The European Union has formally rejected a disinformation campaign originating from Russian state media claiming that Ukraine is preparing to mobilize women into its military on a mass scale. EU officials labeled the reports a deliberate Kremlin fabrication designed to sow discord among Ukrainian society and undermine Western public support for Kyiv.
The false narrative first appeared on Russian Telegram channels and state television before spreading to social media platforms across Europe. It alleged that Ukraine's government had drafted legislation mandating military service for women aged 18 to 55 — a claim with no factual basis in any published Ukrainian law or official statement.
EU spokespersons emphasized that Ukraine's actual mobilization policy focuses on male conscripts within legal age limits, with voluntary service remaining the path for women who choose to serve. No legislative proposal for mandatory female conscription has been introduced in the Verkhovna Rada.
The European External Action Service flagged the campaign as part of a broader pattern of Russian information warfare targeting Ukrainian social cohesion. Similar fakes have previously circulated about alleged forced evacuations, property confiscations, and fabricated casualty figures.
Ukrainian officials responded by calling on citizens to verify information through official government channels and trusted media outlets before sharing on social networks. The Security Service of Ukraine has opened proceedings against several social media accounts identified as primary amplifiers of the disinformation.
EU member states have been briefed through existing information-sharing mechanisms, and the bloc's East StratCom Task Force published a formal debunk on its EUvsDisinfo platform, which tracks and counters Russian disinformation targeting European audiences.
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