Russian telegram channels are disseminating information that on the border of Ukraine with Poland, employees of the State Border Service are detaining Ukrainian women in order to search for evaders in their families. As “proof” of this, propagandists attach a corresponding video from the Hrushiv-Budomierz checkpoint, in which women communicate with a border guard.

However, this information is not true. The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, having verified the information in the State National Security Service, reported that in fact, technical malfunctions arose at the Hrushiv-Budomierz checkpoint several days ago, which led to problems with border crossing. However, thanks to the coordinated work of the relevant specialists, the registration of citizens resumed on the same day. That is, the propagandists took advantage of the technical delay that arose at the mentioned checkpoint and presented it as a “search for evaders in families”.

By spreading this fake news, Russian propagandists are trying to intimidate Ukrainian society.

A report from the Euronews TV channel is being distributed on social networks. It claims that in western Ukraine, the Territorial center of recruitment and social support workers beat an ethnic Hungarian when they tried to mobilize him.

Fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project established that Euronews did not publish such a video. It was assembled from videos that were not connected to each other.

Through a reverse photo search, it turned out that for the fake Euronews video, propagandists used excerpts of individual videos from open sources. Thus, the footage of the Territorial center of recruitment and social support employees was taken from the report Investigation. Info for April 2024. The video does not mention representatives of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

Propagandists are distributing information in English and Russian on social networks about seventeen-year-old female students who are allegedly preparing for mobilization and “meat assaults”. However, this is fake.

Fact-checkers from Reuters drew attention to it. They found out that the fake was created on the basis of an event on June 11 at the military institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, at which they honored the memory of deceased graduates - Major Oleksii Chubashev and Senior Lieutenant Oleksandr Marchuk. It was attended by military personnel, chaplains, cadets and others.

However, propagandists in their messages decided to focus attention specifically on the female cadets. In a comment received by Reuters fact-checkers from the university press office, it turned out that all cadets present at the event were already 18 years old and there was no campaigning before joining the army.

In addition to the English-language segment of social networks, propagandists also spread this fake news on Russian-language anonymous telegram channels, however, with sexualized overtones. They back this up with a fictitious quote from an unnamed officer about the importance of “feminine qualities” in the Armed Forces.

Russian propagandists spread such fakes in order to discredit Ukraine. They say that they mobilize children, which means Ukraine violates international law, because it lacks strength. In addition, in this way, Russian propagandists spread misogyny and sexism, noting the professional qualities of military personnel in Ukraine, but other subjective things. All this is being done to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Information is being spread online that supposedly in Vinnytsia the head of the local shopping center and joint venture banned the sale of wigs to men so that they would not try to hide from mobilization by dressing up as women. As proof, publications add a photo of the “announcement” from the Territorial center of recruitment and social support.

VoxCheck analysts investigated the case and found out that the head of the Vinnytsia regional Territorial center of recruitment and social support did not give such an order.

In fact, checking the “announcement” photo in Forensically using the ELA tool showed that the photo contained signs of editing. So, the announcement text was created and added to the photo using a photo editor.

Moreover, a reverse photo search on Google showed that for the fake they used a photo of the Topwigs wig store for 2019, which is located in Kyiv. After all, in this advertisement in the photo it is said about a paid fitting of wigs.

On social networks, pro-Russian resources are spreading information that students of the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture will build fortifications for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As “proof” of this, propagandists add a photo of an advertisement that allegedly appeared within the walls of the university and claim that these are the results of the “unsuccessful” Global Peace Summit, which took place on June 15-16, 2024 in Switzerland. However, this is fake.

Ukrinform specialists report that the ad was fabricated in a graphic editor and written with grammatical errors without a specified date. To create the fake, propagandists used a photograph that first appeared in 2012 on the social network VKontakte, which is banned in Ukraine. In a comment to Ukrinform, representatives of KNUCA noted that the unreliability of the publications also confirms that the student groups indicated in the “announcement” really do not exist in the educational institution.

This fake is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian education system, including in the eyes of future applicants from the temporarily occupied territories who would like to receive an education in the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. Previously, we analyzed a fake report about the mobilization of 1000 students of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. 

