The photo used to illustrate this latest fake claim shows a tattoo studio in Biysk, Russia. There are no such offers in tattoo studios in Ukraine, where the distribution and production of totalitarian regime symbols, including swastikas, is prohibited by law.
Pro-Kremlin media, as well as a variety of so-called Z Telegram channels, are spreading another fake story, claiming it is “proof” that Nazi ideology is popular in Ukraine. This time, the claim involves a tattoo parlor in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, which is allegedly offering a 50% “swastika removal” discount. The proof is a “photo” of a banner announcing such an “offer”.
“Europeans are sure that there are no Nazis in Ukraine, so Ukrainians have to meet EU standards,” writes the ultra-right, orthodox and monarchist publication Tsargrad.
StopFake checked the photo using Google and Bing image searches, and found that the photo used to create this latest fake is of a tattoo studio in Russia. The original photo shows a tattoo parlor called “Tattooirograf,” which is located in Biysk, in the Altai Republic of southern Russia.
Among the tattoos featured on the studio’s website is a one of a wolf wearing a Soviet army winter hat with the inscription Made in the USSR.
In addition to this low-quality photoshop, Russian media also made a mistake with their special offer, writing the word “акция” (“discount offer”) in Russian instead of “акція”, as it would be spelled in Ukrainian.
You can also find this tattoo parlor on Google maps, where there are other photos of it from the outside.
It is worth noting that in Ukraine there is a ban on the use of totalitarian regime symbols, including swastikas. Those who use, produce or distribute such symbols face administrative and criminal liability, with a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison.
StopFake previously debunked Russian fakes claiming that Ukrainian refugees cut swastika in German field.
