Russian propaganda invents fake story about military recruitment officers on exam boards in Ukrainian universities

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels are circulating a photo allegedly from the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute." The image shows an announcement listing the members of an examination board, which supposedly includes a representative of a territorial recruitment and social support center.

The image is fake. First, the "announcement" states that the decision on the composition of this board was made at a meeting of the university's academic council on May 2, 2025. This is not true, as according to the university's official schedule, no such meetings were held on that day. According to official information from the university, the most recent academic council meeting took place on May 12, and before that, on April 14.

Second, the Faculty of Management and Marketing does not teach a course titled "International Commercial Arbitration." This subject is offered by the Department of Information, Economic and Administrative Law at the Faculty of Sociology and Law.

Third, the exam session at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has not even begun yet — it is scheduled to start in June.

This fake was disseminated by Russian sources to create panic among students, spreading the false narrative that draft-age individuals would be deliberately expelled from universities in order to be sent to the military.

Previously, Russian propaganda also spread a fake story claiming that President Volodymyr Zelensky "demanded money" from the new Pope.

Andriy Olenin