In April 2023, information circulated in the media and social networks that a man had been mobilized in Ukraine, who had previously deliberately cut off his fingers so as not to fight. We decided to check if this is true.
Articles and posts with this news use as evidence a video of a man in military uniform and missing two fingers holding a machine gun. The man behind the scenes says in Ukrainian that he wanted to avoid conscription and cut off his fingers, but they took him anyway, so this method “does not work.” Media outlets such as “Russian newspaper", "Notebook", "Public news service", "Arguments and facts" And "Morning south" This news is also popular on blogs (“Peekaboo", "Zen"), by her shared users social networks. IN Telegram channels messages about a Ukrainian Armed Forces fighter without two fingers are recruiting tens of thousands views And reactions, and the authors of the posts accompany the video with captions like “The situation fully conveys the scale of the madness of Ukrainian mobilization” and “Advanced Ukrainian technologies.”
In most posts and articles, the video is posted in a horizontal format; it is unclear who its author is and where it was posted for the first time. However, in some publications, in addition to a video with a story about a man’s attempt to “deflect,” they also post a continuation - a video explaining how to shoot without two fingers. The same voice-over can be heard on it. Unlike the first one, it is clear from this video that it was taken from TikTok, and the author’s nickname is also visible - @oleggerasimchuk3.
Judging by the other videos in this account, its owner is a military man who periodically films his colleagues. It's on his profile and has gone viral. video, posted April 6, 2023. In the comments below the video, the author discusses with subscribers that this is a joke. On the video itself you can also clearly hear the off-screen laughter. Unlike the cropped version that was distributed throughout the media and social networks, the original video has a signature with a large number of smiley brackets, which confirms the words of the blogger and his subscribers.
Answering a subscriber’s question about how to shoot without fingers, on April 7, user @oleggerasimchuk3 posted another video, where he showed “nanoprostheses” (a mechanism made of aluminum wire), which are allegedly given to those fighters who do not have fingers. It was also discussed in the comments that this was just humor. In addition, the blogger shed light on the story of the hero of the video - he said that he was a former carpenter who came to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a volunteer. Several commentators note that they know this man personally, indirectly confirming the veracity of the story.
Thus, there really is a man fighting in the Ukrainian army who is missing two fingers on his hand, but the story that he allegedly specially cut them off for himself so as not to go to the front is a joke that many took as the truth.
Satirical news
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