Russian propagandists spread information that Ukrainian men are given draft notices near Prom.ua goods distribution points. As “proof” they add screenshots from a review site about these stores, where outraged users allegedly complain about the arbitrariness of the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support.

However, this information is not true, VoxCheck experts write. Firstly, the Prom.ua company does not have its own delivery points for goods - delivery is carried out by logistics companies or the goods can be picked up at pick-up points of online stores selling goods on Prom.ua.

Also in both screenshots above you can see the text First independent review site in Ukraine. This is the site OtzyvUA.net. Considering that responses to angry comments are written about the company Prom.ua, to create a fake, propagandists used the section of the site with reviews of this particular company. In the first screenshot one can see the complaint “Lawlessness of the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support!” from a user with the nickname Maryna on May 28. However, such a response does not really exist. There is one review on the platform for May 28 from another user, and it does not concern the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support.

In the screenshot of the propagandists below, under the fake response, there is another one, with the topic “WILD AND CREEPY. NO WORDS” dated May 14 from a user with the nickname Serhii. This review is real, between it and the review for May 28 there are nine other user reviews that are not in the screenshot from the propagandists' post. This means that the fakers took a screenshot of the response from the site, which was immediately after the response “WILD AND CREEPY. NO WORDS” and replaced it with a fake one, which describes “rude actions of Territorial centers of recruitment and social support representatives”. This is also confirmed by the fact that both the fake comment and the real one, which was immediately after “WILD AND CREEPY. NO WORDS”, wrote a user with the nickname Maryna and rated the service one star out of five.

The second screenshot shows a complaint with the subject “given a draft notice” for May 27 from a user with the nickname Vika. There is no such response either. There are no reviews at all on the OtzyvUA website for Prom.ua dated May 27. The fake review had one star rating for the quality of the store's work, two responses, three preferences from other users and contained the address - Stolychne Highway in Kyiv. According to these characteristics, only one response is suitable - dated May 22, and it does not mention the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support and the issuance of draft notices. That is, the propagandists took a screenshot of the original response for May 22, changed the date and text, and wrote a complaint about the alleged distribution of them. This is confirmed by the fact that the text of the service’s response to the original and fake review begins the same way: “Hello, Vika! It’s a pity that you have such an opinion about Prom”.

Moreover, VoxCheck specialists analyzed all reviews on Prom.ua on the platform for 2024 and did not find a single mention of agendas, front and Territorial centers of recruitment and social support. Previously, we refuted the information that Territorial centers of recruitment and social support employees announced an evacuation from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and then handed out draft notices.

Online, on behalf of the alleged National Police of Ukraine, information is being spread that the “military police” are offering Ukrainians a reward for their cooperation in identifying evaders.

However, this information is not true. The National Police of Ukraine did not make any such proposals, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council. Also, there is simply no “military police” in Ukraine.

Such messages are an element of the Russian information psychological operation (IPSO) and are aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. The Center urges Ukrainian citizens not to call the numbers indicated in these messages and not to follow links from unknown sources. At the same time, Russia can use real telephone numbers of Ukrainian government authorities.

For its part, the Cyber ​​Police of Ukraine recalls the importance of verifying facts, information and statements that are disseminated through various communication channels.

Previously, we analyzed the manipulation that the Ukrainian authorities allegedly purchased several hundred SUVs so that “the police would catch the Ukrainians”.

Social networks in the Russian segment provide a photo of a sign allegedly placed in the hospital, which asks relatives of patients to attend the military medical commission. Allegedly, these people will be mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

StopFake analysts write that the news was made up, and the sign was changed in the photo editor. This photo was published back in 2021 on the page of the Kyiv City Psychoneurological Dispensary No. 2. Instead of inviting relatives to attend the Military Medical Commission, the piece of paper actually contains the inscription “Registration”.

And according to the order of the Ministry of Education No. 490 “On approval of Amendments to the Regulations on military medical examination in the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, citizens with the following categories of mental and behavioral disorders are excluded from military registration: severe persistent mental disorders; mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances: alcohol or drugs. Consequently, the vast majority of patients at the psychoneurological dispensary would not be subject to mobilization in any case.

