Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian government-controlled Twitter accounts, including the accounts of Russian Embassies abroad, have become one of the most active tools to disseminate Kremlin disinformation. In the process of verifying fake news related to the ongoing war in Ukraine by Russian propaganda media and various users on Facebook, “Myth Detector” identified several cases when the same false claims were disseminated by the accounts of Russian government bodies and foreign embassies. Accordingly, “Myth Detector” decided to investigate how systematic this practice was. “Myth Detector” monitored the posts published by the English-language Twitter accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and dozens of accounts of Russian embassies in different countries from March 12, 2022, to March 31, 2023.
During the monitoring process, attention was paid to identifying posts where the voiced claims were already verified in the past or which were debunked by official investigations. Such posts were found by searching for keywords related to relevant topics. Accordingly, the disinformation and manipulation posts identified do not reflect the full extent of Russia’s disinformation campaign. It is likely that, collectively, Twitter accounts of the Russian government are spreading more falseness. The purpose of this article was to demonstrate the behavior of the accounts of Russian diplomatic missions based on several specific cases.
The following tendencies have been identified through the monitoring:
- 14 topics were identified, in connection with which 16 Twitter accounts of the Russian government published 44 disinformation/manipulative posts;
- In the vast majority of cases, the disinformation was amplified by other government-affiliated accounts, 68 accounts in total;
- Out of these 14 topics, disinformation related to biolaboratories in Ukraine was shared the most, a total of 8,460 times, although disinformation posts related to the 2014 fire in Odesa were shared the most by Russian government accounts, namely, 64 times.
The purpose of spreading disinformation through official channels is to give more credibility to fake news. In addition, this process is facilitated by accounts sharing each other’s posts. It is also significant that most of the accounts belong to various diplomatic missions, and their target audience is citizens of foreign countries, where the Kremlin’s propaganda is trying to consolidate public opinion.
Notably, against the spread of misinformation on Twitter, since 2021, users have been allowed to attach additional contextual information in the form of notes to posts that disseminate false information. If different contributors make similar comments on the same post, the comment attached to the post will appear publicly. In some cases, a similar remark can be found on the posts distributed by the Russian embassies. In certain cases, when a post violates the rules of Twitter, it is accompanied by a special warning, which also mentions the nature of the violation. In some cases, such posts are not removed from the social network due to the presence of public interest, although the number of shares, comments, and likes is not available.
The table below shows, by topic, disinformation and manipulative posts amplified by Russian government Twitter accounts, as well as the number of their shares and, for each post, a list of Russian diplomatic mission Twitter accounts that shared it.
| Disinformation/Manipulative Claim | Twitter Account | Shares on Twitter |
| Western countries support Nazism | 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia | Post total shares: 1 187
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 38 Council of Young Diplomats; Russian missions to the OSCE and Geneva; Embassies of Russia: in Ireland, Jordan (2), Sweden, Estonia, Iceland (2), Great Britain (2), Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Pakistan (2), Japan (2), Greece, Seychelles (2), Israel (2) ), in Bangladesh, Syria, Finland, Qatar, Turkey; Ministry of Foreign Affairs (3), representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: in Blagoveshchensk, Smolensk, Arkhangelsk, Grozny, Crimea (3) |
| Dangerous experiments are being conducted in Ukraine | 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia | Post total shares: 8 460
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 30 Russian delegation to negotiations on military security and arms control; General consulates of Russia in Edinburgh, Houston (3), Cape Town, Mumbai; Embassies of Russia: in Greece, Turkey, Great Britain, Netherlands, Canada, Senegal, Seychelles, Sweden, New Zealand, Kenya, Malta, Japan (2), Iceland (2), Qatar, Ghana, Tunisia (2), Bangladesh; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (2); Representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Smolensk; |
| Russian military forced did not commit war crimes in Bucha | 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (1,2,3)
3. Russian Embassy in Estonia (1,2,3,4) |
Post total shares: 737
