Russian propaganda dispels the lie that public transport fares in Sumy are paid in rubles. This information was spread in one of the Telegram channels. As “proof”, the propagandists add a photo of a validator of travel cards allegedly from a Sumy bus. However, the image was actually edited in a photo editor. Details are given below.
Fake
First of all, it is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that Russian propaganda has spread misinformation about the alleged introduction of a currency other than the hryvnia in Ukraine. Previously, we already refuted the fakes that the Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia are switching to the ruble http://surl.li/uhyceq
And about the fact that zlotys have already been introduced in the western regions of Ukraine http://surl.li/jyywyf
This time, agitprop “convincingly” claims that rubles are already officially used to pay for public transport in the border city of Sumy. Obviously, the city was not chosen by chance, because it is only 30 km from Sumy to the Russian border.
As they write in the propaganda telegram channel in the original language: “The validator is in one of the buses in the city of Sumy. The fare is 33 rubles. The post is accompanied by a photo showing a validator of travel cards, which is used to pay for travel without contact. The inscriptions on the validator are in Ukrainian, and there are no other recognizable signs or details. That is, the photo could have been taken in any city, which is generally the case.
Using reverse image search we found an identical photo. In October 2022, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko published it on his Telegram channel, announcing that payment by bank card has become available in Kyiv’s municipal public transport on certain routes. However, the original photo says “Kyiv” and shows the current time, not the fare. http://surl.li/rytnmr
As for the city of Sumy, a contactless plastic card payment system has been in place in municipal trolleybuses and buses since 2017. The fare last increased last fall and is currently 8 hryvnias instead of 33 rubles (about 15 hryvnias). http://surl.li/itmkgu
CONCLUSIONS
In Sumy, as in other Ukrainian cities, fares are paid not in rubles, but in hryvnias. Such lies about the introduction of the ruble as the second or only currency in Ukraine are part of Russian propaganda, because replacing everything Ukrainian with Russian is a consistent strategy of the Russian Federation.
So, in the occupied territories, the Russians replace everything – from school textbooks to currency. However, we are convinced that the Kremlin money will certainly follow the known course of the Russian ship…