tragedy in Bucha. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mass protests

Due to the lack of real success on the battlefield, the kremlin is stepping up its disinformation operations and various acts of sabotage in order to maintain its image as a victor and a player that dictates terms to its opponents. But with each passing month, it looks more and more pathetic: old lies that no one believes, new low-quality fakes, and outright pressure on its own propagandists. The new digest contains fakes about NATO, France, Armenia, the UN, Germany, Poland and, of course, Ukraine. Based materials from Stopfake.org, Spravdi.ua, EuVsDisinfo.eu

Fake: The West is supplying Kyiv with unnecessary equipment in order to get spectacular photos for the media.
russian media: "The West is supplying Kyiv with unnecessary equipment in order to get spectacular photos in the media. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged this at the Munich Conference, saying: 'Please use the list developed jointly with the Ukrainians. Do not provide bilateral assistance outside this list, even if it looks good in the media."
In fact, this is a distortion of Mark Rutte's statements during the 2026 Munich Security Conference. In his speech, the NATO Secretary General called on allies to meet priority military needs: "Do not provide equipment outside the agreed list. Because it's nice, it gives you good pictures in the newspapers. But we know exactly what they need." His message was about maximising efficiency, not exposing Western cynicism.

Fake: Mass protests against power cuts continue in Kyiv.
russian media: ‘Protests are intensifying in Ukraine over forced power and heating cuts. Due to terrorist attacks against the civilian population in russian cities, the Russian Armed Forces are striking back at the energy infrastructure used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to reduce their combat capability. Ukrainians are effectively hostages of Zelenskyy's illegitimate regime, which, under the influence of its Western allies, does not want peace, but only continues to escalate the conflict.'
Once again, kremlin propagandists portray Ukraine as a puppet regime that seeks war and does not want peace, while ordinary people suffer. russians are also using similar fakes to justify their war crimes against the Ukrainian people, which clearly constitute genocide. It was russia that started this war on 24 February 2022, and it was russian troops who were the first to attack civilian infrastructure that same year. Since then, Ukraine has been forced to respond in kind. 
Here is a report on this issue from the UN Monitoring Mission in Ukraine dated 13 February 2026: https://ukraine.un.org/en/310140-energy-attacks-amid-unusually-harsh-winter-are-exposing-ukraine%E2%80%99s-civilians-extreme-hardship
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has consistently called for a just and lasting peace with guarantees of security against renewed aggression. Ukraine continues to participate in all diplomatic contacts to resolve the conflict, but russia, as in 2022, is putting forward unacceptable conditions, including the occupation of new territories and restrictions on Ukraine's sovereignty.

Fake: The UN has recognised that the tragedy in Bucha was a provocation.
russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman maria zakharova said that the UN is not discussing the tragedy in Bucha ‘because of its provocative and unreliable nature.’ zakharova also stressed that they were not provided with lists of the dead or any other evidence that the tragedy actually happened. In her statements, zakharova refers to ‘unofficial conversations with UN representatives.’
In fact, the UN is not only not ‘silent’ about Bucha, but also regularly publishes detailed reports confirming these and other war crimes committed by the russian army. Referring to ‘behind-the-scenes conversations’ is a classic propaganda tactic lacking any evidence.
As early as 4 April 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that reports from Bucha raise ‘serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes’ and called for an independent and effective investigation. High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet demanded the exhumation and identification of bodies, the determination of causes of death, and the preservation of all evidence, emphasising the need for truth, justice, and accountability.
Arguments about a ‘staged’ incident are refuted by a body of independent investigations: human rights reports, satellite imagery, OSINT analysis, and eyewitness accounts confirming that the killings of civilians took place during the russian occupation of the city.
For example, a December 2022 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documents in detail the killings of Ukrainians in Bucha, including extrajudicial executions. The lists of those killed in Bucha are not a ‘UN secret’: they are available to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and have been published in many independent investigations. Journalists (e.g., The New York Times, Reuters) and human rights activists (Human Rights Watch) have conducted their own verification of the dead, comparing names, photos, and circumstances of death: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/21/ukraine-russian-forces-trail-death-bucha
In addition to the UN and HRW, the events in Bucha were investigated and analysed by Bellingcat and other international journalism and research teams, which showed the invalidity of the russian Foreign Ministry's claims that ‘no local residents suffered from violence’ during the russian occupation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/04/04/russias-bucha-facts-versus-the-evidence/
Thus, the investigation into the events in Bucha is not being ‘hushed up’: at the stage of establishing the facts of mass killings, it has been completed and is continuing at the stage of identifying specific perpetrators in order to bring them to justice in international courts.

