Russia uses AI to fake battlefield victories: ISW reveals Kremlin's strategy
Photo: Russian military personnel (Getty Images)
The Kremlin seeks to create the impression of large-scale advances by its forces, using questionable video footage to support its claims of "success," according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russia's Defense Ministry and Russian military bloggers continue to exaggerate the results of the occupying forces' operations. Analysts link this to a systematic Kremlin information campaign aimed at creating the impression of significant successes by the Russian military.
What Russia claims
On August 15, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov conducted a public inspection of the Eastern Grouping of Forces. Afterward, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that Russian troops had allegedly captured Rybalske, southwest of Oleksandrivka, and that they had taken control of 19 settlements during the summer campaign overall.
At the same time, Russian military blogger Voin DV, who regularly publishes material from the area of responsibility of the Eastern Grouping of Forces, released a large number of videos on August 14 and 15.
According to his claims, the footage was recorded between August 12 and 14. It allegedly shows Russian servicemen carrying flags in a number of settlements near Oleksandrivka and Huliaipole.
The blogger also said the footage was released in response to recent footage showing the raising of the Ukrainian flag. He was likely referring to Ukraine's August 12 announcement that 26 villages in the Oleksandrivka direction had been liberated as a result of counteroffensive operations between January and August 2026.
What does AI have to do with it?
ISW drew attention to the reliability of the videos published by the Russian side. Analysts have reason to believe that a significant portion of Voin DV's material does not reflect reality.
In particular, some footage was likely created or altered using artificial intelligence. Other videos may contain old footage presented as recent.
Therefore, the videos cannot serve as reliable confirmation of the claimed Russian advance.
At the same time, on August 15, Voin DV claimed that Russian forces had allegedly captured Ukrainian positions west of the Oleksandrivka-Khrestoforivka line. He also claimed that Russian forces had broken through Ukrainian defenses near Rivne and Kopani and advanced west of Novoselivka.
Another Russian military blogger claimed that same day that Russian forces had advanced near Novoselivka, Dolynka and Lybetske, as well as toward Velyka Mykhailivka.
Why is the Kremlin making such claims?
According to ISW, the actions of Russia's Defense Ministry and military bloggers are part of a broader Kremlin campaign aimed at creating a desired information effect.
This involves spreading claims about tactical successes by the Russian military even in areas where Russian forces do not have stable positions. In this way, Moscow seeks to create a false impression of a large-scale advance by its forces and a possible collapse of Ukrainian defenses.
In other words, the Russian side is trying to influence not only perceptions of the situation inside Russia but also assessments of the course of the war outside the country.
As previously reported, between January and August 2026, Ukraine's Defense Forces liberated 26 settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Overall, Ukrainian forces regained control of about 745 square kilometers of territory.
