Kathrine Frich
Official Kremlin channels rushed to publish the “evidence.”
Seeing is no longer believing on the modern battlefield.
When cameras capture soldiers raising their flags over ruined buildings, the footage usually serves as undeniable proof of victory.
But technology is quickly changing the nature of truth in war.
Fake victories
Vladimir Putin recently celebrated a major military breakthrough in the Donetsk region. He pointed to the key town of Konstantinovka as undeniable proof of his army moving forward.
Official Kremlin channels rushed to publish the evidence. In the footage, soldiers proudly held large Russian flags high in the air while standing inside captured buildings.
The only problem is that those victories never actually happened. Fighting for the city still rages on today.
Experts now believe the triumphant videos are completely artificial. A new report from the Institute for the Study of War reveals a growing trend of digital deception across the front lines.
Tricking the public
The researchers spotted a very specific trick used by the digital creators. They take authentic clips of soldiers and digitally stitch them into geographic locations they do not control.
“Russian sources are increasingly using AI-generated or modified videos to claim territorial control over areas of Ukraine they have not actually occupied,” the report by ISW researcher Daniel Mealie reads.
The technology is far from perfect right now. Observers easily catch obvious glitches, like digital soldiers with strange body proportions or troops who suddenly vanish from the screen entirely.
Between June and August of 2026, the institute flagged at least 35 suspicious videos. Commercial detection software identified ten of them as highly likely fakes.
Seeking approval
You might expect a massive, centrally planned propaganda campaign directed by Moscow. The reality looks much more chaotic.
The ISW suspects lower-level commanders and military bloggers are creating these fakes on their own. They desperately want to impress their bosses and prove they met strict deadlines set by the government.
“Some Russian units may publish materials modified with artificial intelligence to prove to the Russian military command that they have met deadlines set by the Kremlin, or they may use these materials to give greater credibility to exaggerated claims directed at the public,” ISW experts believe.
The institute warned that researchers will need to constantly invent new ways to separate real footage from digital fiction. These artificial videos will only become more convincing as the underlying software improves.
Sources: Onet News, Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
