A purported letter from Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to government ministers is circulating on social media. The letter suggests imposing severe penalties on the relatives of Ukrainian military draft evaders, including confiscation of property, the withdrawal of social benefits, and fines. However, this document is a fabrication created by Russian propaganda agencies, aimed at sowing confusion and discord within Ukrainian society.
The fake letter has also surfaced in Estonia.
On September 2, Facebook user Indrek Pähnapuu claimed, „Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has supposedly drawn up a list of recommendations, proposing that not only military deserters but also their close relatives be punished... yes, you read that correctly.“
The post goes on to list the alleged sanctions: „These include applying the same measures to the deserter’s relatives, such as property confiscation, fines, bans on vehicle use, restrictions on banking and payment systems, limitations on communication services, and the removal of various state benefits, including disability allowances and other social aid.“
Pähnapuu concludes his post with a striking statement: „If you flee conscription and don’t return to Ukraine from Europe, we’ll cut off your grandmother’s pension, leaving her to starve and become homeless. The Ukrainian people have been held hostage for a long time, and the deeper this goes, the more evident it becomes.
At least nine users have shared similar posts on Facebook, and the website Eesti Eest! has also published an article containing the same content.
According to Facebook, the posts have been shared at least 146 times in total.
The alleged letter cannot be found in the document registers of the Ukrainian government or parliament, nor is it available on their official websites. Furthermore, no reputable Ukrainian or international media outlets have reported on this document. There are also no references to the letter or its contents on the social media channels of Shmyhal or other government officials.
Evidence of Forgery
The letter purportedly sent by Shmyhal, requesting a revision of the mobilization law, is a fabricated document from Russian propaganda sources.
The forgery is evident due to the use of the letter „Э,“ which exists in the Russian alphabet but not in Ukrainian.
Moreover, the name of Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is misspelled in the document. In Ukrainian, his name is written as „Умєров Р. Е.,“ but in the forged letter, it appears as „Умеров Р. Э.“
On September 4, the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation announced via its Telegram channel that the letter was a fake, created as part of Russian propaganda efforts. The center, which operates under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, pointed out several flaws in the document.
According to the center, the document contains an invalid number that does not conform to the standard numbering system used by Ukrainian state bodies. Furthermore, the letter’s format is incorrect, and it includes multiple typographical errors.
„The purpose of this forgery is to create panic among the population and discredit Ukrainian institutions. We urge everyone to rely only on verified sources of information,“ the center’s announcement stated.
The Communications Department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine confirmed to Faktikontroll that no such letter from Prime Minister Shmyhal exists.
The forgery first appeared on Russian Telegram propaganda channels and was subsequently spread across dozens of Russian websites. The Telegram channel „Осташко! Важное,“ which has 392,000 followers, was the first to publish the fake on August 28.
Indrek Pähnapuu, who shared the false letter on Facebook, has previously repeatedly spread misinformation created by Russian propaganda agencies.
Verdict: false. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has not advised the ministers to change the mobilization law so that the relatives of military deserters can be punished. Shmyhal’s alleged letter to the ministers is a forgery produced by Russian propaganda.
