The Russians launched a large-scale information campaign aimed at romanticizing evasion of mobilization and the evaders themselves. Videos have systematically begun to appear on TikTok and other social networks in which supposedly Ukrainian men film themselves abroad on vacation and call themselves “evaders”. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Such content quickly gains views and comments from the audience - approving and critical, but discussions under these videos only propel them into trends. “Folk” songs have even been created for such videos, the lyrics of which always contain the main message – praise of the evaders, the GUR adds.

The following things indicate a targeted Russian information campaign:

the synchronicity of the appearance of numerous songs and videos “heroizing” men who refuse to stand up in defense of their own country;

anonymity of video authors;

promotion of this content by organized groups of bots.

The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, Lieutenant Andrii Kovalenko, commented on the situation: “The pseudo-flash mob with the hashtag evader is another hostile IPSO. This is a classic technology of splitting society, which uses the same principle as the technology of splitting by language, only in this case the enemy incites hatred, leveling the constitutional obligation”.

Discrediting mobilization, sowing discord among Ukrainian society, and undermining Ukraine’s ability to defend itself are the main goals of this IPSO.

Read also: “Defending the Fatherland is a punishment”, “the party of draft dodgers would defeat the Servant of the People”. Theses of Russian propaganda on mobilization in Ukraine are in the MediaSapiens section.