Information is being spread on social networks as if the water tariff throughout Ukraine is 130 UAH/cubic meter. And they add that the Ukrainian authorities are also planning to raise tariffs for electricity and gas.

But only in June of this year in the city of Pokrov in the Dnipropetrovsk region they really raised the cost of the tariff for water supply and sanitation to 130 UAH/cubic meter of water, but in July the decision was canceled, now the total payment is 36.80 UAH/cubic meter. In other regions the tariff does not reach 130 UAH/cubic meter at all.

Now the tariff for water supply in Pokrov is 21.40 UAH/cubic meter, and for water disposal – 15.40 UAH/cubic meter, that is, in total it is 36.80 UAH/cubic meter.

In other cities of Ukraine that changed tariffs in 2024, the increase was also not as significant as they say in the post. Thus, since April in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, for household consumers, the cost of water supply has increased from UAH 13.55 to UAH 19.88/cubic meter, and for water disposal from UAH 24.67 to UAH 32.80/cubic meter.

By spreading such a message, propagandists want to feed the narrative that Ukraine is allegedly uninhabitable due to the lack of electricity or high prices for utilities. In this way, the authors want to sow panic among Ukrainians in order to destabilize the mood and create a feeling that “nothing will change”. Also, by calling the so-called collapse revenge for the Crimean Bridge, Russians once again seek to shift responsibility for what is happening to Ukraine. They say that Russia is destroying infrastructure solely because of Ukraine’s aggression. However, it is Russia that is the aggressor, and it is this country that started the war.

Propagandists are spreading information in Telegram channels about the alleged destruction of four F-16 fighters during today's (26/09/2024) “unexpected missile strike”. This information is provided without evidence or confirmed facts. Therefore, it is untrue. This is reported by the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council.

Such news is yet another fake aimed at manipulating public opinion and creating the illusion of the “inefficiency” of Western military equipment, including F-16s. It is part of a larger disinformation campaign that is trying to weaken confidence in Western support for Ukraine and cast doubt on its success. Propagandists began spreading such fakes before F-16s appeared in Ukraine.

Propagandists are distributing an image on anonymous Telegram channels, which shows a propaganda poster, allegedly placed in one of the Ukrainian public toilets. The poster calls for joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and contains the provocative inscription “Don't piss yourself - join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. However, this is a fake.

The poster looks evenly placed on the wall. However, paying attention to the overall plane of the image and the corners, you can see that the poster is too perfectly positioned on an uneven surface (in particular, the curvature of the walls). This may indicate that it was added using a graphics editor. The poster in the photo also does not have natural shadows that would fall from it onto the wall. This may be one of the key indicators that the image was superimposed on the photo using Photoshop or another image editing program. The lighting in the room does not match the appearance of the poster surface. The entire plane of the photo has a natural blurriness and low quality, which may be due to the poor quality of the camera. However, the poster looks too clear and bright against the background of the overall interior. Such a contrast may be a sign that the poster was inserted into the image in post-processing. In toilets, such materials quickly deteriorate from moisture or physical impact (dirt, damage), but the poster looks new, which also raises doubts. After all, the phrase “Don't piss yourself - join the Armed Forces of Ukraine” is a tracing from Russian, which is almost never used in official recruitment advertising for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A search for news about such a poster in the Ukrainian media, as well as this image on other resources, did not yield any results.

The aim of the fake is to discredit mobilization campaigns in Ukraine. The image is used to ridicule patriotic agitation and recruitment efforts into the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It attempts to provoke a negative reaction from the audience, especially people who may be sensitive to subtle provocations and emotional manipulation.

Anonymous propaganda telegram channels are spreading a statement by a former Ukrainian MP that the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have allegedly already exceeded half a million people. This figure is confirmed by the state of cemeteries in large cities. However, such claims are unfounded.

This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Its experts emphasize that this former MP has long been known for his provocative and false statements, regularly used by pro-Russian propagandists. In particular, in September 2024, the man spread lies that “the Ukrainian authorities are allegedly downplaying the number of victims” after a missile strike on a military school in Poltava. In July, he claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was allegedly preparing a bloody provocation to save US President Joe Biden. In April, the former MP spread a fake about Russian missiles allegedly hitting a military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was allegedly located in a hotel in Chernihiv.

