On November 10, a photo of a poster was posted in the Russian-speaking Facebook group РУССКИЕ, featuring the logo of the Ukrainian NGO “Ukrainian Women’s Guard.”
The photo is a sexist promotional poster urging Ukrainian women to register for a two-week military training course. The image depicts a woman in military uniform and, in the background, a monkey sitting at the wheel of a car, accompanied by the inscription “І макаку можна навчити водити,” meaning “you can teach a monkey how to drive.”
The same information was also shared on a Russian-language YouTube channel and Telegram channel. According to the description, the poster is said to be displayed in the Kyiv metro.
The poster spread under the name of the Ukrainian Women’s Guard is fake and constitutes gender-based disinformation. The organization’s leader stated this to a Ukrainian publication, denying any connection of the “Ukrainian Women’s Guard” to the poster.
On November 11, the Ukrainian media outlet ostro.org published an article on the matter. Olena Biletska, the head of the nongovernmental organization “Ukrainian Women’s Guard,” denied the circulated information that claimed that the organization commissioned the advertisement. According to her, the photo was created using Photoshop or some other computer program, and the organization has no connection to it.
“This is the first time I have heard about this poster from you… We have been working as a women’s resistance movement since 2014, and Russian propaganda has been constantly chasing us,” Biletska said.
It is noteworthy that no advertisement of this kind can be found on the website of the “Ukrainian Women’s Guard.” The advertisement is also not found in reputable Ukrainian media. The photo has only been shared by pro-Russian accounts.
A similar article on the topic was also published by the Ukrainian fact-checking organization disinfo.detector.media.
Nana Chaduneli
Myth Detector Lab
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