Propagandists are actively spreading disinformation, claiming that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, allegedly supported the idea of lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine to 18 years. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the Center for Strategic Communications and Security drew attention to it. They found that Russian propagandists had taken Budanov’s words out of context, which he said during a meeting with students and teachers of the Kyiv School of Economics. At this meeting, he did not support the idea of lowering the mobilization age, but only voiced the calculations of the Russian side: if Ukraine starts mobilizing citizens from 18 years old instead of 25, it will be able to resist Russia until 2033. However, he immediately criticized this idea, noting that Ukraine values the lives of its citizens, and prolonging the war for such a long period is unlikely, since “no economy can withstand so much time in a state of war”.

This fake is part of an information campaign, the purpose of which is to demoralize Ukrainian society, create panic and attempt to disrupt mobilization processes in the country. Russian propaganda is trying to push Ukrainians to believe that their leadership is ready to sacrifice young lives, while the reality is completely different. Russia seeks to split the unity of Ukrainians and raise doubts about the advisability of defending their country, thereby simplifying its tasks at the front.