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 39 The data does not reflect the full number of shares, as 3 of the published posts were blocked for violating Twitter’s rules, and their number of shares was not available. Embassies of Russia: in Iceland, Canada (2), Brunei, Macedonia, Seychelles (2), Bangladesh, South Africa, Ghana, Sweden, Great Britain, Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, India, Panama, Switzerland, Jamaica, Montenegro, New Zealand, France, Slovenia, Australia; Consulates General of Russia in Edinburgh, Cape Town, Navarre (4), Mumbai; Representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: in Blagoveshchensk, Crimea (3); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia; Missions of Russia: UNESCO, UN, ASEAN |
| Ukraine bomed the prison in Olenivka using HIMARS | 1. Russian Mission in Geneva
2. Russian Embassy in Sweden 3. Russian Embassy in Great Britain 4. Russian Embassy in Estonia 5. Russian Embassy in Spain |
Post total shares: 216
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 11 Embassies of Russia: in Great Britain, Seychelles, Iceland, Australia, Senegal, New Zealand, Canada, Poland; Consulate General of Russia in Toronto; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia; Representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in Pskov |
| Russian military forces did not bomb the Mariupol theater | 1. Russian Embassy in the US | Post total shares: 393
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 9 Embassies of Russia: in Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Israel, New Zealand; General Consulates of Russia: in Cape Town, Houston; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia; Mission of Russia to the European Union. |
| Ukrainian nationalists have set a church on fire | Russian Embassy in Great Britain | Post total shares: 50
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 0 |
| The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is facing a new reality, which is evidenced by the theatrical performances held in churches | Russian Embassy in Spain | Post total shares: 14
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 0 |
| Ukrainian soldiers insulted a woman with a child sitting in a car | 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia | Post total shares: 434
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 1 The post of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has been deleted
Embassy of Russia in France (on the issues of the Council of Europe) |
| Caricature graffiti criticizing Zelenskyy appeared in Madrid | Russian Embassy in Spain | Post total shares: 236
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 0 |
| In 2014, Ukrainian nationalists burned 46 people in the trade union house in Odessa | 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (1,2) | Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 68
Embassies of Russia: in the Netherlands (2), Montenegro (2), New Zealand (3), Lebanon (2), Estonia, India (2), Iceland (3), Qatar (2), Poland (3), Israel (2), Japan (2), Canada (2), Great Britain (3), Ireland (2), Sweden, Albania, Australia, South Africa, Vatican, Greece, Kenya, Seychelles (2), Philippines, Senegal,, Turkey, Singapore, Ghana, Hungary; General consulates of Russia: in Edinburgh (2), Bonn (2), Houston (2), Mumbai, Cape Town; Representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Petrozavodsk (2), Arkhangelsk, Yekaterinburg, Vladikavkaz, Crimea (2), Ufa; Missions of Russia: in the European Union, OSCE, Vienna, UNESCO, UN; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (2). |
| Ukrainian actors present themselves as victims of the war | Russian Embassy in Great Britain | Post total shares: 1 825
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 7 Representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia: in Smolensk, Arkhangelsk in Crimea. Embassies of Russia: in Turkey, New Zealand, Canada; Russia’s mission to the United Nations |
| According to the WSJ, Zelenskyy could have avoided war, but refused to do so | Russian Embassy in Bangladesh | Post total shares: 0
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 0 |
| Zelenskyy banned opposition parties in Ukraine | Russian Embassy in Bangladesh | Post total shares: 0
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 0 |
| Zelenskyy called on NATO to carry out preventive nuclear strikes on Russia | Russian Embassy in Australia (1,2) | Post total shares: 24
Shares by Russian government-affiliated accounts: 1
Russian Embassy in Israel |
Manipulation as if Western countries support Nazism
Propaganda messages that Russia is fighting Nazism in Ukraine have been one of the Kremlin’s most common narratives since the start of the war. Vladimir Putin himself announced the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine as the goal of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. In November and December 2022 and January 2023, the Twitter account of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the account of the Russian Mission to the United Nations, and the account of the Russian Embassy in Canada published information about the anti-Nazism resolution submitted by Russia to the United Nations. The posts accused Western countries of supporting Nazism.
