Russian Forces Use Artificial Intelligence to Show Artificial Victory

Russian sources are increasingly using AI-generated and AI-altered videos to falsely portray Russian forces as capturing Ukrainian territory they do not control, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW)ISW said the practice does not yet appear to be centralized across the Russian military. Instead, several Russian units and milbloggers appear to be producing or amplifying AI-altered footage, potentially to conceal battlefield failures or create the impression that units have met Kremlin-set objectives.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Russian sources use AI to fake territorial gainsRussian sources began posting AI-altered flag-raising videos at scale in June 2026, according to ISW. The footage typically shows Russian servicemembers raising flags in settlements that Russian forces have not actually captured.ISW identified at least 35 videos suspected of being AI-altered between June 1 and Aug. 30. Commercially available AI-detection software assessed with high confidence that at least 10 had been manipulated using AI models.The actual number is likely higher, according to the report, because existing detection tools don’t consistently identify AI manipulation.The videos often contain distorted soldiers, inconsistent shadows, unnatural movements and flags that appear to disappear or deform. Russian sources also use camera movements, zooms and jump cuts to make the anomalies harder to spot.ISW said accurate geolocation does not prove that such footage is authentic, as Russian sources may record real footage of settlements and use it as reference material for AI-generated scenes. Other Topics of Interest ‘You’re Simply Forced to Sit Within These Four Walls’: Kyiv Residents Living Under Constant Drone Attacks Since Aug. 27, near-continuous Russian drone attacks have disrupted daily life in Kyiv, forcing residents to adapt to sleepless nights, crowded shelters, disrupted schools and a city that rarely returns to normal. For instance, on July 27, milblogger DIVGEN published a video showing a Russian soldier waving a flag, with the caption: “Own sources. Soldiers of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 127th Regiment, together with ‘Storm-V’ detachments, have completed the liberation of the urban-type settlement of Bely Kolodez [in the Kharkiv region].” According to the ISW, the video was an AI-generated fake. It was exposed by several visual anomalies, including the soldier’s implausible body proportions and his sudden disappearance from the bushes when the drone camera zoomed out to show the supposedly captured settlement.Another video, posted by the “Yuzhny Rubezh” (Southern Frontier) Telegram channel on Aug. 20, showed a Russian flag apparently “growing” out of the roof of a house before disappearing back into it. The channel claimed that the village of Mykolaipillia in the Donetsk region had been “liberated as a result of active and decisive actions by a unit of the Southern Group of Forces.”One of the most prominent examples involved Sviatohirsk, a town guarding the northern flank of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk “fortress belt” in the Donetsk region.Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the Russian Defense Ministry announced in early September that Russian forces had captured the town.However, Sviatohirsk remained behind Ukrainian lines, a fact underscored by Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, who published a video address from the town center.The claims were also challenged by some Russian pro-war “Z-channels.” The “Voenny Osvedomitel” (Military Informant) channel posted two videos purportedly showing the Russian “liberation” of Sviatohirsk but later said the footage had been generated by a neural network.The pro-war Rybar channel also criticized the use of AI-generated footage, saying such “deliberately false” reports could expose serious problems in Russia’s battlefield reporting. It noted that Ukrainian footage showing Biletskyi walking around the Sviatohirsk Lavra contradicted the Russian claims of control.Rybar also warned that the consequences could go beyond propaganda. False reports about captured settlements could distort commanders’ understanding of the battlefield, potentially leading to military operations being planned based on an inaccurate tactical picture.AI fakes used to exaggerate Russian advancesISW said the fabricated footage is particularly useful for Russian units that have struggled to make battlefield progress.Russian milblogger Voin DV, for example, repeatedly attributed territorial gains to Russia’s 36th Motorized Rifle Brigade using footage that ISW assessed or suspected was AI-altered.Russian sources have also used AI-generated footage to claim advances in the Donetsk region, including along the Fortress Belt, where Russian forces have made slow and costly progress.The campaign has also targeted Ukrainian gains. After President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had liberated 26 settlements in the Oleksandrivka direction in August, Russian sources posted footage purportedly showing Russian troops still occupying several of those settlements. ISW assessed that some of the footage had been altered using AI.Russia’s AI campaign targets the information warISW said the fabricated videos are intended not only for Russian audiences but also to shape perceptions of the war abroad.Russian officials have repeatedly made exaggerated claims about territorial gains. AI-generated footage can provide visual material to make those claims appear more credible and reinforce the Kremlin’s narrative that Russia maintains the battlefield initiative.Most settlements claimed by Russian sources using suspected or assessed AI-altered footage remained under Ukrainian control as of Aug. 31, ISW said.The think tank expects Russian sources to expand their use of AI-generated material as video-generation technology becomes more accessible. It also warned that Russian sources could eventually use AI-generated satellite imagery to fabricate evidence of military activity or territorial control.Despite improving technology, ISW said visual anomalies remain common and that open-source researchers will need to continually refine methods for distinguishing authentic battlefield footage from AI-generated material. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. 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