Russian propaganda is distributing a video on anonymous telegram channels with content in a foreign language, in which a funeral cortege On the Shield with the body of a Ukrainian military man passes through a Ukrainian city. In the video, an order is allegedly heard from a loudspeaker for people to kneel before the hero who died in the Kursk region, otherwise people will be fined for disobeying the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, in reality this information is fake.

This was reported by fact-checkers of the Bez Brekhni (No Lies) project. The video was actually filmed in Ukraine, namely in the Ternopil region, because at the 13th second a table with the name of the street Ruska, 17 appears in the frame. Also, the On the Shield campaign is truly a humanitarian project of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, within the framework of which volunteers help transport the bodies of fallen military personnel. However, the original video was published on the YouTube channel of a local website long before the operation in the Kursk region - on July 17. There is not a single voice notification or orders for citizens. Only sirens and emergency signals can be heard. The military man who was being transported by the motorcade, Valentyn Iliin, died on July 13, 2024 and was not involved in the operation in the Kursk direction.

By publishing such messages, Russian propaganda is trying with all its might not only to spread the message about the supposedly large losses of Ukraine during the attack on the Kursk region, but also to create the effect of hostility and confrontation between the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the civilian population. In addition, propagandists are also making attempts to depopulate the civilians of Ukraine during the war, presenting them as “slaves” for bending the knee in front of the motorcade. But in fact, the tradition of honoring fallen soldiers on their knees is one of the important parts of the farewell memorial service, as well as a spontaneous gesture of gratitude to the defenders who laid down their lives for Ukraine. This is how Ukrainians honored their fallen heroes at the beginning of the ATO in 2014.