Millions of Ukrainians are encountering russian propaganda every day. It spreads through TV, radio, mass media, social networks, and 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 is mostly focused on russian offensive in Donbas. There are a lot of talks about thousands of Ukrainian prisoners captured by russian forces and inevitable Ukrainian defeat – all as usual.
Protests in Armenia are getting more coverage, russian propaganda is staying neutral, as the pro-russian Armenian government has changed its rhetoric and is not as staunch a russian ally as it was before the recent Karabakh clashes.
Propagandists are pushing more stories about Poland planning to capture Ukraine, this time with Hungary joining in, as a reaction to Hungary adopting the state of emergency.
russian Deputy FM Andrey Rudenko said Moscow wants the removal of sanctions on russian exports and financial transactions in exchange for a corridor for Ukraine to be able to export grains. So the russian “starvation blackmail” campaign continues.
Main fake narratives:
- NATO and the EU are orchestrating a global food crisis
- The US was developing bioweapons in Ukraine
- Poland is planning to capture western Ukraine
- Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering en masse
- The west is controlling Ukraine
- russians don’t commit war crimes, Ukrainians do
- Sanctions against russia are destroying Europe
- The world is dominated by russophobia
FAKE: The West is trying to divide Ukraine as it did Yugoslavia
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Disproof:
Comparing Ukraine to Yugoslavia is a misdirection. Yugoslavia was a polyethnic federation of six ethnic states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed in the aftermath of World War I, and was commonly referred to as the “Versailles state”. After World War II, the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was held together by the dictator Josip Broz Tito, whose authoritarian rule maintained the peaceful coexistence of the nations. After Tito’s death, rising ethnic tensions and an economic downturn has torn the federation apart, creating seven successor states. The West had nothing to do with the desires of individual nations in Yugoslavia for self-governance.
Ukraine, on the other hand, is a unitary monoethnic state, with around 87% of the population being Ukrainian. Actually, it is russia that is trying to force the idea of polyethnic Ukraine, to carve up and absorb peace by peace.
FAKE: Ukraine is destroying cities in Donbas as it retreats
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Disproof:
This fake is used by russian propaganda to explain why every city russia takes is utterly destroyed. This comes down to russian scorched-earth tactics in Ukraine. First, they annihilate the city with bombs and artillery to push the Ukrainian defenders out, and then blame the Ukrainians for the destruction. This happened to Mariupol, Bucha, Rubizhne, Popasna, Volnovakha and Izium.
russian propaganda keeps trying to shift the blame for all the destruction it caused in Ukraine onto Ukraine itself. There are no limits to russian hypocrisy and lies.
FAKE: russia destroyed the Motor Sich factory in Zaporizhzhia with cruise missiles
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Disproof:
Every day russia claims to destroy an untold amount of Ukrainian military bases, western equipment, and weapons. If one would believe in everything russian MoD says, the Ukrainian army would already be destroyed four times over in its entirety. But all of those claims are mostly empty boasts. Around 40% of russian cruise missiles miss entirely, a lot are shot down by Ukrainian AA, and the rest mostly hit civilians.
This time is no different. russian MoD claims their cruise missiles destroyed an aircraft factory in Zaporizhzhia, but they actually hit a residential area of the city, destroying a shopping mall and damaging 62 houses.
FAKE: 70% of Ukrainians in the occupied territories want to become russian citizens
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Disproof:
Another blatant fake of russian propaganda. russia is ramping up its efforts to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories, so it launched a disinformation campaign about the supposed eagerness of the Ukrainians in the occupied territories to join russia. The whole narrative is very similar to the Crimean scenario, only this time russia does not have popular support in the occupied territories, quite the opposite. There are countless signs suggesting that there is a growing resistance movement in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
The whole premise of Ukrainians wanting to become russian citizens is an illusion, created to “legalize” the “free and voluntary” absorption of the occupied regions of Ukraine into russia.
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 Disinformation 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.
