Russia has falsified an obituary of a fallen Ukrainian soldier
Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on X (formerly Twitter) are spreading images of a fabricated obituary for a Ukrainian soldier allegedly named Artem Melnyk. Posts claim that he died on June 15, 2025, and identify him as the boy featured in the well-known 2014 public service video “Ukraine in Every Heart.”
This claim is false. Russians used graphic editing tools to forge the obituary of a fallen Ukrainian defender.
In reality, there is no record of a soldier named Artem Melnyk on the Memorial platform, which documents casualties among Ukrainian military personnel and civilians due to Russian aggression.
To create the fake, Russians repurposed the actual obituary of Serhii Porokhnytskyi, a soldier from the 44th Artillery Brigade, who was killed in the city of Druzhkivka on November 28, 2022. He was 22 years old.
The fake obituary also falsely claims that Artem Melnyk served in the 92nd Assault Brigade — another fabrication.
This is not the first time Russia has circulated fake news about the deaths of Ukrainians known through social media. Previously, Ukrinform debunked a Russian fake about the alleged death of a man briefly seen walking in Kyiv with former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
These types of disinformation efforts are intended to break Ukrainian morale and undermine the will to resist by suggesting that anyone who supports Ukraine will eventually be killed.
As Ukrinform earlier reported, Russia also circulated falsehoods about Andriy Biletskyi.
Andriy Olenin
Source: Russian fake: Death of boy from 'Ukraine in Every Heart' video