Propagandists try to use such information, especially inflated figures of Ukrainian Armed Forces casualties, to demoralize Ukrainian society and create disillusionment about the army’s ability to defend the country. This fake news also aims to accuse the Ukrainian leadership of hiding real losses and failing to effectively manage the army. Russian propaganda uses such statements to strengthen support for the war among Russians, claiming that the Ukrainian army is allegedly suffering catastrophic losses.

An image of a postcard allegedly developed by the British Embassy in Ukraine is being circulated online. It recommends that Britons avoid meetings with representatives of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers when visiting Ukraine. If they are unable to avoid a meeting, they should not “give in to provocations, racism, pushes, or look them in the eye”. And if they “force you into a minibus”, they recommend not to panic, not to sign anything, to call the embassy, and to wait for help.

In fact, this is a fake. In a comment to StopFake journalists, the British Embassy in Ukraine reported that they did not print such a postcard, and the information about it on the Internet is false. In addition, the embassy noted that official recommendations for British citizens on traveling to Ukraine can be found on the website of the British Foreign Office. Finally, citizens of other countries are not subject to mobilization in Ukraine.

With this fake, propagandists are trying to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine. Earlier, we refuted the information that the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center workers beat up an ethnic Hungarian in western Ukraine.

Propagandists are spreading baseless accusations in the media that Ukrainian intelligence is allegedly recruiting radicals in Syria, Afghanistan and Mali to organize terrorist attacks on Russian territory. However, this information is yet another attempt to discredit Ukraine.

This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Such accusations are a typical tool of the Russian information war, aimed at forming a negative image of Ukraine in the international arena.

The purpose of spreading such fakes is for Russia to portray Kyiv as a country collaborating with terrorist groups, creating an image of a “dangerous” and “aggressive” state. Accusing Ukraine of collaborating with terrorists allows Moscow to distract attention from the real facts of its support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Taliban, as well as the international activities of the Wagner PPK. Russia also tries to use such statements to legitimize its own aggression against Ukraine, justifying military actions and attacks on Ukrainian civilians. The Kremlin seeks to sow mistrust towards Ukraine among its international partners in order to weaken its support from Western countries and prevent further military assistance.

Propagandists are spreading information on anonymous Telegram channels that a Ukrainian special forces unit consisting of “mercenaries”, including thousands of fighters from the American private military company Forward and hundreds of units of equipment. However, this is a fake.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security draws attention to this. Its experts have found out that this story is yet another fictitious Russian fake, which is part of a long-term information campaign trying to promote the image of “NATO mercenaries” allegedly participating in military actions on the side of Ukraine. Russian propaganda has been actively using these fabrications since 2014 to create a myth that Ukraine is under the external control of NATO and Western countries.

In reality, Forward Observations Group is a tactical gear and medical supplies company founded by American veteran Derrick Bales. This company has nothing to do with military operations in Ukraine. It is called a “private military company” only by Russian disinformation agents.

The Kremlin uses such fakes to impose the idea that the war in Ukraine is not simply Russian aggression, but a confrontation with the entire West, in particular NATO. This helps mobilize support among the Russian population, making them believe that Russia is defending itself from foreign anger. The spread of fakes about “Western mercenaries” helps Russian propaganda explain its military failures. The successes of the Ukrainian army are often portrayed as the result of help from “all-powerful” Western forces, rather than as achievements of the Ukrainian military. The Kremlin also constantly tries to portray Ukraine as a state that is unable to independently resist Russia and needs “mercenaries” for support. This is part of the narrative about the weakness of the Ukrainian army and the alleged “external control” of the country.

