiative of “individual officials” to introduce their own agenda. The military, on the contrary, protects every Ukrainian man and every Ukrainian woman, and does not interfere with their freedom.