Ads are being circulated on social networks allegedly from the ATB-Market supermarket chain, which states that from June 1, men over 18 years of age are prohibited from entering the chain’s stores without a military ID.

VoxCheck analysts found that the ATB-Market network reported that they had not published such an advertisement. There are numerous inaccuracies in the ad text.

Moreover, Territorial center of recruitment and social support employees, police officers and border guards have the right to check a military ID, but not store employees. Also, the announcement did not indicate the reason for introducing a corresponding ban on entering the store.

Propagandists continue to claim that on June 2, during the visit of a delegation from Iceland to Kyiv, they handed over “a batch of equipment to increase the efficiency of mobilization”, including “detainment restraints”. The reports are supplemented by so-called photographic evidence from the meeting of officials.

Propagandists cite the words of “the head of the delegation, Bjarni Benediktsson, a female”, who allegedly said: “I am sure that the equipment being transferred will help speed up the recruitment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Beat our common enemy, thank you for protecting the entire civilized world. Sometimes you have to, even if you don’t want to, you have to because I can’t!”

But StopFake fact-checkers investigated the case and found out that, first of all, Bjarni Benediktsson is a man; he became Prime Minister of Iceland on April 9, 2024. And in the photographs, Katrin Jakobsdottir is the previous Prime Minister of Iceland. She met with the President of Ukraine in March 2023.

There was no talk of any transfer of “restraint devices for detaining evaders”; this was an invention of Russian propaganda.

Russian propagandists are spreading information that Ukrainians allegedly set fire to the Spektrum Tower skyscraper in Warsaw. They say that Western countries are silent about the participation of Ukrainians and justify this by faulty electrical wiring. The Ukrainians themselves, according to propagandists, are taking revenge in this way for the fact that Poland and the Baltic countries are deporting them back to the war. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that on May 8, 2024, a fire occurred in the Spektrum Tower office building in Warsaw. However, the State Fire Marshal's Office did not then release the cause of the fire or the names or nationalities of those who may have been involved. The Polish media did not report this either. Additionally, the VoxCheck team has not received a response from the Polish police regarding this event.

On May 20, 2024, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Polish law enforcement authorities had detained 9 suspects who were most likely members of a Russian spy ring and involved in arson attacks in Poland. However, Tusk did not note that it was Ukrainians who were involved in the fire at Spektrum Tower in Warsaw.

It is also important to note that Poland and the Baltic countries are not deporting Ukrainians to the war, as the Russians claim. The Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine at one time emphasized that the Polish authorities will not force men of military age to return to Ukraine forcibly.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Russian propagandists are distributing images allegedly taken on the banks of the Tysa River. They say they show a spontaneous memorial intended to commemorate the men “shot by border guards” while illegally crossing the Ukrainian border. In the water one can see flowers, paper boats, as well as the inscriptions “Tysa - Sticks” and “Forgive us all”. Propagandists also claim that these images were published by the news agency Reuters. However, this is not true.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to the case. They found that although the images contained Reuters watermarks, they were not found on the agency's website. A search for the name of the photographer listed in the posts containing the images, Horatiu Negrescu, did not return any results. Moreover, there are no sources confirming the existence of such a “memorial”. The screenshot distributed by propagandists indicates that images from the Tysa River were published on the Reuters website on May 26 and were included in the Photos of the Day section. However, this section appears on the site only on weekdays, and May 26 was a Sunday, therefore, the image for that day was not published. On Monday, May 27, the column included three photographs from Ukraine, showing the consequences of the shelling of the Kharkiv region and the actions of the Ukrainian military. Thus, there is no reliable evidence that these photographs were taken near the Tysa River - it is likely that the attackers created the photographs anywhere and added the Reuters logo in Photoshop.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and cause panic among the local population. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Information is being spread on social networks that from June 1, men over 18 years old without a military ID will not be allowed into ATB supermarkets. They say this is evidenced by an advertisement launched on the screens of a store in Zhytomyr. This message was also picked up by Russian propagandists. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Beyond the News project drew attention to him. They found out that no restrictions were introduced for visiting ATB stores. In addition, in their refutation they referred to the official statement of ATB on the fake:

“The fabricated ad is another attempt by low-quality communicators to hype up a brand on a top topic. We ask everyone to be careful, not to fall for such provocations and check the information on the company’s official information channels!” - Serhii Demchenko, director of communications at ATB, said.

