Spilnota Detector Media

Fake Video of an allegedly “Ukrainian military man” talking about the “horrors 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.

Fake The property of “Ukrainian evaders” allegedly began to be put up for auction

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”.

Fake Three newly mobilized Ukrainian men allegedly died immediately in the war

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.

Fake Creative advertising from the Territorial recruitment and social support centers allegedly appeared on the streets of Kyiv

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.

Fake Reuters allegedly published a video about Zelenskyi’s new bill on canceling passports and driver’s licenses of Ukrainians abroad

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.

Fake Vatican cardinal allegedly accused Dmytro Kuleba of genocide of Ukrainians

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.

Manipulation Ukrainian authorities allegedly purchased several hundred SUVs so that “the police could catch evaders”

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.

Fake On the Tysa River, Ukrainians are allegedly shot for fleeing mobilization

Pro-Russian sources are disseminating information that soldiers of the State Border Service are shooting Ukrainians trying to escape mobilization, cross the Tysa and, finally, get into Romania. About twenty such cases have already been recorded. In asserting this, propagandists refer to the corresponding statement by Rohov’s collaborator.

However, this information is fake. Ukrainian border guards do not open fire on people trying to illegally cross the state border through Tysa. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Recorded deaths on the river are associated primarily with the rapid flow of the Tysa and its dangerous bottom. In addition, some citizens of Ukraine fall on the hook of scammers who promise supposedly safe passage across the Tysa River for a large sum of money. However, in reality they are taken to a dangerous place where they experience injury or death due to the dangerous nature of the river. Servicemen of the State National Security Service more than once had to save people from death in Tysa.

Fake In the Kyiv Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center , a conclusion on liability is allegedly provided by a veterinarian

Information is being disseminated online, allegedly due to a lack of qualified personnel, the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center is forced to hire veterinarians. As proof of publication, they add a photo to a specialist who allegedly gives conclusions about the liability and photographs of the “office” as in one of the Kyiv Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center .

VoxCheck analysts analyzed the case and explained that a situation where a Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center  hired a veterinarian instead of a doctor is impossible. A Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center does not engage in hiring medical workers at all to conduct military medical examinations.

Military medical commissions for those liable for military service are formed due to the involvement of doctors from civilian health care institutions.

And the propagandists took the photo from the website of the Lassie veterinary clinic - they probably took a photo of the office door with the Surgeon sign.

Fake The State Emergency Service allegedly calls on residents of Kharkiv to evacuate

Russian telegram channels are spreading information that the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is sending out messages calling for people to evacuate from Kharkiv to a safer place.

However, the National Police of Ukraine reports that this is another Russian fake. There is no need to evacuate Kharkiv residents yet, the department adds.

The purpose of this fake is to sow fear and panic among Kharkiv residents. Even before the offensive of Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, Detector Media wrote about the increase in disinformation regarding the region. Yes, we have already refuted information about the “flight of local authorities”, “announcement of deportation of Kharkiv residents”, “panic mass exodus of Kharkiv residents from the city”, etc.

Fake The Kharkiv regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center allegedly asks graduates of the Kharkiv medical military schools to register for military service

Russian propagandists claim that the Kharkiv Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center allegedly published an advertisement on its website in which local authorities allegedly require graduates of the National Pharmaceutical Academy and the National Medical University to register for military service. It's fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that in fact the Kharkiv Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center only has a Facebook page. Moreover, the propagandists do not provide any photographic evidence of the existence of these advertisements. They even stated the name of the institution incorrectly in their messages: the National Pharmaceutical University is not an academy.

After contacting the Kharkiv Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, it became known that on their page there are no announcements about military registration of graduates. And such resolutions have not been published in other city institutions.

In addition, the new mobilization law allows the conscription of women into the army only with consent, and forced conscription of women is prohibited.

Propagandists spread such fakes to disrupt the mobilization process in Ukraine and intimidate the local population. Detector Media has repeatedly written about other fakes on this topic.

Fake The police will allegedly catch “evaders” in cemeteries on memorial days

Propagandists claim that the Ukrainian police allegedly intend to detain “evaders” in cemeteries during memorial days. However, this information is unfounded.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They found out that in fact the conversation on which they created the fake was not about cemeteries. The video, used by some propagandists as evidence, is only a fragment of the ICTV channel’s plot as part of the national telethon Unified News on May 10, 2024. In it, National Police Representative Yuliia Hirdvilis did not actually claim that the police would detain evaders in cemeteries. She spoke about safety measures at mass gatherings. Hirdvilis noted that cemeteries are open places without shelter, and called on citizens to be careful and follow safety rules, especially in an active combat zone. It was also noted that in some areas there are restrictions on visiting cemeteries due to the mine threat. Police patrol these places, but the main purpose of this is to prevent violations or provocations.

Propagandists spread such fakes to disrupt the mobilization process in Ukraine and intimidate the local population. Detector Media has repeatedly written about other fakes on this topic.

Fake In Kharkiv, they plan to mobilize female graduates of medical universities

Social networks in the Russian segment claim that the Kharkiv Territorial center of recruitment and social support published an announcement on its website. It notes that local authorities require female graduates of the National Pharmaceutical Academy and the National Medical University to register for military service.

Propagandists say that there is already panic among graduates, because they are probably planning to be sent to the medical units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the backdrop of “catastrophic” losses.

VoxCheck specialists found out that the fake robs did not even provide a photo of the so-called advertisement about which they wrote in their publications. And the Kharkiv Territorial center of recruitment and social support replied that there are no such announcements on their official page, that is, the information from the Russians is absolutely fake.

And on the pages of the National Pharmaceutical University on social networks there is no mention of the announcement of the military registration of graduates.

Fake Ukrainian children will allegedly be “given away” to other people’s families abroad

Russian telegram channels report that women with medical and pharmaceutical education in Ukraine were required to urgently update their data at the Territorial centers for recruitment and social support. The authors of the message claim that women will soon be caught and sent to the front, and their children will be sent to other people's families in Western countries.

VoxCheck analysts explained: doctors and pharmacists should indeed register with the military from October 1, 2023, but registration with the military does not mean mobilization or the establishment of restrictions on traveling abroad. The Ministry of Health emphasized that registration is necessary only to summarize data on the existing reserve of doctors in the country. Even the travel of this category of women is not limited.

Women can be drafted into the army only with voluntary consent, that is, forced mobilization is prohibited. Cases of forced mobilization of women were not recorded even before the adoption of the relevant law. Moreover, the situation of a child being left without guardianship, since both parents have been mobilized, is simply impossible. Indeed, according to the law, persons who have a minor child/children and a spouse who is already serving in military service are not subject to mobilization.

Fake Ukraine allegedly set a limit on cash withdrawals of up to 100 UAH from an ATM for men of military age

Russian media are distributing a photo where the ATM screen allegedly reports a cash withdrawal limit of 100 UAH per day for men of military age. To cancel restrictions, one needs to update their data at the nearest Territorial center of recruitment and social support.

The case was examined by VoxCheck analysts, who found out that the image had been edited, because the original photo did not show an ATM dispensing cash. Propagandists used a photo of a PrivatBank self-service terminal - the terminal only accepts cash and does not issue it. Moreover, through a reverse search, Google was able to establish that the photo appeared on the Internet back in 2021. This was a negative review about a malfunction of the self-service terminal in Pervomaisk.

And the official website of PrivatBank does not indicate a limit on cash withdrawals of 100 UAH per day. Currently, one can withdraw up to 100 thousand UAH per day from hryvnia and foreign currency accounts in Ukraine.

Fake An employee of the Territorial center of procurement and social support allegedly kicked a man whom he was going to forcibly mobilize

Russian resources are disseminating information that in the Odesa region, a Territorial center of procurement and social support employee beat a man who did not even try to resist. It seems that this is how forced mobilization takes place in Ukraine, propagandists add.

In fact, this information is fake. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. The video shows not “forced mobilization”, but a brawl, and the man in uniform is not an employee of the Territorial center of procurement and social support, but a military man who returned from the front. In addition, an intoxicated civilian man was the first to start a fight, and the serviceman had already responded to him, they write in the original source of the video distribution. However, Russian propagandists decided to ignore this fact and distort the information.

So, with this fake, Russian propaganda continues to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine. Read more materials on this topic here. We previously wrote about a new large-scale information campaign launched by Russia called Evader.

Fake In Ukraine one can buy a bracelet with a prayer against the Territorial center of procurement and social support

Propagandists spread information that in Ukraine one can buy bracelets with prayers that protect you from the territorial recruitment centers. The text on them calls on the Mother of God, Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel, as well as a request to all saints. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. A reverse search for the photo showed that similar bracelets are sold in Ukraine, but with a different prayer - “Our Father” in Spanish.

The text of the correct prayer does not mention the Territorial centers of procurement and social support and the religious figures mentioned in the misleading description. Similar bracelets are also sold in Russian stores, AliExpress and Alibaba.

In addition, the “text” on the bracelets is likely translated from Russian, since the phrase “my favorite” in the propaganda text should be translated as “my beloved” in Ukrainian.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit the Ukrainian authorities and the mobilization process as a whole. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes against it.

Fake An Indian TV channel allegedly reported that Ukrainian men bought all the tickets to Europe because of new decisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Propagandists again tried to undermine the authority of Ukrainian refugees by disseminating information, allegedly the Indian TV channel WION published a video in which they claim that 93% of Ukrainian male refugees purchased tickets to Asia through Europe. They say that the hotel booking service Booking recorded an increased demand for flights on April 23, 2024. The video explains that this happened as a result of an order from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to restrict consular services to men. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the WION channel did not actually have such a video, but instead the propagandists assembled it from various sources. An example of this is a video in which the executive director of Human Rights Watch talks about women's rights. It was taken from another interview back in 2023 and has nothing to do with Ukrainian refugees. Moreover, the Booking service has not confirmed any changes in demand for tickets.

Propagandists spread such fakes to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other fakes against it.

Fake Men of military age supposedly need to update their data in the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support in order to withdraw cash

Propagandists are disseminating information on men of military age having a limit on cash withdrawals from an ATM in the amount of 100 hryvnia per day. They say that in order to withdraw more, it is necessary to update the data in the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support. However, this is fake.

StopFake specialists drew attention to it. They found out that the National Bank of Ukraine did indeed establish certain restrictions on cash withdrawals, but these restrictions apply to all citizens and amount to no more than 100 thousand hryvnia per day. Also, depending on the bank, there are certain additional restrictions on withdrawing cash from an ATM. For example, in PrivatBank one can withdraw no more than 20 thousand hryvnia at a time, and to receive a larger amount one needs to repeat the operation no earlier than three hours later. There was no statement regarding the issuance of cash to men of military age. This is not the case in the new law on mobilization, adopted on April 16.

Russian propaganda created this fake in order to provoke panic among citizens, disrupt mobilization and violate trust in government by creating artificial cash demand. In this way, propagandists try to create negative emotions and tension. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted other Russian fakes regarding mobilization in Ukraine.

Manipulation In Lviv, the work of the oncology center was allegedly paralyzed due to the actions of the Territorial center of recruitment and social support

Russian propaganda resources are disseminating information that in Lviv, 100 people with cancer, including many children, were allegedly unable to undergo radiation due to the detention of medical physicists by the Territorial center of recruitment and social support workers.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine  reported that this information is false. The Lviv Oncology Center itself explained that two specialists from the medical institution were actually called by the Territorial center of recruitment and social support to clarify the registration data. However, the center continued to operate as usual. Both center employees have already returned to their duties.

With this fake, the Russian continues to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine, besides speculating on the sensitive topic of cancer. Previously, we refuted information that Ukrainian pharmacies allegedly do not sell medications to men without a Territorial center of recruitment and social support reference.

Fake Territorial recruitment and social support centers workers announced an evacuation from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and then handed out draft notices

Kremlin media state that territorial recruitment centers announced free evacuation from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and then workers handed out draft notices to men leaving these cities. In the message, the authors attach a screenshot with evacuation vehicles and a phone number - 050 444 1005.

VoxCheck specialists analyzed the case and came to the conclusion that the number in the screenshot belongs to the Good Deed charity organization. The organization is engaged in free evacuation of people from front-line territories (Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions, etc.) to Dnipro. The photo shows cars with the name of the organization. Cars with the same stickers appeared in videos published on Good Deed’s social media pages.

That is, a charitable organization organizes the evacuation process and there is no talk of “handing out” draft notices; this is an invention of propagandists.

Fake The granddaughter of a German Nazi in the video allegedly calls on Ukrainian citizens not to return to Ukraine

Propagandists, through pro-Russian telegram channels and accounts on the social network X (formerly Twitter), are distributing a video in which Catherine Himmler, the granddaughter of the brother of one of the most influential leaders of Nazi Germany, Heinrich Himmler, allegedly calls on Ukrainian young people not to return to Ukraine. Like, she advises “not to hand over Ukrainians to the bloody dictator Zelenskyi”. But this is not true.

In fact, Himmler made no such statement. The video was edited using archival chronicles from the time of the Third Reich, echoing footage of a meeting with the participation of the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Germany Dmytro Kuleba and Annalena Berbock, as well as other German politicians. Katherine Himmler responded to the Agency's editor by email, confirming that she had not said what propagandists had attributed to her.

On April 16, the President of Ukraine signed the law on mobilization and military service, which talks about strengthening sanctions against military service evaders, as well as some changes in military registration. On April 23, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced a decision to limit the provision of consular services abroad to Ukrainians of military age. Commenting on this decision on the social network X, he noted that “soon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide updated explanations on the procedure for obtaining consular services within the framework of the law for men of mobilization age in foreign diplomatic institutions”. Taking advantage of this situation, Russian propaganda is trying to spread panic and discredit the government. Detector Media also refuted other Russian stories on the topic of mobilization in Ukraine.

Fake After the signing of the law on mobilization in Ukraine, the number of people wishing to make a will allegedly increased sharply

Propagandists are spreading information that after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed a new law on mobilization in Ukraine, the number of people looking for notaries to draw up wills has suddenly increased. Advocates point to Google Trends statistics for searches for “notary to draw up a will”. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They note that Google Trends is a service that helps one understand what topics the audience is interested in based on the number of search queries on Google. However, checking the statistics on the request of a notary to draw up a will in Ukraine over the last 7 days did not show enough data to display statistics. This means that during this period of time, users did not make such a request often enough. In addition, the service’s charts show that over the past year, interest in the topic of wills in Ukraine has remained stable without sudden increases after the signing of the law on mobilization.

This law provides for some restrictions for those liable for military service, but Russian propaganda is trying to manipulate this issue, spreading panic among the population.  Detector Media also refuted other Russian inventions under this law.

Fake Monobank allegedly introduces restrictions for “evaders”

Social networks in the Russian segment are disseminating information that the Ukrainian bank Monobank has sent out a warning to users about limiting a number of financial transactions for “evaders” - that is, individuals who may evade mobilization.

As “proof”, the fake robs attached a screenshot from the phone that allegedly received such a message.

This case was investigated by StopFake specialists, who determined that the Ukrainian bank Monobank did not send clients notifications about restrictions for “evaders”.

Moreover, in a comment to StopFake, bank representatives denied sending such messages. In addition, the text of the message itself was compiled with numerous errors and inaccuracies.

Fake In the Sumy region, 41 schools in 20 communities in the region will be closed in 2025, allegedly due to lack of funding

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