In October 2024, information spread across social networks that one of the streets in the Ukrainian capital was named after Mark Rutte. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.

It was reported that the Kyiv authorities decided to immortalize the name of the recently inaugurated NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the city map and rename the Heroes of Sevastopol Street in the west of the Ukrainian capital in his honor. In this way, officials allegedly hoped to gain the favor of Western partners and stimulate the provision of military assistance. As evidence, the posts provide a photograph of the relevant order in Ukrainian. This photo was distributed by Telegram channels "Uncle Slava"(188,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), Voblya (143,000), "Dmitry Vasilets" (136,000), "Ivan Utenkov | Kursk"(133,000), "Ostashko! Important» (109,000), etc.

Mark Rutte took office NATO Secretary General on October 1. Before that he had been for 14 years headed Dutch government. As Prime Minister, Rutte has established himself as a consistent ally of Ukraine in repelling full-scale Russian aggression - e.g. entered in the so-called fighter coalition, coordinating efforts to transfer F-16 aircraft to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

It is not surprising that on his first official visit in his new position, Rutte arrived exactly to Kyiv on October 3. The NATO Secretary General met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and assured him of continued support in the war with Russia.

The news about the renaming of the Street of Heroes of Sevastopol in honor of Rutte appeared on social networks about a week later. However, “Verified” found no traces of its distribution in authoritative Ukrainian media.

At the top of the document used as evidence, the date of its signing (October 7) and the serial number (No. 267) are indicated. The Kiev Regional Administration is also mentioned there - apparently, it was they who made the decision to rename it.

However, on her website there is no such order. It is also striking that the document does not mention military Administration of the Kyiv region - this is exactly the status received regional state administrations of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion. Since then, this has been mandatory reflected in documents. In addition, the date and place of signing the order, as well as its number, are indicated on one line, without transfer.

Above is a screenshot of the order from the website of the Kyiv Regional Administration, below is a fragment of a viral document

The number of the proposed document also raises questions. The order dated September 13, 2024, published on the website of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, has the number 1380, from October 25 - 1620, that is, the document number dated October 7 should be located between these numbers. However, judging by the documents posted on the KOVA website, the number 267 could only be the number March orders when Rutte was not yet NATO Secretary General (even if his candidacy was then was actively discussed).

If you examine the text of the viral document directly, you will notice grammatical errors in it. In particular, one of the goals of the renaming is “to reduce assistance from international partners” (judging by the context, “receiving assistance from international partners”). However, the phrase “morning help” literally means “content of assistance”, but as “receipt” translated a very similar word is “otrimannya”.

Moreover, in the present orders Christmas tree quotes are used, whereas the viral document uses paw quotes.

There are also differences from the accepted standard at the bottom of the document, where the signature of the head of KOVA is located. Instead of the word “chief” it says “head of administration” (a similar mistake has already been made admitted creators of fakes about Ukraine), and instead of the name of Ruslan Kravchenko, his initials are indicated.

Finally, and most importantly, the Kiev Regional Military Administration is not authorized to make decisions on renaming streets in Kyiv. Ukrainian capital and Kyiv region - two different region of the country in accordance with its Constitution. The city council of the Ukrainian capital is responsible for the toponymy of Kyiv. Actually, this body back in February 2024 renamed a significant part of the Street of Heroes of Sevastopol in honor of the surgeon Alexander Shalimov.

Fact checkers from the Ukrainian project StopFake We contacted the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, and they confirmed that they had not issued the order from the viral photo. A representative of the department called the document distributed on Telegram channels a fake.

According to TGStat, the first fake order was published on October 11 at 13:07 Moscow time by the pro-Russian Telegram channel “Kryminforum"(9500 views). A minute later it appeared in the channel “Shaman Rahu"(7000). Both of them are already featured in “Verified” analyzes as primary sources of dissemination of disinformation about Ukraine.

Thus, the viral document about the renaming of the Kyiv Street of Heroes of Sevastopol in honor of the new NATO Secretary General is a fake. A significant part of this street was renamed back in February in honor of the Soviet and Ukrainian doctor and scientist.

Cover photo: Wikimedia Commons