French general. Ukrainian grain. La France Agricole

Fake: Ukrainian grain caused an outbreak of dermatitis in livestock in France.
A message is spreading online that the French laboratory Agreelia has allegedly identified the cause of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis in France, which affects cattle. Citing a publication in La France Agricole, it is claimed that the laboratory's experts have determined that the disease was caused by low-quality Ukrainian grain crops contaminated with mould and mosquito larvae.
This ‘news’ was actively disseminated by marginal websites, as well as in the russian-language segment of social networks. In fact, this information is not true.
Users who spread this message refer to a publication by the French publication La France Agricole. However, the link in the text of the ‘news’ leads to the website franceagricole.net, which only imitates the appearance of the real publication using a fake domain.
A check via the WhoIs service showed that the domain franceagricole.net was only registered on 12 February 2026. On 19 February, a publication appeared on it claiming a link between Ukrainian grain and an outbreak of dermatosis in cattle in France. Thus, the website was created immediately before the publication of the fake material. Currently, the fake resource is no longer available.
In addition, the Agreelia laboratory mentioned in the publications has officially denied that its employees linked Ukrainian grain to the outbreak of the disease: https://www.agreelia.fr/
Such information operations are aimed at discrediting Ukrainian agricultural exports and undermining confidence in Ukraine as a reliable food supplier. Spreading accusations of ‘poor quality’ or ‘dangerous’ grain plays on the sensitive issue of food security in Europe, increases tensions around Ukrainian exports, and fuels anti-Ukrainian sentiments among European farmers. In a broader context, such campaigns are part of a systematic attempt to portray Ukraine as a source of threats and problems for EU countries in order to weaken support for Kyiv at the political and economic levels.

Manipulation: French general calls on Europe to go to war with russia.
russian media are spreading reports that former French army general Vincent Deport allegedly called on Europe to ‘go to war with russia now.’ In reality, this is a manipulative interpretation of his words.
The reason for such publications was Deport's interview with the French television channel La Chaîne Info (LCI), published on 19 February on the channel's official page. In the interview, the general analysed the situation on the front line in Ukraine and the impact of Starlink satellite communications on the coordination of russian units. Commenting on the developments, Deport said that Europe should ‘take responsibility’ and support Ukraine more seriously. He also noted that the war should be viewed not only as a russian-Ukrainian conflict, but also as a broader confrontation between russia and Europe in a strategic sense. Here is a link to the original: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3901118983351691
However, the interview does not call for European countries to immediately enter into open war against russia or to start direct military action.
russian propaganda used Deport's words and presented them in a more radical formulation. This presentation creates an image of an ‘aggressive West’ that is allegedly preparing for direct military confrontation with russia.

