President of Ukraine. The Jerusalem Post. Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Surely every inhabitant of planet Earth with internet access has encountered russian disinformation at least once. After all, its scale is only growing. Unfortunately, most democratic states respond very sluggishly to such threats, which creates conditions for social tensions in various regions. After all, russian propaganda always latches onto topical issues. In May, it targeted the UK, France, Germany, Israel, Serbia and, of course, Ukraine.
Based materials from Stopfake.org, Spravdi.ua, EuVsDisinfo.eu

Fake: Ukraine attacked the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with a drone.
In fact, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described russia’s claims of a ‘Ukrainian attack’ on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as yet another disinformation campaign by the occupiers: https://mfa.gov.ua/news/komentar-mzs-ukrayini-shchodo-chergovoyi-rosijskoyi-informacijnoyi-operaciyi-navkolo-zaes-naperedodni-zasidannya-radi-keruyuchih-magate
The Ukrainian government emphasised that the russian allegations lack logic, as it makes no sense for Ukraine to strike its own nuclear power plant, which is located in temporarily occupied territory – territory that Ukraine is seeking to bring back under its control.
It is worth noting that it is russia that has illegally occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP since March 2022 and is using the plant’s territory for military purposes.

russian propaganda has faked the front pages of The Jerusalem Post and Bild to attack Zelenskyy.
The Jerusalem Post’s editor-in-chief, Zvika Klein, stated that russian propagandists are circulating a falsified front page of the publication containing fabricated material against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: https://www.facebook.com/515163499/posts/
According to him, following an interview given by the former spokesperson for the President of Ukraine, Yulia Mendel, to the pro-russian blogger Taker Carlson, a wave of fake news began to spread online. In particular, propagandists created fake front pages of well-known European media outlets (Bild, Público and The Jerusalem Post) featuring fabricated quotes about Zelenskyy’s ‘drug addiction’.
According to him, such campaigns demonstrate how modern disinformation works: it mimics the style of reputable media outlets and exploits their reputation to lend credibility to lies.

russian disinformation. Ukrainian youth.

Fake: Ukrainian youth ‘have come out in defence of the russian language’.
kremlin-linked media, citing data from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, have spread disinformation claiming that Ukrainian youth have allegedly come out in defence of the russian language: “The trend for Russophobia is waning, particularly among the young audience, at whom the rejection of all things Russian was primarily aimed.”
In reality, the propagandists have distorted the data from a joint study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sport dated 17 March 2026.
The UNDP report emphasises that, year on year, the language practices of young people in Ukraine demonstrate a deepening of Ukrainisation across all spheres of communication. According to this data, 61% of respondents use the Ukrainian language in private communication with family and friends, whilst in public spaces this figure rises to 75%. The researchers emphasise that the dynamics of language choice in professional and educational settings are particularly telling, where over the past year the proportion of Ukrainian speakers has risen from 69% to 75%. At the same time, there has been a decline in bilingual practices (from 24% to 17%): young people who previously used Ukrainian and russian in equal measure are now more likely to make a clear choice in favour of Ukrainian.
“These practices are also spreading among young people abroad, maintaining close ties with the Ukrainian cultural environment,” UNDP experts conclude.

In Serbia, claims of a “Ukrainian link” in the case of explosives found near a gas pipeline have been refuted.
The Director of Serbia’s Military Security Agency, Đuro Jovanović, spoke of a wave of disinformation following the discovery of explosives near the “Turkish Stream” gas pipeline: https://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/hronika/4302590-direktor-vba-djuro-jovanic-obraca-se-javnosti-nakon-sto-je-pronadjen-eksploziv-kod-gasovoda-u-kanjizi
The disinformation suggests that the Serbian Armed Forces are working for a third party, planting Ukrainian explosives and blaming Ukraine for them. This is untrue.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Kyiv had no connection whatsoever to the explosives found near the ‘Turkish Stream’. Accusations that Ukraine was behind the attack on the ‘Turkish Stream’ are part of the kremlin’s disinformation campaign.

