Germany’s Federal Justice Minister Marko Buschmann said that Germany will not force Ukrainian men who are in the country to serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces. Thus, the information shared on Russian sites and on the Telegram platform is fake.
The propaganda claims that Ukrainian men abroad will be forcibly mobilized. In particular, they state that Germany will encourage Ukrainian men of conscript age to return to Ukraine in exchange for a citizenship…
All the Russian sites that published the fake cite only the Mash Telegram channel.
This information is fake, and the German government has repeatedly expressed its position on this issue.
«I understand the desire of the Ukrainian government to call on Ukrainian men who are abroad and are in military service to return home. This call is legal. However, we will not be able to force anyone in Germany to serve in the armed forces abroad,» said Justice Minister Marco Buschmann in an interview with Welt this January.
In December last year, the Justice Minister also explained that even if Ukraine wants to draft men who have left the country into the army, it will not have practical consequences for Ukrainians living in Germany.
It is worth noting that Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in an interview with Bild, Welt TV and Politico, previously spoke about the possibility of conscripting Ukrainian men who are abroad. In particular, the Ukrainian official stated that it is an invitation to appear at conscription points, and those who refuse may face sanctions. On the same day, Defense Ministry clarified Umerov’s words, stating that «there is no discussion of conscription from abroad on the agenda.»
Russian propaganda makes significant efforts to discredit mobilization measures in Ukraine. Disinformation and fakes about serving in the Armed Forces are part of a wider context of discrediting the Ukrainian military. Russian propaganda uses techniques of intimidation, stirring up contradictions in society and between various social groups, as well as inciting mistrust and manipulation. Previously, StopFake already debunked Russian fakes that Ukraine wants to draft women aged 18 to 60, that a disabled man died in Ukraine a few days after violent mobilization and that Ukrainian teenagers are being prepared to be sent to the frontlines.