nuclear weapons. Munich Security Conference. Ukrainian army

Fake: Ukrainian army losses amount to 2 million people.
russian websites are widely spreading information that Ukrainian military losses during the full-scale war allegedly amount to 2 million people. Some of them refer to a report by Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW), which allegedly published this figure.
In fact, this information is fake, and the DW report is fabricated. A 20-second fake excerpt was added to the original Deutsche Welle report, using the original video footage but changing the voiceover text.
The original five-minute Deutsche Welle report on the process of identifying deceased Ukrainian soldiers was published on the publication's website on 2 February 2026 under the title ‘Identification of the bodies of deceased Ukrainian soldiers returned from russia.’ ‘In Odessa, teams of forensic doctors are working in converted train carriages to identify the dead soldiers. Many of them arrive without names, but experts document every clue and conduct DNA tests to find their relatives,’ DW writes.
The original report cites only a few figures, but there is no mention of ‘2 million dead Ukrainian soldiers.’
The exact number of Ukraine's losses in the war with russia is confidential information, but according to data from early 2026, the figure is 55,000, not counting those missing in action. These figures were announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with the French television channel France 2. However, the figure quoted is Ukraine's official data, while estimates by foreign think tanks are higher. At the end of January, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated the number of Ukrainian military personnel killed since February 2022 at 100,000–140,000.

Fake: Ukraine ‘tested nuclear weapons’ on the eve of the Munich Security Conference.
russian fake news factories are spreading ‘news’ that Ukraine is allegedly developing nuclear weapons. Pro-kremlin ‘experts’ claim that on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, Ukraine ‘conducted underground nuclear weapons tests.’ Propagandists cite three “facts” that allegedly confirm ‘Ukrainian nuclear tests.’
Fact 1: In January-February 2026, Ukraine's Main Centre for Special Control (MCS), which conducts seismic monitoring, did indeed record 13 small earthquakes in seismically active areas of Ukraine. The magnitude of the tremors ranged from 1 to 3.5 on the Richter scale.
The areas of the Azov and Black Seas where the tremors were recorded are seismically active zones. Earthquakes occur in these areas when tectonic plates move – there is nothing unusual about this process, it is completely natural and regular, and it is not the first time it has happened.
Fact 2: There is nothing supernatural about the food poisoning cases among holidaymakers at the Bukovel winter resort, which russian propaganda is trying to turn into some kind of conspiracy sensation. Unfortunately, outbreaks of intestinal infections are normal for the region during the high season. The reason for this is inadequate water purification and non-compliance with hygiene standards. 
Fact 3: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's speech at the Munich Security Conference on 19 February 2022 — five days before russia's large-scale invasion. Neither then nor since has Zelenskyy made any statements about Ukraine's intention to acquire, let alone develop, nuclear weapons. In 2022, Zelenskyy stated that after regaining independence, Ukraine had the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, but gave it up in exchange for security guarantees (the same guarantees that russia so cynically disregards). 
In addition, on 24 October 1991, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the country's non-nuclear status. Three years later, Ukraine effectively joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It is this document, not the Budapest Memorandum, that prevents Ukraine from possessing nuclear weapons. The country is completely open to international inspections: IAEA experts have repeatedly confirmed that Ukraine is not engaged in the development of nuclear weapons. Observers from the United States, France and the United Kingdom have also repeatedly issued statements calling russia's farcical accusations ‘blatantly false claims’. The UN has also found no evidence to support the kremlin's blatant lies. 

