Russia uses COVID-19 pandemic as pretext to spread fake news - Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

"Disinformation is not only harmful but can even be deadly, especially when it comes to war, as is the case of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Russia has been waging a hybrid war against Ukraine for seven years. During this time, thousands of false stories about Ukraine were broadcast on Russian television and were published in the media," the ministry wrote on its Facebook page.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Russia continued to spread disinformation to cover up its crimes in the temporarily occupied Crimea, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to spread fake news and sow enmity.

"This is what we talked about in our #Fight4Truth campaign, exposing the most common false stories of Russian propaganda. You can watch the video here," the ministry said.

The ministry again called for checking the information before sharing it with others, because "this is about our safety with you."

op