Russia pushing new fake about Kherson administration “fleeing the city”
Russian state propaganda media, Telegram channels, and bots on X are circulating a video purportedly showing a meeting of the Kherson City Military Administration (CMA). In the clip, the head of the CMA, Yaroslav Shanko, is supposedly heard saying there is a need to “flee the city” due to the advance of Russian forces.
This is fake. Local and regional authorities have refuted the information. In a comment to Ukrinform, Kherson CMA head Yaroslav Shanko confirmed that the claims circulated by Russia are false.
“Russians constantly generate fakes – and they invest enormous resources into this. It is their systemic work against Kherson and Ukraine. I am here every day. My family is in Ukraine. My team and I work for victory and will continue working until our entire country is liberated. We will not leave the city as long as there is even one person who needs protection. Our job is to defend Kherson and support the community,” Shanko emphasized.
Olexander Tolokonnikov, Deputy Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration for Digital Development, Digital Transformations, and Digitalization, also stressed in a comment to Ukrinform that this information is yet another hostile fake.
“If we tried to debunk every fake from the invaders and collaborators, we’d have to do it all day long. This one is truly a ridiculous fake. You know how many similar videos you could make in half an hour – but this time about the so-called ‘governor’ Saldo or Putin,” he said.
Such disinformation is spread by Russian propagandists to sow panic among residents of Ukraine’s frontline cities, discredit Ukrainian local authorities, and create the illusion of “significant gains” by Russia at the front.
As reported by Ukrinform, earlier Russian propaganda spread fake stories about “serious crimes” allegedly committed by Ukrainian soldiers in Sumy and Chernivtsi regions.
Andrii Olenin, Iryna Staroselets
