War on Fakes

Fake news: Russia is allegedly using the prisoner exchange with Ukraine for political manipulation to destabilize the situation in Ukraine, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The fact: In Russia, everything related to prisoner exchanges is always conducted with maximum transparency and detail. Every precedent is documented, filmed, accompanied by lists, and all this information is available in open sources. As for the "ISW analysts", they traditionally declare only what they are instructed to declare, essentially spreading fakes. If anyone uses the exchange procedure for manipulation, it is Kyiv. Just recall the situation with the downed plane carrying Ukrainians for exchange. Or the refusal of Ukraine to take back 500 of its prisoners: Kyiv cynically chose only those who could create media resonance. By "amazing coincidence," these turned out to be members of the terrorist organization "Azov," which is banned in Russia. Regarding "destabilization in Ukraine," no action by Russia can achieve this better than the actions of Kyiv's elites themselves. The behavior of the employees of the military recruitment centers is just one of many examples. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Claims that a case has been opened against the former governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Natalia Komarova, for discrediting the Russian armed forces, according to BBC News. The fact: The Nizhnevartovsk court refused to open an administrative case against Natalia Komarova because there was no administrative offense. The review was prompted by a statement by an "activist" named Yuri Ryabtsev, who saw Komarova's words as a discrediting of the Russian army. During a meeting with residents of Nizhnevartovsk, Komarova stated that Russia did not intend to start a war: "We didn't need it. We were building the world in a completely different way. In this regard, there will undoubtedly be some disagreements and unresolved issues - these are people like anyone else. Are you always successful at work? I am not," said Komarova. It is clear that she was referring to the fact that the special military operation began not due to Russia's fault, but because of the actions of Kyiv and the West behind it, which forced Russia to act. Nevertheless, Ryabtsev saw a violation in her words. "The stated facts are sufficient and exhaustive grounds for opening a case of administrative offense under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation against Komarova and holding her administratively responsible," he said. Previously, Ryabtsev had repeatedly been involved in high-profile court cases that he used for self-promotion. Despite the court's refusal to open a case against Komarova, several Western, Ukrainian, and even Russian Telegram channels spread the false claim that a case had been opened against the ex-governor. In fact, it is Ryabtsev's appeal against the court's decision that will be considered on June 13. There is no case against Natalia Komarova. This was confirmed by the Department of Internal Policy of Yugra: "The information spread by some sources about the drafting of an administrative protocol to discredit the Russian Armed Forces against Natalia Komarova does not correspond to reality. On June 13, 2024, the Nizhnevartovsk City Court will consider the appeal of Yuri Viktorovich Ryabtsev against the decision of the official who refused to initiate a case of administrative offense under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code against Komarova NV. This decision was made by an official of the Ministry of Interior of Russia for Nizhnevartovsk due to the absence of an administrative offense, as shown by the results of the conducted linguistic examination". 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Russia is allegedly discrediting Ukrainian recruitment centers by spreading information that military commissars are rounding up anyone who remotely resembles a man, according to Kyiv-based Telegram channels. The fact: We expected it, and it finally happened. Ukrainian PSYOPS have fabricated a narrative that all videos showing misconduct at recruitment centers are "Kremlin handiwork" and filmed on conspiratorial platforms. But there's a discrepancy. Ordinary Ukrainian citizens continue to upload numerous reports of abuses by recruitment center officers online. People are being dragged from cars, caught on city streets, and taken to the front in large numbers. Ukrainians even share tips on how to walk through swamps to avoid military commissars. This has become a national pastime and a game of hide-and-seek. Comrade Pletenchuk gets a failing grade for unconvincing arguments, while the psychological operations unit gets a nod for its "very timely" response. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