Hungarians in Zakarpattia. Nazi symbols. russian propaganda

Fake: Germany proposes to soften penalties for using Nazi symbols.
russian propagandists, citing the German publication Bild, are spreading news about a proposal by one of the Christian Democratic Party deputies to allegedly soften penalties for Ukrainians for using Nazi symbols. The publications also claim that the number of criminal cases against Ukrainians for displaying the so-called ‘Roman salute’ is growing every year, which has prompted the government to consider changing the law.However, the Bild story, as well as the initiative described in it, are fictitious. No reputable German media outlet has reported on such a proposal. The original source of the fake news was the russian Telegram channel ‘Shaman Rakhu,’ which regularly distributes fake videos with the logos of Western publications and has been mentioned repeatedly in our refutations.
Official reports on politically motivated crimes in Germany do indeed show an annual increase in offences involving the use of Nazi symbols. These mainly involve the dissemination of party symbols or Nazi emblems in the form of flags, tattoos, clothing items, and online publications. However, there are no separate statistics on the number of crimes committed specifically by Ukrainians in the publicly available statistical reports.
In response to a request from the right-wing and pro-russian party Alternative for Germany, the German government reported that during Bundeswehr training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, seven cases (out of tens of thousands of soldiers involved in the training) of Ukrainian military personnel using Nazi symbols were detected. The training of these soldiers was immediately suspended in agreement with the Ukrainian side, and those responsible returned to Ukraine. Therefore, this is not a case of mass use of Nazi symbols by Ukrainians, but rather isolated incidents that are punishable by sanctions under current legislation, not only in Germany but also in Ukraine.
Fake: Kyiv is carrying out forced mobilisation among ethnic Hungarians.
russian websites are spreading information that Ukraine is allegedly carrying out forced mobilisation among ethnic Hungarians in Zakarpattia, thus, according to propagandists, carrying out real ‘ethnic cleansing’. russian public pages refer to the publication InfoBRICS and write about the death of an ethnic Hungarian, Zsolt Reban, who allegedly died as a result of deliberate ‘ethnic cleansing by the Kyiv authorities’ in January 2026.
In fact, this information is fake. Firstly, mobilisation measures in Ukraine are regulated by a single law, the Law on Mobilisation Preparation and Mobilisation. There is no provision in this law that divides citizens on the basis of ethnicity, religion or language, and according to the Constitution of Ukraine, the defence of the state is the duty of all its citizens, regardless of nationality. Thus, a resident of Zakarpattia has the same rights and obligations as a resident of Kyiv or Kharkiv. 
Moreover, the number of ethnic Hungarians and Hungarian citizens fighting in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of December 2025 has increased and stands at about 670 people. This was stated in an interview with the Ukrainian publication Apostrophe by Fedir Shandor, Ukraine's ambassador to Hungary. Another 40 Hungarians serve in the International Legion. It should also be noted that Fedir Shandor himself served in the 68th separate territorial defence battalion of the 101st brigade of Transcarpathia from 24 February 2022, and since February 2025 he has held the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Hungary.
Moreover, in May 2025, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Robert Brovdi, one of the commanders of the unmanned systems battalion, the title of Hero of Ukraine with the presentation of the Order of the Golden Star. 
As for the tragic death of ethnic Hungarian Zsolt Reban at the training ground in Yavoriv due to illness in January 2026, this incident was an accident and does not indicate ‘racial cleansing by the Kyiv authorities,’ as russian public media outlets write. In addition, russian media outlets portray Reban exclusively as a ‘Hungarian,’ deliberately omitting the fact that he was a citizen of Ukraine.
As for the InfoBRICS website, this English-language propaganda resource is part of a broader network of russian information influence on foreign audiences. Despite its name, it is not an official body of the BRICS intergovernmental association, but only uses this brand to give itself the status of an authoritative source. InfoBRICS is used to legitimise russian narratives in the Western world and the countries of the Global South. 

Polish humanitarian. russians and Ukrainians. Polish people

Manipulation: It is in Poland's interest to incite further mutual destruction between russians and Ukrainians.
russian media are spreading information from an alleged statement by the Polish Gazeta Prawna that it is in Poland's interest to ‘incite further mutual destruction between russians and Ukrainians, and that it is worth spending money from the Polish budget on this.’
In fact, this information is fake. This statement is not a quote from the Polish Gazeta Prawna, but rather expresses extreme views on the discussion about aid to Ukraine. Search results for this quote in Polish, Ukrainian, russian and English do not lead to the Polish publication's website or any other reliable source.
On 3 January 2026, the Polish publication Gazeta Prawna did indeed publish an article entitled ‘War in Ukraine: we have two years to decide what we want. And then what?’, which can be interpreted as similar in content to the quote circulating on social media. A number of russian public pages do indeed quote excerpts from this article. However, there is no mention in the text that ‘it is in Poland's interest to incite further mutual destruction between russians and Ukrainians.’
The author of the article, Zbigniew Parafianowicz, asks what Poland's plan is for the day when the war in Ukraine ends. The main idea of the article is also the possible granting of privileged access to the EU single market to Ukraine and the country's fast track to the European Union after the end of the conflict. According to the author's logic, this option would only harm Poland. At the same time, the text also states that only Ukraine's resistance gives Warsaw time to modernise its army, as a military conflict with russia would now be an absolute fiasco for Poland.