Christine Lagarde. European Central Bank. US troops Iran

Fake: The UK, France and Germany are secretly sharing intelligence with Iran about US troops in the region.
Pro-russian media are circulating a video bearing the Al Jazeera logo, which claims that in March 2026, the UK, France and Germany secretly passed on intelligence to Iran regarding the movements of US troops in the region. In return, Iran allegedly agreed to waive transit fees for ships from those countries.
In reality, this video is a fake. StopFake conducted a fact-check and found no evidence that Al Jazeera published such a report. The voiceover in the video is generated by artificial intelligence, and a search for relevant keywords on aljazeera.com yields no results. The Al Jazeera logo was used to make the fake appear like genuine media content. The fake was first published by the @TheQNewsPatriot account on X. This account is not the first time it has served as a source of disinformation, as it is linked to the Storm-1516 botnet, which is frequently highlighted by fact-checkers.
No reputable international publication has reported that NATO countries were passing intelligence on the movements of US forces to Iran. The fake news deliberately distorts real events. In reality, the UK, France and Germany are by no means Iran’s partners. Consequently, the russians’ aim in this case is to undermine trust in NATO allies and sow discord between the US and Europe.
Misinformation: The head of the European Central Bank ‘warns of the introduction of food ration cards in the EU’.
russian websites are widely circulating claims that the European Union may soon ‘introduce food ration cards and ration food supplies’ due to disruptions in fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. This was allegedly reported by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde in her speech in Berlin on 20 April 2026. 
In reality, this information is a fabrication. It is telling that the news about food rationing and food ration cards appeared exclusively in the russian media. Reliable Western media outlets do not publish such reports, but merely analyse Christine Lagarde’s full statement on the consequences of the sharp rise in oil prices. The quote about ‘rationing’ was, as usual, taken out of context and exaggerated in order to portray the economic situation in the EU as bordering on disaster.
Christine Lagarde’s main message was that the European Central Bank (ECB) is ready to respond to the consequences of the sharp rise in oil prices: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2026/html/ecb.sp260420~cdf674023e.en.html The ECB President emphasised that the duration of the conflict is a key factor in assessing which scenario the European Union should prepare for, as the longer the Middle East conflict lasts, the worse the outlook becomes. 
As for the ‘rationing of goods in the EU’, which russian public groups are writing so much about, Lagarde used this term in the following context: ‘If the disruption lasts long enough, the adjustment mechanism shifts from price regulation to rationing, which entails entirely different economic consequences. Rising prices primarily lead to inflation. And shortages directly affect production and have a more negative impact on economic growth.” In other words, Christine Lagarde is speaking only of one of the theoretical options for the ECB’s response to a negative scenario in the Middle East conflict. At the same time, she makes no mention of “food ration cards”.

Olena Zelenska. Ukraine’s Defence Minister

Fake: Olena Zelenska has fled the country with €66 million in cash, jewellery and gold.
russian propagandists are circulating fake reports claiming that Olena Zelenska has fled the country. Allegedly, the First Lady took €66 million in cash with her, as well as numerous gold bars and jewellery. The move was supposedly prompted by the fact that law enforcement agencies were preparing to arrest Zelenska. The propagandists cite an anonymous ‘source at the British Embassy’ in Kyiv.
But in reality, this story is entirely fabricated. Firstly, it was reported only by minor russian media outlets. Although it stands to reason that if the information were true and foreign embassies or intelligence services were aware of it, the global media would have picked up on the sensation. Secondly, the story first appeared on 17 May on a pro-russian account on X, which describes itself as ‘parodic’. Profiles of this kind constantly publish anti-Ukrainian disinformation, counting on internet users to spread it, which is exactly what happened in this case. 
Since the so-called escape, Olena Zelenska has appeared in public on several occasions, including alongside her husband. Furthermore, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau has stated that no legal proceedings are currently underway or planned against Olena Zelenska. They emphasised that such disinformation is part of a systematic campaign by the aggressor state aimed at discrediting senior state officials.
Fake: The wife of Ukraine’s Defence Minister has bought a yacht for €26 million.
russian propagandists are spreading the story that the wife of Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has allegedly become the owner of a yacht worth €26 million. 
In reality, this is a blatant lie. The documents being circulated online as proof of Anastasia Fedorova’s expensive ‘purchase’ are, in fact, a poor-quality forgery. Firstly, in France, all documents relating to maritime affairs have unique numbers, allowing their authenticity to be verified in a special register on the Ministry of Ecology’s website. By entering the certificate number shown on the forged document, one can verify that no such purchase document actually exists. Furthermore, the fake document contains a number of errors: in the owner’s name and address.
The Vertige S501 yacht, referred to in the fake posts, from the Italian manufacturer Tankoa, does indeed exist: it is currently fully managed by Superlease, which is listed in the forged document merely as a co-owner of the vessel: https://magicport.ai/vessels/pleasure-craft/vertige-mmsi-228089700 According to information available from open sources, the yacht is indeed listed for sale at 26 million, but has not yet found a buyer. At the same time, it is important to note that, as such yachts are one-off models and luxury goods, the company announces the sale of each one on its website. There are no reports of the Vertige S501 yacht being purchased, let alone by a Ukrainian citizen. This fake news bears a striking resemblance to the coordinated disinformation campaign that russia has repeatedly waged against the Ukrainian leadership. Consequently, the Ukrainian Minister of Defence and his family are among the targets of russian propaganda.

