Update: An article by Россикая Газета, which was published in January 2023 and was related to another video, was removed from the introduction of the article.
On January 15, 2024, Georgian-language Facebook accounts disseminated (1;2) the information that almost the entire composition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces rifle battalion refuses to obey the order to assume the positions. Posts are accompanied by videos.
The information that almost 90% of the 1st Rifle Battalion of the 4th Tank Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not comply with the order, accompanied by the same video, was also covered by the Russian propaganda media (1,2,3,4,5), including the Channel One of Russia (1,2). Identical videos were also shared by Russian-language Facebook users (1,2,3).
The claims that the majority of the 1st Rifle Battalion of the 4th Tank Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine refused to obey orders are disinformation. In a comment to “Myth Detector”, the representatives of the brigade confirmed that the reported information is false.
Notably, the circulated videos do not mention the specific brigade or battalion or the location where the military is stationed. In the video, most of the soldiers identify themselves and repeat the word “I refuse”. One of the soldiers says that he does not refuse military service, while several others say that they refuse because of their health condition. It is not clear from the mentioned video what exactly they are talking about.
“Myth Detector” contacted the 4th Tank Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to verify the information. In a comment to “Myth Detector,” the representatives of the brigade noted that the information is not true and that the brigade is performing combat tasks in the direction of Kupiansky-Liman and Avdiivka.
4th Tank Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “This information is not true, and the video was taken from social networks and was distributed on the Internet last year as well. The brigade successfully performs combat tasks in the Kupiansky-Liman direction and in Avdiivka.”
Some of the circulated videos show the Telegram channel address @AleksandrSemchenko, which belongs to the Ukrainian propagandist political scientist and blogger Aleksandr Semchenko. On his Telegram channel, Semchenko actively publishes anti-Ukrainian posts. Semchenko has spread disinformation against Ukraine in the past as well. Back in 2021, even before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, he announced on the air of Россия 1 that the armed forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with NATO, were conducting exercises to suppress the civilian population in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Donbas. Then, this information was debunked by the Ukrainian fact-checking agency StopFake.
In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, disinformation regarding the abandonment of positions was also spread in the past as well:
- DISINFORMATION AS IF THE COMMANDERS ABANDONED THE 3RD BATTALION OF THE 110TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE OF UKRAINE IN AVDIIVKA
- DOES THE 115TH BRIGADE HAVE ENOUGH WEAPONS AND WHO REFUSED TO CONTINUE FIGHTING?
Archive links: Первый канал (1,2), ZOV Запорожие, ZOV Бердянск, ZOV Херсон, Россикая Газета
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