Propagandists spread such fake news to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine and cause panic among the local population. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Propaganda telegram channels are disseminating information that Ukraine has allegedly begun mining the banks of the Tysa River in order to prevent the escape of military personnel abroad.

The Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council verified this information with the speaker of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Andrii Demchenko and reported that the “news” about the mining of Tysa is another fake of Russian propaganda. At the same time, according to Demchenko, to strengthen the border, Ukraine is increasing the number of border guards and using technical surveillance equipment, including video cameras and drones.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that propagandists have spread such disinformation, and its goal is to destabilize the situation in the country. Also, with the help of such fakes, Russian propaganda is trying to discredit state institutions and cause mistrust on the part of Ukrainians. Previously, we refuted information that Ukrainians were allegedly being shot on the Tysa River while fleeing mobilization.

Information is being spread online that three Territorial center of procurement and social support representatives were found dead in Odesa. First, they allegedly beat a civilian man and dragged him into a car. However, later, when the man came to his senses, he allegedly killed the servicemen. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to this case. They found out that the original source of this information systematically spreads fake news about Ukraine and does not provide any evidence for its theses. Reputable Ukrainian or Western media do not have information about the three dead Territorial center of procurement and social support workers. There is also no such information on the website and social networks of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odesa region and on the page of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The original source claims that this “news” was allegedly shared with him by a subscriber whose relative works in the police, but he does not provide any details that can confirm the veracity of these words. Ukrainian media or law enforcement agencies. However, there is information that in May 2024, a resident of the Dnipropetrovsk region attempted to murder a Territorial center of procurement and social support employee. According to the investigation, representatives of the district Territorial center of procurement and social support stopped the suspect to check his documents in the city of Synelnykove. In response to this, the man suddenly pulled out a knife and wounded one of the servicemen. That is, this case was not hidden or kept silent. The media also informed the public that in the Cherkasy region unknown persons threw an explosive device into the yard of a Territorial center of procurement and social support employee, a sergeant of the Armed Forces. There was also a case in Chernivtsi, when a person liable for military service attacked and hit a representative of the Territorial center of procurement and social support, which provoked a retaliatory strike.

With this fake and others like it, Russian propaganda is trying to disrupt mobilization in Ukraine. More fakes on the topic of mobilization can be found here.

A video is being circulated online in which a Kyiv woman claims that the Territorial center  of recruitment and social support representatives are training children in Kyiv schools before they go to war. However, this is fake.

In fact, the video shows practical training on the subject “Defense of Ukraine”, the VoxCheck project reports. According to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of February 26, 2020, the subject “Defense of the Fatherland” in Ukrainian schools was renamed “Defense of Ukraine”. The Ministry of Education and Science also issued recommendations for teaching “Defense of Ukraine” in general secondary education institutions in 2023/2024. According to them, the goals of training are, in particular, to prepare students for the defense of Ukraine, professional orientation of young people to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations, ensuring their own safety and the safety of other people in emergency situations in peacetime and war.

In the lessons from “Defense of Ukraine”, it is recommended for students to conduct practical classes, in particular at the bases of military units, Territorial centers  of recruitment and social support, medical and health institutions and educational institutions. The Territorial centers  of recruitment and social support, as well as local governments, can indeed be involved in the organization and conduct of such events. The classes themselves may include drill techniques and movement without weapons, rehabilitation exercises to restore the body in the field, the basics of self-defense, etc.

“Defense of Ukraine” can be taught by graduates of pedagogical higher education institutions of the relevant specialty, reserve officers with military or other higher education, and also, in the absence of reserve officers, sergeants, reserve soldiers with higher education. And here it is important that for teachers the Ministry of Education and Science proposes to wear military uniforms (without insignia of the Armed Forces of Ukraine), specialized ones, and also medical uniforms. That is, the video depicts a teacher, and not a representative of the Territorial center  of recruitment and social support.

