Russian fake: Ukrainian universities promoting ‘Contract 18-24’ program to students

Russian media outlets, pro-Russian Ukrainian outlets, Kremlin-aligned Telegram channels, and bots on the social media platform X are spreading a photo purportedly taken at a Ukrainian university. The image shows a questionnaire asking students about their views on the “Contract 18-24” initiative, alongside a promotional leaflet for the program. According to these propaganda posts, Ukrainian universities are allegedly conducting covert campaigns to encourage students to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This claim is false.

First, the photos are taken in such a way that their location cannot be identified, making it impossible to verify that they were taken in Ukraine or at any educational institution.

Second, some of the wording in the alleged questionnaire does not conform to the linguistic norms of the Ukrainian language, indicating that machine translation was likely used to create the fake. For instance, the phrase “ви вчитеся” (“you are studying”) is not idiomatic; the correct form would be “ви навчаєтесь.”

Third, the source of the fake is the Russian propaganda website ZOV Odesa.

According to Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Russian propagandists have established a network of websites under the collective name “ZOV,” which are used to disseminate anti-Ukrainian propaganda. All of these sites are registered in Russia and specialize in spreading unverified or false information.

Through this narrative, Russia aims to discredit Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and sabotage recruitment programs targeting volunteers aged 18 to 24. The broader objective is to weaken Ukraine’s defense capability, discredit the country’s higher education system, and pressure parents to send their children to study abroad.

Previously, Russian propagandists circulated a false claim that Pentagon analysts had “predicted Europe’s defeat” in a war against Russia within two months.

Andriy Olenin