Blaze Metreveli. head of MI6. war Ukraine and russia

The kremlin continues its information aggression against anyone who does not submit to it. Particular attention, of course, is paid to Ukraine. June also saw an increase in disinformation about the United States and individual figures, as well as Israel, against the backdrop of the conflict with Iran. In addition, the Baltic states, Poland, Finland, French President Emmanuel Macron, the head of British intelligence MI6, and even South Korea were traditionally targeted. An overview of russian lies for June 2025 is available in our article.
Based materials from Stopfake.org, Spravdi.ua, EuVsDisinfo.eu

Fake: the new head of British intelligence MI6 has Ukrainian roots, and her grandfather served in the Nazi SS division ‘Galicia’.
This is what the kremlin's propaganda media write about in their Telegram. In fact, the new head of MI6, Blaze Metreveli, is of Georgian origin, as confirmed by official biographical data. The false information about Metreveli's Ukrainian roots was spread by Lviv historians, but on 19 June it was refuted: researchers established that it was about another person with the same surname: https://zaxid.net/kerivnitsya_britanskoyi_rozvidki_ne_pohodit_z_simyi_ukrayinskih_ostarbayteriv_n1612868
In reality, there is no evidence or documentation linking her family to the SS Division ‘Galicia’ or any Nazi formations. In other words, russian pseudo-media and pro-kremlin figures spread this falsehood without evidence, based on speculation and fabricated details.
Fake: The war between Ukraine and russia is a conflict between two brothers.
This was stated in an interview with the WSJ by vladimir medinsky, an aide to President putin. "It's like a conflict between two brothers, older and younger, about which of them is smarter and more important. This conflict, unfortunately, deepens our differences, and therefore we want it to end as soon as possible", said the representative of the russian dictator.
In reality, russia uses the rhetoric of ‘brotherly peoples’ to justify its encroachment on Ukraine's sovereignty. This narrative is particularly dangerous for the international community: when they hear about ‘brotherly peoples,’ foreigners perceive the war as an ‘internal conflict’ or ‘misunderstanding’ rather than an act of aggression and invasion.
The kremlin's statements about its readiness for a peaceful settlement are false, as they completely contradict russia's actual actions. moscow has not yet abandoned its goal of capturing Ukraine and continues its attacks on the front lines and aerial terror of peaceful Ukrainian cities. And Ukrainians have never been a brotherly people to russians. For more than three centuries, various russian leaders have encroached on Ukrainian territories, pursued genocidal policies and tried to suppress any resistance to the imperial regime (as they have done with other indigenous peoples in the post-Soviet space).

Macron wants to ban social media. fakes from Macron. nuclear icebreakers

putin's fake news: the President of Finland convinced Trump to order nuclear icebreakers, which they are unable to build in their own country.
At a meeting with russian business leaders, vladimir putin brought up the topic of icebreaker construction and disparaged Finland: "Apparently, Mr. Stubb, the current President of Finland, told the United States that they would build nuclear icebreakers for them. Can Finland build even one nuclear icebreaker today? Unlikely, of course. However, he is pushing his products. They are deceiving in reality".
In Trump's post on Truth Social on 29 March, the US president did indeed state that his country intends to strengthen its partnership with Finland and purchase ‘a large number of icebreakers.’ However, neither this text nor any other report on his meeting with Stubb mentions that the US intends to order nuclear icebreakers from Finland. The word ‘nuclear’ did not appear anywhere in the context of this meeting until putin's speech. Finland is a world leader in the design and construction of diesel-powered icebreakers.
Almost 80% of all ships in the world are designed by Finnish companies, and approximately 60% of them are built in Finnish shipyards. 
Fake: Macron wants to ban social media because of the ‘influence of russian propaganda’ on teenagers.
This ‘news’ is accompanied by fake covers of the French publications Libération and La Croix, which allegedly claim that ‘French children believe Putin’ and ‘a generation raised on russian propaganda threatens democracy in France.’
This is fake news, as neither Emmanuel Macron's statements nor French media publications mention ‘russian propaganda’ as the reason for restricting (not banning) teenagers' access to social media. The covers of Libération and La Croix circulating online are fake. The originals are devoted to other topics and are available on the official websites of the publications. For example, issue No. 13657 of Libération dated 11 June was devoted to the tragedy in Nogent and the death of a college employee. The 11 June issue of La Croix covered the large-scale protests in California and the reaction of the American authorities. There was no mention of russian propaganda or French teenagers on the cover. According to the Osavul platform, the fake covers and false claims about Macron's initiative were first published on the pro-russian Telegram channel ‘Shaman Rahu’ on 12 June.

