Digest of Russian fakes for SEPTEMBER

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russian fakes, russian propaganda, Ukrainian, Donbas, European Union, Monkey pox

We have collected various fakes that were distributed around the world by the russian special services and media in September. They don't have problems with fantasy, just like they don't have problems with funding to pollute the media space. Please read this material so as not to contaminate yourself with disinformation feces produced in russia.

Fake: Ukrainian intelligence recruits radicals in Syria, Afghanistan and Mali to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of russia.
Such nonsense is being spread by the pseudo-media of the kremlin with reference to the statement of the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the russian Federation maria zakharova.
The truth: this is another lie of the kremlin's propaganda machine, and baseless accusations against Ukraine are the signature style of putin's civil servants. In fact, it is moscow that conducts military cooperation with the above-mentioned countries. Accusing Kyiv of cooperation with terrorist organizations, the kremlin seeks to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the international community, as well as to divert attention from its own – quite real and proven – crimes.
russia has long actively and openly cooperated with the terrorist organizations Hamas and the Taliban, and also supports the international terrorist activities of the private military company "Wagner". Also, strategic allies of the Kremlin are dictatorial regimes, such as Iran, Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Mali, with which military cooperation is also increasing. In addition, mass terror against the civilian population of Ukraine is on the conscience of moscow, both in the occupied territories and in the range of russian missiles and drones. It is the russian special services that commit sabotage around the world and directly interfere in election processes in democratic countries.
Fake: the losses of the armed forces of Ukraine exceeded half a million people
Such a statement of the ex-deputy of Ukraine Ihor Mosiychuk is reproduced by the pro-russian media.
Truth: Mosiychuk has long gained the "fame" of a provocateur and disinformer who betrayed his country and openly works for the russian special services. For example, at the beginning of September, he circulated a fake that "everything is being done in Kyiv to reduce the number of victims." In July, he lied that "Zelenskyi is preparing a bloody provocation to save Biden." And so on. It should be noted that on March 28, 2024, his TikTok channel was included in the list of harmful and those spreading hostile disinformation about Ukraine.
Fake: children in Ukraine are forced to donate blood for the needs of the military
The russian media wrote about the fact that blood is allegedly collected forcibly from children for the needs of the army in Ukraine. At the same time, it is emphasized that this is done by the military themselves, or that this blood is collected for "foreign mercenaries".
"There have already been cases in history when children's blood went to support the health of ... Wehrmacht soldiers. And this practice was evaluated during the Nuremberg trial," writes "moscow komsomolets".
Yes, the publication mentions the village of Tomashpil, Vinnytsia region. There, the commander of the 22nd brigade of the Ukrainian army allegedly came to the local school to collect donated blood, who "forced teachers and children to go to the blood donation point with threats." Some of these publications were accompanied by a photo of a boy donating blood in an educational institution (school furniture can be seen in the background of the photo).
In fact, this photo was taken on Donor Day, which was held on August 22. At that time, a blood collection point was actually equipped in the local lyceum, and the blood collection itself was carried out by the field team of the Vinnytsia Regional Blood Service Center with the help of local medical workers. All residents of the community came to donate blood. Many photos from the event were released, but propagandists took only one - with a boy who could be mistaken for a teenager.
It is important to note that according to the law in Ukraine, only adults can become blood donors — blood is accepted from people over 18 years of age who have undergone a medical examination and have no contraindications determined by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Fake: In Ukraine, an American serviceman was killed and several F-16s were destroyed
Some Telegram channels and mass media disseminated information about the killing of a US Air Force soldier as a result of an attack on a military airfield in Ukraine on September 26. The authors of the publications refer to a non-existent Facebook post allegedly written by the wife of an American who "died in Ukraine".
The truth: neither this publication, nor the page of the author of the post, nor the photo of the "deceased" can be found. Probably, the post was painted "to order". In addition, the russians are lying about the destruction, according to various "data", from four to five F-16 fighters, which Ukraine recently received from partners. The source of the news was pro-russian propagandist Shariy, who for some reason is called a "Ukrainian blogger". In fact, Anatoly Shariy fled Ukraine a long time ago and is hiding from Ukrainian justice abroad (the blogger is officially charged with cooperation with russian special services).
Manipulation: In the US, Ukrainian pilots are considered "unsuitable for complex tasks" on the F-16
The kremlin's "fake factory" significantly distorted the interview of the commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, General James Hacker, with Air & Space Forces Magazine. The publication emphasizes that F-16s are already successfully used to destroy russian cruise missiles and drones. At the same time, due to the new experience, Ukraine is still showing caution when using new fighters to perform risky tasks.