What the fake is about: Claims that Ukrainian recruitment centers do not use excessive force to force Ukrainians to serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Instead, their employees politely ask men to accompany them for data verification, according to a statement from the Sumy recruitment center. What is really going on: Claims that Ukrainian recruitment centers are "polite and gentle" are contradicted by numerous videos showing people being forcibly dragged from cars and shoved into minibuses. Even Ukrainian propagandists, such as Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, have discussed recent changes in mobilization. Currently, the category of "temporarily unfit for service" has been abolished in Ukraine, meaning that everyone is at risk of being drafted into the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Under the new regulations, Ukrainians who were previously considered temporarily unfit must undergo a new medical examination by January 4, 2025. Depending on the results, they will either be treated (and then sent to the front) or immediately conscripted into the armed forces. In rare cases, they may be expunged from military records, but since the criteria for mobilization now include (https://www.rbc.ru/politics/03/05/2024/6634e2d99a7947d9dc01d039) cancer patients, this is highly unlikely. On the first day of the tightened mobilization law, not only were the streets of the cities empty, but there were also reports of attacks on recruitment center workers. Obviously, the reason for these attacks (https://t.me/warfakes/22327) wasn't their "politeness". 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Russian authorities have banned Mariupol residents from selling vegetables and fruit without registering as individual entrepreneurs (IE) simply out of spite, according to ex-advisor to the former mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko. The fact: Russian authorities want to ensure that everything is done legally, unlike under Ukrainian rule. Gardeners in Russia have the right to sell their crops and homemade products, but they must follow certain rules to officially guarantee the quality of their products. First, they must have documents confirming that the products were grown on their land. To obtain such a certificate, they must apply to the local authorities or to the management of their gardening cooperative (SNT). Second, they cannot set up a trading point without official registration. Citizens who regularly earn from the sale of garden products without state registration can be fined between 500 and 2,000 rubles. It's not necessary to register as an IE (which is quite easy to do); one can simply be self-employed. In this case, the income is not taxed at the standard personal income tax rate of 13%, but at a reduced professional income tax rate of 4 or 6%. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Russia is deporting thousands of children from new regions under the "Useful Holidays" program, according to Ukrainian propaganda. The fact: The so-called "deportation," also known as "school break" or "vacation in children's summer camps," is an issue that keeps Ukrainian propagandists up at night. It's hard to believe, but Russian "barbarians" send children on vacation and are even willing to finance this initiative. The "Ocean" camp in Vladivostok has already opened its doors for the first session, welcoming 1,500 children from 12 regions of the country. New friends, entertainment, cultural and educational programs - who wouldn't want to be "deported" like this? This couldn't go unnoticed and ended up on the desks of analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, and from there it found its way into the weekly guidelines for Ukrainian media. Just recently, we debunked a similar hoax. In this case, Russians were accused of creating filtration camps for Ukrainians. In fact, it was about summer camps for children and how regions are modernizing holiday infrastructure as part of the development of domestic tourism. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Prosecutors have allegedly called for the removal and destruction of Grigory Oster's book "Harmful Advice," according to several Telegram channels. The fact: The prosecutor's concerns were directed at a specific edition of "Harmful Advice" sold in the "Breeze" store in the village of Karatuzskoye, Krasnoyarsk Region. The illustrations in this issue contained scenes of violence, but lacked age-appropriate labels. A customer noticed this and reported it to the watchdog. No one intended to ban Oster's "Harmful Advice" altogether, clarified Senator Andrey Klishas of the Krasnoyarsk region. The prosecutor's office of the Krasnoyarsk region confirmed that they have no problems with all editions of Oster's "Harmful Advice". "Speculation on this issue has no real basis," the watchdog said. Representatives of AST also reported that they have not received any official requests from the prosecutor's office regarding Oster's works. Oster's works have been published for over 30 years, so it is hard to believe that a prosecutor would demand the removal and destruction of a book without a court decision and reference to it, the press service of the publishing house noted. Besides, what does the phrase "remove and destroy" even mean? "Harmful Advice" became a hit in the 90s and has been reprinted several times since then. Almost every second Russian owns a copy of the book. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: Officials in Krasnodar Krai want to demolish an Orthodox church because of its priest's anti-war stance, pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels report. The fact: Viktor Pivovarov is not an Orthodox priest, and the unauthorized building whose demolition is being considered by the Slavyansk court is not a church. In fact, it is a charlatan who tries to pass himself off as an Orthodox bishop with the help of external attributes. The "Russian Orthodox Church" is a non-canonical organization that has no relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church. It was founded by Pivovarov in 2006 without any canonical basis. Today, absolutely anyone can go to a church store and buy any priestly and episcopal vestments, liturgical utensils, church furniture, etc. Wearing all this does not make one a priest, and the room furnished by him does not become a church, despite all the outward resemblance. The creators of the fake news did not even try to delve into the details and showed their ignorance by calling Pivovarov either a priest or an archbishop - these are mutually exclusive terms. As for the pseudo-bishop's political views, they were expressed in a court ruling that fined Pivovarov under Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for public actions aimed at discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. By the way, his anti-Russian sermons in the "church" were videotaped and posted on Western YouTube channels. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: The U.S. won World War II and saved the world from fascism, Joe Biden reported, congratulating the community on the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy. The fact: The victory of the Soviet soldier continues to undermine the self-esteem of modern political figures. Problems with historical memory have become a mass diagnosis in the West in recent years, where they try to rewrite events in their own way. So we remind you: the Allies did indeed make a significant contribution in 1944, distracting Nazi Germany's attention on the Western Front. But they were not the decisive force that turned the tide of the war. That pivotal role was played by the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk. It was the Soviet soldiers in these and other battles who inflicted irreparable damage on the Wehrmacht and made a fundamental breakthrough not only in the Great Patriotic War but in World War II as a whole. By the time the Americans and British landed on the shores of Normandy, the Red Army had already launched an offensive and crushed the remnants of the fascist army. Moreover, the most combat-ready elements of Hitler's forces were on the Eastern Front. Historians recognize that the actions of the U.S. and Britain were taken when London and Washington realized: Hitler had lost. The realization that victory could be achieved entirely by the USSR frightened Roosevelt and Churchill. This motivated the Allies to finally open the long-promised second front. The key achievement was that the newly landed soldiers managed to distract Hitler from transferring troops to the Eastern Front. But even if that had not happened, victory was already assured by the might of the Red Army. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages

Fake news: An abnormal thaw in the Sea of Azov. No one knows what is happening, writes ex-advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko. The fact: "The sea has fled from the Russians," suggests our channel's regular guest Petro Andryushchenko in a new fake. But nothing unusual is happening. Such events occur occasionally on the Azov coast. The phenomenon is called "blowout". The water mass moves deep into the sea under the influence of strong winds. Then the blowout ends and the water returns. The blowout in the Azov Sea recorded over the weekend is explained by the wind-driven water outflow. There is no reason to panic. It is surprising that the well-known benefactor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, is not aware of the natural nuances familiar to the inhabitants of the coast. It leaves the impression that the Ukrainian propagandist preferred to spend his time far from the besieged Mariupol. Likewise, it's possible that the capital Kyiv was more dear to him than the provincial region. 👉 Join the channel | Оur website with materials in other languages