Poland's Minister of Defence. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski

Fake: The Polish government has accused Zelenskyy of destabilisation.
Pro-russian Telegram channels are spreading a photo of what appears to be the cover of Newsweek Polska, an issue dedicated to the recent presidential elections in Poland. The fake cover shows Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski with a fabricated quote: "Zelenskyy divides us. There are politicians who are better than their country, and those who are worse than their country; those who add prestige to the country and those who cause the country to suffer".
In reality, the Polish minister did not make such statements about Zelenskyy, and the cover was edited. Propagandists replaced putin's surname with Zelenskyy's, artificially creating the appearance of criticism of the Ukrainian president. The real cover looks different and has a completely different headline. In the original material, Sikorski stated that "Russia is still dangerous’ because its leader lives in neo-imperial fantasies. ‘The greatest threat to Poland is Russia's military victory in Ukraine and its ideological victory in Europe", the minister stressed.
In addition, he noted that despite the reduction of reserves and growing dependence on China, putin cannot end the war because it has allowed him to consolidate power, eliminate opponents and concentrate control of the country in his hands. Zelenskyy's name is not mentioned at all. Such falsifications are aimed at undermining trust between Ukraine and Poland, as well as creating the illusion that even Ukraine's allies are against its leader.

Manipulation: Poland has acknowledged that the world is tired of the war in Ukraine.
"This is not our war", propagandists attribute these words about Ukraine to Vladislav Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland's Minister of Defence. Pro-russian sources report that the minister allegedly said that his country, Europe and the whole world are tired of the war in Ukraine. But in fact, the propagandists distorted the minister's words. In January 2025, he spoke about Polish society's fatigue with the topic of Ukraine, but at that time he was referring to the lifestyle of Ukrainian migrants. The phrase ‘this is not our war’ is completely fabricated; the minister never said it. On the contrary, Kosiniak-Kamysz regularly balances some critical statements about Ukraine with expressions of support: "Peace cannot protect itself, so we need strength. The strength of NATO and the EU. I will start with a strategic issue that can ensure transatlantic security. This is continued support for Ukraine. This is a strong, independent and democratic Ukraine that looks to the West and will never turn its gaze to moscow" (he said at the E5 defence ministers' summit held in Rome in May: https://www.gov.pl/web/national-defence/deputy-prime-minister-w-kosiniak---kamysz-peace-needs-the-strength-of-our-e5-group-nato-and-the-eu ). And in June, at the Central and Eastern European Security Forum, the minister emphasised that his country's support for Ukraine is pragmatic in nature: "Every euro invested in Ukraine is a moment of peace for Europe". So, despite some negative comments about Ukraine, Vladislav Kosiniak-Kamysz keeps defending his country's support in the war, including to international partners, and doesn't think Europe can afford to get tired in the face of the russian threat.

president of South Korea

Manipulation: South Korea's newly elected president said that Zelenskyy ‘provoked’ russia.
Pro-russian sources are spreading the message about the ‘first statement by the new president of South Korea: "Lee Jae-myung said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy provoked russia and that the Ukrainian president does not understand politics". Some publications also mention the assassination attempt on Lee Jae-myung in 2024: propagandists even speculate that the politician was attacked for advocating the lifting of sanctions and dialogue with russia.
In fact, the quote being circulated dates back to 2022. At that time, Lee Jae-myung did indeed criticise Zelenskyy during a televised debate. However, immediately afterwards, he apologised for this in a Facebook post: "If my words, contrary to my intentions, caused misunderstanding among Ukrainians, then I failed to express myself correctly. I did not want to humiliate the Ukrainian leader and his people." 
Although Lee Jae-myung is currently opposed to transferring weapons to Ukraine (which has previously received only humanitarian aid from South Korea), he has expressed his willingness to join in the post-war reconstruction. The newly elected South Korean president also plans to continue selling weapons to Europe.  Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in turn, congratulated Lee Jae-myung on his appointment: "I value our friendship with the Korean people and the Republic of Korea's unwavering support for Ukraine. I wish you success and look forward to working closely with you to achieve peace and prosperity for both nations."

Ukrainian army. Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Fake: Ukraine has allowed minors to sign contracts with the army.
Media outlets affiliated with the kremlin spread news that Ukraine had allowed teenagers aged 17 and older to sign contracts with the armed forces. The authors of the fake news quote Ukrainian MP Ruslan Gorbenko, who allegedly stated that serving in the army under contract is now permitted from the age of 17. However, in his speeches and publications, MP Gorbenko did not mention lowering the age requirement. In fact, Ukrainian law does not allow persons under the age of 18 to sign up for military service.