Propagandists claim in the media that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) allegedly shoot prisoners of war, abuse civilians, shell residential buildings in the Kursk region, and also create concentration camps in the border regions of Russia. However, this is not true.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security draws attention to this. Its specialists have found out that propagandists have been spreading similar fake statements about the “crimes” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for years, but they have no evidence. In reality, the Ukrainian Armed Forces act in accordance with international law and strictly adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Not a single Russian fake about the “atrocities” of the Ukrainian military during the entire war has been confirmed by any independent investigation or international organizations. In addition, Russian prisoners of war held in Ukraine have all the necessary rights and are treated in accordance with international norms.

Russian propaganda is trying to create an image of Ukrainian soldiers as criminals and punishers in order to undermine international support for Ukraine and justify Russia's aggression. Such fakes are also aimed at inciting aggression and hatred among the Russian population towards Ukrainians, stimulating support for the so-called “special military operation” and attracting new volunteers to the war. The spread of such fakes helps Moscow distract attention from its real crimes in Ukraine, in particular, mass murder of civilians, torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners.

On the night of September 18, Ukrainian forces attacked an arsenal for storing ammunition, missiles and explosives located in the city of Toropets in the Tver region (Russia). The Polish pro-Russian segment of the Telegram wrote that the shelling was carried out by an ordinary drone, which most likely did not fly from Ukraine, which is more than 500 kilometers away, but allegedly almost three times closer to Latvia.

However, this information is not true. BBC News Ukraine, citing a source in the SBU, reported that in Toropets it was the Ukrainian Armed Forces that “wiped off the face of the earth a large structure of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry”. Propagandists also claim that there is “more than 500 km” from the Ukrainian border to the Russian arsenal in Toropets, but in reality the distance is less than 500 km – about 480 km. For example, the Ukrainian attack drone “Furious” is capable of flying such a distance.

By spreading this disinformation, propagandists are once again trying to convince everyone that NATO is directly involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Earlier, we recorded a fake that Ukraine, together with the US, was “planning” missile attacks “on children”.

There are reports online that a man who joined the team of ‘language inspectors’ was allegedly beaten in Ivano-Frankivsk. His wife allegedly complained about this incident by posting a corresponding message on Facebook. She also allegedly wrote statements and complaints to the relevant authorities.

However, the Center for Counteracting Disinformation, after verifying this ‘news’ at the Main Directorate of the National Police in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, reported that there have been no recent reports of any crimes committed on the basis of language in the city.

‘Language Patrol’ is a volunteer initiative of Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv. Its idea is that volunteers will tolerantly make comments when using Russian and offer to attend language courses. At the same time, ‘language inspectors’ will not have any special powers, they will not punish violators.

The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Taras Kremin, commented on this initiative, noting that Ivano-Frankivsk was the only regional center that did not have a language program, so the mayor can create working groups that will monitor compliance with language legislation.

Russian propaganda spreads such fakes to create the illusion of a split in Ukrainian society around the language issue. Earlier, we recorded disinformation that Ivan Franko LNU opened recruitment for a team of ‘language inspectors’.

Russian propagandists are spreading information that the SBU found several ruble bills during a search of the Sviato-Vvedenskyi Monastery in Kyiv and on this basis reported suspicion to Archimandrite Volodymyr (UOC MP). Therefore, he allegedly faces five years in prison with confiscation of property.

However, this information is not true, writes StopFake. The official statement from the SBU states that it did indeed notify one of the clerics of the UOC MP of the suspicion. At the same time, the reason for this was not ‘a few ruble bills’, but the cleric's justification of Russia's war against Ukraine and his dissemination of fakes about the socio-political situation in Ukraine.

The cleric is accused under Part 2 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It defines punishment for acquittal, recognition as lawful, denial of armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine due to the distribution of relevant materials. Any punishment for possession of Russian rubles under this article is not provided, as it is not provided for by any other articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Russians continue to create fakes on religious topics in response to the law adopted in Ukraine banning religious organizations with a governing center in Russia. We previously wrote about the messages promoted by Russia, reacting to the ban on the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

A number of pro-Russian sources have spread the “news” that those evacuated as a result of the flood in Poland have nowhere to stay, because “all the places are occupied by Ukrainians”. As evidence, the propagandists cited a publication by an allegedly injured Polish woman named Dagmara Malynowska, who wanted to evacuate to a hotel with her child, but they were allegedly refused.

