Russian propaganda resources began to spread the fake news that allegedly the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umierov accidentally revealed data on Ukrainian losses during the counteroffensive. A number of anonymous telegram channels disseminating pro-Russian rhetoric promoted the message, allegedly Minister Rustem Umierov in his first public speech named the amount that is not enough to pay the relatives of dead servicemen - UAH 250 billion. Next, propagandists resort to the following arithmetic: the amount is not paid immediately, the first payment is 3 million UAH. Consequently, according to propaganda, the Ministry of Defense must pay the families of more than 83 thousand victims. They say that this is the number of Ukrainian losses in recent months, and it indicates the failure of the counteroffensive. It is not true.

Rustem Umierov really spoke about 250 billion, speaking as a candidate for minister before the vote in the Verkhovna Rada. Quote: “Just until the end of this year we will need an additional 250 billion hryvnia for cash allowance, and these costs are growing every day”. Thus, Rustem Umierov was not talking about payments to the families of the victims, but about monetary allowances, in other words, about salaries for military personnel. We see that Russian propagandists took the real figure announced by Umierov, but grossly manipulated its value.

Let us recall that on September 6, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appointed a new Minister of Defense. The candidacy of Rustem Umierov was supported by 338 people's deputies. In 2019, Rustam Umierov was elected as a people’s deputy of Ukraine from the Voice party, in 2022-2023 he headed the State Property Fund of Ukraine, and after being confirmed as head of the Ministry of Defense, he became the first Crimean Tatar in the history of independent Ukraine to hold a ministerial post.

Propagandists ridicule the new minister, who “knows how to count money well”, but allegedly casually reveals state secrets about the number of deaths. Russian propaganda is also trying to sow panic among Ukrainians against the backdrop of the counteroffensive, saying that there are many losses in the Ukrainian army. Previously, we refuted the fake news that in Ternopil they are threatening to cut off gas and hot water to conscripts who do not come to the Territorial centers of recruitment and social support.