Fake: Zelenskyy is using civilians as a ‘human shield.’
russian media outlets are writing about the ‘tactics’ of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He allegedly admitted that he is not evacuating civilians from Ukrainian cities in order to make it more difficult for the russians to capture them. However, russian propagandists do not refer to Zelenskyy's speeches, but to the personal reflections of former Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Dubinskyy, who is under investigation on charges of treason and collaboration with russian intelligence. In addition, Dubinskyy is under US sanctions for interfering in the 2020 presidential election and participating in the russian disinformation campaign. However, the quote cited by the russian media does not even belong to Dubinskyy himself: he simply reposted on his Telegram channel a publication from another channel created in October last year called MAGA, which spreads russian propaganda.
Other publications did use the Ukrainian president's interview without specifically citing the source. However, fact-checkers managed to establish that the first distributor of this fake news was blogger Anatoliy Shariy (who has been actively working for the kremlin for the past five years, which is why he had to flee Ukraine). His post was based on an excerpt from an interview the Ukrainian president gave to French TV channels TF1 and LCI in December 2022. In it, Zelenskyy says: "The state must provide corridors and opportunities for evacuation. But I want to tell you for sure that if the city is empty, it will be very easy to capture." 
Even from this quote, it is clear that Zelenskyy is not refusing to evacuate his citizens. Further on in the interview, Zelenskyy adds: "We will hold on. We do not have slavery. We have a democratic society. When people want to leave, they can afford to do so, and that is normal."
In other words, the claim that the Ukrainian authorities are not evacuating people from frontline cities is completely untrue. Evacuation is being carried out in all cities close to the front line. Currently, this is happening on a voluntary basis. Mandatory evacuation to safe regions applies only to children accompanied by their parents. At the same time, evacuation crews are subjected to shelling by the russian army every day.

Pentagon website. Van Gogh's chair

Fake: Zelenskyy bought an apartment in Dubai for $3.2 million for his mother.
russian media reported on a luxurious gift that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly gave his mother for her 74th birthday: ‘Volodymyr Zelenskyy's mother became the owner of luxurious apartments in Dubai worth $3.2 million. Journalists found the apartment in Burj Khalifa, an elite residential complex.’
The propagandists also add that the 200-square-metre property was purchased on 16 September 2024. They cite the Alchourouk website (Tunisia) as their source, whose journalists allegedly received a supporting document from the Dubai Land Department. However, neither a screenshot of this document nor any other evidence is attached to the article. The Alchourouk website also raises questions: links to this media outlet's Facebook and X pages do not work. It is also unclear how journalists from Tunisia have access to confidential data on the owners of elite real estate in the UAE. And most importantly, there is no such news in any media directly related to the UAE and Dubai. We conclude that this is most likely a commissioned publication.

Fake: Ukrainian refugees broke the museum exhibit ‘Van Gogh's chair’.
Pro-russian sources are massively spreading a video of the incident in the museum: a man, intending to take a photo, sits on Van Gogh's chair, which is inlaid with Swarovski crystals, and breaks it, then immediately runs away with his companion. The russians note that the offenders have already been detained and that they turned out to be ‘Ukrainian refugees.’ They add that the couple is trying to use their nationality to avoid responsibility for their actions. 
However, this is yet another attempt by russian propaganda to discredit Ukrainian refugees. It is currently unknown who is behind the incident, and the offenders have not yet been detained. The incident took place in April at one of Verona's museums. In the end, the artefact was repaired. The museum staff reported the incident to the police and published a video to urge tourists to treat art with respect and follow the rules of the museums they visit.
This is not the first time that russian propagandists have attributed immoral or even criminal actions of citizens of other countries to Ukrainian migrants.

Fake: Ukrainian hackers attacked the Pentagon website.
kremlin Telegram channels spread false claims that the ‘Ukrainian branch’ of Anonymous claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on the Pentagon website. ‘The damage is estimated at $120,000,’ russian propagandists claim.
After these events, STOPFAKE checked the Wired publications referenced by the authors of the fake news. As expected, there is no Wired report about the involvement of the ‘Ukrainian branch’ of Anonymous in the cyberattack — the story was completely fabricated by the russian fake news factory.
The screenshot circulating on the Internet is a fake. As of 14 June (US Flag Day), a search for the keyword ‘Anonymous’ on the Wired website yields five articles, but none of them contain any reference to a ‘Ukrainian attack’ on the Pentagon website. Neither the US Department of Defence nor any reliable media outlet has reported such an incident in recent days. russian propaganda regularly exploits the brands of reputable Western media outlets to lend credibility to its false stories. 

