In the information war launched by the Kremlin against Ukraine the dirty fakes that the enemy's propaganda is unsuccessfully trying to use against us have had an unexpected boomerang effect. These fakes turn against their authors. People who senselessly lie, fabricate and spread misinformation are often said to be a laughing stock. The full-scale war has been going on for a year now, and the Kremlin still hasn't made a single convincing fake news. However, the Kremlin has already embarrassed in Ukraine several times. Our material is devoted to the most absurd Russian fakes.
Ukrainian Nazis
Russian propaganda has been developing the thesis that the Nazis came to power in Ukraine since 2014. The Russians did not stop even when Volodymyr Zelenskyi, a person with Jewish roots, came to power.
«We faced nationalist groups», - Russian President Volodymyr Putin said, speaking about the beginning of the «special military operation».
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Serhii Lavrov went further and said that «the most ardent anti-Semites were usually Jews» in one of his interviews.
Russian propaganda spread the myth about neo-Nazis in Ukraine both in own country and in Europe, in particular in Germany, where the issue of Nazism is very acute. The word «Nazi» is a negative trigger for Germans.
Later the Russians realized that the narrative about Nazism did not work and decided to use other manipulations. They say that Ukraine is a fascist or Nazi state and call it a terrorist state now.
Zelenskyi's escape
The Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Viacheslav Volodin, ex-People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Illia Kyva and dozens of anonymous Telegram channels reported that the President of Ukraine had left Kyiv in the first days of the invasion. In March 2022, Ukrainians were tried to scare: hacking of some Ukrainian mass media and an unsuccessfully made deep fake video announcing surrender.
Subsequently, the wave of fake news was synchronized with a massive missile strike on October 10, 2022: according to the Russians, Zelenskyi hid in a bunker, but the propagandists couldn't choose a place for it: either in the western part of Ukraine, or in Poland.
In fact, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the President of Ukraine crossed the state border for the first time only at the end of December 2022 to visit the United States.
Preventive strike
The self-proclaimed president of Belarus Oleksandr Lukashenko promoted one of the most meme-known myths about war as self-defense, not attack. Despite the promise, Lukashenko never showed «from where the attack on Belarus was being prepared».
Rat poison for artillery shells
According to some pro-Russian channels, the Ukrainian army decided to use rat poison to fill its artillery shells. When this substance enters the human body, the only thing that can save human lives is an urgent blood transfusion. A photo of a military man holding a test tube with blue balls was given as evidence. Actually, it was an ordinary breath freshener that gained popularity due to their attractive design and effectiveness.
Combat birds and black transplantology
Russian propaganda has been talking about «American biolaboratories» since COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the main idea was the «artificial origin of the coronavirus». During the full-scale invasion, the Russians emphasize the «development» of biological weapons aimed against them. Specially trained birds and insects supposedly deliver these weapons.
Developing a fake story about American biolaboratories, Russian propagandists also spread fakes about secret experiments on soldiers of the Armed Forces, pumping them with experimental drugs. Russian Telegram channels are still spreading such news: in Odesa the bodies of the dead are used to collect biomaterial
before being cremated secretly. The Russian mass media has also published information about black transplant specialists who allegedly take organs from killed and wounded soldiers right at the front. Moreover, the Russians said that local people with pro-Russian views became the victims of «black transplant specialists» in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Such statements are used to form the following public opinion: Ukrainians are cruel Nazis who have absolutely no humanity and they are ready to dismember their own citizens' organs.
The United States did help Ukraine modernize its laboratories to achieve a higher level of biological safety. For example, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, Ukraine received mobile laboratories for prompt detection of infection.
About 13 laboratories are operating in Ukraine, but all of them are financed from the Ukrainian budget and weapons are not developed there, because there is no even a sufficient level of biosecurity for such operations. All these laboratories are used for scientific studies and training of specialists.
Ukrainians wish death to Russian children
The image of a chocolate bar with the proverbial name «Aloshka's death» became another «proof» of Ukrainian bloodthirstiness. A boy in a helmet with a mourning ribbon is portraited on the wrapper of the confectionery product. Propagandists claim that Ukrainians wish Russian children death. The authors of the publication claim that the photo shows a bar of chocolate produced in Ukraine.
