Russian propaganda continues to spread disinformation abroad. Moreover, the Russians find ways to involve publications in EU countries and circumvent sanctions. Special attention is paid to attacks on Ukrainian refugees and attempts to quarrel Ukrainians and European citizens. The main purpose of spreading fake news is to discredit Ukraine and its military-political leadership.
Ukraine is a pawn in the war that West wages against Russia
Russian media is still trying to demonize Ukraine. For example, for many months, Russian information resources have been imposing the opinion on foreign audiences that Ukraine is a pawn in the war that West wages against Russia.Russia has also long used the narrative that it is at war not only with Ukraine, but also with NATO and the entire West.
This narrative is very important for Kremlin propaganda.According to "StratCom NATO", Ukraine was mentioned in half of the 800,000 Russian-language tweets about NATO in the spring. In summer, the number of mentions of the North Atlantic Alliance dropped to 200,000, of which a third referred to Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi has left Ukraine
On October 18, RT Afrique's Facebook page stated that President Zelensky had allegedly left Ukraine.
Spanish-language resources also spread a similar fake. They said that Volodymyr Zelenskyi published videos from various locations in Ukraine that were actually shot in a studio on a green background.The footage used as "evidence" in this disinformation story was actually used to shoot holograms for several tech festivals in June 2022.
Ukraine is a threat to Europe
Russia is trying to present Ukraine as a country that poses a threat to all of Europe, including the West.Thus, propaganda tries to describe Ukraine as a terrorist state that should not be supported by the West. Russian propaganda channels also suggest that the West, by supporting Ukraine, harms itself and creates problems for itself.
A significant symptom of this action was the following: the Kremlin officials accused Ukrainians of manufacturing a "dirty bomb" that they are allegedly planning to detonate on their own territory.
It is expensive to host Ukrainians in Europe
Stanislav Zharyn, the spokesman of the Minister-coordinator of Poland's special services, says that Russian propagandists are trying to convince the Poles in various ways that accepting refugees from Ukraine "is very expensive for the country, that it causes many problems, which makes the whole operation extremely senseless, as well as dangerous, because they do not know who they accept under their roof or who will live in close proximity with them."
Europe is tired of Ukrainians
The Kremlin media spread dozens of materials about how the residents of Europe were tired of Ukrainians and thrown them out onto the streets. They stated that "the British are tired of Ukrainian refugees and want to expel them", "Ukrainian refugees in Belgium are being asked to leave their homes", "Europe, in particular Slovakia, howled because of Ukrainian refugees", "in Poland they are tired of Ukrainian refugees and are depriving them of their rights ", and "Dutch families began evicting Ukrainian refugees". In this way, Russia is trying to discredit Ukrainians and convince its own population that the world is tired of the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian language is planned to recognized as the second state language in Poland
In addition, Russian propaganda promoted a false thesis about the alleged desire of Ukrainians to recognize Ukrainian as the second state language in Poland. The purpose of this propaganda is to cause aggression and hostility of Poles towards refugees. According to Stanislav Zharyn, the disinformation activity against Ukrainians is "almost identical" and in the opposite direction, i.e. Russia is trying to convince Ukrainians that Poland is "very dangerous for foreigners."
Ukrainian refugees create a load on German education system
Some pro-Russian Telegram channels say that Ukrainians seeking asylum in Germany not only create a catastrophic burden on the education system, but also "behave defiantly" and "do not follow the rules." The comments under the publication on the "Die Welt" website allegedly prove this information.
In fact, propagandists significantly distorted the meaning of the article which they referred to.
The original text does not say that refugees from Ukraine are "deepening" the crisis of the education system in Germany. As a matter of fact, the author of the article writes that Ukrainian children have all the chances to successfully integrate into German society, but the lack of teachers, which was even before the war, can become a challenge in learning the German language.The author is concerned that the existing crisis may affect the adaptation of Ukrainian schoolchildren.
The European Union recognized Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia oblast as part of the Russian Federation
The information about this, in particular, was spread by a known traitor, the so-called member of the "main council of administration of Zaporizhzhia oblast" Volodymyr Rogov.
"The EU recognized Zaporizhzhia as a part of Russia. After the 8th package of EU sanctions European banks refuse to transfer money to companies and individual entrepreneurs from Zaporizhzhia.They explain this by the fact that Zaporizhzhia oblast of the Russian Federation is included in the list of sanctions. Moreover, the residents of the regional center, temporarily under the control of the Zelenskyi regime, also fell under EU sanctions.It seems that EU officials know something about the future of my native city and have already come to terms with the fact that Zaporizhzhia is Russia," - pro-Russian Telegram channels spread this fake. I
n fact, the information that was actively disseminated by the mass media of the occupying country does not have any documentary confirmation.
