Millions of Ukrainians headed to Romania when Russia attacked their country. Instead of a land of poor and hostile bandits, as the propaganda had described it, they found the help and shelter they needed - even if there were also marginal voices spreading, as everywhere in Europe, disinformation about refugees. Some of them stayed, others moved on. Veridica has the stories of some of them, from the first days of the war until now.
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Kyiv politicians want to prolong the war against Russia indefinitely in order to accumulate as much wealth as possible, the Russian government media writes, quoting a commentary published by a left-wing German newspaper. In fact, Ukraine expressed willingness to take part in peace negotiations, but later rejected the idea due to Moscow’s ultimatums and its attacks on civilian objectives, also as a result of victories obtained on the ground by the Ukrainian army.
The meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers held in Bucharest over November 29-30 was not overlooked by Russian officials, nor propaganda media. Moscow interpreted the event in its own, different key, without however introducing new elements in terms of rhetoric. The allegations brought to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance are the same: NATO has reached beyond the purposes it was originally designed for, it is promoting an all-out war against Russia while using the territory of other states, it is supplying Kyiv with weapons, prolonging the war indefinitely.
The authorities in Chisinau are reselling to the EU, at higher prices, part of the natural gas supplied by Gazprom, according to a false narrative in the Russian media. In reality, Chisinau supplies Transnistria with all the gas it currently buys from Gazprom and uses other sources for the consumers on the right bank of the Dniester.
The United States and its Western allies have been arming Ukraine since 2014 in order for it to start a war with Russia, writes the Russian press, which resumes, in another form, the narrative according to which the West and Ukraine are responsible for the war. In reality, Ukraine was invaded by Russia, and the provision of arms to Kyiv was a reaction to Russia’s aggression.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are mobilizing only Russian speakers in the southeast, so that once they are dead Kyiv can bring Ukrainian speakers from western Ukraine to these depopulated areas, reads a propaganda narrative disseminated by the Russian government media. In fact, losses on the battlefield prove that the army comprises many servicemen from western Ukraine, and the percentage of eastern recruits have gone up due to their resistance to Russia’s large-scale invasion.
The Russian independent media writes that losses among the ranks of the recently mobilized will soon reach 100 thousand people, but that’s not going to stop Putin. On the contrary, the Russian president will send every young recruit to the frontline as well. Independent journalists also tell the story of a couple recently arrested in Sweden, tied to the Russian military intelligence and the people who poisoned Sergey and Yulia Skripal.
Russia is careful when bombing Ukrainian infrastructure because it knows this brotherly people does not support the neo-Nazis in power, reads a false propaganda narrative published by Russian media. The article quotes a controversial American political theorist, known for spreading countless conspiracy theories and for his enthusiastic support of Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has displaced a huge number of Ukrainian refugees. Millions of people fled Ukraine, heading to other European countries, although many chose to relocate to some of the country’s safer areas. Russia has been trying to turn this crisis to its advantage. In EU countries, it has been promoting false narratives designed to generate public hostility towards Ukrainian refugees. In the case of Ukrainians relocated at national level, Russian propaganda sought to focus on fueling public unrest and internal tensions.
The Russian independent media writes that a record-high number of inmates has disappeared from Russian prisons, after having been enrolled by Putin’s friend in the war against Ukraine. On the other hand, focus groups commissioned by the Kremlin reveal that the population opposes the war, contrary to the Kremlin’s wishes. Russian journalists also describe how generals guarding Putin want to use priests, hypnotists and psychics to bolster his protection.
Originally developed as surveillance aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – commonly known as drones – underwent a number of transformations, from aircraft used to carry out tactical airstrikes to weapons included in the arsenal of modern warfare, the same as artillery and aviation. Drones play a key role in the war in Ukraine as well, where in recent weeks they have been primarily used as instruments of terror.
With its sovereignty at the mercy of the great Western powers, Romania is now turning itself into a doormat for Kyiv and dismissed its Minister of Defense, Vasile Dâncu, just because he spoke of peace, according to the former Prime Minister, Viorica Dăncilă. The narrative very much resembles Russia's, according to which Ukraine - the country under attack - is the one that does not want peace. Viorica Dăncilă has also promoted the false narrative that Ukraine undermines Romania’s agriculture and, implicitly, its economy.
The war in Ukraine is not going well for Russia and the regime of Vladimir Putin, who threw his country into the affair. Although Putin forced all his people to say in February 2022 that Ukraine must be destroyed, the final decision was his and he will answer for it, alone or with others. And that’s why many Western and Russian analysts started wondering whether Putin's “reign” is coming to an end and who might succeed him.
According to the ruling of the International Court of Justice, Russia was not involved in the downing of aircraft MH17, which was transiting the airspace of Donbas in 2014, pro-Kremlin media writes. In fact, the Dutch tribunal has recognized Russia’s involvement in this crime against civilians.
The Republic of Moldova wants to give Transnistria to Ukraine in exchange for a part of the region of Odessa. Kyiv might thus get its hands on the munition warehouse Russia is currently controlling in Transnistria, according to a false narrative disseminated by the Russian media. In fact, a territory exchange was never in the cards. As regards the munition storehouse, the Republic of Moldova has for many years asking that the munition be transferred to Russia and that this country withdraw from its territory.
