In a comment to StopFake, the British Embassy in Ukraine reported that they did not print such a leaflet, and the information about it online is fake.
An image of a leaflet allegedly issued by the British Embassy in Ukraine is being shared online. In it, British citizens are advised to avoid meetings with representatives of drafting centers when visiting the country.
«In short: Avoid the drafting officers. Cross the street if you see them. If you can’t avoid them, then don’t give in to provocations, racism, pushing, don’t look them in the eyes. If you are shoved into a minibus, don’t panic. Call and wait for help from the embassy. Don’t sign anything,» propagandist Russian Telegram channels summarize the information from the leaflet.
However, this information is not true.
In a comment to StopFake, the British Embassy in Ukraine reported that they did not print such a flyer, and the information about it on the Internet is fake. The embassy also noted that the official recommendations of the British Foreign Office on travel to Ukraine can be found on the department’s website.
Having analyzed the text on the flyer, StopFake came to the conclusion that it was not written by a native English speaker. Most likely, the text was translated from Russian using an online translator. This is evidenced by the style of the text and errors in the use of articles. The text also contains both formal and informal elements that may indicate a lack of experience in writing official documents. For example, the phrase «Be calm, do not raise your voice» sounds like a direct translation from another language; native speakers could express this opinion differently, for example, «Stay calm and speak softly.» The sentence «Do not respond to rudeness, provocations, pushing, racist statements» looks awkward, since «pushing» does not match the style of other elements. In the sentence «If you find yourself in a transport» instead of «in a transport» it is better to say «in a vehicle.» Also, the author of the flyer uses the abbreviation «TSS» in his text to denote the drafting office. However, firstly, he does not provide the decoding of this abbreviation, and secondly, he makes a mistake in its spelling. The full name of Ukraine’s drafting department in English sounds like «Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center.» Consequently, the correct abbreviation would be «TR and SSC.»
According to the Osavul service, this photo is actively shared by pro-Russian channels in Telegram. The first to publish this «news» was the propaganda channel «Shaman Rahu», which regularly spreads fake information about the war.
In Ukraine, citizens of other countries are not subject to mobilization. According to Ukrainian law, mobilization applies only to citizens of Ukraine. However, foreigners can serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the conditions determined by the Defense Ministry. This applies to both contract service and participation in volunteer formations. To serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, foreigners must meet certain requirements, including medical suitability and the absence of a criminal record. More details on this in the StopFake article Fake: Foreigners Fighting for Ukraine Are Mercenaries.
