An explicit recruitment advert targeting women for the Ukrainian Army is Russian propaganda and not an official video, Kyiv have said in a statement.
A short video linking to the recruitment website for the Armed Forces of Ukraine showing by turns a woman in lingerie, a woman caring for a small child, and a woman preparing for battle has been flagged by an official statement from the Ukrainian government as a fake.
Kyiv’s government news outlet Ukrinform picks apart the video, noting it is stitched together from generic stock clips found elsewhere on the internet, and that the video has never appeared on any official government sites. Text and a voiceover over the clips of women fulfilling various roles state that: “a real woman should be a whore in bed, a housewife in the kitchen and a defender at the front. Join the Military.”
Caption reads: “A real woman should be a whore in bed” [screengrab of fake recruitment video]
Caption reads: “A real woman should be a defender at the front” [screengrab of fake recruitment video]
A social media post on the Russian network Telegram cited by Ukrinform suggests the video may have been meant for Russian domestic consumption, as a means of suggesting Ukraine is desperate to recruit women to the armed forces. “Women are lured into the army with propaganda videos like this”, the post claims, asserting Kyiv wants to recruit women because it is running out of “draft age” men.The post further claimed Ukraine was also using fighting against “gender discrimination” as a means to boost recruitment numbers, and that as many women who were “conscripted have already fled to Europe” Ukraine will start to conscript women more widely soon.
The statement from Kyiv that the video and accompanying information is a fake is one of a long series of debunkings claimed by the Ukrainian government, with regular bulletins debunking claims they state are Russian operations. Among those recently discredited are claims Ukraine is turning off the energy to homes of men who attempt to avoid the draft, fake European newspaper front pages with negative coverage of Ukraine, and even that President Zelensky’s wife had been issued an Israeli passport as part of an “escape plan” from the country.