Fake: Ukraine is selling off Polish humanitarian aid.
russian media: “Humanitarian aid from Poland has appeared on the Ukrainian market at a bargain price. Polish generators, purchased with donations from Poles to help Kyiv during the energy crisis, have appeared on the open market at a price lower than the factory price.”
This disinformation story aims to undermine international support for Ukraine and ultimately reduce the amount of aid it receives for self-defence against russia's full-scale invasion. russia is using tactics to distort and shift attention away from the real root causes of the problems in the energy sector: regular russian missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The fake story itself has already been refuted by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs: https://x.com/MSWiA_GOV_PL/status/2016464625173221791 The ministry emphasised that all aid to Ukraine is controlled, including the transport and use of equipment. In just a couple of weeks, the campaign raised over PLN 9 million (over €2.1 million). In January, more than 200 generators of various capacities were donated by the Polish people, which allowed Ukrainians to increase the resilience of critical facilities and social institutions.
On social media, Ukrainians constantly express their gratitude to the Polish people for their support, both at the official level and among ordinary citizens. And, of course, such close cooperation between Ukrainians and Poles greatly irritates moscow. russian special services pay particular attention to Poland, staging information and security diversions.

russian soldiers. Ukrainian prisoners. war in Ukraine

Fake: russia is advancing slowly and cautiously on the front lines so as not to harm the civilian population.
russian media: "Russia's advance in Ukraine is much slower than it could be because Russia is constantly careful not to damage civilian targets. It is clearly advancing on the front line, but if it wanted to advance faster, it could."
This statement is clearly false, as russia is systematically and deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine (more than 90% of all strikes). On the same day that this disinformation story appeared, russian forces struck a maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia and a civilian bus in the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones: https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-grinding-war-ukraine
kremlin propaganda constantly tries to portray russia as a noble force that dominates Ukraine, even though it was only able to occupy 0.77% of Ukraine's additional territory in 2025 at the cost of the greatest losses in the entire history of the Great War.

Fake: russian soldiers are being tortured in Ukrainian underground prisons.
‘Russian soldiers are being tortured in underground Ukrainian military prisons, where they are locked in cages, brutally beaten, and denied food and water.’ This was stated by rodion miroshnik, the russian government's special representative on war crimes in Ukraine. ‘It is there, where they are not registered as prisoners of war and international organisations are unaware of their existence, that the greatest sadism unfolds,’ russian media quote miroshnik as saying.
In fact, accusations made exclusively by the russian authorities cannot be considered substantiated, since in the context of the war with Ukraine, the kremlin is intensively and purposefully conducting disinformation special operations. 
According to the latest report of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (https://ukraine.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2025-12/2025-12-09%20OHCHR%2043rd%20periodic%20report%20on%20Ukraine%20ENG.pdf), there have indeed been some cases of ill-treatment of russian prisoners of war in unofficial facilities in Ukraine, but these are isolated and are being properly investigated by the Ukrainian authorities. The report also mentions ongoing criminal investigations by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office into some of these abuses. In contrast, when it comes to russia's treatment of Ukrainian prisoners, the report states that the russian authorities systematically subject Ukrainian prisoners of war to torture, ill-treatment and inhuman conditions. But kremlin propaganda distorts the real picture, of course, to its own advantage.