Representatives of European countries and institutions have repeatedly expressed their support for the independence of Ukraine. In particular, on September 30, the leaders of all the EU- member countries published a joint statement in which they strongly rejected and unconditionally condemned the illegal Russian annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts.
The leaders said that Russia was endangering global security by deliberately undermining the rules-based international order and flagrantly violating Ukraine's fundamental rights to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law.
In order to join the European Union, Ukraine is required to stop glorifying Stepan Bandera
The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine reported the following:
"Dozens of Kremlin media write that "Ukraine is required to stop glorifying Bandera in order to join the European Union". Russia uses the thesis made by the lawyer of the Association of Sons and Daughters of Jews Deported from France Arno Klarsfeld, voiced on the French BFMTV air, about the need to rename Ukrainian streets named after Stepan Bandera in order to prove this "requirement".At one time, the same figure said that Russia and Ukraine should find a compromise regarding Donbas".
The center reminded that the conditions for Ukraine's further European integration into the European Union were reforms and bringing Ukrainian legislation into line with European legislation.
USA forces Europe to abandon Russian gas and buy liquefied American gas at an inflated price
Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness to use energy carriers not as a commodity, but as a weapon. The European Commission described the Nord Stream shutdown as "another confirmation of the supplier's unreliability" and "proof of Russian cynicism."In order to diversify supply sources of energy resources, European countries are building LNG terminals, renting terminals for the production of liquefied gas.The full-scale Russia invasion accelerated the refusal of gas from Russia in Europe.
Discrimination against Russians
Russian media and pro-Russian social media accounts shared the video with the Euronews logo and used a similar style of English subtitles.The plot stated that the auction house Bolland & Marotz was allegedly holding an auction where participants could purchase Dostoevskyi's letters, Tchaikovskyi's handwritten notes, a series of Vrubel's sketches and other exhibits.After the sale all these exhibits will allegedly be destroyed, because Russia discredited itself in the war with Ukraine.So the destruction of Russian cultural heritage is a logical consequence.
Georgian fact-checkers of the MythDetector project write that the story, which is distributed on behalf of Euronews, is fictional.The video was altered using computer software, the media did not prepare such a story.The Bolland & Marotz auction house also denied organizing such an auction.The company also reported that the idea of holding such an event contradicted its internal policy.In this way, Russian propaganda tries to promote the message of Russophobia and discrimination against Russians abroad.
Anti-Ukrainian protests in Romania
Actually, there have never been mass anti-NATO or anti-Ukrainian demonstrations in Romania, the published records do not show posters or hear chants, which would indicate that such an action was involved.
Moreover, according to Veridica, the photos used to illustrate the protests were taken in another country.
The desire of Eastern European countries to leave NATO and the EU
Romanian fact-checkers noted that the Russian mass media had promoted a number of false narratives about the desire of Eastern European countries to leave NATO and the EU. According to Russian media, after joining the European structures, the Romanian state became poor, sparsely populated, and stayed under the control of Washington and Brussels.
These narratives have a dual purpose: on the one hand, to show public opinion in Russia that rapprochement with the West is a real disaster, and on the other hand, to sow Euroscepticism in Romanian society.
The weapons transferred to Ukraine are being sold on the "black market" in Europe
In the fake videos the actors pretended to be German journalists and representatives of German civil society organizations. This community was called "Freekorps journalists".
In September "Freekops" published a fake video of allegedly detained Ukrainians after detecting illegal trafficking of heavy weapons.Freekorps managed to spread a fake video promoting harmful misinformation about the war in Ukraine into the wider social media discourse.
The President's Office reacted to this propaganda: for Ukraine, weapons are a matter of survival.
"Control over received weapons is a priority. All the "rumors" about something else are banal Russian propaganda in order to disrupt supplies."
Serhii Leshchenko, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, explains in more detail:"In this way, they want to discourage Western partners from supporting Ukraine.Russia wants to show: do not give weapons to Ukraine, because Ukraine is corrupt, a "passage yard", tomorrow these weapons will be somewhere in the hands of Albanians, they will float in the Balkans."
