AI-generated soldiers turn up in Russia's proof of captured Ukrainian villages
Russian units are inserting AI-generated soldiers into drone footage to claim villages they do not hold, and Kremlin-aligned milbloggers say the fake reports are wrecking their own planning.
Russian units are inserting AI-generated soldiers into drone footage to claim villages they do not hold, and Kremlin-aligned milbloggers say the fake reports are wrecking their own planning.
A Russian channel's video proof that its troops had taken a village in Kharkiv Oblast showed a soldier several meters wide who then vanished. The open-source project GeoConfirmed called it the first documented case of AI used to simulate a Russian capture of Ukrainian territory, The Insider reported.
The clip ran on DIVGEN, a Telegram channel with more than 75,000 subscribers, under a claim that the 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 127th Regiment and Storm-V detachments had "completed the liberation" of Bilyi Kolodiaz. GeoConfirmed assessed that a flag-carrying figure was added to reconnaissance drone footage, then disappears mid-clip, the flag fading after him. Analysts geolocated the video to Bilyi Kolodiaz at 50.2047, 37.1496. The Ukrainian mapping project DeepState says the settlement remains fully under Ukrainian control.
A researcher using the handle Playfra measured the figure against satellite imagery at roughly three meters wide. The Ukrainian channel Tysk flagged a second flag-planting video near Khrystoforivka, where the soldier wears no helmet, the flag unfurls in still air, and the figure fades out starting with his head, per United24 Media.
The fabrications sit on a surge of claims. Russia's Northern Grouping of Forces has announced a new settlement almost daily since July 22, ISW noted, while the institute observed no redeployments, equipment concentration or intensified assaults on the scale the claims imply. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov called the claimed seizure of Mohrytsya, prewar population about 850, a "strategic success." Ukraine's Northern and Kursk groupings refuted the Nova Sich, Mala Slobidka and Mohrytsya claims on July 30, Suspilne wrote.
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Subscribe Free →Generative video has reached the military reporting chain, and the bill lands inside Russia. ISW assesses the inflated claims as a cognitive warfare effort meant to convince Ukraine's partners to drop support. Milbloggers Rybar and Dva Majors, both Kremlin-aligned, condemned the altered footage as part of the "beautiful reports" problem, in which invented gains distort planning and push units to attack ground their own maps record as taken. GeoConfirmed's "first" is contested, since ISW logged likely AI-altered flag-raising clips in June. The detection stayed manual, a satellite image and a measured shoulder width, against a claim rate now running near one settlement a day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did OSINT analysts actually find?
Per The Insider, the project GeoConfirmed assessed that a soldier holding a flag was artificially added to reconnaissance drone footage of Bilyi Kolodiaz, and that the figure and then the flag disappear from the frame for no visible reason.
Who claimed the village was captured?
The Telegram channel DIVGEN, which has more than 75,000 subscribers, posted the video with a claim that the 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 127th Regiment and Storm-V detachments had taken Bilyi Kolodiaz, according to The Insider.
Does Russia control Bilyi Kolodiaz?
The Ukrainian mapping project DeepState says the settlement remains fully under Ukrainian control. ISW reported that Ukraine's 16th Army Corps said on July 25 that Russian forces do not hold it, though Russian infantry have begun infiltrating the settlement and nearby treelines.
Was this the only such video?
No. The Ukrainian channel Tysk identified a second likely AI-made flag-planting video near Khrystoforivka, per United24 Media. ISW has recorded likely AI-altered flag-raising footage since at least June, which is why GeoConfirmed's description of a first documented case is contested.
Why would Russian commanders fake advances?
ISW assesses the exaggerated claims as a cognitive warfare effort aimed at convincing Ukraine's partners to end support. Kremlin-aligned milbloggers Rybar and Dva Majors described it as the "beautiful reports" problem, in which false reports of advances degrade Russian planning and force units into worse attacking conditions.
How many settlements has Russia claimed?
ISW noted that the Russian Northern Grouping of Forces has claimed a newly seized settlement in its area of responsibility nearly every day since at least July 22, without the force redeployments or equipment concentration ISW would expect to see alongside gains of that size.
AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. More on our AI guidelines.
Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.