Despite the fact that the headline claims that “Ukraine attacked the Russians”, the article actually talks about the attack of the Ukrainian security forces on the troops of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic. The so-called LNR is a province located in eastern Ukraine and controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Given the fact that Luhansk is part of Ukraine, not Russia, describing the attack by Ukrainian forces as an “attack on the Russians” is manipulative, as it implies that Ukraine attacked Russia, which is not true. The news was taken from the website Novosti, and the Serbian websites Alo and Pravda equipped it with the same manipulative headline suggesting how “Ukraine attacked the Russians”. In its second headline, Alo online wrote about the “new war chapter” between Russia and Ukraine, in an article published in mid-November 2021:
The article actually talks about accusations from Ukraine, which claim that Russia blocked the import of coal from Kazakhstan to Ukraine. The article states that the Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, Maxim Nemchinov, described the situation as an “energy war”.
However, the title of this article, which mentions the so-called energy war, leads readers to the wrong conclusion that Ukraine has started an armed conflict with Russia. The website Slobodna Bosna also informed its readers on several occasions that the war had started in Ukraine. Article published on January 23, 2022, is equipped with a title suggesting that “the war is starting”:Ukraine is in a state of energy war with Russia, Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Maxim Nemchinov told 1+1 television.
The article talks about how the inhabitants of the border areas shared stories on social networks about the events on the Russian-Ukrainian border, and how Russian troops were approaching the border. Although the article’s title quotes the alleged message that “the war is starting”, the text itself explains that the announcements on social networks do not state whether the official order to launch the invasion has come. Also, the article does not mention the alleged panic message of the Ukrainians, which claims that the war is starting.RUSSIAN SHIPS AND TANKS SET OFF, UKRAINIANS EXCHANGE PANIC MESSAGES: “War is starting …”
The article was originally published by the website Nova, with a similar headline stating that “war is under way”, and was later shared by numerous websites in the region. A few days later, on January 26, 2022, Slobodna Bosna published another article “embellished” with a sensationalist title, claiming that it has “begun”:Although the announcements do not state whether the order to start the invasion has already come, they give some rather concrete indications that such a scenario is being intensively prepared and that many soldiers think so.
The article, whose title dramatically states that it has “begun”, explained that the American embassy in Kiev called on its citizens to leave Ukraine because the security situation is unpredictable, and not because the war has officially started in that country. Although the title states that it has “begun”, thus implying the beginning of an armed conflict, there are no such claims in the text itself. On February 2, 2022, the website Cafe published an article with the title stating that it has “begun”, this time featuring a question mark: The article, whose title dramatically states that it has “begun”, explained that the American embassy in Kiev called on its citizens to leave Ukraine because the security situation is unpredictable, and not because the war has officially started in that country. Although the title states that it has “begun”, thus implying the beginning of an armed conflict, there are no such claims in the text itself. On February 2, 2022, the website Cafe published an article with the title stating that it has “begun”, this time featuring a question mark:IT HAS BEGUN: The American embassy called on the citizens of the USA to leave Ukraine urgently
The article reports on alleged artillery fire in Donetsk, a separatist-controlled Ukrainian province. The article refers to posts from social networks, and it is emphasized that it is not known who is firing artillery.
The title on this website also implies that the war has begun. Although, as we have already mentioned, sporadic conflicts in the east of Ukraine have been going on since the signing of the ceasefire agreement, such titles imply the resumption of the military conflict, although that is not the case. Articles and reports on such sporadic conflicts, as is the case with some of the previously mentioned articles, incorrectly and manipulatively imply that these two countries officially started a war. By publishing sensationalist headlines on this topic, these websites aim to provoke negative emotions of fear and panic among their readers and thus gather as many clicks as possible on their articles. Such an “inciting” approach to this sensitive topic is not in the public interest and is not in line with ethical principles and professional standards of journalism. Therefore, we give all articles that were the subject of this analysis a clickbait rating. We also rate the articles that claim that “Ukraine attacked the Russians” and that “Kiev opened a new war chapter with Russia” as manipulation of facts. We give the rating of disinformation to the article published by Slobodna Bosna, whose title states that it has “begun”. We give the same assessment to the articles whose titles state that “the war is starting”. (Author: Nerma Šehović, Raskrinkavanje.ba)Heavy fire echoes in Donetsk, it was published on social networks.
According to the description of the videos posted on social networks, heavy artillery fire has been echoing in that part of Ukraine since early morning.
Another video states that the artillery is echoing in the Kirovski district.
For now, it is not clear who is firing that artillery.