However, Ukraine also works in the information field to maintain relations with Western partners.The Armed Forces of Ukraine, which continue to effectively use weapons from allies, successfully refute disinformation.
Ukraine's EU allies understant that rumors about "arms smuggling" are Russian propaganda.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson noted:
"Ukraine is fighting the illegal invasion of Russia and the country needs weapons to defend itself.The EU materially supports the Ukrainian army with complete trust and confidence."
"We cannot speak for NATO, but from the point of view of the EU, Russian propaganda and disinformation make such attempts very regularly and massively.In fact, all the information coming out of the Kremlin or from the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia is such massive propaganda and plain lies," the EU foreign and security policy spokesman Peter Stano said.
He explained in more detail that aid from the EU was subject to strict control and protective measures.This includes, in particular, monitoring of the use of equipment taking into account international standards, as well as the possibility of regular information or on-site inspection of the condition of this equipment.
Referendum on joining Lviv oblast to Poland
Several Polish publications refuted a fake report about alleged preparations for a referendum on joining Lviv oblast to Poland. This fake was promoted in social networks against the background of pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories.
Russian propaganda has been promoting the narrative that Ukraine will be divided between different countries throughout the Russian-Ukrainian war. The "Ye" site has repeatedly written about this.
The appearance of such "ballots" in the network "coincided" with the holding of "pseudo-referendums" organized by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. However, these fake ballots for the residents of Lviv oblaat, as well as fake ballots for the residents of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, are perceived as a farce, which the Kremlin wants to present as a "real expression of the will" of Ukrainians.
The structure of the "ballot" for the residents of Lviv is similar to the "ballot" for the residents of Donbas - the text uses identical wording of the question, options for answers, and clarifications regarding the procedure for filling out the ballot.
Kyiv "will not be able" to pay the debts for the received loans
One of the deputies of the European Parliament, Thierry Mariani, said that the European Parliament doubted Ukrainian ability to pay debts for the provided financial support.
A number of Russian media, quoting his opinion, wrote articles about the fact that Ukraine has no real ability to pay money.
"Russia Today" and the news agency "URA.NEWS" published news with such headlines. The Kremlin media once again used the manipulative technique of "generalization": in fact, one person's opinion cannot reflect the position of the European Parliament and the whole European Union.
In addition, the French MEP Thierry Mariani from the far-right party Marine Le Pen, who was elected in the foreign district by voters from the CIS and Asia, is well known for his pro-Russian views.
For example, he stated that France would allegedly cancel sanctions against the Russian Federation. He also visited occupied Crimea and the Kremlin media described it as an "official" visit by the European Parliament's delegation. Indeed, the French embassy in Ukraine reported that the visit had no official status and the participants went there as private individuals.
As for "Ukraine's inability to pay its debts", the proposal of the European Commission to provide Ukraine with 1 billion euros of the first tranche of this aid to ensure urgent budget expenses was approved at the beginning of July, that is, Europe actually believes in Ukraine's ability to fulfill its debt obligations.
Maidan in 2014 is a coup d'état
The media, which spread this narrative, tried to prove that there was no Russian aggression in Ukraine in 2014.Instead, allegedly after the Revolution of Dignity, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts did not accept or recognize the new government and decided to separate. In this disinformation story, there is no place left for the fact that Russia occupied these territories.
Persecution of Jews in Ukraine
Foreign resources published an article about the alleged Jews' persecution in Zhytomyr oblast. The local population is said to arrange pogroms.
The enemy lies and tries to sow ethnic conflict within our country. Shlomo Wilhelm, the chief rabbi of Zhytomyr, also refuted the Russian fakes.
"Ukraine is a free democratic country. People of all nationalities live peacefully and harmoniously here, my children grew up here and studied at a school where they were taught in the Ukrainian language.What kind of Nazism can it even be about? I urge everyone to treat any information responsibly, check everything through reliable and honest resources, do not trust hype headlines on dubious websites.Let's be smarter and not allow the directors and technologists of this war to implement their deadly scenarios," he said.
The European Union has improved the site with a database of messages related to propaganda and disinformation from Russia.
It's a user-friendly database, a design for interactive statistics on a new #DisinfoReview searchable database.
The site provides access to thousands of Russian fakes. It contains examples of disinformation spread in 18 languages.
The resource has been updated: convenient design and search for fakes, in particular by keywords and countries, interactive statistics, lists of publications on the subject of propaganda, as well as three language versions - in English, German and Russian.
Author: Anton Malynovskyi