Therefore, the woman and her daughter were apparently forced to spend the night in a camp on the site of a school, where the child contracted pneumonia. Finally, as the Russians claim, Dagmara called on the authorities to check why Ukrainian refugees are provided better conditions than Polish citizens.

However, Russian propagandists have faked the publication. StopFake journalists found the original message by Dagmara Malinovskaya with such a photo. In the post, the woman did not write anything about Ukrainians who allegedly occupied all the places in the hotels. In fact, Dagmara published information that Primary School No. 3 was accepting evacuees and also needed humanitarian aid: water, warm food and blankets.

The Polish woman later personally refuted the Russian propaganda, stating that she had not written it. She also added that she had not been evacuated and that she did not have a daughter.

With this fake, the Russians want to spoil the attitude of Poles towards Ukrainian refugees and to quarrel with residents of neighboring countries. Earlier, we recorded a Russian message about “possible reduction of jobs for Polish teachers in favor of educators from Ukraine”.

The Russian propaganda Telegram channel writes that the initiative of Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv to create so-called language patrols in the city has caused a stir in western Ukraine. Thus, the Ivan Franko Lviv National University has allegedly already opened recruitment for a team of “language inspectors”. Among the promised items are free lunches, career growth, and team building at BANDERA CAMP.

Lviv University has not announced recruitment for “language inspectors”. There is no such information on the Ivan Franko Lviv National University website or on higher education pages in social networks.

In fact, Russian propagandists are speculating on the initiative of the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk. Martsinkiv explained that such patrols will tolerantly make comments when using the Russian language and offer to attend language courses. He also added that this is a volunteer initiative, the volunteers themselves will not have any special powers and, accordingly, will not punish violators. And the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language Taras Kremen commented on this initiative, emphasizing that Ivano-Frankivsk was the only regional center that did not have a language program.

In addition, the image distributed by the Russians contains things that give away the propagandists. For example, the photo of a guy standing with a sign saying “we will fight until the end” repeats the Russian narrative of a war until the “last Ukrainian”.

With this disinformation, the Russians are pursuing the goal of feeding their long-standing message about the oppression of the “Russian-speaking population” in Ukraine. Previously, we analyzed the disinformation that Zelenskyi started a war against the Russian-speaking population of Donbas.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mariia Zakharova has once again stated that in Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian soldiers are allegedly “at gunpoint” driving Russian civilians into “concentration camps”. Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasyl Nebenzia made an identical statement. He also added that “from 70 to 100 civilians were subjected to violence in the basements of the Sudzhanskyi boarding school”.

In fact, this information is not true, as reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation.

With this fake, Moscow is trying to shift the focus of attention from the Russian filtration camps that have been massively created by Russians in the occupied territories of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, thereby violating international humanitarian law. However, no fakes of Kremlin propaganda absolve Russia of responsibility for its war crimes.

The Center for Countering Disinformation adds that with the help of “filtration measures” the Russian occupiers identify disloyal people and intimidate Ukrainian civilians. Many of those who did not pass the filtration ended up in Russian prisons, were subjected to torture, etc.

Earlier, we recorded a fake story that allegedly “mercenaries” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had shown extreme cruelty towards residents of the Kursk region.

Information is being spread online that Ukrainian children with disabilities are allegedly being illegally taken to EU countries, where they are illegally adopted, in particular by same-sex families and drug addicts, or sold for organs. In their publications, propagandists cite the head of the Anti-Repression Foundation, Mira Terada.

However, it turned out that Mira Terada is a Russian citizen spreading Russian propaganda, and not an independent international human rights activist. There is no evidence that Ukraine is trafficking children from the war zone.

The Anti-Repression Foundation itself is an organization created by Yevhenii Pryhozhyn, the founder of the Wagner terrorist organization within the Russian army,  which is recognized by the Ukrainian parliament as an international criminal organization.

By spreading disinformation that speculates on the life of children in war conditions, in particular the so-called children of Donbas, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit Ukraine and the Ukrainian government in the eyes of both its own and Western society.