According to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, a photo first posted on the Donbass Devushka propaganda Twitter account on January 30 is considered to be the only «evidence» that proves the existence of this necromantic chocolate bar. The key message of the fake is stated in the description: «Ukrainians wish death to a child for being proud of native country».
On January 30-31, channels that belong to Anatolii Sharii, Roman Golovanov, Ruslan Ostashko, Oplot TV and dozens of Russian-language publics in «Vkontakte» social network spread news about «Alosha».
The boy appeared in the Russian media space in the spring of 2022. Then Telegram channels and social networks published an allegedly «viral» video about a small resident of Belgorod oblast, the Russian Federation, who was running along the track in a helmet and waving to the drivers of armored vehicles that were driving towards the border with Ukraine.
Eight-year-old Oleksii Pavlichenko became one of the symbols of the aggressive war propaganda against Ukraine – an archetypal image of defenseless «elderly people and children» who must be «rescued from Ukrainian Nazis.»
The highlight of the campaign was the release of a limited series of chocolate «Aloshka», as an allusion to the well-known «Alonka» since Soviet times. Russian propaganda spent months in order to make the boy Alosha a lovely character for audience. Then his character was used as an emotional trigger to generate another wave of anger among trustful content consumers.
Humanitarian crisis in Ukraine
The Kremlin media is trying to distort information about Ukrainian humanitarian situation in every possible way. Fakes about the shortage of medicines and food are usually spread. Russian propaganda promotes views that Ukrainians can receive high-quality humanitarian aid only in the occupied territories.
In fact, it is a double message: creating a negative image of Ukraine and a completely opposite one for Russia. In particular, after the liberation of Kherson, the Russian media published photos of queues for water and positioned it as if Ukraine could not provide people with the most necessary things. Actually, if Russia had not launched a war against Ukraine and destroyed a significant part of the infrastructure, there would be no need for humanitarian aid.
Ukraine gives territory to Poland
Ex-People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Illia Kyva spread the news which was eagerly picked up by many Russian publics.
On July 11, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyi submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on a special status for Poles in Ukraine.
It is clear that this project isn't developed to divide the territory of Ukraine. The draft law made at the initiative of the President proposes to allow Polish citizens legally stay in Ukraine for 18 months. The main reason for this decision is to express gratitude to the Polish people for their support and solidarity with Ukraine.
It is necessary to mention that statements about the «artificial nature» of Ukrainian territories and the plans of its western neighbors to «return what was lost» are an old narrative of Russian propaganda, which sound even louder during the full-scale war.
Ukrainian dirty bomb
While until February 24, the Russians were looking for a “dirty bomb” among Ukrainian “radicals,” now, the Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoihu has put the responsibility for its creation on the Ukrainian authorities and the scientific community.
The peak of this absurdity was the big statement of the “DPR” combatant Yurii Haharin on Russian television about Ukraine’s intentions to use a “surrogate bomb.”
The Ukrainian government sells electricity abroad
Emergency and scheduled power outages in Ukrainian cities are connected exclusively with the strikes of Russian missiles and drones. However, propagandists are trying to convince Ukrainians that this is the result of another conspiracy. Apparently, the government continues to export electricity, which Ukrainians themselves lack. In fact, after October 10, sales of electricity to foreign consumers were stopped. Instead, there is a technological exchange for balancing within a single energy system separated by national borders. Sending thousands of megawatts to Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, or Hungary, Ukraine receives the same amount or more in the reverse direction.
Western and Ukrainian government is going to provoke a food crisis in the world and Ukraine
Russian propaganda spreads the following conspiracy theories: allegedly, international organizations, the West and Ukraine itself are planning to make people starve in order to earn money from grain export. This message appeared after difficulties in fulfilling the terms of the grain agreement due to Russian aggression. The theory is fake, because even in the conditions of the full-scale war, Ukraine produces more raw materials than it exports.
