"Investiguesi Shkrimor", an Albanian-language propaganda Facebook account, has today (December 7) published an image of several people dressed in military uniforms, claiming that they are 17-year-olds whom Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is sending to war against Russia.
After research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info managed to find an article published by the National News Agency of Ukraine “Ukrinform.ua”, which denied this claim, describing it as Russian disinformation propaganda. (see here)
Link to the post published on Facebook by the "Writing Investigator" account:
The National News Agency of Ukraine “Ukrinform.ua” has clarified that this disinformation propaganda of Russia has been distributed by Russian media outlets, as well as on the social media Telegram. (see here and here)
So, it seems that the Albanian-language account "Investiguesi Shkrimor" has published Russian disinformation propaganda regarding the recruitment of 17-year-old Ukrainians in the war against Russia.
In the article published by the National News Agency of Ukraine "Ukrinform.ua", it is clarified that there are no members younger than 21 years old in the Ukrainian army.
"We have never had campers with the call sign 'Yung'. Some of our students today are really defending our country with weapons in their hands. But the youngest of them is 21 years old. It is worth noting that they all serve in elite military units," said the head of the “Haidamatska sich” educational center, Vadym Arnaut, who serves in the 103rd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
After searching through the automated program “InVID”, hibrid.info managed to find the same image that was posted by “Writing Investigator”. This photo was published on the website of the Kiev military school named after “Ivan Bohun”. (see here)
Image description, translated into Albanian:
Incentives for high school students who won prizes based on the results of the Olympiads and for teachers who trained the Olympiad participants
Analyze:
A Facebook account with propaganda content has today published Russian disinformation propaganda claiming that the Ukrainian army is recruiting people as young as 17 to participate in the war against Russia.
The National News Agency of Ukraine has clarified that this is Russian disinformation propaganda, and that the image depicts students of a military school in Kiev, who have won awards based on the results of the Olympiads.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this post by the "Writing Investigator" account as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.