Millions of Ukrainians are encountering russian propaganda every day. It spreads through TV, radio, mass media, social networks and by word of mouth. To defeat the enemy, we must fight it on all fronts. To this end, we have prepared a daily compilation of russian fakes.
Today, the russian information space, lacking any military successes to celebrate, is focused on the outside world. The media is filled with stories about Europe and NATO, and, as always, Europe is starving and NATO is going to fall apart any minute now. russian propagandists are happily repeating the statement of the Chinese Minister of Foreign affairs that “Europe must learn its lesson from the war between russia and Ukraine, that has evolved into war between russia and NATO”, completely missing its point. Consequently, it seems that Sweden and Finland are speeding up their process of joining NATO.
russian propagandists are celebrating Europe buying russian gas, but there are no mentions of the upcoming ban on russian oil.
After US Congress approved the “Lend-Lease” program for Ukraine, russian propagandists are trying to downplay it, saying how useless it is and how it will do more harm than good for Ukraine.
The head of russian central bank tried to reassure the public, but failed, saying that everything could still turn for the worse after parroting a slew of optimistic forecasts.
The campaign to demonize Ukraine continues. The MoD “declassified” archive materials that, allegedly, describe the war crimes done by Ukrainian Nazis during the WW2. Short of time travel, russia is doing anything it can to fight its battles in the past.
Main fake narratives:
- Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering en masse
- Ukraine is being controlled by the west
- russians don’t commit war crimes, Ukrainians do
- Ukrainian refugees are causing crime and spreading disease
- Sanctions against russia are destroying Europe
- The world is dominated by russophobia
FAKE: Ukraine has schoolbooks that teach Nazi ideas
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Disproof:
This fake is yet another one of russia’s attempts to demonize Ukraine. The problem is, the evidence they provide contradicts their own statements. The schoolbook shown in the fake is a part of the mandatory “Defense of the Motherland” course that all Ukrainian students must complete. It covers basic skills such as navigation, weapon maintenance and tactical medicine. There are no mentions of Nazis or any “ideology” in this course. Furthermore, russia teaches an identical course in its schools, since both countries inherited it from the USSR as a part of the education program.
So, no, this book does not teach how to be a Nazi. It teaches how to bandage wounds and dig trenches. Which comes in handy for Ukraine right now.
FAKE: The diary of one of the leaders of “Azov” is filled with Nazi drawings
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Disproof:
This is just ridiculous. Unable to persuade the world that Ukraine is a Nazi state, russian propaganda keeps piling lies on top of lies. This time, they have “found” a diary, supposedly belonging to one of the leaders of “Azov” battalion. And, to no one’s surprise, it is filled with elaborate and highly detailed Nazi drawings.
What they will “find” next? A signed confession by President Zelenskyy that he is a Nazi? This is pathetic.
FAKE: Ukraine is shelling the city of Lyman in a false flag operation
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Disproof:
Lyman is a city in the Donbass region, and is under Ukrainian control. It also lies in an area that russian forces are trying to capture. Not having any success with their major offensive there, russians have resorted to heavy artillery bombardment in an attempt to grind the defenders down. All the major cities in the area are affected by it, and Lyman is one of them. To try to hide the fact that they are indiscriminately shelling entire cities, russians are blaming Ukrainians for the destruction.
It is not the first time russia tried to shift responsibility for the things it has done, and it won’t be the last.
FAKE: Lend-lease won’t help Ukraine
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Disproof:
One of the primary functions of russian propaganda is to reassure the populace when things are not going well for russia. This is one of those moments. EU and NATO countries send more and more military aid to Ukraine, so the russian people need to hear that it’s all a scam and not going to help, or there will be panic. So, we have this new narrative about the uselessness of lend-lease.
Firstly, they claim that lend-lease is just another ploy by US to get Ukraine into heavy debt. As always, russian propagandists either don’t know, or purposely forget their history. Most of the countries, including the Soviet Union, didn’t pay for the goods and weapons they received from the US during WW2, or paid for just a small fraction. The weapons and material provided through lend-lease are supposed to be returned, if not destroyed, by the end of the war. So, no, lend-lease is not a financial trap.
Next, we have the claim that NATO weapons and vehicles will be useless for Ukraine, since it takes so long to learn how to use them. As an example, russian propagandists say that it takes a year to train an M1 Abrams tank driver. That is false. It takes 22 weeks for a civilian to be trained to become an M1 crewman. That’s from the ground up. Having an experience tank crew learn to operate an M1 tank would take significantly less time, especially in a wartime environment. If training an armored vehicle crew would take a year, there would be no point in having such a vehicle.
Lastly, we have the claim that the full transition to NATO weapons will take Ukraine 20 years. Who came up with that number? Ukraine is already using NATO radars, howitzers and artillery rocket systems, MANPADS, ATGMs and IFVs. It would take some time and a lot of effort to adjust, but, if the weapons keep flowing, it would take closer to 20 months, than 20 years.
The weapons are coming, and no amount of russian denial will change that.
Be advised: russia is waging a full-scale information war against Ukraine. There are multitudes of new fakes swarming through the mass-media every day. To protect you and your family, be sure to obtain and share your information only from official sources.
Official information channels:
· Office of the President of Ukraine
· General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces
· Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
· Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
· Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
· Ministry of Internal Affairs
· State Emergency Service of Ukraine
· State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
· Centre for Strategic Communication
· Centre for Desinformation Resistance
· State Special Communications Service of Ukraine
Information about transportation and infrastructure:
· State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine
· Boryspil International Airport”
· Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority
· Danylo Halytskyi International Airport Lviv
· State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety
Keep calm and trust only official sources. Ukraine will prevail!
The material was prepared by ZMiST. Please follow ZMiST on Twitter and Facebook.
