The Kremlin propaganda media are spreading information that the Ukrainian allies are allegedly confident that the counteroffensive will fail. Russian propaganda refers to the words of the former commander of NATO forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, who believes that “Western countries are actually aware of the catastrophic situation of Ukraine at the front. Therefore, they have no doubt that sooner or later the Armed Forces of Ukraine will lose”. It's fake.

The case was noticed by specialists from the StopFake project. In fact, Ben Hodges, in an interview with Business Insider cited by the propaganda, did not talk about the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but on the contrary, he expressed “restrained optimism” about the effectiveness of the Ukrainian army, “considering the weakened, disorganized forces of Russia and the superior willpower of Ukraine”.

He also noted that it is necessary to abandon the view that the upcoming counteroffensive is decisive for victory. And in his opinion, the only thing that can spoil everything is “if the West puts such strong pressure on Ukraine that it will force them to stop before a complete victory”.

Thus, propagandists are trying to sow discouragement among Ukrainians before a future counteroffensive. They say that it will not be possible to defeat Russia, and Western partners also believe in this. Earlier, Detector Media denied the fake that if the Ukrainian military fails the counteroffensive, the West will stop supporting Ukraine.