Top Ten Fakes of Russian Propaganda about Ukraine in 2015

Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 26 – With nearly a week left in 2015, it may be too soon to close the book on Moscow’s lies about Ukraine for this year; but Kyiv blogger Aleksey Minakov has provided a useful list of what he describes at the top then fakes of Russian propaganda for 2015 (nv.ua/opinion/minakov/top-10-fejkov-rossijskoj-propagandy-v-2015-godu-88173.html).

            The ten in order are:

1.      “Drunken Negroes dance on tanks and poke people with automatic weapons in Debaltsevo.” That is what LifeNews, Vladimir Putin’s favorite channel reported. One can only hope that those “journalists” who invented this fabrication are among those who will lose their jobs in the Kremlin’s “optimization” program.

2.      “The flood of tourists to Crimea is growing at unprecedented rates.” NTV reported this, saying that visitors were up 70-80 percent over 2014, forgetting to add that few went there last year because of Russian military actions and the annexation.

3.      Moscow Media Continued to Say Ukrainians Shot Down the Malaysian Airliner.  Russian media outlets continue to claim Ukrainian forces shot down the plane in 2014, but they are also repeating the story that the passengers on board were already dead, an addition that only highlights the falseness of their claims.

4.      “Yatsenyuk fought in Chechnya and took part in the torture and shooting of Russian soldiers.” Moscow investigators made this outrageous claim which was later “contradicted even by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov.”

5.      “Saakashvili had sex with an underage transvestite.”  NTV reported this gem, something so over the top that Mikheil Saakashvili’s press secretary didn’t even both to respond to it.

6.      “A drunken Poroshenko who was rushing to Putin was removed from the Kyiv-Moscow flight.”  “Moskovsky komsomolets,” Ren-TV, and other Moscow outlets all reported this. Other more independent media pointed out that this was utter nonsense.

7.      Moscow Social Media Offered a Photo from 1980 to Suggest Ukrainians had Beheaded a Motherland Statue Now.  The use of photos from the past or even photoshopped has become a regular feature of Russian coverage of Ukrainian events.

8.      Ukraine Supposedly Part of ISIS. Another totally made up video clip that made the rounds in Russian media this year.

9.      “Thousands of Ukrainians Celebrated Downing of Plane Filled with Russians in Egypt.”  Kremlin trolls left this message on various social sites and then the Russian media picked them up as if they were genuine. In fact, Ukrainians brought flowers to the Russian embassy in Kyiv to show their sympathies with the victims.

10.   Ukrainian Men Under 45 “Will Be Banned from Leaving Ukraine.”  Unfortunately, this Russian invention was picked up by Ukrainian outlets, forcing the Ukrainian general staff to post on Facebook the following warning: “Father Frost won’t visit those who spread rumors and untested information.”