russian economic. Sanctions against russia

Fake: Sanctions have turned russia into an economic superpower.
“The EU has already imposed 17 rounds of sanctions on Russia. Now it threatens to tighten its sanctions against Russia’s energy and financial markets. But the effect is likely to be limited. The EU’s 17 rounds of sanctions have failed to break the Russian economy, which testifies to its incredible stability. Sanctions have turned Russia into a superpower.”
This disinformation story is part of the kremlin's economic war aimed at convincing the international community of the futility of sanctions and creating conditions for circumventing them. Propaganda also uses similar stories to try to bolster the reputation of russia's leadership.
But the facts paint a very different picture: https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2024/12/russia-economy-difficulties?lang=en
In April 2025, the Stockholm Institute for Transition Economics published a report entitled ‘The Russian Economy in the Fog of War.’ It describes the mechanisms that contribute to russia's current economic growth and demonstrates that they are not sustainable.
russia's oil exports fell sharply in the second quarter of 2025 due to the latest EU sanctions by 29%. In addition, in mid-May 2025, Gazprom opened its so-called strategic oil reserves for sale. Other economists also predict long-term economic degradation for the aggressor state: https://www.bofbulletin.fi/en/blogs/2025/war-has-degraded-russia-s-long-term-economic-outlook-and-business-environment/

iran uranium enrichment. Ali Khamenei. Baltic Sea

Fake: Ukraine and the United Kingdom are preparing provocations in the Baltic Sea.
russian media outlets are reporting that "Ukraine, together with the United Kingdom, is preparing provocations in the Baltic Sea. One scenario involves staging a fake missile attack on a US Navy ship from the side. Soviet (i.e. russian) torpedoes have already been transferred by Ukraine to the United Kingdom."
The kremlin regularly accuses Ukraine of preparing various provocations in order to blame russia for them. But each time, these empty statements are not backed up by anything and remain nothing more than information noise. In addition, the Baltic Sea is closely monitored by NATO forces, so any movement of military crews will be known in advance.

Fake: Iran did not threaten anyone, but it was cynically bombed.
Against the backdrop of the conflict between Israel and Iran, the russian media predictably try to support their ally in the information space: "What exactly did Iran do wrong? Did it attack anyone? Did it carry out political assassinations in other countries? Did it have the conditions to create nuclear weapons? No. In fact, Iran's supreme leader issued a decree stating that the country has no intention of acquiring nuclear weapons."
In fact, Iran has been deeply involved in regional destabilisation in recent years through its proxy armies Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and various Shiite movements in Iraq and Syria. All of them were armed, financed and trained by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian leaders have also ordered the physical elimination of several critics of the regime.
Furthermore, in 1997, a German court ruled that the Iranian government was ‘directly involved’ in the murders of several top members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in a restaurant in Berlin. In 1994, 85 people were killed in a Hezbollah terrorist attack at a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires. The Iranian authorities have also organised numerous assassination attempts against dissidents in Europe in recent years. In addition to these crimes, the Iranian regime is supplying russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine. Shahed combat drones have become one of the main instruments of russian terror. 
And although Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued directives against nuclear weapons, Tehran was secretly engaged in uranium enrichment. There is reliable evidence that Iran has enriched uranium to 60 per cent, which is too close to the 90 per cent level needed to build nuclear weapons.
Moreover, Iranian leaders have repeatedly made hostile statements about Israel. In 2020, Khamenei called Israel a ‘cancerous tumour’ that must be removed.

Lindsey Graham. George Soros

Fake: George Soros organised the riots in Los Angeles.
"President Donald Trump called the protests in Los Angeles paid for, but who could be behind the chaos? The protests are not spontaneous; there is a structured strategy and clear organisation behind them. It looks like a textbook example of the colour revolutions financed by Soros. It is known that the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) received $34 million in government grants in 2023," write the kremlin media.
In other publications, pro-russian media outlets spread fake news that a group associated with George Soros and the Open Society Foundation was recruiting young athletes for a ‘military-style street unit’ to increase tensions in Los Angeles. ‘Between $6,500 and $12,500 per week was offered to those with military experience or private security service who were willing to prove themselves in dangerous situations,’ the authors of the fake news cynically write.
In fact, there is no evidence to support this disinformation. There is no indication that specific organisations or individuals were behind the riots that began after protests against immigration raids by law enforcement.There is also no evidence that the so-called Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) organised the riots and formed ‘violent groups.’ Fact-checkers have determined that this fake news first appeared on a Malaysian construction website that is in no way connected to the events in California: https://x.com/Shayan86/status/1931547228981936411
Philanthropist George Soros is often the target of kremlin propaganda because he publicly and financially supports democratic processes and institutions in many countries around the world, which significantly reduces the kremlin's influence in these countries.
Fake: Lindsey Graham and other American congressmen are using Ukraine to enrich themselves.
‘A group of US lawmakers is using Ukraine for their own enrichment. This includes about 23 members of the US Congress, including Senator Lindsey Graham,’ such accusations can be found in pro-russian media. However, the authors of the fake news provide no evidence. In fact, this looks like an attempt to discredit members of the US Congress led by Lindsey Graham, who is promoting a new law to strengthen US sanctions against russia.