In the stories of Russian propaganda about the life of children in the occupied territories and in the combat zone, the Ukrainian authorities and military are portrayed as ruthless “punishers” whose goal is to exterminate the so-called people of Donbas, who “voluntarily chose to be with Russia”.

Russian propagandists are claiming in the media that Ukraine allegedly handed over drones to a radical Islamist group in Syria in exchange for a detachment of militants who will join the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to them, this information is based on “sources in the Syrian opposition”. However, this is an unfounded accusation that has no evidence.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security writes about this. Its experts emphasized that it is Russia that is actively recruiting Syrian mercenaries for the war against Ukraine. As reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Russia is recruiting the population of war-torn Syria, promising them Russian passports and paid work, from which few return alive. Russia has created a scheme by which Syrians are recruited through travel agencies to “work” in the protection of oil provinces, and then motivated to participate in military operations with promises of high salaries.

A Russian Telegram channel writes that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has a section where they refute various fakes. And now the FBI allegedly accused Iranian channels of spreading the fake that 100% of FBI employees are representatives of the LGBTQ+ community. At the same time, the video refutation said: “not 100% of FBI employees are representatives of the LGBTQ+ community, but only 40%, according to the agency’s inclusivity rules”. The propagandists add that this is a case where “it would have been better to remain silent”.

In fact, neither the FBI website nor the agency's social media have a video refutation of the information that is being distributed in Russian Telegram channels. In all likelihood, it was created by the Russians themselves, who added an FBI watermark to increase the credibility of the video.

Russian fakers regularly produce video fakes on behalf of authoritative organizations or media outlets in order to maximize the effectiveness of their leaks. Yes, we have repeatedly recorded similar fabricated videos that Russians submitted on behalf of the BBC, Euronews or other well-known Western resources. And they all have a similar design style.

With this insinuation, Russian propagandists nourish their narrative that in the West “everyone has long since gone crazy”, because they go “against nature” when they start same-sex romantic relationships, undergo gender reassignment surgery (the list goes on). Russia, on the contrary, defends “traditional values”, and is therefore a refuge for “normal people”.

Earlier we refuted the information that KharkivPride created an advertising campaign “Better a gay SSU-er than a straight dodger”.

Propaganda resources are spreading information that members of the pro-Kremlin Resistance movement set fire to a warehouse of the volunteer organization Autukrania biler til Ukraine in Copenhagen. The fire allegedly destroyed bulletproof vests, thermal imagers, helmets and transport that the volunteers planned to hand over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to the propagandists, the size of the “Resistance” is rapidly growing, which allows its participants to effectively resist the process of providing aid to Ukraine. This allegedly concerns dozens of cases of destruction of military and humanitarian aid, as well as logistical, infrastructural and other objects in Germany, Bulgaria, Poland and Moldova, in one way or another connected with the war in Ukraine.

However, this news is a fabrication, writes the StopFake project. Previously, the propagandists misspelled the name of the organization whose staff was allegedly destroyed in the fire. Auta Ukrainaa (not Autukrania) and Biler til Ukraine are two different organizations. In addition, only the second of them is actually based in Denmark. Both organizations provide assistance to Ukraine - the Finnish Auta Ukrainaa mainly transfers humanitarian supplies for the military and IDPs, and the Danish Biler til Ukraine provides the Armed Forces of Ukraine with cars and trucks.

StopFake journalists also contacted representatives of Biler til Ukraine, and they denied the news about the arson. Information about the fire at the warehouse of this organization did not appear in any Danish media. After all, the organization really does not operate in Copenhagen, but in another city in Denmark.

Also, it is likely that the information about the activities of the so-called resistance movement in Europe is made up. In some cases, it is more likely to be sabotaged by the Russian special services, rather than some mythical underground fighters.

Earlier we documented a Russian fake claim that Ukrainians in Romania destroyed a fuel composition that NATO troops used to conduct proxy operations in Ukraine.

