Russians faked photo of wounded Ukrainian soldier and blamed it on ‘Ukrainian media’

Russian propagandists created a news story from an unknown "Ukrainian newspaper" and then accused it of altering the photo of a Ukrainian soldier

Russian media outlets, z-Telegram channels, bots on social network X and Reddit are spreading an alleged screenshot of a news story by an unnamed Ukrainian newspaper about a rehabilitation center for soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, illustrated with the photo of a wounded soldier. The Russian propagandists claim that the "newspaper" edited the photo with Photoshop adding the lower limb of a soldier who lost it in the war. They also claim that Ukrainian media outlets are promoting an alleged rehabilitation center in Odesa that was created on the instructions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while the funds allocated for it are being stolen.

This is a fake. The photo from the newspaper's “news story” distributed by Russian propagandists does not identify the publication, as it does not indicate its name, the date of publication, or the author.

The text says that the rehabilitation center was allegedly opened by a decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023. However, this is not true. In April 2023, two branches of the RECOVERY rehabilitation centers network were opened in Odesa, which are privately owned and funded by Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk and his wife Olena.

Apart from the soldier’s photo, the propagandists publish a certificate from the commander of one of the military units regarding the circumstances of the soldier's injury.

The “document” indicates that the soldier's name is Yevhen or Yevhen Pohorielov. However, subsequent research revealed that the wounded soldier in the photo is in fact Serhiy Ostapenko.

The original photo was taken from a post on social media. The post was intended to raise funds for the soldier.

The certificate is also a fake. The propagandists could not determine the exact date when the soldier was injured. The forged document gives two dates: January 10, 2023 and October 10, 2024. The first image of the injured soldier first appeared online on September 25, 2024. That is 15 days before he was injured, according to one version of the forged document, or more than a year and a half before, according to another.

Thus, Russian propagandists found a photo of a soldier, and then used Photoshop to create his missing limb. They then blamed it on an unnamed Ukrainian media outlet.

Such fakes are aimed at promoting the idea among civilians, military personnel and veterans that the state will not help them if they are injured in combat.

The fake is also aimed at convincing Ukrainians not to trust the domestic media, spreading the narrative that the media allegedly work only to hide facts unpleasant for the authorities and corruption deals.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, more than 20,000 servicemen underwent rehabilitation in Ukrainian medical institutions in 2023, more than 2,500 servicemen underwent rehabilitation in Kyiv alone and in the first half of 2024.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russian propaganda spread a fake about the surrender of Ukrainian soldiers after the U.S. election.

Andriy Olenin