Daniel Wolfram
Facing intense heat from the Kremlin over stalled advances, the Russian military and pro-war bloggers are turning to artificial intelligence to manufacture fake victories
Russian troops and pro-war bloggers are now leaning on artificial intelligence to exaggerate their battlefield gains in Ukraine, according to the Financial Times.
Research from the Institute for the Study of War identified at least 35 clips that appear heavily manipulated.
State-run media networks and military spokesmen quickly circulated the bogus footage to wider audiences.
Faking victory in the war via AI
One glaring example unfolded around Dobropillia, a contested town in eastern Donetsk. Pro-Kremlin channels widely shared a video that claimed to show Russian soldiers raising victory flags in the nearby village of Vesele Pole.
But the geography told a different story. The settlement was more than seven miles behind Ukrainian lines.
After examining the clip, researchers at the think tank concluded the flag-raising scene was likely generated or altered using commercial AI tools. While Russian infiltration teams did briefly slip into southern districts, Ukraine insisted it never lost control of the town. In reality, the entire scene was manufactured by artificial intelligence.
Pressure to produce
So why are the Russians producing these? Frontline commanders face intense pressure from Moscow to prove real progress in the grinding war. According to the Financial Times report, several units tied to the doctored videos had recently faced sharp criticism for poor results at the frontline.
These AI clips serve two distinct masters. At home, they bolster public morale and feed patriotic enthusiasm. Up the chain of command, they offer convenient cover for officers desperate to please political leaders in the Kremlin.
Dara Massicot, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Financial Times that the divide between Russian battlefield rhetoric and ground reality continues to widen. She warned that state-backed actors will keep generating deceptive clips as long as the war drags on.