Taiwan and US. China has refused

Fake: Ukraine is ready to defend Taiwan instead of the US.
A fake story is circulating on social media, citing Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine. He is alleged to have stated that Ukraine is ready to “defend Taiwan instead of the US” in the event of a war with China. 
However, there is no confirmation in either the Ukrainian or international media that Mykhailo Podolyak made such a statement. A check using the Osavul tool traced the quote to a Telegram channel called ‘а вот мой яндекс кошелек’, which published it on 16 May. The channel’s description itself is unambiguous: “parody, satire on political reality, only verified fakes”. Subsequently, the post was shared on other accounts without any acknowledgement of its satirical nature, but instead presented as a genuine statement by a Ukrainian official.
No official Ukrainian response has articulated Ukraine’s position on the defence of Taiwan. Neither President Zelenskyy, nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nor the Office of the President has commented on the matter.
Fake: China has refused to defer Ukraine's debt of $30.8 billion.
russian propagandists claim that China has refused to defer Ukraine's debt payment of $30.8 billion. The authors of the fake news cite the Chinese publication Sohu as the primary source, but do not add a direct link to the article.
The information shared in these publications is fake. First of all, the Chinese news outlet sohu.com, as presented by the russian media, is not a media outlet under editorial control like the BBC or Reuters, but a Chinese digital conglomerate. The platform includes internet search, video hosting, online games, and a news aggregator. The latter is built on the principle of the blogosphere: any user can register an account and publish their content there without any verification of the information's authenticity. That is why each article on the platform is accompanied by an automatic note: "The views expressed in this article represent solely the personal opinion of the author. Sohu is a platform for publishing information and provides only data storage services." It was in this section — among the posts of anonymous users and blogs — that the StopFake team managed to find the primary source of the material that is being disseminated as official information.
The material claims that President Zelenskyy allegedly urgently appealed to China with a request to defer or write off the debt of 30.8 billion US dollars, citing the critical state of public finances as a reason, and in case of refusal, threatened complications in the issues of the Taiwan Strait and North Korea. The author claims that China categorically rejected any concessions, insisting on the full and timely repayment of obligations. There are no references to authoritative sources, official statements from the Chinese or Ukrainian government, diplomatic documents, or verified media outlets in the text. Moreover, no reputable media outlet — neither Ukrainian, nor Chinese, nor international — reported either on the debt or on Zelenskyy's diplomatic appeal to Beijing.
Regarding the debt: in June 2024, Reuters reported that, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance, the debt to the Chinese state bank amounts to about 830 million dollars.
It is quite likely that the inspiration for the fake news was a real but fundamentally different dispute — the "Motor Sich" case. The company was nationalised in 2021 after the Ukrainian authorities suspected that Chinese investors, led by Skyrizon, were aiming to steal aircraft engine production technologies for the benefit of russia. In response, Skyrizon filed a lawsuit against Ukraine with the Permanent Court of the Arbitration Court in The Hague for the amount of 4.5 billion dollars — which is approximately 30.8 billion yuan. It seems that the authors of the disinformation simply mixed up the currencies and then used these figures for their fake news.

