A new "prediction" about when the war in Ukraine will end is spreading on TikTok. According to this forecast, it should happen on May 18.
What does StratCom Centre say about fake news about the end terms of Russia’s war against Ukraine?
The video's author argues that May 18 "is the end of the military exercises that began in 2022."
The truth: the author of the video refers to the plan for international military exercises, which the Ukrainian authorities approved in 2022 even before the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the Center said in a statement.
They also add that, according to the video's author, if you add up all the days of training, you get 815—that is, they say, how long the war will last (until May 18, 2024).
But these "calculations" are absurd. First, the document refers to training, not the number of days of actual warfare. Second, adding days of different types of training already made no sense—they should have been held in parallel in different regions of Ukraine, the rebuttal says.
Videos with "war end dates" appear far from the first time. This has been happening regularly since 2022, and none of these "predictions" have come true. Such videos are harmful because they give a false sense of hope that the war is about to end.
Videos with "war end dates" appear far from the first time. This has been happening regularly since 2022, and none of these "predictions" have come true. Such videos are harmful because they give a false sense of hope that the war is about to end.
What is known about the new Russian fake about the offensive on the Sumy region?
Russian propagandists claim that Russian troops "want to advance on the Sumy region" to draw the reserves of Ukrainian defenders away from Kupiansk, Kharkiv region.
The Russians are also spreading fakes about "the preparation of the Ukrainian offensive from the Sumy region to the Kursk region." As "evidence", they use Ukrainian stories about the training of border guards.
The Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) points out that in this way, the Russians are trying to justify their shelling of populated areas of the Sumy region and intimidate residents of border towns and villages to force them to leave there.
In fact, Russia does not have sufficient reserves for an attack on the Sumy region, the CCD emphasised.
