Russian fake about mass involvement of Polish citizens in work of territorial recruitment centers
Recently, pro-Kremlin's Telegram channels have started to circulate a video allegedly on behalf of the United24 fundraising platform. The video claims that by December 2024, 70% of the representatives of territorial centers of recruitment and social support will be Polish citizens. The video claims that, at present, 47% of the personnel at territorial recruitment centers are Polish citizens who have entered into a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The video claims that this initiative is supposedly a result of efforts to fight corruption during the mobilization activities in Ukraine and is aimed at improving the efficiency of territorial recruitment centers.
This is a fake. This video was not published on any of the official resources of the United24 platform. In addition, there have been no official statements from Ukrainian or Polish officials regarding the involvement of Polish citizens in the work of the territorial centers of recruitment and social support.
The video itself was created by propagandists using a variety of footage from the Internet, none of which was related to the "mass service of Poles" in the territorial recruitment centers. For instance, an image displaying the chevron of the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support was posted online at the end of last year.
The relevant footage of the Polish military can be found in a 2023 report by the Russian propaganda channel Zvezda.
In addition, when creating the fake, the propagandists made a mistake and wrote that the Polish military was signing a contract with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. This claim is inaccurate.
On February 27, 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky initiated the creation of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, which foreign nationals can join by signing a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, not the Ministry of Defense.
In addition, the head of the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support, Yuriy Puiko, stated on Ukrainian Witness that the Armed Forces leadership has decided to enroll only people from combat military units who have health problems, injuries, contusions, and are unable to perform duties in the units for health reasons.
In a commentary to Ukrinform, a representative of the International Legion confirmed that the information provided in the propaganda video was not true and emphasized that foreigners serve in combat military units.
That is, Ukraine cannot recruit Polish citizens to work in the territorial centers of recruitment and social support.
In addition, on October 10, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No.12023 on amendments to certain laws of Ukraine on the procedure for contract military service by foreigners and stateless persons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine. As noted, the implementation of the draft law will regulate the issue of the possibility of foreigners and stateless persons to perform military service as officers in the Ukrainian army.
The propagandists' fake about mass involvement of Polish citizens in the work of territorial recruitment centers is aimed at a Western audience and is intended to show the public that Ukraine is allegedly trying to attract NATO troops by any means.
Earlier, Ukrinform refuted a Russian fake claiming that Ukraine is allegedly encouraging pensioners to serve in the army in exchange for sanatorium vouchers and TVs.
Dmytro Badrak