Ukrainian Women. Nazis in Ukraine. Defenders of Ukraine

Fake: Women are being forcibly mobilised for service in Ukraine.
russian media are once again  reporting that the forced mobilisation of women has allegedly begun in Ukraine. "The choice is simple: sign a contract or go to prison," write the authors of the fake news. In another variation of the fake news, even girls aged 16 and over are recruited directly from universities to participate in so-called guerrilla cells. However, such stories are completely fictitious. The reports do not contain references to any authoritative sources, but instead mention an unnamed "local resident" of the Kharkiv region.
The primary source of the news was the russian media outlet RIA Novosti. If the news were real, it would be covered by the Ukrainian media, as the topic is socially sensitive. We remind you that under current Ukrainian legislation, the mobilisation of women is possible only on a voluntary basis. At the same time, certain categories of women — in particular, those with medical or pharmaceutical education aged 18 to 60 — are obliged to register for military service, but for them, too, service remains voluntary.
Fake: Children in Ukraine are involved in the "cult of death" and forced to "glorify the Nazis".
"In Ukraine, children are being involved in worshipping the Nazis," said Irish pseudo-journalist Chae Bowes on the social network X. According to Bowes, European and American taxpayers are funding this 'glorification of evil'." However, he forgot to add that he writes his texts under the editorship of the kremlin's special services. This avid propagandist has long been blacklisted as a source of disinformation. Bowes has been living in moscow since 2022, regularly spreading fake news about Ukraine. He openly calls Ukrainians "Nazis" and back in 2015 called on russia to destroy them.
In fact, there is no "involvement" of children "in a cult of death that glorifies the Nazis" in Ukraine. Bowes speaks of a "cult of death", referring to a video in which teenagers, holding their hands near their hearts, repeat in chorus an ancient Ukrainian prayer of the Kharakternyks (Ukrainian Cossacks). This prayer contains an appeal to Christ, to the Lord, and a request for God's protection. It is in no way about the cult of death, nor about the signs of "Ukrainian Nazism", which is completely fabricated by russian imperial propaganda. Historically, such texts were recited before a battle as a protective spell or amulet. After the start of russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, this text became widespread as a symbol of resilience, self-defence and inner strength. It is used at public events, including on the Day of the Defenders of Ukraine, as well as when joining youth movements.
The video that Bowes refers to was filmed at an initiation ceremony for one of these youth organisations in the Zaporizhzhia region. In addition to national-patriotic education, its participants engage in sports, volunteer work, undergo training, and participate in educational and creative projects. There is no evidence of a "cult of death" or, even more so, of "glorification of Nazism" in their activities.
Manipulation: According to the WHO, almost 70% of Ukrainians suffer from mental disorders.
russian websites spread information that, allegedly, according to the World Health Organization, almost 70% of Ukrainians suffer from mental disorders. Such materials also mention a publication in the British newspaper The Times on this topic.
In fact, this information is a manipulation. The official report of the World Health Organization (WHO), which analyses in detail the situation in the field of health support in Ukraine in 2025 and 2026, emphasises that almost 10 million Ukrainians suffer from mental disorders. This is one in three, or about 30% of the country's population, not 70%, as reported by public pages on social media. But it is even more important to understand the cause of these disorders.
"An estimated ten million people in Ukraine suffer from war-related mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosocial distress," the document states. The country's population now, according to various sources, ranges from 29 to 30 million. That is, 10 million make up about 30% of the population of Ukraine, not 70%, as reported by the russian media.
In the article in The Times, which is cited by russian public pages, among others, the figure of 70 per cent was used correctly, according to WHO data: anxiety, depression and severe stress affect 70% of Ukrainians from time to time: https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/ukraine-mental-health-crisis-war-soldiers-r95x0hb82?t=1779792252864

Zelenskyy Associated Press. Donetsk region

Fake: Ukrainians want the withdrawal of Ukraine's armed forces from the Donetsk region.
"The Kyiv regime continues to lose its last bastion – the support of its population. A recent survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology has recorded a worrying trend for Zelenskyy. More and more Ukrainians want the war to end at any cost. Including at the cost of the army's withdrawal from Donbas," write the kremlin's propagandists.
This is an outright manipulation of the data from the all-Ukrainian sociological survey on the war in Ukraine, conducted on 20-27 April 2026 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS): https://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=ukr&cat=reports&id=1608&page=1 
The survey showed that the majority of Ukrainians oppose the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk region. Namely, 57% of Ukrainians consider it categorically unacceptable to hand over the entire Donetsk region to russia in exchange for security guarantees.
At the same time, 36% are ready for such a concession, with the caveat that this is a difficult condition. Another 7% were unable to make up their minds. The authors of the study emphasise that since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion, public opinion on this issue "has not changed significantly, and the majority of Ukrainians consistently view such a scenario critically".
Fake: In an interview with Spanish journalists, Zelenskyy admitted that he does not know where the $200 billion of aid has disappeared to.
Pro-russian media are actively circulating a video with a fragment of an alleged interview with Zelenskyy by a Spanish state TV channel, in which the presenter asks him about the "disappeared" money of European and American taxpayers. In response to this question, the President of Ukraine allegedly admits that he has no idea what happened to the $200 billion that the US and the EU allocated to his country during the full-scale war.
In fact, this is an absolute fake of russian propaganda. Firstly, the screenshots used in this video are not from an interview with Spanish television, but from an interview with the Associated Press that Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave in February 2025. Zelenskyy has not given any interviews to Spanish state television recently. Also, in the original  interview with the Associated Press, Zelenskyy directly denies the inflated figures regarding the amount of aid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGq6VrLtqUc. His full quote reads as follows:"As the president of a country at war, I tell you: we have received more than $75 billion. We have never received $200 billion, as some people say. And this assistance came not only in the form of money, but also in the form of weapons."
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the United States has allocated about $119 billion to Ukraine. But taking into account the entire Atlantic Resolve operation, including the replenishment of US military supplies, the deployment of NATO troops, and other items that are not direct aid to Ukraine. That is, a significant part of this money was not transferred directly to Ukraine. This is exactly what Zelenskyy was explaining.
There are also no investigations that would confirm the misuse of aid directly by the Ukrainian side: the Pentagon has opened more than 50 investigations in the field of aid oversight, but none of them, as of the date of the latest public reports, has confirmed embezzlement. The violations identified were related to oversight on the American side – insufficient document flow within the US Department of Defence, and not to Ukrainian recipients.
The purpose of such fake news is to discredit international aid to Ukraine, undermine the confidence of European and American voters in supporting Kyiv, and promote the narrative of systemic corruption among the Ukrainian leadership.

