To create fake news, propagandists used a report from Ukrainian news outlet Zaxid.net to discredit Ukrainian forces
Russian propaganda outlets have manipulated a news report from the Ukrainian media outlet Zaxid.net to falsely implicate a Ukrainian soldier in a shooting incident, aiming to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Fake screenshots of a Zaxid.net article are circulating on Russian propaganda platforms. The altered publication claims that a resident of Boryslav, Lviv region, was fined 70,000 UAH for shooting a teenager. In the manipulated subheading, Russian propagandists falsely assert that the crime was committed by a serviceman.
This is a fabrication. Russian propagandists used graphic editing tools to modify the original subheading.
The authentic news article was published on Zaxid.net on February 18, 2025. Instead of the word “serviceman,” as falsely inserted by Russian sources, the real article states the full name of the convicted individual: Mykhailo Petruniak.
Petruniak has no connection to the Ukrainian military. According to court records, the incident occurred on the evening of February 4, 2023, on Truskavetska Street in Boryslav. Reports indicate that Mykhailo Petruniak approached a minor and fired a signal pistol that had been illegally modified into a firearm. The victim sustained a gunshot wound to the left thigh.
During the trial, Petruniak claimed that he had accidentally found the pistol in November 2022 while burying his dog and decided to keep it “because of the war.”
There is no mention in the original article suggesting that the convicted individual had any affiliation with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This is yet another example of how Russian propaganda seeks to undermine Ukraine’s military by fabricating false narratives. The Kremlin’s goal remains to turn public opinion against Ukrainian defenders by portraying them as a source of chaos and danger.
Previously, Russian propagandists doctored crime reports and obituaries to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Andriy Olenin
