Context: On October 15, 2026, the BBC reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had lifted the ban on strikes against Russian oil refineries following a three-day pause requested by Donald Trump. Zelenskyy stated that Russia continued to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, damaging all three thermal power plants in Kyiv, while more than 100 civilians were killed across Ukraine over the course of the week. On October 15, Trump said that Zelenskyy was not someone the U.S. should deal with because he was allegedly unwilling to negotiate. Earlier, the U.S. president had called for Ukraine to elect a new leader. In turn, Zelenskyy stated that he was ready to hold an election if there were a complete 60-day ceasefire.
On October 14, 2026, an episode of the show Po Forme was published on YouTube. In it, Anna Litash discussed the new conditions for temporary protection for Ukrainians in the EU.
“The EU Council has adopted a decision to introduce a new rule for Ukrainian refugees. From now on, all residents of ‘independent’ Ukraine, regardless of sex, must confirm that they are not evading military service in their home country. A man’s temporary protection status may be revoked if he does not have a deferment document. But the most surprising thing is that the same requirement applies to women, too.”
Indeed, the EU Council extended temporary protection until March 4, 2028 and introduced an additional condition for new applicants. They must confirm that they have fulfilled their military obligations under Ukrainian law, if necessary. The rule makes no distinction between men and women.
At a briefing on August 20, 2026, problems with obtaining protection were reported. According to journalists, Ukrainian women in some EU countries were denied protection due to military registration. Some of them were women with medical or pharmaceutical backgrounds. They faced issues because a note in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s “Reserve+” app indicated their eligibility to serve. European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert explained that authorities in each country conduct their own checks and that the EU Council’s decision does not differentiate between men and women when applications are submitted.
However, the same screening procedure does not entail the same obligations for military service. The Ukrainian Defense Forces explained that women with medical or pharmaceutical training must register for military service and keep their information up to date. However, they can only be called up for service on a voluntary, contract basis. This does not imply that all Ukrainian women are required to receive a deferment.
The European Commission has outlined two potential levels of verification. Typically, confirming that the applicant left Ukraine legally is sufficient. For example, this can be done with a passport bearing a stamp from Ukrainian border guards. Additional verification may be conducted if there are doubts about whether the applicant left the country legally and in compliance with military obligations.
The claim that protection already granted could be revoked for failure to meet the new requirement is also inconsistent with the decision. It explicitly exempts people who were already benefiting from temporary protection in the EU member state concerned on or before August 4, 2026. Under this rule, they are not required to reconfirm their fulfillment of military obligations.
Litash then attributed the following position to Brussels:
“To quote Brussels: ‘In the European Union, we are guided by the principles of gender equality. If men are subject to mobilization, women should not have an advantage when it comes to obtaining asylum either.’”
The Weekly Top Fake team could not locate any such quote, either in the EU Council’s decision or in Lammert’s statements. The European Commission spokesperson was referring to the uniform application procedure for men and women. This does not mean that the European Union has equated men’s and women’s mobilization obligations, which are determined by Ukrainian law.
* The First News Channel is another name for News.by, a news outlet owned by Belteleradiocompany.
