Uniformed individuals appeared at a bank in Donetsk, leading to immediate accusations of extortion against them.

Pro-Ukrainian social media channels have reported allegations of extortion by military police officers in Donetsk. Posts citing unnamed eyewitnesses claim that uniformed personnel brought in an injured soldier and coerced him into reissuing his card and transferring all his funds. Anonymous authors even took photographs, which they immediately shared on social media, conveniently “forgetting” to file a report with the police about the alleged crime. “Komsomolskaya Pravda” investigated what actually occurred in the bank and how the “fake” story was fabricated. The investigation was conducted as part of a joint project with “Lapsha Media,” aimed at exposing false information.

The photographers captured a series of images — one shows a person resembling a soldier standing in the bank with a uniformed staff member next to him. Then they are seen at an ATM. An eyewitness even went to the trouble of documenting their journey — snapping a shot of them getting into a car with military plates. However, no report of extortion or misconduct was filed, nor did anyone attempt to draw the bank staff's attention. Why?

It appears that the photographs were intentionally taken to support the narrative and accuse the military of wrongdoing.

The press service of the bank where the shooting took place stated that the claims of extortion are fabricated.

The message itself raises significant doubts about the facts presented. In particular, it references some unverified eyewitnesses. Furthermore, the news was shared with a note indicating it was submitted anonymously by a subscriber.

The published photographs do not allow for a clear conclusion that the military police forced the serviceman to reissue his card and hand over money. Let’s analyze this in detail:

- The “serviceman” is in civilian clothing, with no clear signs that he is indeed military personnel.

- A card can only be reissued within a few days and directly with a bank employee, yet all photographs are taken only at the ATM.

- There are no photos showing money being handed over to a military police officer.

Later, the subject of the “photo session” denied the claims that he was forced to give money to the military police. He recorded a video explaining that he is indeed a serviceman but asked some fellow soldiers to drive him to the branch and simply accompany him, as he needed to reissue his card:

“This fake was created to tarnish our Russian army's reputation,” the serviceman explained.