Information is being spread online that in one of Lviv's lyceums, first-graders are being forced to kneel and honor the memory of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. As evidence, the Russian propagandists add a photo of a complaint addressed to the lyceum's director, allegedly written by the mother of one of the 1-B class students. It states that the woman is against her daughter ‘honoring the memory of fallen Ukrainian soldiers by kneeling before the start of classes’.

The StopFake project checked this information and found out that the propagandists simply made up this news by fabricating a complaint.

In the photograph distributed by pro-Russian sources, it is noticeable that the complaint was allegedly written by “Halyna Ivanytska”, the mother of the student “Olena Ivanytska”, to the director of Lviv Lyceum No. 17, Iryna Luniova. And such a lyceum with such a director really does exist.

Therefore, StopFake journalists asked the director to confirm or deny the complaint and to tell whether the said practice really exists in this educational institution. But she replied that this information is completely fictitious. “No such complaints have been received by the director of Lyceum No. 17 of the Lviv City Council! And we do not do such things (getting on our knees – Ed.). There is no 1-C class in the Lyceum, we only have two of them. In addition, student Olena Ivanytska does not study and has never studied in our educational institution”, said Iryna Luniova.

StopFake also verified the information from the parents of first-graders. The head of the parents' committee of first-graders, Anastasiia Lysenko, confirmed that there is no practice of ‘getting on one's knees’ in the school, and there is no 1-C class with a student named “Olena Ivanytska”.

Previously, we recorded disinformation that children in Ukraine were forced to donate blood for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Russian sources are spreading information that in the city of Chernivtsi there was a quarrel between an OCU clergyman and a husband in a camouflage T-shirt. This allegedly happened due to the fault of the priest, who refused to perform the funeral service for two dead Ukrainian soldiers because they were baptized in the UOC (MP). As “proof”, Russian propagandists add a corresponding video in which the quarrel takes place, and people around shout “Shame! Disgrace!”

In fact, this information is not true. As Ukrinform journalists report, everything happened exactly the opposite. This quarrel occurred because of a priest of the UOC (MP), who refused to perform the funeral service for two Ukrainian soldiers because he did not want to conduct the service together with the chaplain of the OCU. The video was filmed on August 10, 2023 in the village of Irkliiv, Zolotoniskyi district, Cherkasy region. That is, Russian propaganda presented the inhumane actions of a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate Church, which led to a scandal in the community of the Cherkasy region, as the actions of a clergyman of the OCU.

Moreover, an identical situation occurred in the village of Vyzhenka in Bukovyna in March 2024. Then, a priest of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate did not allow the coffin with the body of the deceased defender to be brought into the church. This was reported by MP Iryna Nykorak.

In this way, propagandists are reacting to the recently adopted bill #8371 on the ban in Ukraine of the activities of religious organizations with their headquarters in Russia. The Russians want to artificially split Ukrainian society on religious grounds.

Read on Censor.NET: How conspiracy theorists explain events in Ukraine and the world: the theory of ‘church persecution in Ukraine’

Russian propagandists are speculating on the massive explosion of pagers in Lebanon on September 17, 2024. On their Telegram channels, they are spreading information that as a result of the explosion in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon, Mykola Khomenko, was injured.

However, this is a fake. The Center for Countering Disinformation, after verifying the information in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon, reported that there were no Ukrainian diplomats or Ukrainian citizens among the dead and wounded.

At the same time, according to the Iranian news agency Mehr, it was the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, who was injured in one of the explosions.

Such fakes of Kremlin propaganda are aimed at accusing Ukraine of collaborating with terrorist groups and forcing international partners to refuse to provide any assistance in the war against Russia.

Propagandists are spreading information on anonymous Telegram channels that the former deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Rostyslav Shurma allegedly called for ending the war on Russia's terms and stopping the “useless destruction of soldiers”. However, this is fake.

It was brought to the attention of specialists from the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security. They found out that the video distributed by the fake-baiters was a deepfake created with low quality. “Shurma's” facial expressions do not synchronize with his voice, and the Russian propaganda slogans attributed to him are voiced carelessly - sentences in Ukrainian are interspersed with Russian phrases.