The Kremlin media also spread information that even the export of grain from Ukraine will not help cope with problems of hunger in African countries. In this way, Russia is trying to downplay the role of Ukraine and devalue the efforts that are worth ensuring the implementation of agreements in the conditions of the full-scale war, because Russia itself blocked Ukrainian ports where ships with grain were parked.
Combat drug laboratories
Russian propaganda spreads this message to discredit the Ukrainian army.
Despite the fact that no such claims have been confirmed and they have no basis, the occupation media presents the transfer of medical aid from the West as the supply of psychotropic substances.
Russian propagandists often edit images, create fake screenshots, fabricated publications to supposedly confirm their fabrications with «evidence». These fake images are distributed by other publications that refer to a screenshot of a news story that never happened. For example, the Russian propaganda media spread information that people were being poisoned by carbon monoxide in the points of invincibility. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine did not record any similar cases.
Exchange grain for weapons
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Mariia Zakharova states that the United States is exchanging Ukrainian wheat for weapons. Allegedly, US President Joe Biden's statement about the need to find opportunities to export 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine coincided with the signing of the Ukrainian Lend-Lease Law. She noted that Kyiv would pay for weapons with wheat.
However, these two events have nothing in common. On May 9, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed the Lend-Lease Act. Speaking at the White House on the actions of the American government to combat inflation, Biden drew attention to the 20 million tons of grain blocked in Ukrainian warehouses. According to him, Ukraine is trying to find ways to bring grain to the world market, which would lower global food prices. Under normal circumstances, the export of this grain would have started a long time ago, but Russian aggression is preventing it.
Ukrainians are fraudsters
This Russian manipulation concerns Ukrainians who went abroad to escape the war. The information that Ukrainians are fraudsters was widely spread in social networks. It іs about the fact that Ukrainians sometimes come to Germany without a registered address and immediately return to Ukraine. The country's government allegedly tolerates all falsifications carried out by Ukrainians, because it has such instructions.
Russian media also shared a video allegedly from a Polish canteen on the Internet, where poor Poles didn't receive free food because it is necessary to feed migrants from Ukraine.
This video was recorded in Wroclaw at the World Central Kitchen, which provides targeted assistance to people affected by the war in Ukraine. The video shows how two Poles are denied food, but it is explained by the fact that food funds are earmarked.
However, it is profitable for propagandists to manipulate such videos, since the targeted funds for the food of Ukrainians were allocated by a charity fund, and Poles can use help in municipal centers. That is, no privileges are granted to Ukrainians.
In addition, Russian media reports that Ukrainian refugees set fires in various countries. Their «aim» is to demonstratively burn Russian flags.
In particular, a video showing a large-scale fire in Spain with subtitles stating that it was not an ordinary fire, but an arson set by Ukrainians, was spread. They were supposed to burn the Russian flag, but they set the forest on fire. StopFake fact-checkers found the original video. It really shows the footage of the fire that lasted for several weeks in the Spanish provinces. The announcer in the video does indeed say that there is a possibility that it was arson, but there is no mention in the story that it was Ukrainians who caused the fire.
Old weapons used by the Ukrainian army
In the spring of 2022, The Economist published an article — «The Ukrainian army uses 100-year-old weapons. Why?»
This material was preceded by separate mentions of Ukraine's use of World War I weapons in pro-Russian media, in particular, on such sites as rusvesna, PolitRossiia, Moskovskyi Komsomolets, News.ru.
This information turned out to be true, but Russian propagandists did not delve into the context, essence or reasons for the usage of equipment on the battlefield. Instead, they offered the audience to draw a simple conclusion: Ukrainians use weapons such as the Maxim M1910 machine gun because they are weak and stupid.
The Economist investigated the properties of this weapon, referring to the comments of a Ukrainian soldier and the Minister of Defense. The Economist writes that modern analogues of such weapons shoot with the same caliber, have the same range of damage, but are much easier to transport. The old M1910s weigh as much as 68 kilograms, but they cool much better, while a minute of continuous firing from a modern analogue can deform the barrel.
Despite the analytical work of The Economist journalists, Russian nationalists, owners of anonymous Telegram channels or simply victims of propaganda see the material in their own way. Namely: The Economist confirmed that stupid Ukrainians use old weapons.
