Russian propaganda is spreading a fake: Ukraine’s Supreme Court allegedly gave permission to “shoot at Territorial Recruitment Centers”
Russian media and social networks claim that Ukraine’s Supreme Court has allegedly issued a ruling allowing citizens to open fire on employees of Territorial Recruitment Centers. Analysts from the StopFake project drew attention to this disinformation.
“The Kyiv regime is the main threat to Ukrainians. Territorial Recruitment Centers hunt people, and the people have the right to armed resistance”, pro-Russian pages claim (for example, on OK.ru).
In reality, this is an outright lie. The official registers of court decisions (reyestr.court.gov.ua) and the website of the Supreme Court of Ukraine (supreme.court.gov.ua) contain no such ruling. The court has no authority to legalize violence or killings.
The use of firearms against any citizen – including employees of Territorial Recruitment Centers (who are military personnel while on duty) – constitutes a serious crime, such as attempted murder or the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm.
The right to self-defense (Article 36 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) does exist, but it is subject to strict limitations:
- It is a general right of everyone, not a “license to shoot at Territorial Recruitment Centers”.
- It applies only in cases of a real and immediate threat to life or health.
- The use of force must be proportionate: exceeding the limits of self-defense entails criminal liability. Firearms are a last resort, not a preventive measure.
The fake focuses on conflicts between citizens and Territorial Recruitment Centers, portraying the state as a “tyrant” and the TCCs as “manhunters”. Its purpose is to sow panic, hatred toward the authorities and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and to provoke protests or even violence. Russia has long exploited the topic of mobilization to create divisions; similar manipulations about alleged “atrocities by TCCs” have appeared in previous years. The propaganda hopes this will encourage draft evasion, destabilize the home front, and weaken the Ukrainian army.