The Tweet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes the fact that 54 countries did not support the resolution. In the post of the account of the Russian mission to the United Nations, which quotes the deputy of the Russian Duma, Mikhail Kuzmin, it is noted that for the first time in history, the Axis countries did not support the resolution against Nazism. A post published by the Russian Embassy in Canada directly accuses Ottawa of supporting neo-Nazism.
The post published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia on this topic was retweeted by the accounts of the Russian embassies in Ireland, Sweden, Estonia, Iceland, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Pakistan, and New Zealand, and the accounts of the representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in Balgoveshensk and Smolensk.
The Russian Embassy in Canada and the Twitter account of the Russian Mission to the United Nations also posted on the mentioned topic. The posts were retweeted by the Twitter accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the representative office of the Ministry in Vladikavkaz and Crimea, as well as the accounts of the Russian embassies in Syria, Great Britain, Iceland, Jordan, Seychelles, Finland, Israel, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Japan.
In fact, information about the resolution is being spread without context, and voting against the resolution does not mean supporting Nazism, as explained by some of the countries that did not support the resolution. Russia is trying to use the resolution to justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The information was also spread in Russian propaganda media and other social networks. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” article:
Conspiracies about the Dangerous Experiments Conducted in Ukrainian Biolabs
Disinformation about alleged “dangerous” scientific and medical experiments carried out in US-sponsored laboratories in Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries has been circulating for years, even before the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine. After the start of the war, Russia’s defense against biological and chemical threats from Ukraine became one of the justifying arguments for the invasion of Ukraine. The main source of this type of conspiracy theories and disinformation has been the Ministry of Defense of Russia, which systematically holds briefings at which it presents “evidence” and “documents” obtained about dangerous scientific activities in Ukraine as part of a “special military operation.” The information is further disseminated through various state channels.
On January 30, 2023, the head of the radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, said at another briefing that the Russian military had obtained more than 20,000 documents, which were related to the creation of biological weapons components by the Pentagon and their use in other countries bordering Ukraine and Russia. On January 30, the same information was published by the Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
The post was shared by the following Twitter accounts of various Russian agencies: Russian delegation to the negotiations on military security and arms control, Russian Consulates General in Edinburgh, Hewson, Cape Town; Embassies of Russia in Greece, Turkey, Great Britain, Netherlands, Canada, Senegal, Seychelles, Sweden, New Zealand, Kenya, Malta, Japan, Iceland, Qatar, Ghana, Tunisia, Bangladesh; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia; Representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Smolensk.
The Russian Embassy in the US also published four posts (1,2,3,4) about the assertions made at the same briefing, two of them ((1,2) by the account of the Russian Consulate General in Houston, the third post by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the accounts of the embassies in Tunisia and Iceland. The fourth post was shared by the Russian Embassy in Japan.
In May 2022, the Russian Embassy in India published disinformation posts on the issue of biosecurity. According to one of the posts, dangerous experiments were conducted on patients in the Kharkiv psychiatric clinic. According to the second post, Ukraine wanted to equip the Bayraktar drone with an “aerosol” type device and addressed the corresponding request to the drone manufacturing company. Both of these accusations were presented by Russia to Ukraine within the framework of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxic Weapons. Two more posts featured the recurring disinformation claims of Russia, according to which it became possible to obtain information about “bio-incidents” within the “special military operation,” and the US expanded its activities in Ukraine in the direction of the production of biological weapons.
It is worth noting that one can also find posts of Russian government accounts on biosecurity in the context of Ukraine, which also have a Twitter warning that the post contains false and misleading information and violates the rules of the social network (1,2,3,4).
False claims and disinformation about the ongoing scientific activities in Ukraine and the partnership with the US in the field of biosafety have been repeatedly debunked by “Myth Detector:”
- “20 000 Documents” by the Kremlin that [DO NOT] Confirm the Creation of Bio-weapons in Ukraine
- New Wave of Kremlin Disinformation Regarding the Biosafety Cooperation between the US and Ukraine
Denial of War Crimes: Bucha
One of the most horrifying episodes for the international community since the beginning of the war was the widespread information about the war crimes committed by the Russian military forces in the city of Bucha after the liberation of Kyiv region. Despite the clear evidence, the Russian side does not take responsibility for the incident and calls the footage, which was released after the release of Bucha and shows the corpses of the killed workers in the streets of the city, a provocation and staging illustrated by the Ukrainian side.
