Russian propaganda

Manipulation: Europe Refuses to Recognize Russia’s War in Ukraine as Aggression, Declines ‘Special Tribunal”

Russian media manipulatively distorted the sense of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's statement about a possible special Russia tribunal to address war crimes and atrocities committed by the Russian military in their war against Ukraine. The European Union, the United States and many other countries support the establishment of such an international tribunal, and while all agree that it is a necessity, the format of the court is still under discussion.

Read MoreManipulation: Europe Refuses to Recognize Russia’s War in Ukraine as Aggression, Declines ‘Special Tribunal”

Photofake: Russia Destroys Several HIMARS Near Kharkiv

The Pentagon and the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied Russian Defense Minister Shoigu's claims about the "destruction" of HIMARS system used by the Ukrainians. The photo and video of broken military equipment shows an Oshkosh military truck and an M777 howitzer, not an American HIMARS.

Read MorePhotofake: Russia Destroys Several HIMARS Near Kharkiv

What’s wrong with Amnesty International’s conclusions that “Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians”

If Amnesty International had done the proper research, it might have found that the Ukrainian forces took all feasible measures to protect its population against the effects of hostilities while defending the population and territory against the crimes of the Russian forces, two leading experts on humanitarian law write.
International humanitarian law (IHL) is a body of law specifically designed to protect civilians and those who have laid down their arms. In sum, Amnesty International's conclusions are short on facts and analysis and long on intemperate accusation.

Read MoreWhat’s wrong with Amnesty International’s conclusions that “Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians”

Fake: Ukrainians ‘Choose Russia Because of Kyiv’s Atrocities’

A recent article in the American conservative online magazine The Federalist is made up of a series of manipulative theses that in their totality eventually compose a propaganda narrative about civil war in Ukraine. According to a May 2022 opinion poll conducted by the respected Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on the perceptions of the Russia-Ukraine war among Ukrainian citizens, only 1% of Ukrainians were found to have a "predominantly pro-Russian position". Another May 2022 survey also conducted by KIIS showed that only 2% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards Russia, while an overwhelming 92% have a negative attitude.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainians ‘Choose Russia Because of Kyiv’s Atrocities’

Fake: President Zelensky Orders Catherine II Odesa Statue be Replaced with Monument of US…

The Catherine II statue is the property of the Odesa City Council. The city of Odesa, and not the Ukrainian President will decide its fate. The Ukrainian President cannot single handedly order that the Odesa statue be demolished or replaced, he simply does not have the authority or the power to do so. This is the responsibility of the local city authorities. Russian media however chose to focus only on the petition which ironically proposes to replace a Russian empress with an American porno star, which gathered 26,468 signatures of support.

Read MoreFake: President Zelensky Orders Catherine II Odesa Statue be Replaced with Monument of US…

Fake: Ukraine’s Leading Grain Magnate Killed by Ukrainian Missile

Oleksiy Vadaturskyi, the founder and CEO of Nibulon, one of the largest Ukrainian agriculture companies, was killed along with his wife on July 31 during the massive shelling of Mykolayiv by Russian invaders. One of the 50 rockets that Russia fired at the city that night hit his home. Ukraine's Prosecutor General opened an investigation into his killing, one line of investigation being pursued is Vadaturskyi's home was targeted intentionally.

Read MoreFake: Ukraine’s Leading Grain Magnate Killed by Ukrainian Missile

Fake: Ukrainian Commander Held Captive by Russia Accuses Ukrainian Military of Shelling Olenivka Prison…

Serhiy Volynsky, the commander of Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, who is in Russian captivity, has not said anything that could be interpreted as support for the Russian propaganda version of the deadly explosions at the prisoner of war camp in Olenivka.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Commander Held Captive by Russia Accuses Ukrainian Military of Shelling Olenivka Prison…

Fake: NATO Confirms Russia Fighting ‘Not at Full Strength’ in Ukraine

A NATO Defense College report highlights that Russia appears unable to gain victory over Ukrainian forces, but expresses fears that the Kremlin may rebuild its army and accumulate forces to confront NATO countries in the future.

Read MoreFake: NATO Confirms Russia Fighting ‘Not at Full Strength’ in Ukraine

Fake: Official Status for Ukrainian Language Demanded in Poland

Russian propaganda presented a single activist's social media post about the Ukrainian language as a popular belief held by all Ukrainians in Poland. In reality, Ukrainian refugees are not demanding that Ukrainian be made an official language in Poland. The Polish Constitution clearly states that the only official language in the country is Polish, which is spoken by a majority of people. If minorities constitute at least 20% of the total number of inhabitants of a given municipality, and their language is entered in the Official Municipalities Register, they have the right to use their own language as a secondary language. Today, the Ukrainian language does not have such a status in any of the municipalities.

Read MoreFake: Official Status for Ukrainian Language Demanded in Poland

Fake: Ukrainian Military Shell Olenivka with HIMARS on President Zelensky’s Orders

Ukrainian prisoners of war held in a detention center in Russian occupied Olenivka in eastern Ukraine could not have been fired upon from the Ukrainian side. Facts available in the public domain, international experts' conclusions, the interceptions of Russian military conversations, all show that the Ukrainian military did not fire on the Russian prison camp where Russian invaders were keeping Ukrainian Azovstal defenders.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Military Shell Olenivka with HIMARS on President Zelensky’s Orders