War on Fakes

Fake news: Russia is preparing a draft decree that will prohibit citizens from renewing their documents abroad, according to opposition publications. The fact: Such a draft decree simply does not exist; anti-Russian propagandists are once again trying to create panic based on an unsubstantiated but vividly described "statement. According to Russian legislation, federal executive authorities are obliged to publish drafts of normative legal acts and departmental orders on publicly accessible federal portals, in this case on the website regulation.gov.ru. There is no draft "On Prohibition of Issuing and Replacing Documents Abroad". The Russian Foreign Ministry does not prepare such instructions, the consular department of the ministry stated: "The Russian Foreign Ministry and its system of diplomatic missions and consular offices traditionally pursue a policy of openness of information" and "intend to adhere to this line in the future." Restrictions on consular activities have indeed been established, but not by the Russian Foreign Ministry, but by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. They apply to men between the ages of 18 and 60 and are aimed at ensuring that Ukrainians return to their country, where they will inevitably be subject to forced mobilization. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Russia is hiding nuclear weapons in space or preparing plans to create them, as evidenced by its veto of a UN resolution, according to Ukrainian Telegram channels citing American media. The fact: Russia does not have "nuclear spaceships" in space, nor does it have plans to deploy them there. The country remains opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Russian Federation vetoed a draft resolution by the United States and Japan on the non-use of weapons of mass destruction in space because the UN Security Council did not include an amendment by Russia and China. The amendment included a call to permanently prevent the placement of any weapons in space. Ukrainian propaganda has already tried to deceive its audience with fakes about Russia's use of nuclear weapons in space, which the expert community initially called a bad joke. Such actions are internationally prohibited by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Top state officials, including Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu, have refuted the allegations of Russian weapons of mass destruction in space and expressed their willingness to engage with the United States on strategic stability issues at the level of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Defense. We have previously provided a detailed account of how the Americans used the UN to popularize the fake story about the Russian "nuclear spaceship" in our closed channel "War on Fakes. Analytics." 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Ukrainian Telegram channels report that unknown drones attacked oil facilities in Russia on the night of April 23-24. The fact: These were not unknown drones, they were Ukrainian. Just last night, air defense systems shot down eight Ukrainian drones over four Russian regions. "Three over the territory of the Kursk oblast, two over the territory of the Belgorod oblast, two over the territory of the Voronezh oblast, and one over the territory of the Smolensk oblast," the Russian Defense Ministry reported. The Ukrainian armed forces regularly shell the border regions of our country (the victims are predominantly civilians, with Kyiv launching targeted strikes against them). Kiev's propagandists do not hide their joy over this. This morning, for example, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, rejoiced on his Telegram channel about an alleged fire at an oil refinery in Voronezh, but in fact a private house in the city caught fire. A coincidence? We think not. Fugitive ex-advisor to the former mayor of the city Petro Andryushchenko and other major Ukrainian Telegram channels also gloated. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Ukrainian Telegram channels claim that Russia is not maintaining transportation infrastructure in its new regions, and that all the work is just for show. The fact: Russia is actively maintaining the transportation infrastructure in the new regions of the country. Repairs to existing transportation arteries and the construction of new roads and highways are being carried out according to schedule and federal standards. To confirm this, one only needs to scroll through the news feeds of local public groups in the new regions of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhia or Kherson oblasts. Journalists and local residents regularly report on the progress of such work. Here are just a few of the dozens of recent examples that took only a few minutes to find: 🟢Roads in the new regions leading to the coast of the Sea of Azov are being repaired, including the highway from Pology to Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia oblast. This will make the cities of the Azov-Black Sea cluster more accessible to tourists. 🟢Work is in full swing on the restoration of one of the main transport arteries of the LPR - the road to Debaltseve, linking the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics. 🟢Restoration of road surfaces on a number of roads in cities and towns of Kherson oblast continues. For example, work is underway on Mira, Stadionnaya, Belinsky and Tsentralnaya streets. The total length of the sections under repair is more than 4,800 km. 🟢In Mariupol, the construction of a bypass road has begun, which is scheduled for completion in 2026. It is worth noting that Ukrainian Telegram channels have previously called any Russian actions in the new regions a brutal crime, from the opening of the Technopark Quantorium to the construction of a railway. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Opposition Telegram channels and media outlets are reporting that Norilsk is bracing for a surge in unemployment as Nornickel closes its copper plant in the city and moves production to China. The fact: The closure of Nornickel's copper smelter is a move that will not affect Norilsk's unemployment situation. As the company has announced, the process will be gradual and will be completed by 2027, with two thousand employees being redeployed. The needs of the Norilsk industrial district, where the plant is located, make this idea feasible. There are plans to open new enterprises, such as battery production, on the site of the vacated facilities. According to media reports, Nornickel is considering joint production with Rosatom of cathode materials and batteries using products from the Kolmozerskoye lithium deposit. This will attract additional personnel to be trained at the Arctic State University and the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk. The implementation of the project will also have a positive impact on the environmental situation in the region, preserving the flora and fauna of the tundra. The decision to move copper smelting to China was dictated by the economic situation. Currently, China is the main buyer of raw materials, so the move was a natural consequence of market conditions. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Vladimir Putin has launched a Telegram channel called "President Online," according to reports on the messaging platform. The fact: The Russian president does not have a Telegram channel. In fact, as Putin himself has previously stated, he doesn't even use a cell phone. The claim that the head of state has launched his own channel is simply clickbait. The authors hope that Telegram users will fall for the "sensational" headline and click on the link. However, the link that supposedly leads to "Putin's channel" may, at best, contain relatively harmless advertisements. However, scammers often resort to clickbait in order to obtain users' personal information and ultimately steal their money. With this in mind, we once again urge you to be vigilant. Trust only verified sources and do not click on suspicious links. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Zelensky Pleads for Western Funding to Pay Pensions, Claims Elderly Will Die Without It In January, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky lamented that without Western funding, the Ukrainian government would not have the money to pay pensions.