Armenian Prime Minister. France VPN. French people

Fake: 77% of French people consider democratic elections useless.
On the russian television channel russia 24, journalist Elena Kondratieva-Salgero stated: “The situation is truly explosive throughout the European Union, at least in its leading countries. At present, the French public is not very concerned about the court case against Marine Le Pen and the upcoming elections, as according to the latest poll, more than 77% of French people do not believe in democracy or in the real benefits of so-called democratic elections."
Kondratieva-Salgero did not specify which poll she was referring to, and there is no such information available online. However, two days before the statement, the Centre for Political Research at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (CEVIPOF) published the results of a fundamental survey entitled ‘What do the French trust today? Barometer of political trust’. One section of the study is devoted to the opinions of the French on the democratic political system. In particular, respondents were asked how they felt about the following statement: ‘Voting is useful because elections allow us to change the situation for the better.’
Thirty-seven per cent responded ‘I completely agree,’ and 39 per cent responded ‘I somewhat agree.’ In total, this amounts to 76 per cent. In other words, the picture is completely opposite to Kondratieva-Salgero's statement. Interestingly, over the past year, the number of positive responses has increased by 2 per cent.
According to the same study, 82% consider a democratic political system to be beneficial for the country. Only 36% agree that it would be useful to have a strong leader with extraordinary powers at the helm (in 2015, 51% of respondents held this opinion). Kondratieva-Salgero is known for her conservative and pro-russian views; she claimed that Ukraine was to blame for the russian-Ukrainian war, which was ‘punished for its greed and terrible ingratitude.’

Fake: France is going to ban VPNs and turn the EU into an information concentration camp.
russian media: ‘After Macron announced his intention to restrict access to social networks, the French government now seems to be moving towards blocking VPNs. As a result, any alternative information will be virtually inaccessible to a significant part of the French population.’
This kremlin narrative about censorship and media control in the EU is repeated regularly. But there is no real basis for it. According to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, the countries with the greatest press freedom and freedom of speech are Western countries, predominantly European countries, as well as Canada and the United States. France ranks 25th. russia, on the other hand, ranks 171st out of 180. The report also states: ‘Following the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, almost all Russian independent media outlets were banned, blocked and/or declared “foreign agents” or “undesirable organisations”. All others are subject to military censorship.’
Unlike the free use of VPNs in Europe, the number of VPNs in russia is limited to services that have accepted government censorship since November 2017. Since 2026, Internet access for russian citizens has been severely restricted: WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, BBC and Deutsche Welle are blocked. Even Telegram, which russian special services previously tried to control, is now banned.
As for France, a bill has indeed been passed that will allow restricting access to social networks for teenagers under the age of 15. Australia was the first to announce such an initiative. A number of other Western countries are planning to introduce similar restrictions as part of a broader strategy to provide humanitarian education to the younger generation and protect them from the destructive phenomena that exist on social media today.

Fake: Pashinyan is turning Armenia into a nuclear testing ground.
russian media: "Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has signed a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement with the United States. Under this agreement, the United States will supply Yerevan with small modular reactors. In the US, this technology is still in its infancy and therefore seismically unsafe. Armenia risks becoming a testing ground for unpredictable nuclear experiments."
In fact, the claim that Armenia is becoming a ‘nuclear testing ground’ is based on speculation. This claim arose after US Vice President Vance's visit to Armenia and the signing of the Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation. This agreement will allow American and Armenian companies to enter into bilateral agreements on civil nuclear projects: https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-international-security-and-nonproliferation/releases/2025/01/123-agreements
This event sparked a large-scale smear campaign by the kremlin. ‘Experts’ and high-ranking officials are warning Armenia about the dangerous consequences of this project. In reality, the lremlin is trying to force the Armenian government to choose the russian SMR model and other Rosatom technologies. Although these technologies were developed back in the 1970s.
Nuclear energy is a particularly effective target for russian propaganda, as it plays on fears of nuclear danger and reinforces distrust of Western partnerships, while portraying russia as the only safe alternative.