Photo and video materials depicting the military crimes committed in Bucha were distributed on social networks from April 1, and soon the Twitter accounts of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian embassies in Geneva, Estonia (1,2,3,4), New Zealand, and Israel published posts denying the tragedy.
According to the retweets of the post published by the account of the Russian mission in Geneva, the post was shared by the Russian embassies in Great Britain, Seychelles, Tanzania, Canada, Kenya, Senegal, India, Panama, Switzerland, Jamaica, Montenegro, New Zealand, France, Slovenia, Australia; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the missions of Russia to UNESCO, the United Nations, ASEAN.
The Russian delegation to the negotiations on military security and arms control, the office of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Crimea and the Russian Consulate General in Estonia were among those who shared the posts (1,2,3,4) of the Russian Embassy in Estonia.
Russian government Twitter accounts periodically published posts denying the tragedy even later as well. For example, in April 2022, the Russian Embassy in India published a statement denying Russia’s guilt and accusing Ukraine of provocation. The post was retweeted by the Russian Consulate General in Mumbai.
In September 2022, the Russian Embassy in New Zealand published a post denying the tragedy, and in October 2022, a similar post was published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Information on shares of posts flagged as misinformation by Twitter is not available.
In January 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced that the “New York Times” article on the events in Bucha was spreading false information. Retweets of the post linked to the New York Times article show that it was shared by accounts from the Russian embassies in Canada, Iceland, Ghana, Sweden, Brunei, the US, Great Britain, Macedonia, Seychelles, Bangladesh, and South Africa, the Russian Consulate General in Edinburgh, and Crimea and Blagoveshchensk, as well as the accounts of the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
Disinformation related to the denial of the Bucha massacre was debunked by “Myth Detector” a number of times in the past. For more details, see:
- Kremlin Propaganda and Georgian Facebook Accounts Deny the Bucha Massacre
- Pro-Russian Facebook Accounts Use the Video of the National Police of Ukraine to Deny the Bucha Massacre
- Denying Bucha Massacre – Who Questions the Evidence?
Accusing Ukraine of Attacking Olenivka Using HIMARS
Another recurring claim, shared by Russian embassies and other government Twitter accounts, is related to the attack on a prison in Olenivka where the Russian side was holding Ukrainian prisoners of war. The attack took place on July 29, and according to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, approximately 40 people were killed and 130 injured. A few days after the attack, Russia began to blame Ukraine for the incident. On the day of the attack, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced that the Ukrainian side carried out the attack with HIMARS, and a few days later, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, Alexander Fomin, announced that the purpose of the attack was to hide the war crimes committed by the Ukrainian military.
Posts containing similar claims were published by the Russian Mission in Geneva, and by the Russian embassies in Sweden, Great Britain, Estonia, and Spain.
The Russian Embassy in Geneva’s post was retweeted by the Russian Embassies in Great Britain, Seychelles, Iceland, Australia, Senegal, New Zealand, Canada, the Russian Consulate General in Toronto, and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The post of the embassy in Sweden was retweeted by the account of the Russian embassy in Poland.
The post of the embassy in Estonia was retweeted by the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pskov.
According to CNN’s journalistic investigation of the attack on the isolation cell in Olenivka, the attack on the prison was not carried out by HIMARS and the source of the fire was probably inside the building.
Read more about the attack on the prison in Olenivka in the “Myth Detector” article:
Denial of the Shelling of the Mariupol Theatre
The Russian side also denied the shelling of the theater building in Mariupol in March 2022. The account of the Russian embassy in the US also published a post denying the attack, and later, it was retweeted by the accounts of the Russian embassies in Tunisia and Sri Lanka, the accounts of the Consulate General in Cape Town and Houston, and the account of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia also published a post denying the attack on the theater. The post was retweeted by the account of the Russian Mission to the EU and the Russian embassies in New Zealand, Israel, and Qatar (1,2).
