The deceased volunteer of the Azov battalion named Dmytro Boyko was an adult, as confirmed by the school he graduated from. Propagandists confused the military man with his full namesake.
Pro-Russian sources spread information about the death of Dmytro Oleksandrovich Boyko, a soldier from Konotop. According to the propagandists, the young man was only 16 years old – as proof, they include a screenshot from an unknown personal data database of Ukrainian citizens. Publications accuse the Ukrainian army of concealing the young man’s true age, because the obituaries indicate a completely different date of birth – 28/07/2005. This news fits into the Kremlin’s narrative about children and teenagers serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which StopFake has already refuted in the stories Manipulation: Ukrainian Teenageres Prepared for Frontlines – Video and Fake: Boxes with Weapons Brought to Schools and Students Being Prepared for Sabotage in Sumy Region.
In fact, the fallen soldier was 18 years old, as the Konotop media reported. This was confirmed to us by the Konotop Lyceum No. 9, which he graduated from. According to them, the date of birth of the young man is in fact 28.07.2005, and he graduated from school (full 11 years) two years ago.
However, another Boyko Dmytro Oleksandrovych, who was born on February 16, 2008, really lives in Konotop. The boy plays football at Konotop State Secondary School. On one of the recordings of the football match between the teams of Konotop and Shostka, he scores the third goal, and you can see for yourself that the young man looks completely different from the fallen soldier. So, another report about minors serving in the Ukrainian army turned out to be a fake.