Through such deepfakes, Russian propaganda is trying to push the narrative that the only way out for Ukraine is to “capitulate on Putin’s terms”. The use of deepfakes with fictitious statements by former or current officials, such as Rostyslav Shurma, is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian government. By distributing fake statements, propaganda is trying to create the impression that even officials are ready to surrender or are leaning towards capitulation. False statements made using deepfakes are intended to provoke a rift between the population and the government. This could undermine support for the government and create the impression that the Ukrainian leadership is allegedly abandoning its strategy to protect sovereignty. The spread of such fakes among the international community could sow doubts among Ukraine’s allies, indicating an alleged internal readiness for capitulation or fatigue from the fight. This could reduce support for Ukraine from Western partners.

Experts from the Center for Countering Disinformation have recorded an information campaign by Russian media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Citing the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, they claim that Ukraine, “at the instigation” of the United States, is preparing a staged Russian missile strike on one of the children's institutions in Ukraine.

The fakers were unable to provide any evidence to support their false thesis. That is, Ukraine is not planning any “shelling”. Russia shells Ukraine almost every day, destroying civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and kindergartens. The propagandists explain that Moscow allegedly does not resort to terrorist attacks, but targets “decision-making centers”. They say that the Kremlin only attacks facilities where military equipment is located or servicemen are present, and therefore does not violate any norms and customs of warfare.

In fact, Russia is trying to hide its criminal actions against peaceful Ukrainians, hiding behind the term “decision-making centers”. But it finds an excuse that shelling military facilities is the norm for war. However, Ukrainian cities are suffering from Russian missiles and drones.

But the infidels do not aim at “decision-making centers”, but purposefully commit genocide against Ukrainians, killing them in their homes, in public places. At the same time, Moscow tries to whitewash itself and deny any crimes. But documented cases of Russian terror show what the terrorist country is actually doing.

By spreading disinformation that speculates on the life of children in war conditions, in particular the so-called children of Donbas, Russian propaganda seeks to discredit Ukraine and the Ukrainian government in the eyes of both its own and Western society. In the stories of Russian propaganda about the life of children in the occupied territories and in the combat zone, the Ukrainian authorities and military are portrayed as ruthless “punishers” whose goal is to exterminate the so-called people of Donbas, who “voluntarily chose to be with Russia”. By telling such stories, Russian propaganda seeks to turn reality upside down and show that nothing will stop the Ukrainian authorities and armies from achieving their goal.

Read also: Ukrainians whom Moscow is turning into enemies: how Russia justifies the deportation of Ukrainian children

Some pro-Kremlin resources have spread information that 58-year-old American Ryan Wesley Routt, suspected of the second attempted assassination of Donald. The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

In fact, this information is not true. The International Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine wrote about this in an official message on its telegram channel: “US citizen Ryan Routh has never served in the International Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and has no relation to the unit. The rumors spread about this in some media outlets are not true”.

Raut came to Ukraine after the full-scale invasion of Russia. In an interview with Romanian NewsWeek, he said his initial goal was to “come and fight”. But at 56, he had no military experience and, as Raut put it, “was not an ideal candidate for a real war”. So his plan B was to come to Kyiv and promote the idea of many others joining the International Legion. “We need thousands of people here to fight alongside the Ukrainians”, Raut said.

With this manipulation, Russian propaganda seeks to dissuade the United States from providing military and financial support to Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Russian Telegram channels have spread the news that a Ukrainian refugee shot at a church icon in Zurich. The publications are accompanied by a screenshot from the woman's Instagram profile, where she shared a photo in yellow and blue colors with the hashtag #standwithukraine.

But the person pictured is Sania Ameti, a Swiss politician of Bosnian origin with no ties to Ukraine. She is a member of parliament for the Green Liberals and heads the political movement Operation Libero.

Amethi shared a photo on her Instagram in which she was shooting at an image with Christian iconographic motifs online. Following a flurry of outrage, Sania Amethi deleted the post and apologized.

As a result, the Green Liberals leadership determined that the politician's actions did not cause a reputational blow to the entire organization, and will continue to ask Ameta to leave the party.