Russian Intelligence spread false information in Kharkiv using drones
Illustrative photo: Russians used Orlan-10 to spread fake news in Kharkiv (t.me/milinua)
Russian forces used their reconnaissance drones to spread disinformation among residents of Kharkiv and the region, according to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
According to the Center, Russians connected Leer-3 systems, which simulate base stations for cellular communication, to their Orlan-10 drones. Using these systems, the enemy sent a large number of fake text messages to residents of the Kharkiv region.
Reuters also reported that the Russian Federal Security Service and the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation used this tactic of spreading disinformation via SMS and Telegram during the advance of the Russian forces in Kharkiv.
Additionally, to spread fake information in the Kharkiv region, the Russians, as usual, relied on bot farms.
"The average number of disinformation messages about the war increased to more than 2,500 per day in May (during the Russian advance in Kharkiv) compared to 200 per day in March," the Center stated.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrainian intelligence services have managed to block 86 Russian bot farms in Ukraine, which controlled 3 million social media accounts. Russia predominantly uses TikTok and Telegram to spread fake news in Ukraine and Europe.
Russian fake news
Russians regularly spread their disinformation among Ukrainians. One of the enemy's main goals is to intimidate civilians.
For example, recently Russia fabricated a claim that the Russian army entered the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region. As the head of Toretsk Military Administration Vasyl Chynchyk noted, this is "pure disinformation."
Additionally, Russia invented a fake story alleging that Moldova is prepared to extradite all Ukrainian men to Ukraine.
