Russian sources are spreading Putin's statement that there are as many Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia as there are in Ukraine.

“There are already as many Ukrainians living in Russia as in Ukraine, and perhaps more. We are happy for them, they are people of our culture, part of our people”, he said.

However, this is a fake, and this is reported by VoxCheck. Among all the data from Russian sources, the largest total number of Ukrainians in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories is 12 million people. However, this statistic is questionable, and representatives of the Russian non-governmental organization Civil Assistance indicated that this number may be overestimated. According to Ukrainian data, about 30 million Ukrainians live in the territories controlled by Ukraine. At the same time, it is impossible to calculate accurate data in war conditions. A comparison of the available, albeit inaccurate, data proves that the total number of Ukrainians in Russia is significantly smaller than in Ukraine.

A common thesis of Russian propaganda is that refugees from Ukraine are better off in Russia. Thus, Russian propaganda promotes the message, for example, about the exploitation of Ukrainians as cheap labor in Europe. This tactic is beneficial to propagandists, as it is aimed at justifying Russia's criminal actions. However, they do not note that Ukrainian refugees find themselves on Russian territory not of their own free will, but because of Russia's own armed aggression against Ukraine.