Ukrainians from Zaporozhye are volunteering to join a battalion to defend the region from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to Russian media. In reality, Russia is forcibly mobilizing Ukrainian civilians from the occupied localities in this region, in violation of international conventions, and the city of Zaporozhye is still under the control of the Ukrainian army.
NEWS: “Lists of volunteers who want to defend the region from the Ukrainian troops have begun to appear in the Zaporozhye region, with more than 200 people already on the list”, said Evgheni Balitki, head of the region's military-civilian administration.
“We have our own militia. We already have battalions of people, we don't register them yet, but there are a large number of people who want to defend their region from the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.
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The liberation of the entire territory of the region from the Ukrainian army depends on the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. “Our own forces will never be enough”, Balitki said.
During the special operation, the Russian army took control of the Kherson region and the Azov area of the Zaporozhye region in southern Ukraine. Military-civilian administrations have been formed in the regions, Russian television and radio stations have begun to broadcast, and the trade relations with Crimea have been restored. The regions intend to become part of Russia.
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According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the armed forces only hit the Ukrainian military infrastructure and troops, and since March 25 they have performed the main tasks of the first stage - they have significantly reduced the fighting potential of Ukraine. According to the Russian military department, the main goal is to liberate the Donbass region”.
NARRATIVE: Volunteers from Zaporozhye join a battalion that will defend the region from the Ukrainian army.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The city of Zaporozhye is under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the region of the same name is coordinated by the Regional Military Administration. So, in the city of Zaporozhye, which is under the control of the Ukrainian army, no civil defense battalions can appear against the government military forces.
The occupying bodies, quoted by the pro-Kremlin press, do not represent the Zaporozhye regional authorities and do not have the right to speak on behalf of all residents. On the website of the Zaporozhye Regional Military Administration there is no information about lists of volunteers forming battalions to oppose Kyiv.
The statements were made by Evgheni Balitchi, appointed by Russia as head of the “military-civilian administration”, which is an occupation body that obeys the Russian army. In other words, Balitchi represents the Kremlin in the localities occupied by Russian troops. So, it is not about the legitimate Ukrainian authorities, as the Russian press claims.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) considers Balitchi a collaborator of Russia, who encourages the creation of civilian detachments to persecute Ukrainians who in the past have spoken against the Russian authorities. Evgheni Balitki was a member of the Party of Regions of the pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych and of the Opposition Platform, banned in Ukraine during martial law.
The Russian press also used the method of summoning self-proclaimed officials in Donbass to justify to the public the “special operation” in Ukraine. In May this year, the pro-Kremlin press quoted Vladimir Rogov as a representative of the Zaporozhye Regional Administration. He is a collaborator of Russia's occupation forces in southeastern Ukraine. He fled to Russia in 2014 after speaking out against Euromaidan, backing the annexation of Crimea and the Donbas war.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Liudmila Denisova says that in the Russian-occupied towns in the Zaporozhye region, the Russian army is forcibly mobilizing men, looking for them in houses, basements and on the streets. The Ukrainian authorities point out that the enlistment of civilians in the occupied regions is prohibited by the Geneva Convention.
The propaganda narrative was circulated after the Russian press wrote in May that Ukraine will cede Zaporozhye to Russia , and in April that the people of Zaporozhye had asked to join the Donetk People’s Republic . The Russian press also wrote that the south of Ukraine, freed from nationalists, wants to be annexed to Russia. Veridica has debunked this and other fake news, which aims to prepare the Russian public opinion for new hot phases of the Donbas conflict and its extension to other regions.
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