No, photo does not show 'young Ukrainian girls forced into military' to fight Russia
IN SHORT: A photo of students at Kyiv National University's military institute has been circulating on social media. It was taken at a ceremony to honour fallen graduates, and does not show students who have been forced to join the Ukrainian army in the war against Russia.
"Young Ukrainian girls are being forced into the military to fight the war against Russia." That's the caption of a photo that has been doing the rounds on Facebook in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and elsewhere since late June 2024.
The photo shows a group of what seem to be teenage girls in camouflage uniforms, standing with their heads bowed.
The Russia-Ukraine war in eastern Europe has been waging for more than two years, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its western neighbour in February 2022.
The United States and some European countries have supported Ukraine with aid, weapons and military equipment.
The claim has been posted with comments such as:
- This Conscription Of Young Girls Is One Too Many. Why Force Them?
- They have no respect for women, the west is immoral.
- Biden is e v i l.
Joe Biden is the president of the United States.
But does the photo really show young girls forced into Ukraine's military to fight Russia? We checked.
Students at ceremony to honour fallen graduates
A reverse image search reveals that the photo is one of more than 20 showing a ceremony at Kyiv National University's Taras Shevchenko Military Institute. Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine.
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The photos were posted on the institute's Facebook page on 11 June. The ceremony was in honour of fallen graduates.
The viral photo also appears in a Ukrainian-language news report. A machine translation of its caption reads: "On Tuesday, June 11, the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv commemorated the fallen graduates."
The report adds: "The rector of KNU Volodymyr Bugrov, the management of the military institute, officers, military chaplains, cadets and relatives honoured the fallen soldiers. The military chaplain of the institute Serhiy Dmitriev and other representatives of the clergy read a prayer."
This can all be seen in the institute's Facebook post.
A closer look at the viral photo reveals that the girls are all wearing the emblem of the Taras Shevchenko Military Institute on their left shoulders. A photo of graduates wearing the same emblem can be seen here.
Ukraine has a law that allows civilians to be drafted into the military, but it only applies to adults. In April, the minimum age for conscription was lowered from 27 to 25.
The girls in the photo are student cadets at Kyiv University's military institute, with their heads bowed during a ceremony to honour fallen graduates. They are not being "forced into the military to fight the war against Russia".
