Russian media claims that draft notices are being issued to Ukrainians in the UK and Poland are not true. According to Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers Regulation #1487, Ukrainian diplomatic missions are obliged to inform Ukrainian citizens of military service age about conscription campaigns and to facilitate their return to Ukraine in times of mobilization or war. No one is authorized to serve draft notices abroad, not even diplomatic workers. The video being circulated online, in which a Telegram user claims several of his acquaintances received draft notices in their places of employment in Poland is a blatant lie. Another fake vein, in which a letter allegedly urging Ukrainians currently living in the UK to report to the Ukrainian embassy seemingly for military service, is also a forgery.
Several Russian media outlets, Z Telegram channels (Telegram accounts using the Z symbol and supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) and other social media accounts are disseminating disinformation claiming that Ukrainians abroad are being served draft notices. Social media users are circulating a video in which a man claims that several Ukrainians living in Poland have already received draft notices while at work.
In another vein, a letter demanding that information about male refugees be provided to the Ukrainian Embassy, allegedly issued by the British government to participants in the Ukraine sponsorship program “Homes for Ukraine,” is also being disseminated online. The text of the “letter” implies that these refugees will be served draft notices.
The author of the video about how Ukrainians were allegedly served draft notices in Poland is TikTok user @jenyamisura. In the video he claims that his acquaintances told him about draft notices being served to several Ukrainians at work. It is noteworthy that this account uploaded the first video at the end of November 2022. Most of the videos in this account are posted under the hashtags #humor, #cats, #sadness, #food, and have nothing to do with Ukraine or Ukrainians abroad. Some TikTok users point to the fact that @jenyamisura changed the description of his account several times from “I love to video all sorts of nonsense,” to “Glory to Ukraine” in Russian, and then to “Glory to Ukraine” – in Ukrainian. These changes indicate that most likely jenyamisura does not speak Ukrainian, because his Ukrainian spelling is wrong and he confuses the Ukrainian words for love. Writing “I love to video all sorts of nonsense” he uses the Ukrainian word “кохаю”. This word is used to express love for people, i.e. significant others, not for hobbies or activities or food and pets. The word люблю is used to express love of such activities.
The National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation completely refutes these fake claims. They say the video claiming draft notices were issued in Poland to Ukrainians men is a “fake Kremlin production.” According to Ukrainian laws, Ukrainian diplomatic institutions abroad should keep records of military service. However, they do not have the right to serve draft notices to people who are registered with Ukrainian consulates. At the same time, Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 1487 states that diplomatic missions abroad will inform military age Ukrainian citizens who are not exempted from service, about the start of conscription for military duty. They are also obliged to facilitate their return to the territory of Ukraine in times of mobilization or war.
In an interview with the Ukrainian TSN news service, lawyer Andriy Novak also confirmed that no one is authorized to serve draft notices abroad, not even diplomatic mission representatives. Only the chairman of a military registration and enlistment office can serve these notices. It is also practically impossible to force Ukrainian citizens residing abroad to return to Ukraine. This cannot be done through force or coercion. The only legal basis is a court ruling in Ukraine that determines an individual’s criminal liability. Therefore, claims that draft notices are being distributed to Ukrainians in Poland at their workplaces, at the very least, does not comply with Ukraine’s current legislation.
Another fake on this topic is a photograph of an alleged official “letter” seemingly from the British government to participants in the “Homes for Ukrainians” program urging them to provide information about Ukrainian male refugees to the Ukrainian embassy, ostensibly so they can be served draft notices. The letter instructs that British sponsors must “URGE refugee residents to visit the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom to SPECIFY their personal data individually.” However, this “document” turned out to be a fake as well.
Although the “letter” appears to be written on official governmental letterhead, typos, incorrect use of of capital letters, spelling and grammatical errors, all indicate that this “document” is a forgery.
Furthermore, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (formerly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) which manages the Homes for Ukraine program, and on whose letterhead the fake letter was printed, has officially said on its Twitter page that the letter circulated online is not authentic. “We are aware of fraudulent letters to Homes for Ukraine hosts circulating on social media. These are not from the Department” the government agency tweeted.
Previously, StopFake factcheckers debunked Russian media claims that EU countries would send military age Ukrainian men back to Ukraine.
