The Center for Countering Disinformation [CCD] notes that as of the morning of May 26, the occupiers were distributing several basic examples of manipulation and fakes.
In particular, the Russian Defense Ministry said that russian troops allegedly open two maritime corridors every day to exit the ports of Mariupol, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chornomorsk, Ochakov, Odesa and the Pivdennyi. Propagandists claim that it is not russia that is blocking ports, but that the Kyiv authorities continue to refrain from cooperating with representatives of foreign states and shipowners in ensuring the exit of blocked ships.
The russians are also spreading the statement of the russian envoy to the UN Nebenzi, who said that russia "has numerous testimonies of Ukrainian prisoners that they had orders to shoot at civilians and not to capture russians."
Russian media manipulate information about Ukrainian refugees in the EU. They claim that "outrage at the behavior of refugees is growing in Europe, and Europeans are no longer happy with the idea of receiving Ukrainians in their homes." There are reports that the flow of refugees is "readily used by pimps and drug traffickers," and that refugees themselves "burn Europeans' homes and destroy their families."
Earlier in the week there was a surge in the number of russian propaganda media with the message "Ukraine loses the war" related to the withdrawal of wounded soldiers from Azovstal, which is covered by russian media as a "victory" of the russian Armed Forces.
At the same time, the russian information space actively discussed the fact that the West had almost exhausted its arsenal of sanctions against russia. In particular, it was said that the sanctions allegedly did not have the effect the West had hoped for, and that a full embargo on russian energy could not be imposed, "because some Western countries are critically dependent on russian energy."
Former US Senator Richard Black also spread the Kremlin's narrative of "Russia's imminent victory."