Similar practical classes for students are held in other cities of Ukraine. Completing them does not mean joining the army, since in Ukraine it is prohibited to mobilize citizens aged 18-25 if they are not liable for military service - have not served in military service or do not have military education. In the end, there is no information in any Kyiv or authoritative national Ukrainian publications that Territorial centers  of recruitment and social support trains schoolchildren.

It’s just that now the approach to teaching the “Defense of Ukraine” course in grades 10-11 is being updated and trainers for teachers from the program are being recruited. Read here who can become a coach. One can fill out the selection form until June 4, 2024.

Previously, we refuted the information that Rustem Umierov allegedly called for the mobilization of 16-year-old teenagers, and also analyzed the fake news about the alleged mobilization of 1000 students of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

On social networks, in particular Threads, a photo is being circulated that allegedly shows data from the “leaked” Reserve+ database. It contains information about 1 million people, and it seems to be already being sold on the black market.

In fact, this is a fake photo, write experts from the VoxCheck project. If one carefully examines the screenshot, one will notice inaccuracies indicating that the “leaked Reserve+ database” is fake.

For example, in the “military rank” column one can see such ranks as “sergeant major”, “warrant officer” and “senior warrant officer”, but they were abolished long ago in Ukraine; a different list of ranks has been in effect since October 2020.

Also, the “table” contains an error where it says “lifetime”. Even if this is really a mechanical error, then in Ukrainian the correct word will be “service life”. There are also errors in design. For example, the name of a military unit is indicated in different ways: both together with the instruction “military unit” and only the unit code. Some surnames are written entirely in capital letters, while others are not. There is also a sharp transition between the column with names and phone numbers.

In the end, according to the tax identification number, fact-checkers from VoxCheck found that some of the people on the list are over 60 years old, and accordingly, they do not need to update the data, because they have been removed from the military register. This can be checked using the Public Services Portal and entering the identification code from the table. It is also unclear why the addresses and phone numbers were blurred, because if the data is true and has already been leaked to the darknet, then there is no point in hiding it.

Russian media are disseminating information that Ukraine plans to “take hostage” relatives and friends of athletes who are members of the Olympic team. In particular, they quote the acting Minister of Sports of Ukraine Matvii Bidnyi, who allegedly proposed that athletes traveling to the Olympics leave a trusted person of military age, and if the athlete does not return, this person will immediately be mobilized and sent to the front.

However, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine did not make such statements. Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They also found out that not a single Ukrainian media, official departmental communication channels or government websites reported such a proposal from Matvii Bidnyi. This information can only be found in propaganda media.

Moreover, such a proposal, according to StopFake, is absurd, since in Ukraine, due to martial law, there is a general mobilization of all citizens liable for military service, which does not exclude the category of “relatives or friends of an athlete”. During martial law in Ukraine, all men 18-60 years old are subject to mobilization. Some workers of critical companies, government agencies and athletes may be protected from mobilization. Athletes participating in international competitions may also be allowed to travel abroad. However, not everyone receives reservations, and many athletes voluntarily went to defend the country from the first days of a full-scale war.

Matvii Bidnyi, to whom propagandists attributed this “suggestion”, spoke about the mobilization of athletes as follows: “... It is important to understand that men must defend Ukraine so that we have a future, in particular a sports one. This applies not only to men, because at the front women also fight. In the sports environment, we do not see anyone hiding from mobilization. A draft notice will come - everyone will fulfill their duty”.

Propagandists spread such fakes in order to disrupt the mobilization process in Ukraine and strengthen their message about the “politicization of sports”. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on the topic of mobilization.

Propagandists are distributing a video on social networks in which a Ukrainian serviceman allegedly says that three days before the shooting, his “brothers” were grabbed on the street by representatives of the Territorial center of recruitment and social support and sent to the front line, where they immediately died. The caption for the video is: “Show this to everyone while there are still men left, so that they don’t even think about going there!!!!! Khazarian faces and Territorial centers’ employees are corrupt nits... Here's mobilization for you... They were at home for another three or four days, and now... They are immediately sent to certain death!!! Without any preparation, just like meat”. The video has already been viewed more than 200 thousand times on Meta and shared more than 3.4 thousand times.

