The Russian military is widely spreading AI-generated fake news about the capture of Ukrainian villages
Russian military and propaganda channels are increasingly using videos created or edited with artificial intelligence to claim they have captured Ukrainian towns and villages. This is according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to analysts, at least 35 videos that may have been faked using AI were identified between June and August. In 10 cases, the use of artificial intelligence was confirmed with a high degree of certainty. These videos feature service members from at least 10 Russian regiments and brigades.
The ISW noted that the actual number of such materials is likely higher, as existing tools for detecting AI-generated content have certain limitations.
As an example, analysts cited a video published on July 27 by the Russian military blogger DIVGEN. In the footage, a Russian soldier is waving a flag, and the author claims that soldiers from the 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 127th Regiment, together with “Storm-V” units, allegedly captured the village of Bilyi Kolodyazh in the Kharkiv region.
According to the ISW’s assessment, the unnatural proportions of the soldier’s body and his sudden disappearance from the frame as the drone’s camera zooms out may indicate the use of AI.
Analysts found another example in a video published on August 20 by the Telegram channel “Yuzhny Rubezh.” In the video, a Russian flag, supposedly placed on the roof of a house in the village of Mykolaipillia in the Donetsk region, disappears as if dissolving into the building’s structure.
The ISW paid particular attention to claims regarding the alleged capture of Svyatogorsk in the Donetsk region. Even Russian “Z-channels” have cast doubt on the footage purported to confirm Russian troops’ control over the city. In particular, the Telegram channel “Voenny Osvedomitiel” published two videos which, in its assessment, were generated by a neural network.
Analysts note that the dissemination of such materials can create a false impression of the situation on the front lines and be used by the Russian side to make claims of control over territories that are not actually substantiated.
Earlier, Russia attacked Izyum with KAB missiles; among the casualties was a two-month-old infant.
On September 10, in Kyiv’s Svyatoshynsky District, a drone crashed in an open area in a forest near a shopping center. According to preliminary reports, there was no fire and no casualties.
In the Solomyanskyi district of Kyiv, an enemy drone struck the roof of a four-story business center. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene to investigate the circumstances and address the aftermath of the incident.
