Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that in Ukraine it will be prohibited to film and photograph the work of employees of Territorial centers of procurement and social support. According to propagandists, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine asked the Office of the President to adopt such a ban by analogy with the punishment for stopping the work of air defense.

In fact, this information is not true, write experts on the VoxCheck project. The primary source of information is a pro-Russian telegram channel supervised by Russian intelligence services. When spreading the “news” about the alleged initiative to ban the filming of the activities of representatives of the Territorial centers of procurement and social support, they refer to an anonymous “source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. It is unlikely that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this information to the telegram channel, which is supervised by Russia.

In addition, this “news” was published on December 26, 2023. Then again on January 7th - this time they referred to an anonymous source in the Office of the President. However, as of April 2024, the military or political leadership of Ukraine had not indicated their intention to introduce a corresponding ban. The corresponding bill was not submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. There is no real evidence that this initiative is actually being implemented.

During martial law, it is prohibited to film and publish the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in particular, to transmit information about the location of air defense forces. However, there is no separate ban on filming Territorial centers of procurement and social support employees. At the same time, earlier the people's deputies submitted an amendment before the second reading of the draft law on mobilization, which proposed to enshrine at the legislative level a rule according to which the police and representatives of Territorial centers of procurement and social support will carry out photo and video recording of the process of checking citizens' documents. And on April 16, 2024, the president signed the law. These changes, in particular regarding photo and video recording, will come into force on May 18, 2024.

This fake is part of the Russian information campaign to disrupt mobilization in Ukraine. Read more materials on this topic here.

Pro-Kremlin propagandists are spreading information that the television tower in Kharkiv, which was hit by the Russian army, allegedly contained equipment for Ukrainian air defense systems and fire guidance systems for Russian territory.

However, this information is fake. In fact, the Russians hit the TV tower to weaken communications in the city and limit Kharkiv residents' access to information from Ukrainian media. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. On the other hand, the occupiers wanted to spread the signal of their propaganda from Russian territory, which fueled panic among the residents of Kharkiv.

The head of the local Regional State Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, states: “Now the majority of residents of Kharkiv and nearby settlements already have satellite and cable television. There are also mobile communications and the Internet”. However, it will be possible to completely restore the TV tower only after the end of hostilities.

It is worth noting that in 2022, the Russians have already attacked TV towers in Rivne and Kyiv with missiles. This is additional confirmation that Russia is a terrorist country and that it is waging war against Ukraine using terrorist methods.

Russian telegram channels write that Moscow and Kyiv held the first face-to-face negotiations on the exchange of children in Qatar. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia, Mariia Lvova-Bielova.

In fact, there were no direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, according to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. The return of Ukrainian children and negotiations are taking place through the mediation of Qatar and Qatari diplomats. This was stated by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets: “Ukraine is negotiating with Qatar. I had a meeting with the Qatari delegation. It was through the mediation of Qatar that we returned and continue to return Ukrainian children”.

In addition, the American Institute for the Study of War also denied this information, calling it an attempt by Russia to reduce its responsibility for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Read also: The executive director of the the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union allegedly said that children rescued from abduction by Russia want to return there

Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that 41 schools will be closed in the Sumy region in 2025, allegedly due to lack of funding. Propagandists also claim that in the region, by order of the head of the Sumy Regional State Administration, the administration staff was increased by seven people to carry out mobilization.

This is actually fake. In the case of schools, it is not about closing, but about reorganizing educational institutions with fewer than 45 students. This will happen in accordance with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, which was approved in March 2024 - from September 1, 2025, the state educational subvention will not be allocated to schools with fewer than 45 students.

In the Sumy region today, 41 institutions have less than 45 students, and many of these institutions have 37, 36 and 30 students, that is, there are 1-3 children in a class. This was announced by the director of the Department of Education and Science of the Sumy Regional State Administration Victoria Hrobova.

The staff of the Regional State Administration was increased in order to improve its structure. This has nothing to do with the organization of mobilization. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council.

Read also: Ukraine is allegedly preparing to mobilize school teachers