In fact, this video is staged and probably created by Russian propaganda to discredit the mobilization campaign in Ukraine. Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They found that the video had several obvious signs of being staged. Firstly, the voiceover tries to speak Ukrainian, but for native speakers it is clear that the native language of the author of the video is Russian. The voice-over text, read in a calm and emotionless voice, is full of anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

The author of the video claims to show the consequences of mobilization, showing the supposed bodies of three dead “brothers” who were allegedly mobilized just a few days ago. However, it is very difficult to recognize the “dead” in the video - the bodies lie at a considerable distance from the camera, and their faces are hidden. The author of the video also claims that a group of soldiers was hit by artillery fire, but no blood or shrapnel was visible on the bodies. All the “dead” have typical Ukrainian surnames - Morozenko, Gontarenko, Sidorenko, but call signs are not given.

In addition, recruits could not be sent to the front lines three to four days after receiving draft notices, as stated in the video. After mobilization, all recruits undergo military training at training grounds, which can take several weeks. Also, the video does not indicate the name of the military unit where these soldiers served; there are no chevrons or other special signs. The date and location of the shooting remain unclear. Instead of grass, typical of May in Ukraine, it is clear that the video was filmed in early spring, but for some reason was published only now.

The video has a caption in Russian, “Valkyrie of Light”, and in the center of the frame is an empty vodka bottle, placed to discredit the Ukrainian army. It is unclear why the “real Ukrainian military man” who allegedly filmed this video did not remove the bottle. The video was distributed from an account that masquerades as Ukrainian, but regularly publishes Russian narratives about mobilization in Ukraine.

Propagandists spread fake news to undermine the mobilization campaign and discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

In the Russian segment of social networks they claim that the property of “Ukrainian mobilization evaders” seems to have begun to be put up for auction. Proof of this is a screenshot from the Ukrainian Universal Exchange (UUB), where such an announcement was allegedly published.

“The property of Ukrainian residents began to be put up for auction, including apartments. You can now lose property in this country just because you don’t want to die for the Zelenskyi regime”, the users conclude.

StopFake fact-checkers took up the case and checked whether an advertisement for the sale of an “evader’s” apartment was actually published on one of the Ukrainian asset sales platforms - it turned out that this was not the case. The UUB website states that in fact the apartment belongs to the bankrupt person. That is, we are talking about a person who, for example, was unable to pay their loan obligations and because of which he or she was considered insolvent. Consequently, their property was put up for auction.

But it is not the case about the “Ukrainian evaders”.

Russian telegram channels are distributing a video that allegedly shows dead Ukrainian soldiers mobilized in different cities of Ukraine 3-4 days before they died.

However, after analyzing this video, the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council discovered that it was a fake. In fact, the video was directed and edited by Russian propagandists in order to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine.

Firstly, the supposedly dead “mobilized” military clothes are too clean and there is no blood on their uniforms. Secondly, the image quality shows that the video was shot on a professional camera and not on a phone. In addition, it is impossible to determine the location of the shooting. There is also the possibility that the sounds of explosions in the background are superimposed on a separate soundtrack.

In the end, mobilized Ukrainians first undergo training before being sent to the front, the Center adds. Previously, we analyzed a fake propaganda video that the Russian military allegedly captured a pregnant Ukrainian soldier.

Russian propagandists are disseminating information that in Kyiv, employees of the Territorial recruitment and social support centers ordered creative advertising to be placed with the text that “life has no meaning”, “it will only get worse”, “you can’t get out of depression”, and an appeal to call their contact number.

However, this information is not true. Territorial recruitment and social support centers have nothing to do with the appearance of texts with such calls on the streets of Kyiv. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

In fact, the contact number and text on the citylights belong to the call center #вартожити (Worth Living), the charitable foundation of Ukrainian journalist Yanina Sokolova, which provides free psychological support to Ukrainian civilians.

After criticism about the unethical design and text on the city lights, Sokolova apologized to the Ukrainians, from whom this idea caused the opposite reaction from the desired one, and promised to replace the texts.

This fake is another attempt by Russian propaganda to disrupt the mobilization campaign in Ukraine and discredit the activities of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine workers. Read more fakes on the topic of mobilization here.

