Numerous international organizations, as well as fact-checkers from Ukraine agree that on the Internet, especially on Telegram, unreliable, staged video materials with paid actors have been created, with the sole purpose of undermining the mobilization in Ukraine and discrediting the Armed Forces in Ukraine
Author: Miroslava Simonovska
Russia conducts psychological and information operations in order to undermine and discredit the mobilization in Ukraine, to destroy the moral among the citizens of Ukraine and to diminish their will for defending their own country. In support of such efforts, the Russian military and special services distribute both real and fake photos and videos on social networks. This information was shared at the beginning of September by the International Centre for Defence and Security of Estonia, adding that Russian special services use former and current male citizens of Ukraine, who have voluntarily switched sides, to produce malicious content for social networks.
Russian attempts to discredit the Ukrainian mobilization cannot be perceived separately outside the context of the wider information and psychological campaign, or rather, operation. The purpose of such a strategy is to destroy the confidence of the Ukrainian society in the political-military leadership of Ukraine and in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to create tension between the military and civilians. In this way, according to the International Centre for Defence and Security of Estonia, the will and motivation of citizens to serve in the Ukrainian army should be influenced.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US non-governmental and non-profit organization established in 2007, in its report dated September 22, 2024, points out similar and concurring findings based on Ukrainian sources.
The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications (StratCom) warned on the 21st of September that Russian actors are spreading false narratives on social networks about members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, it concerns the narrative claiming “they use drugs provided by the United States.” This is done to discredit the Ukrainian military in front of new recruits and in front of society. Russian actors are using false and coerced “confessions” from Ukrainians held as prisoners of war to back up these claims, the Institute for the Study of War reported.
Videos of violent and forced “mobilization”
Step number one in the entire campaign was, of course, the placement of such content on Telegram channels controlled by Russian special services that have been targeting Ukraine since 2018. The campaign is such that it represents the mobilization in Ukraine as “illegal” and “violent.”
It is noteworthy that these channels began to publish videos of questionable quality, claiming to be filmed secretly, by eyewitnesses, and often showing representatives recruiting by grabbing civilians from the street, while in the video it looks like they are forcing them to come to the offices for recruitment. Some of the videos resemble kidnappings.
As the International Centre for Defence and Security of Estonia explains, the videos are spreading on various social networks, especially on Telegram and Tik Tok, however, Facebook is no exception, with comments claiming they show “meat hunting.”
They mostly show cities in eastern, southeastern and central Ukraine, such as Kharkiv and Odesa, where Russia is focused on lowering morale around its false narrative that “historic Russian cities are being targeted by Ukrainian air forces.” The videos also show the so-called well-known “forced mobilization” that is supposed to support the Russian narrative of discrimination in some Ukrainian regions. The leitmotif of this propaganda states “Ukraine is sending Ukrainians to their deaths,” without mentioning that Russia first attacked Ukraine unprovoked on the 24th of February, 2022 and that the mobilization is a response to that action.
Actors dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms
The Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, announced on the 15th of August of this year that Russia has stepped up the production of fake videos about the Kursk region, which show actors dressed in the uniforms of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to him, the Kremlin is intensifying the creation of these videos, which include actors from organizations funded by the Russian Ministry of Defense, as well as employees of the Krylya Theater studio. Kovalenko considers this a common Russian propaganda tactic used in the region of Kharkiv and other temporarily occupied territories. Ukraine’s Security Service said Russian special services were spreading disinformation about the situation in Kursk region, falsely accusing the Ukrainian military of committing war crimes.
Videos of members of the Ukrainian military allegedly attacking women and certain religious groups are also circulating on social media, the International Centre for Defence and Security notes.
These efforts aim to undermine the motivation of citizens of Ukraine to join the Armed Forces, intimidating them by highlighting potentially harmful situations. Russian military personnel also regularly publish videos of the torture and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war, states the International Centre.
Fake videos of “mobilization” in Ukraine are spreading in N. Macedonia
On social networks in North Macedonia, the topic of mobilization in Ukraine is followed by video materials that are sometimes untrue and aim to portray it as coercive and violent. For example, a video with the false description “Ukraine, street mobilization” was published. The video does not show mobilization, but the capture of a criminal group and its clients, who paid from 5 to 10 thousand dollars for transportation to the Moldovan border and assistance to cross it illegally in order to avoid mobilization. The event took place on the 21st of June, 2024, at around 2 p.m. between the villages of Obzhyle in the Odesa region of Ukraine and Plopi in the Rybnitsa region of Moldova, while the already-mentioned town of Kodyma is nearby. The transportation was by 4 minibuses, followed by a car, however, the criminals and their clients were stopped and did not achieve their goal. The number of detainees in this action represents a record for such cases: 7 criminals and 47 of their clients.
“Kyiv Independent” published the warning of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. They said “‘a heavy portion’ of the videos on social media networks depicting conflicts with mobilization officers or Armed Forces servicemen are products of an ‘enemy information operation,’”
The command said it received information about staged beatings and recordings made in occupied territories using cars and minibuses with licenses from other regions, filmed in poor quality to appear authentic. Videos depicting men forcibly conscripted by Ukrainian officials regularly appear on social media, and violence has indeed occurred at some recruitment centers, making the issue vulnerable to exploitation by Russian disinformation actors, writes “Kyiv Independent.”
Numerous international organizations, as well as fact-checkers from Ukraine agree that on the Internet, especially on Telegram, unreliable, staged video materials with paid actors have been created, with the sole purpose of undermining the mobilization in Ukraine and discrediting the Armed Forces in Ukraine