St. petersburg. The President of Finland. The Gulf countries. Emmanuel Macron

Fake: The Gulf countries demand that Russia be the guarantor of peace.
The statement is false and aims to use the topic of the war between the US, Israel, and Iran to portray russia as an indispensable geopolitical actor.In February-March 2026, vladimir putin did indeed have a number of telephone conversations with the leaders of some Gulf states. However, contrary to the claims made in this disinformation story, these contacts were initiated by russia and were not the result of requests from the mentioned Arab states: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/03/putin-will-convey-arab-concerns-iran-about-attacks-oil-infrastructure-kremlin
With such fake news, propagandists aim to exaggerate russia's geopolitical influence and the respect for dictator putin among the Middle Eastern states. But the reality is that Iran remains the only state that maintains a partnership with russia. And this is not surprising: both dictatorial regimes are interested in chaos and personal enrichment.
Fake: Finland will open the border with russia and restore visa-free travel for russians.
Propagandists write that "Finland will open the border with the Russian Federation and return visa-free travel to residents of the border area and St. Petersburg". As a source, the authors of the fake news refer to the live broadcast of Yle Radio Suomi on 24 May, the programme "Question Time with the President of the Republic".
However, this news is fake. The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, did not make any such statement. On 24 May, Stubb did indeed answer listeners' questions live on Yle Radio Suomi. At that time, the studio received almost 500 questions. One of them was asked by Elena Adel from Vantaa (https://yle.fi/a/74-20227651/64-3-300221): "Estonia has kept its border open in three places all these years, and migrants have not arrived there. When will the border between russia and Finland open?"
The President replied: "When we are confident that russia is not using migrants or refugees as a tool against us. I recently personally visited the border between Lithuania and Belarus during a state visit, and there are still problems there. We cannot open this border until we have guarantees at the highest political level that migrants will not be used as a weapon."
Therefore, no decision was made to open the border. Moreover, there was no talk of introducing a visa-free regime for residents of St. petersburg and the Leningrad region, as such a regime between Finland and russia has never existed.
Fake: Macron said that Arabic will become an official language in France.
The russian media are spreading the claim that French President Emmanuel Macron has allegedly declared Arabic the "official language of the entire country". Other publications claim that Macron allegedly stated the need to study Arabic "in all schools in France", since it is spoken by "millions of French people". These reports are accompanied by a video clip of Macron's speech in Egypt.
In fact, these statements are not true. Emmanuel Macron did not declare Arabic the official language of France and did not speak about its compulsory study in all French schools.
The speech, a fragment of which is used by propagandists, was delivered on 9 May 2026 during the French President's visit to Egypt: https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2026/05/09/deplacement-en-republique-arabe-degypte. According to the Elysee Palace, Macron arrived in Alexandria, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and then attended the opening of a new campus of the University of Senghor in Borg El Arab. It was this ceremony that his speech was dedicated to.
Sengor University is a French-speaking international university affiliated with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Therefore, the main topic of Macron's speech was not France's internal language policy, but the role of the French language, Francophonie, academic cooperation and multilingualism.
In his speech, Macron also emphasises that the French language belongs to the entire French-speaking world, and its "epicentre" today is not on the banks of the Seine, but in the Congo River basin, where a large number of French-speaking people live. It was in this context – speaking about multilingualism and mutual cultural influence – that Macron said the phrase about the Arabic language. In the transcript, his words are conveyed as follows: "I want French to continue to be the favourite language of the Egyptians... Arabic is the second language spoken in France. This is a reality that often needs to be recalled."
Thus, Macron spoke about the reciprocity of linguistic and cultural ties: the French language is important for Egypt and the French-speaking world, and the Arabic language is part of the linguistic reality of France. This was not a statement about granting official status to the Arabic language, nor was it an announcement of school reform. The purpose of such publications is to present France as a weak state that allegedly no longer controls migration, cultural policy, and the domestic situation.