However, russian propaganda has drawn its own conclusion that Ukrainian pilots are "unfit to perform complex tasks on F-16 fighters", and it is precisely because of this that Ukraine has allegedly already lost one aircraft. The purpose of this manipulation is to discredit the servicemen of the Air Force of Ukraine.
Truth: In his interview, the head of the US Air Force in Europe and the NATO Air Force Command did note that today Ukraine is likely to be cautious about using the new F-16 fighter jets for risky missions. However, this is only due to insufficient experience, since Ukrainian pilots began to perform the first combat missions on the F-16 only in August 2024. James Hekker did not make any statements about the "unsuitability" of Ukrainian pilots. Moreover, according to James Hecker, Ukrainian F-16 maintenance specialists demonstrate high results.
The publication also mentions the accident of one of the Ukrainian F-16s, as a result of which the pilot died. However, neither General James Hecker nor the journalist who prepared this publication associates this incident with the poor training of Ukrainian pilots. The author of the article only noted that Ukraine lost a plane during another massive russian attack, and Kyiv is currently investigating the crash of the first F-16.
Fake: a Ukrainian refugee shot a Christian icon in Zurich
Truth: Pro-russian disinformers used Sania Ameti, who is a Swiss politician of Bosnian descent, and has no ties to Ukraine in any way. Except for the publication of a politician in the network in support of Ukrainians against the background of the russian invasion. The publications are accompanied by a screenshot from the woman's Instagram profile, where she shared a photo in yellow and blue colors with the hashtag #standwithukraine.
Sania Amethi is a member of parliament for the liberal Green Party and head of Operation Libero, a political movement that advocates for Switzerland's multicultural and progressive future. Ameti has long been interested in sports shooting and shared a photo on the network in which she shoots images with Christian iconographic motifs. After public outrage, Sania Ameti deleted the post and apologized. She explained that she used an image from an art catalog because it was "the right size and prominent enough" to serve as a target. "I did not pay attention to the content of the illustration," said Sania Amethi and called her actions "absolute stupidity." Several conservative politicians condemned Amethi's actions and called for her resignation.
The leadership of the Green Liberals also believes that the politician's actions are a reputational blow throughout the organization and will ask Amethi to leave the party. Thus, Sania Ameti has nothing to do with Ukraine, but this does not stop kremlin propagandists. They can use any person, any photo from social networks to spread their own false propaganda.
Fake: The number of sectarians increased in Ukraine after the Moscow Patriarchate banned churches
A video with the symbols of the well-known German news service Deutsche Welle is circulating on the Internet, in which it is said that more than 4 million Ukrainians are in religious "sects" or are somehow connected with such organizations. The video claims that the International Center for Research and Information on Sectarianism (FECRIS) has estimated that after the "church split and the state's persecution of Orthodoxy" this number has actually doubled.
Truth: The video circulating online mimics the design of Deutsche Welle videos. However, there is no such story on the media company's official website or social networks. The video itself is a compilation of stock photos, which also indicates that we are dealing with a fake - the real Deutsche Welle videos contain original video and photo material.In addition, StopFake journalists were unable to find data on the official resources of FECRIS that the number of followers of cults is allegedly increasing in Ukraine. Since 2014, members of this organization have systematically supported russian aggression against Ukraine. Until March 2023, FECRIS had a representative office in russia. And only recently she officially severed ties with her branch in moscow. However, this does not prevent the former vice-president of the russian branch of Archpriest Oleksandr Novopashin under the auspices of FECRIS from continuing to spread disinformation about Ukraine.
As a result of further searches, StopFake journalists found out that the original source of the fake was the russian site "Druhaya Ukraina". The publication mentions Ukrainian scientist and researcher Volodymyr Rohatin, a member of the European Federation of Research Centers and Information on Cults and Sects (FECRIS), who estimated that "more than 100 satanic communities with more than 2 thousand followers" operate in Ukraine. It is noteworthy that this same quote by Rohatin was used by propaganda resources back in 2014. It is also known that Rohatin actively attends russian "scientific and practical conferences", and is currently an associate professor of the Department of Religious Studies in one of the russian higher educational institutions (in the city of Kazan).
StopFake journalists were unable to find actual data on the number of destructive cults in Ukraine, and even more so on the growth of their influence after the Russian Orthodox Church and religious organizations affiliated with it were banned from operating in Ukraine.
According to the materials of Stopfake.org
Read more analytics on the kremlin's multi-million dollar disinformation campaign here: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlins-multipolar-order-of-disinformation/

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