According to the journalistic investigation published by the Associated Press in May 2022, the attack on the theater in Mariupol killed 600 people. According to Amnesty International’s investigation, the Russian side committed a war crime by bombing the theater.
In addition to denying various cases of war crimes and attacks, Russian government accounts often share false information that Kremlin media and pro-Russian accounts spread on various social media platforms.
DIsinformation as if Ukrainian nationalists have set a church on fire
Since the end of 2022, when the Ukrainian government began to take steps against the influence of the Russian Patriarchate in the Church, the propaganda narrative that Ukraine is fighting against Orthodoxy has been actively disseminated. In addition to general narrative posts regarding the persecution of Orthodoxy in Ukraine and the violation of the rights of believers, we have also witnessed cases when the posts of the Russian embassies in Great Britain and Spain spread specific types of disinformation.
In January 2023, a video was disseminated, according to which a church in the village of Ovadne, Volyn Region, Ukraine, was set on fire after its leader refused to come under the authority of the Ukrainian Patriarchate. On January 13, the same video was published by the Russian Embassy in Great Britain.
In fact, the video was shot in 2021 and depicts a fire in a church in Dnipropetrovsk region. The cause of the fire was an electrical wiring problem. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” article:
Videomanipulation, as if Orthodox Churches are being Seized in Ukraine
In January 2023, various videos of theatrical performances held in Greek-Catholic churches in Ukraine were also actively distributed on social networks. According to the descriptions of the videos, they depicted the satanic and pagan performances that took place in Ukrainian Orthodox churches. One such video was published by the Russian Embassy in Spain with the following description: “The new reality of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
In fact, the video was shot in a Greek-Catholic church in Ukraine, and it depicts a theatrical performance related to Christmas traditions. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” article:
Disinformation, as if Ukrainian soldiers insulted a woman with a child sitting in a car
The video, according to which the Ukrainian military stopped a civilian’s car, in which a woman and a child were sitting, and then opened fire on them, was circulated on social networks and Russian media on March 27-28, 2023. The video was posted on Twitter by the account of the Russian Foreign Ministry, but Twitter users in the comments of the post pointed out that the video was fake, after which it was deleted.
However, the same video was also published by the Russian Embassy in Great Britain, and the post is still available. On the same day, the account of the Russian Embassy in France (on the issues of the Council of Europe) retweeted it.
As a result of verification through geolocation, it was established that the video was shot in the territory between Donetsk and Makiivka, temporarily occupied by Russia, where the Ukrainian military could not be present. It is worth noting that relevant information is also given in the attached notice for the post of the Russian Embassy in Great Britain. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” article:
Fabricated Photo of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Carcaiture Graffiti
Since October 2022, the Instagram account “typicaltopical” has been distributing software-edited photos of Zelenskyy’s caricature graffiti painted in various European cities. The photos have been repeatedly verified by “Myth Detector” and other fact-checking organizations. Despite this, on December 15, the account of the Russian Embassy in Spain shared a fake photo, which appeared to show graffiti painted in Madrid.
Disinformation, as if in 2014, Ukrainian nationalists burned 46 people in the trade union house in Odessa
Another widespread disinformation message that the Kremlin has been spreading for years is related to the 2014 fire that broke out during protests at the Trade Union House in Odesa and the deaths caused by the fire. Despite numerous investigations, the Kremlin’s propaganda is claiming that “Ukrainian nationalists” “burned alive” peaceful, pro-Russian demonstrators in the House of Trade Unions. Disinformation and propaganda posts related to the tragedy emerged on April 28, 2022, when the Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia published a statement by the spokesperson of the agency, Maria Zakharova, in which she accused Ukrainian nationalists of burning people. The ministry published another post about the fire in the house of trade unions on May 2, the anniversary of the incident. Twitter accounts of Russian embassies shared both posts on their pages. The first – accounts of Russian embassies in the Netherlands, Montenegro, New Zealand, Lebanon, Estonia, India, Iceland, Qatar, Poland, Israel, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland; as well as the accounts of the Russian Consulates General in Edinburgh, Bonn, Houston and the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Petrozavodsk.
