Russian fake: 500 OCU priests allegedly 'mobilized' in Ukraine

Russian propaganda is spreading a fabricated video containing invented data attributed to Human Rights Watch.

Russian propaganda Telegram channels are circulating a video presented as being from the Ukrainian educational and cultural project "Plomin," citing fabricated data allegedly from the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch. The video claims that HRW supposedly reported the mobilization of 500 priests of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) during the summer of 2026.

This is fake. The information in the video is false. As of August 14, there were no reports on Human Rights Watch's official website about the alleged mobilization of 500 OCU priests this summer.

Instead, the organization published a report on the Russian attack on Kyiv on August 5. According to HRW, Russia likely used cluster munitions in at least one ballistic missile during the attack. The rights group described the strike as a potential war crime.

The video itself was edited together from several videos and photographs available online.

At the same time, some of the footage used in the fake video has nothing to do with the OCU. For example, one clip shows the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Berdychiv, which is home to the All-Ukrainian Shrine of Our Lady of the Scapular. According to the shrine's official website, on November 15, 1991, the Roman Catholic Church regained ownership of the upper and lower churches. Thus, the religious site shown in the footage belongs to the Roman Catholic tradition and has no connection to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The video is also not available on the social media accounts of "Plomin." The project's platforms publish material about Ukrainian culture, history and social issues.

The spread of this fake by Russian propagandists could create the false impression that the Ukrainian authorities are forcibly mobilizing members of the clergy, while also seeking to discredit the OCU and its head, Metropolitan Epiphanius.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russian propaganda previously used forest fires in France to discredit support for Ukraine.

Andrii Olenin