In July 2025, the Russian media and social networks dispersed the reports that a mature schoolboy, who was in a viral video to the question "Where Ukraine?" He put his hand to his heart and answered: "Here." We checked the reliability of this news.
In Runet, publications about the alleged death of the hero of the meme appeared on July 10. “In the zone of conducting his 19-year-old Artyom Melnik, who became a meme in 2014, was liquidated. A participant in the propaganda video recorded by the Kyiv junta in 2014, who later became a meme, signed the Youth Contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but after a couple of months he was killed for other people's interests of the “main patriots” of Ukraine. The news of this Ukrainian media preferred to mention casually and not focus on it, ”the Telegram channel said in the Telegram channelUkraine.ru"(112,000 views at the time of writing this analysis). A similar note Published On the site of this publication.
According to the TGSTAT service, about 100 similar posts appeared in Telegram, which in total gained more than 450,000 views. For example, channels reported about the death of Melnik "Front bird"(56,000 views),"Notepad Russia 18+"(52,000),"Voenondelo (military affairs)"(44,000),"Countess with a changed face pond"(34,000),"Zuben_co News"(32 000), Nina Vatt (26,000) and others. On VKontakte, more than 100,000 views scored the news in the public "The Third World War". In addition, similar posts are found in X (examples here, here And here) And "Zen", As well as on news sites, among which"Politicus","Notebook" Top News, "ZOV Zaporozhye" And "Tver news feed".
In all the above posts, the same screenshot, allegedly made on the Memorioal website, is given. This is Ukrainian projectwho collects, verifies and publishes information about those who died during the war with Russia - both civilian and military. According to the viral image, the murdered hero of the meme was called Artyom Melnik, he served in the 92nd separate assault brigade. “Soldier ... died on June 15, 2025 during a combat mission at the front. The defender forever 19 [years], ”the screenshot says. The necrologist also shows a photograph of the young man.
The meme in question, appeared In the fall of 2014. Then a short Ukrainian -speaking video, in which a geography teacher calls the student to the board and asks to show different countries on the map. After the question "Where is Ukraine?" He puts his hand on his heart and says: "Here." Subsequently, this frame with a boy and on top of the word “here” began to be used in memes.
Initially, video appeared On the YouTube channel of the Kyiv Theater Studio "Sakvoyzh»October 14, 2014. At the same time, according to the posts on the “Sakvoyzha” page on Facebook, the social video was shot no later than September 12. On that day, several photos with young actors were published there, and on One Of the pictures, the main character was captured with his colleague. According to the signature, Ilya Koltovskaya was called a boy who went to the board in the video. "Verified" confirmed this using posts On the page of the Ukrainian performance, where he also played, and also established that Ilya is a son Igor Koltovsky, the artistic director of the "baggage". We found page Young men on Facebook, but he has not updated it since 2018. Nevertheless, in the account of his father, you can find more fresh pictures with Ilya - for example, in post 2021. In that photograph, he does not look like Artyom Melnik from a viral necrologist. At the same time, there are no messages about the death of his son on the Koltovsky Sr. page.
In turn, the Agency "Ukrinform" found outthat on the website of the project "Memorioal" No Records about a military personnel named Artyom Melnik. But the journalists found obituary The deceased Ukrainian with the same photograph. He was called Sergey Porokhnitsky, he served in the 44th separate artillery brigade and died on November 28, 2022 at the age of 22 during the execution of a combat mission in the area of the city of Druzhkovka in the Donetsk region. The Biography of Porokhnitsky, presented on the website, says that he was born in Vinnitsa, his filming in a viral social video or, in principle, the acting career is not mentioned. In July 2025 in social networks "Memorіala" reminded About the death of this soldier.
According to Ukrinform, a fake screenshot was created using a graphic editor. “Verified” cannot agree with such a statement - judging by the fact that the font on the fake completely coincides with the fact that it is used on the site, most likely, the screen picture was fabricated using Code changes Site pages.
As for the primary source of the fake screenshot, we found its earliest appearance in the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel "Front bird", Which was mentioned at the beginning of this analysis. There the post was published on July 10 at 18:34 Moscow time. “It is curious that enemy resources did not particularly give this news. Our media draws more [attention]. Now you understand who has morality, but who does not have? " - So the author of the channel reacted to the fact that in the Ukrainian press they did not spread a fake screenshot.
Thus, the boy from the "here" did not die in the war in Ukraine. Pro-Russian Telegram channels and the media distributed a fake screenshot of the necrologist of the deceased Ukrainian soldier, who was presented as an increased actor from a viral social video. There were no reports of the death of the hero of the meme in the Ukrainian press or in the social networks of his father.
“Checked” more than once sorted out similar fakes, the authors of which “killed” the heroes of memes and viral videos. Among them are false reports of death Isaac Velichko (He became known thanks to a video in which he complains that he wants a chocolate), hero Tiktok roller about cleaning the General Garage and Girls, the first signaling contract with the Armed Forces under the program for recruiting young Ukrainians.
Photo on the cover: social networks
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