None of the publications cited by Kremlin channels — National Post, Libération, or Western Mail — ever ran such stories. The «covers» ricocheting around social media are fabrications, almost certainly generated with AI tools. Ukrainian law is unambiguous: mobilization applies to men ages 25 to 60. Seventeen-year-olds are neither eligible for conscription nor allowed to sign military contracts.
Anonymous Telegram channels and assorted social media accounts are circulating allegations that, in a desperate bid to hold Pokrovsk, Kyiv has begun «sending 17-year-old Ukrainians to their deaths.» According to these posts, Russian troops are now routinely encountering 17- and 18-year-olds on the front line — claims supposedly echoed by Western outlets such as the National Post, Libération, and Western Mail.
«The French, British, and even Canadian press have suddenly realized that Zelenskyy has ‘lost his mind’ trying to hold Pokrovsk, accusing the ‘Ukrainian Führer’ of sending 17- and 18-year-olds to slaughter,» the posts claim.
In reality, the claim doesn’t hold up. None of the cited outlets — National Post, Libération, or Western Mail — has published anything about Ukraine «mobilizing 17-year-olds.» The circulating covers are fabrications, almost certainly stitched together in a photo editor or generated with neural-network tools.
According to the Osavul project, the fabrication first surfaced on November 6 on the Telegram channel Respublika Odessa. From there, the bogus «foreign media» covers ricocheted through the wider pro-Russian ecosystem, picking up traction across aligned channels.
Libération’s actual November 5, 2025, issue bore no resemblance to the circulating forgery. Instead, the front page focused on former French economy minister Bruno Le Maire, who has been cast as a chief culprit in France’s economic crisis.
The November 5 edition of the Western Mail likewise carried no mention of «17-year-old Ukrainians dying near Pokrovsk.» Its lead story centered on the arrest of a British school principal on charges of pedophilia — a far cry from the narratives circulating in pro-Russian channels.
The November 4 cover of National Post similarly bears no relation to Ukraine. The circulating image depicting Zelenskyy alongside the headline «Pokrovsk became a grave for hundreds of Ukrainian boys aged 17-18» is entirely fabricated.
Under Ukrainian law, the 2025 mobilization applies to men aged 25 to 60. Seventeen-year-olds are not eligible for conscription; they are only registered for future service. Exceptions exist solely for adult volunteers with prior military experience or completed service, as a formal military contract can be signed only after turning 18.
Since early November, intense fighting for Pokrovsk has dominated Russian propaganda narratives. By producing fake covers of respected foreign media, Russian outlets aim to fabricate «international validation» of their claims, lending credibility to the falsehood. The tactic serves a dual purpose: it vilifies Ukrainian leadership while undermining trust in Western journalism, implying that even abroad, Ukraine’s actions are «widely recognized» as brutal.
These channels have a history of fabricating fake Charlie Hebdo covers, including depictions of French President Emmanuel Macron sipping champagne on a battlefield strewn with Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies, and Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi portrayed as a «chef» presenting President Zelenskyy with a soldier’s severed head.