Propagandists are distributing a video allegedly released by Reuters, which states that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi may pass a law to revoke the passports and driver’s licenses of Ukrainians abroad. According to the video, these norms will come into effect on June 1, which will oblige all Ukrainian men from 18 to 60 years old to return to Ukraine. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that there was no such video on the Reuters website or social networks. Also, there is no corresponding bill on the Verkhovna Rada website, and Ukrainian media did not report the possibility of making such a decision.

In addition, the video is a compilation of publicly available footage. The first frame with Volodymyr Zelenskyi is taken from his speech in the Verkhovna Rada on July 1, 2022, where he did not mention the revocation of passports or driver’s licenses and did not talk at all about men of military age who are abroad. Footage from the vehicle checkpoint in 2022 was distributed by Ukrainian media, citing the Western Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Footage of Ukrainians standing in line at passport offices was published by international media and the Ukrainian military in April 2024.

The fake video also states that since April 22, about 50 men of military age have returned to Ukraine, but the source of this data is not specified, and the State Border Service did not provide such statistics. The agency reports weekly only the total number of border crossers, without indicating age and gender.

Russian resources create such fakes, releasing them through the publication of authoritative international media, in order to cause panic among Ukrainians both in Ukraine and abroad, as well as to disrupt the mobilization process. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

Russian propagandists are spreading a story on telegram channels, allegedly published by the Italian publication Il Messagero, in which Vatican Cardinal Mario Zenari accuses the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba of “genocide” of his own people. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found that Cardinal Zenari did not make such statements, and the story was not published in any Italian publication.

The logo is visible in the video. A Google Images search for this logo revealed that it belongs to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. However, this publication did not publish such a story either on its website or on its pages on social networks. Russians often use logos of well-known media to make their fakes more credible. In addition, the original Il Messaggero videos have a logo in the lower right corner, while vertical videos do not add a logo at all.

Propagandists claim that, first of all, Cardinal Zenari criticized Kuleba on the Vatican News channel. However, Vatican News is the news portal of the Holy See, which only has a radio and YouTube channel, but does not have its own TV channel. There was no such story on the Vatican News YouTube channel. The last news about Mario Zenari on the Vatican News website appeared on April 10, 2024 and concerned the lives of civilians in Syria, while the Russians began distributing the video in question on April 26.

In addition, Russian disinformers edited videos from different, unrelated recordings. For example, the fragment where the cardinal speaks in black clothes is taken from his 2022 interview about the Open Hospitals project in Syria, where he did not mention Ukraine. Part of the video with Dmytro Kuleba was taken from a recording of his meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó on January 29, 2024.

Russians are also speculating on the topic of changes to the mobilization law, citing a quote from Kuleba’s message about limiting consular services for men of military age abroad. We are talking about obtaining passports; men from 18 to 60 years old can now only obtain them in Ukraine. However, these restrictions do not apply to persons with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, victims of Russian actions, those who left for treatment, etc.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists are trying to disrupt the mobilization process in Ukraine. Detector Media also refuted other fakes on this topic.

A video depicting hundreds of SUVs with beacons and symbols of the National Police of Ukraine is being circulated on social networks. The videos are accompanied by the caption: “Are we going to collect from people for cars for the front?” In the comments to the video, some users are outraged - they say that the government, allegedly ignoring the needs of the front, purchased these cars for the police to “make it easier to catch evaders”.

In fact, this video is being circulated without proper context and does not depict the actual events. Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this.

They found out that the video actually shows 635 crossovers with environmentally friendly Mitsubishi Outlander engines, which were purchased back in 2017 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the Kyoto Protocol. Ukraine ratified the Kyoto Protocol on February 4, 2004. According to the protocol, a maximum permissible limit for greenhouse gas emissions is established for each country. Ukraine did not use its entire quota - the remainder was sold to Japan for money or in exchange for goods. This video was published by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in May 2017.

Its representatives noted that these vehicles are intended for the needs of patrol police, rapid response teams, prevention units and bomb technicians.

Propagandists pick up such manipulations in order to disrupt the mobilization process in Ukraine and cause public distrust in state institutions. Detector Media also refuted other Russian manipulations of mobilization in Ukraine.