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According to a military expert, the missions serve as “window dressing for superiors and propaganda.”
In modern warfare, the battle for public perception is often just as fierce as the fight on the ground.
Military commanders have always looked for ways to prove their victories, but a deadly new trend shows just how far some will go to manufacture success.
As the Kremlin tries to push its narrative that a Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable, the Russian leadership is going to extremes to convince the public that things are going better on the battlefield than they actually are.
This involves a new type of mission called “flag-planting”—essentially suicide missions for the unfortunate troops assigned to carry them out.
Staged for superiors
According to reports from Radio Svoboda, Russian commanders are sending troops on high-risk missions to plant flags in contested Ukrainian territory.
The goal is simple: film a short video or take a photo to prove control over an area.
Yet these locations are often still active combat zones. Ukrainian drones quickly spot the exposed soldiers, leaving them with almost no cover.
A relative of Russian serviceman Yevgeny Kiselev told Sibir.Realii that his group went to Petrovka to raise a flag. “But in fact, it was not under our control then,” the relative said. “Most of the group was destroyed.”
War on credit
This tactic is known on the front lines as “war on credit.” Analysts note that commanders use these stunts to fabricate battlefield progress for their superiors.
Military expert David Sharp described the missions as a “window dressing for superiors and propaganda” in an interview with Radio Svoboda, adding that this practice serves command reporting rather than military strategy.
These staged victories can backfire badly. When commanders falsely report that a town has been secured, higher-ups believe them and refuse to send backup or artillery support to nearby troops.
Spreading the lies
This false information flows all the way to the top of the Kremlin. In late 2025, top military officials reported the complete capture of Kupyansk to Vladimir Putin.
By December, Putin publicly announced that the city had been captured, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy filmed a video at the city’s entrance days later to prove otherwise.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, similar patterns have recently played out around Kostyantynivka. Fighting continues, but the rush to claim victory remains deadly.
