'Ukrainian terrorist battalions kill Russian civilians': foreign fakes for August 21

According to the National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, disinformation and fake news appeared in the world on August 21.

Fake: Irish journalist Chay Bowes wrote on his page in X: "Ukrainian terror battalions murdering civilians in Russia. The innocent people of Donbas experienced it for a decade. Now the whole world can witness the NATO backed terror of Ukraines "Heroes" for themselves."

Refutation: Bowes relays Russian propaganda fakes about the alleged killing of civilians during the Kursk operation to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the eyes of Russia and the world. In fact, the Ukrainian military strictly adheres to the laws and customs of war and international humanitarian law while performing tasks in the Kursk region.

Disinformation: In an article titled "Why Might Ukraine Want Russia To Use Nuclear Weapons?" an author for the online publication Zero Hedge wrote: "Ukraine is still losing to Russia despite its sneak attack in Kursk so its leadership might have calculated, however “irrationally” it seems to objective observers, to provoke Russia into raising the stakes to that level.”

Rebuttal: Ukraine, unlike Russia, does not seek to escalate the war, let alone a nuclear war. By making such statements, the author contributes to the Kremlin's propaganda campaign aimed at demonizing Ukraine and shifting the blame for the alleged escalation of the war onto it.

• Earlier, Canadian journalist Aaron Maté said that NATO was rewarding Ukraine with arms supplies for avoiding diplomacy.