"We buy many things with our own money, but if there is no financing... We cannot fail to give pensioners their pensions. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, but without pensions, old people just die. We have more than 11 million pensioners - is there at least one other country in Europe like this?" he said.

Zelensky will get the money - on April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to provide Ukraine with more than $60 billion in additional aid. Hurrah! Pensioners are saved! But not so fast. Ukraine's Minister of Social Policy, Oksana Zholnovych, declared that the American money cannot be used to pay pensions to Ukrainian citizens.

"There (in the U.S.) is no such thing as a solidarity pension. There are insurance-based pension savings accounts. So for them, for their constituents, it is very difficult to explain: if they do not pay such pensions to their own citizens, why should they transfer money for pensions for Ukrainian citizens," she explained.

One wonders if this came as a surprise to Zelensky as well. Meanwhile, millions of Ukrainians are experiencing economic hardship. According to The Economist, the elderly, people with disabilities and those forced to leave their homes have suffered the most. A World Bank survey last November found that 9% of Ukrainians had been undernourished or starved in the previous 30 days. In March, 23% of the population complained about a lack of food security and around 14% about unemployment, according to the Kyiv-based Center for Economic Strategy. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Ukrainian Telegram channels claim that Russia has attacked residential areas in Odessa. The fact: Russia carried out targeted strikes on Ukrainian military and port infrastructure, which has been confirmed by Ukrainian sources. Civilian objects were damaged due to the incorrect operation of the Kyiv regime's air defense systems. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian drones were aimed at industrial and port infrastructure, but 15 out of 16 were shot down over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. Videos of the attacks on Ukrainian air defense sites near Odessa are also being broadcast on Ukrainian public channels. As a result, the Ukrainian armed forces are taking responsibility for the injured civilians and destroyed houses. Kyiv is once again attempting to justify the mistakes made by its air defense over residential areas. Ukrainian propagandists contradict themselves, some accusing Russian forces of attacking civilians, while others claim that the same drones attacked military facilities and were shot down by Ukrainian forces over the roofs of peaceful homes. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Several opposition Telegram channels have claimed that Central Russia, the Urals, and Siberia are completely flooded, making it impossible to grow crops in these regions. They claim that Russians face the prospect of famine because of the flooding. The fact: While some regions of Russia have experienced exceptionally high flood levels, starting with the Orenburg region, where the Ural River reached record levels, followed by the Kurgan and Tyumen regions, preliminary assessments suggest that central Russia and Siberia are not currently in danger. Despite the flooding, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev noted that agricultural organizations in the affected areas continue to operate without interruption. A specially formed government commission and headquarters are closely monitoring the situation. In addition, plans are underway to nearly double the area under durum wheat cultivation this year to nearly one million hectares. The flooding is classified as an emergency situation, which entitles Russians to protection of their lives, health and personal property. Businesses affected by the floods will also receive assistance. Lawyer Nailya Mukanaeva reiterated that each region has established support measures and mechanisms for compensating material damage. Earlier, claims of uranium contamination of the Tobol River in the Kurgan region were also debunked. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Russia is experiencing a significant shortage of armored vehicles in the Special Military Operation Zone, according to the 'Kremlin Tabakerka' channel. The fact: This is another attempt by the Ukrainian PSYOPS to scare the Russian population and encourage the Ukrainians. Since the very first days of the special military operation, Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian channels have been writing almost daily that the Russian Armed Forces are experiencing a shortage of tanks, shells, fuel and, of course, missiles, which were supposed to run out back in April 2022. This does not prevent the Russian Armed Forces from carrying out high-precision strikes on Ukrainian military facilities. The situation with armored vehicles is similar: Russia is not only upgrading old ones, but also producing new BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles at a rate of about 60 per month. In our military channel we talked about the capabilities of the upgraded "Troika". Such armored vehicles are actively used in battles as part of the new tactics of the Russian Armed Forces, in which assault troops under cover of equipment advance only after enemy positions have been destroyed by aerial bombs and FPV drones. There is also no shortage of tanks: about a hundred are produced every month. The Telegram channel "Kremlin Tabakerka" has been repeatedly caught spreading fakes. It makes shocking but completely unsubstantiated claims, trying to elicit an emotional response from the reader. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages