A new wave of disinformation is spreading on social media surrounding Mykhailo Drapaty, the recently appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From fake “audits” within the army to fake accounts on various social media platforms, these actions, according to the General Staff, are part of a planned information operation against the new commander. This was reported by “Glavkom,” citing Dmytro Lykhoviy, spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Attack via Fake Accounts
The spokesperson noted that from the very first days of the new commander’s tenure, social media was flooded with fake plans and promises made in his name, with the intention of later accusing him of failing to follow through. The most notable forgery was a fake Drapato account on Platform X, created immediately after his appointment. The attackers even purchased a blue verification badge to make the page appear credible. It was from this account that a fabricated “statement” about an alleged large-scale audit in the Armed Forces was disseminated.
“The audit is a lie. Commander-in-Chief Drapaty has not ordered anything of the sort at this time,” Lykhoviy emphasized. Later, X blocked this page at the request of the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
New hoaxes continue
However, the block did not stop the disinformation. New fake “Drapatiy” accounts appeared on Threads, and a wave of posts began spreading on Facebook. Bot farms are circulating fabricated stories about an alleged public quarrel between the new and former commanders-in-chief.
Other fabrications include claims that Drapaty allegedly established a charitable foundation for the wounded using his own funds or sent employees of territorial recruitment centers to the front lines. Lykhovoy emphasized that none of these claims are true—there is no such foundation, no quarrel, and no decisions regarding the territorial recruitment centers; furthermore, the commander himself is not registered on Threads and does not create additional accounts.