The second one was retweeted by Russian embassies in Israel, Sweden, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Vatican, Greece, Kenya, Seychelles, Netherlands, Philippines, Senegal, Great Britain, Montenegro, Qatar, Ireland, Turkey, Lebanon, Singapore, in Ghana, Hungary, Poland, India, Iceland; Representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia: in Petrozovodsk, Arkhangelsk, Yekaterinburg, Vladikavkaz, Crimea, Ufa; General Consulates of Russia in Edinburgh, Houston, Mumbai, Bonn, Cape Town; Missions of Russia to the European Union, OSCE, Vienna, UNESCO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
On March 25, 2023, the account of the Russian Embassy in the OSCE published a disinformation post regarding the events that took place in the House of Trade Unions, and in turn, this post was retweeted by the account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Checking the retweets, it can be seen that the post was also shared by: accounts of the Russian embassies in New Zealand, Great Britain, Seychelles, Iceland, Albania, and the Russian Mission to the United Nations, as well as the representative office of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Crimea.
The fire in the Odessa trade union house was actively used in Russia’s disinformation campaign against Ukraine for years. According to the main line of the Russian disinformation narrative, nationalist Ukrainians burned the peaceful, pro-Russian demonstrators alive. Actually, the fire, which killed 42 people, was caused by a conflict between two groups of Euromaidan supporters and anti-Maidan supporters. Several investigations related to the incident revealed that the fire started as a result of a mutual conflict, and Molotov cocktails were used by both sides. The Russian side is using the accident to discredit the Euromaidan protest and Ukraine’s European course. See the “Myth Detector” article for more information:
Disinformation, as if Ukrainian actors present themselves as victims of the war
In November 2022, a photo collage showing two women, one wearing a military uniform and the other with blood on her face, was circulated on social media. According to the descriptions of the photo collage, Ukrainians are faking war casualties. The photo collage was published by the Russian Embassy in Great Britain on November 29 with the description “Ukrainian fakes and propaganda work perfectly.
By checking the retweets of the post, it can be seen that it was shared by the accounts of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Smolensk, Crimea and Arkhangelsk, the accounts of the Russian embassies in Turkey, New Zealand and Canada, as well as the account of the Russian Mission to the United Nations.
In fact, the photos were taken in 2016 and show a first aid training. For more information, see:
Manipulation, as if Zelenskyy could have avoided war, but refused to do so
In April of last year, excerpts from a Wall Street Journal article were circulated manipulatively as if Zelenskyy could have avoided war after talking to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but he declined that opportunity. The information was actively covered in the propaganda media of the Kremlin. On April 4, the manipulative article published on the website of Russia Today was published by the account of the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh.
Often, Kremlin propaganda manipulates with the information published by the Western media to increase the credibility of its own lies. In the Wall Street Journal article, there is no information that Zelensky could have avoided the war, but did not want to.
Disinformation, as if Zelenskyy banned opposition parties in Ukraine
Since March 2022, it has been widely reported by the Russian media that Volodymyr Zelensky has banned opposition parties in Ukraine. Russian propaganda hinted to the undemocratic nature of the Kyiv regime. On March 22, the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh published information that Zelensky had banned opposition parties in Ukraine. The post was accompanied by a segment of Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s program in which Carlson talks about Zelensky’s banning of parties.
In fact, in March 2022, Zelenskyy only banned opposition parties linked to Russia. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” article:
Manipulation, as if Zelenskyy called on NATO to carry out preventive nuclear strikes on Russia
In October 2022, Zelenskyy’s comment from a conference held by the Lowy Institute of the Australian Research Center was manipulatively disseminated on social networks. On October 7, the Russian Embassy in Australia published a post, according to which Zelenskyy called on NATO to carry out a preventive nuclear strike on Russia. From the retweets of the post, it can be seen that it was shared by the account of the Russian Embassy in Israel. The next day, the Russian Embassy in Australia disseminated the comment of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov regarding this information.
In fact, when speaking about preventive measures at the conference, Zelenskyy was discussing the issue of imposing sanctions, not a preemptive nuclear strike. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” article:
