Photos of an alleged advertisement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine with an appeal to join their ranks are being circulated online. It depicts a gray-haired military woman, as well as the supposed inscription: “Son, I need your help”. Propagandists write that this is “a typical Ukrainian mobilized over 60 years old”. This advertising of the Armed Forces of Ukraine seems to call young people to the front.

In fact, this is a photo fake. When checking this image in the FotoForensics tool using ELA analysis (Error Level Analysis), which identifies areas of the image with different levels of compression, it was possible to identify signs of text editing on the advertisement. They are highlighted in bright colors.

With this fake photo, Russian propagandists are trying to discredit the mobilization process in Ukraine. Previously, we refuted information that in Ukraine they are calling on people to mobilize into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as whole families.

Russian telegram channels are distributing a screenshot of supposedly one of the house chats in the capital. According to it, the Pechersk district state administration in Kyiv calls on citizens to evacuate if they live near “decision-making centers”.

However, the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, after verifying this “news” in the Pechersk district administration, reported that it was a fake. The administration did not send out any similar messages.

This disinformation was spread against the backdrop of a publication in one of the foreign media about a possible missile strike on “decision-making centers” in response to an operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region. And the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, Andrii Kovalenko, responded to this in particular on his telegram. He called on Ukrainians to read less loud headlines about massive shelling.

Russian propagandists are distributing photos of an announcement in one of the Ukrainian grocery stores. It warns that the store imposes a 20% tax on Territorial center of procurement and social support employees. However, this is a fake photo.

The “announcement” distributed online contains signs of editing, and stores do not have the right to independently introduce taxes, especially discriminatory ones. This was reported in the VoxCheck project.

Checking the photo “ad” in the FotoForensics tool using ELA analysis (Error Level Analysis), which highlights areas of the image with different levels of compression, indicates obvious signs of editing.

Also, the Tax Code of Ukraine provides for the equality of all payers before the law and the prevention of any manifestations of tax discrimination, such as social, racial, national, religious, etc. Place of employment also cannot be a cause of discrimination. Such discrimination contradicts Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which enshrines the equality of citizens. According to Article 17 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, the needs of all consumers must be satisfied equally. That is, for the independent establishment of such taxes by the store, administrative, and in some cases, criminal liability is provided.

There are no taxes at all in Ukraine; the store can set it for the buyer independently. There are only national and local taxes and fees. National taxes are established by the Verkhovna Rada, which also determines the list of local taxes established by local councils.

With such fakes, Russian propagandists are trying to disrupt mobilization in Ukraine and sow discord in Ukrainian society.

Russian resources claim that French General Bertrand Toujouse believes that NATO would be unable to respond to a potential Russian attack. When spreading this information, propagandists refer to the material from Politico.

However, Toujouse’s words were manipulated, they write in the StopFake project. In fact, in the Politico text, the French general simply drew attention to what areas of defense Europe should improve to effectively defend against Russian aggression. In particular, we are talking about the mobility of military weapons. As Toujouse writes, the rapid transport of weapons is hampered by excessive bureaucratic procedures, inconvenient infrastructure (including tunnels and bridges) and a shortage of railway cars.

To strengthen this area of defense, EU member states introduced a new military mobility pledge in May 2024, which will help ensure the rapid and smooth movement of military personnel and materiel within and outside the EU. Commitments include investments in dual-use infrastructure and a simplified procedure for obtaining permits for the transport of military equipment across borders.

Bertrand Toujouse does not believe that Europe is powerless against a potential Russian attack. European countries are identifying weak areas in their defense systems and implementing changes accordingly.

Russian propaganda is distributing publications accusing the Ukrainian Armed Forces of war crimes. As “evidence”, the Russians use the stories of people who found themselves in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops.

These people claim that the Ukrainian military allegedly shelled and looted civilian homes, burned homes, or opened fire on civilians. However, there is no evidence to support these words. This was reported by the National Security and Defense Council Center for Countering Disinformation.

By spreading false statements about “crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” on behalf of the population of the occupied territories, Russia seeks to:

- justify the war she started;

- set up residents of the occupied territories against the Ukrainian Armed Forces;

- shift responsibility for the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The Center adds that in reality it is Russia that is destroying Ukrainian settlements. It is responsible for the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories.

Previously, we have already recorded fake evidence of “crimes of the Ukrainian Armed ForcesЄ. Thus, Russian propaganda accused the Ukrainian military of threatening residents of the occupied territories and extorting intimate services from them, of taking children away from their parents in the Donbas in order to hand them over to pedophiles or organs.