Putin's Russia is becoming more and more like Stalin's Russia, according to journalist Andrei Soldatov, one of the most respected experts on the Russian secret services. In an interview with Veridica and TVR, Soldatov explained how Putin corrupted Russian society, why the FSB is the successor to the Soviet KGB, what the methods and mentality of intelligence officers are, and how they came to believe and trust him also convince Putin that a war in Ukraine was necessary.
The Western secret services were preparing an attempt on the life of the Russian president during the meeting of the G20 leaders, that is why Vladimir Putin refused to participate in the summit, writes the pro-Kremlin press, also stating that the West regularly resorts to terrorism. In reality, there was no threat of an attack, Putin refusing to come to Indonesia amid the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Kherson. Moreover, Russia itself is resorting to terrorist methods, trying to demoralize the population of Ukraine through bombings.
According to a propaganda narrative circulated in the Russian media, the French are calling on their government to stop its policy of sanctions against Russia and also stop supporting Ukraine because the interests of its citizens must come first. The thesis is substantiated only by quoting one far-right politician.
The Russian independent media revealed how Russian emigrants in the United States are being used to promote the Kremlin’s agenda, particularly after the annexation of Crimea and in the context of the war in Ukraine. Independent journalists also noticed that official webpages of Russian authorities did not publish the map of territories annexed in this war, as well as the fact that information on budget spending is now unavailable, preventing the media from estimating war casualties.
For the Baltic States and NATO, the best outcome of the war in Ukraine would be a complete defeat of Russia, according to the president of the Baltic Security Foundation, Olevs Nikers. However, Nikers feels that the most likely scenario for the end of the war would be a peace agreement, which means that the Baltic states and the Western world will be forced to deal with Russia on the long run.
After the visit to Kherson of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a gruesome massacre of civilians will commence, which is why residents are asked to steer clear of the city center, reads a propaganda narrative promoted by Russian government media. In fact, both the Ukrainian army as well as Kyiv leaders were greeted as liberators, while new information started to surface after Russia’s retreat regarding war crimes Russian troops might have committed.
American soldiers from the well-known 101st Airborne Division have been deployed in Romania also with the aim of attacking the separatist Transnistrian region, in particular the power plant in this region, a controversial Russian political scientist claims. The false narrative was taken over by Politnavigator, a Kremlin-affiliated website.
The last round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine as part of the war launched by Moscow took place in March and did not produce any results. For over eight months, the negotiation process is in a deadlock, neither party being willing to accept peace at any cost: both Kyiv and Moscow want victory.
The latest developments in Chisinau suggest that the Republic of Moldova seems to have become the target of a hybrid war launched by the Russian Federation to topple the current pro-European power and bring that state back into Moscow's sphere of influence. The authorities in Chisinau are forced to face an unprecedented energy crisis, successive increases in the prices of the most important products and services, but also protests organized by parties believed to be backed by the secret services in Moscow. Adding to these challenges is the deepening security crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine, particularly the missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent weeks.
Whole battalions of Russians have been annihilated on the Ukrainian frontline, and soldiers are left behind by their commanders, the Russian independent media writes. Independent journalists also reveal how propaganda officers are trained to reflect one of the biggest failures of Putin’s war – the retreat from Kherson
Ukraine will cede the Lviv region to Poland and will pass a law on this matter before the end of the year, according to the Russian media. In reality, no such bill is registered or discussed in Ukraine, and the information is just a fabrication of Russian propaganda.
Belarus and Russia are forced to create a joint military group to defend themselves against a potential NATO aggression, fascist provocations by Poland and terrorist actions by Ukraine, according to propaganda narratives carried by the two countries’ media. In reality, Belarus is not targeted by any foreign power, but it has allowed Russia to use its territory for the aggression against Ukraine.
Syria remains a country ravaged by conflict and a deep humanitarian crisis, a place of conflicting interests of multiple state and non-state actors, says the Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria, Dan Stoenescu*. In an interview for TVR and Veridica, Dan Stoenescu explained that, although it doesn’t recognize the Assad regime, the EU keeps communication channels open in order to provide assistance to the Syrian people. The EU official also spoke about the link between the war in Syria and the one in Ukraine.
The unemployed in Ukraine will be sent to the front, according to a false narrative disseminated by Russian state media. In reality, the government in Kyiv wants to attract people who have lost their jobs into the process of rebuilding the Ukrainian infrastructure, part of a project symbolically called the “Recovery Army”.
In light of the severe shortage of servicemen, the government of Ukraine is offering up to 20 thousand hryvnya (tantamount to some 500 USD) for every man a citizen brings to military enlistment offices, the Russian government media writes. In fact, such methods are illegal on the territory of Ukraine, and Russia is the one that is forcefully recruiting servicemen to offset its losses.
The Russian independent media writes that a third of Russian workers have left the country after the mobilization decree was passed. Journalists also note that fake news targeting the West stemming from Putin’s speech at the Valdai club could be true only if they pointed to Putin’s own actions.
