Fake: 15 to17-year-old boys are not allowed to travel abroad

“Does anyone know anything about boys aged 15, 16, and 17 being prohibited from traveling abroad? They’re being turned away and told to visit the military recruitment office, even though they aren’t yet eligible for military service at this age. The authorities are anticipating an ongoing war and preparing to use them as cannon fodder. Total lawlessness!” – we translated the text into Ukrainian, as the original is in russian.

Subsequently, the post was deleted without any specified reasons. We reached out to the administrators to inquire about the removal and the motivations behind it. They informed us that the group didn’t have a moderator, which meant that anyone was allowed to post whatever they wanted. Regarding the discussion on the ban concerning young boys traveling abroad, they expressed no reason to doubt its authenticity.

And truly, anonymous reports shouldn’t be blindly trusted. If a person actually encountered such a problem, they would likely seek to publicize information about such lawlessness as widely as possible, as public awareness helps resolve problems. The current situation appears to be more of a malicious hoax.

Eventually, we were able to identify the author of the anonymous post. However, rather than providing an explanation, this person began questioning how we managed to contact her. Subsequently, she deleted all of her posts. It’s worth noting that her page is now closed.

In the end, the post lacked specific details regarding the location and circumstances, but it concluded with an emotional appeal for action. This indicates manipulative intent.

In early February, the narrative that minors were prohibited from traveling abroad was already circulating on social media. As an example, we discovered a post by a supporter of the “russian world” from rostov-on-don, stating that “there are no more men left; teenagers are next: minors are not allowed to leave Ukraine.” The mention of age and the reference to “cannon fodder” mirrored the content of the anonymous post. Therefore, we can confidently assert that these rumors originate from russia, which is greatly interested in destabilizing the situation in Ukraine more than anyone else.

We would like to reiterate that Ukrainian citizens who are 16 years old and above have the right to travel abroad independently, as stated in Article 313 of the Civil Code titled “On the Right to Freedom of Movement”. For teenagers below the age of 16, they are permitted to travel abroad “only with the consent of their parents (adoptive parents), guardians, and accompanied by them or individuals authorized by them, unless otherwise provided by law.” The law does not impose any restrictions or specifications based on gender.

Mobilization solely applies to men between the ages of 18 and 60. The so-called “draft notices” that teenagers receive at the ages of 16 and 17 serve as notifications to “register male citizens of Ukraine at military recruitment offices”. This occurs annually between January and March, and those who turn 17 within that year receive such notices. For instance, if your seventeenth birthday falls in November of this year, you will receive the notice during the first three months of the year when you’re still 16. Conversely, if your birthday is in February, you will already be 17 when the notice arrives.

This isn’t the only fabricated piece of information on this subject that russian propagandists have created and Ukrainians have disseminated without critical evaluation. Additionally, a fake document supposedly originating from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine was widely circulated online indicating alleged limitations on international travel for young men aged 15 to 18.

The text itself contained numerous grammatical errors, including russian words and expressions. The Service promptly refuted this information, stating, “When registering individuals for travel abroad, border guards adhere to Resolution No.57 of the Cabinet of Ministers. Travel restrictions during martial law exclusively pertain to men between the ages of 18 and 60! However, there are exceptions within this category. Please rely solely on official sources of information!”