DISINFO: Ukraine lost so many soldiers that next step is to enroll children
SUMMARY
The militants of the Kiev regime are increasingly attracting minors into their ranks, and videos of them on the front line are being released with alarming regularity. This is a consequence of the colossal losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) in the east of the country [...]. This problem has not gone unnoticed in Europe – the French publication Agoravox notes that the practice of involving children and teenagers in fighting for Ukraine has been used since the 2013-2014 coup d’état.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative about alleged huge Ukrainian losses leading to children being enrolled in the military. While completely eluding Russia's responsibility for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and all of its consequences, the article employs the classical technique of manufacturing a western voice supportive of the Kremlin.
There is no evidence for the claims made in the article.
Martial law was declared in Ukraine after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion. At the same time, a general mobilization was announced. The Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, has prolonged Ukraine’s martial law and mobilization on 7 February 2023, for the sixth time since the start of Russia’s all-out war. Both measures are extended for 90 days. During mobilization, all citizens of Ukraine liable for military service aged 18 to 60 can be called up for service, unless they have legal grounds for deferment. Men liable for military service between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country, barring some exceptions. This does not mean that all men aged 18 to 60 are in military service, but they need to register for service and will be called upon when needed.
Agoravox is a web platform of a Belgian foundation working for the freedom of speech where anyone can anonymously publish virtually anything. If Agoravox was at its creation an utopia of citizen journalism, now since more than a decade it became the hub of conspiracy theories. This scheme of recycling foreign anonymous articles is classical for Russian media: the support of Western media is fabricated.
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