Russia uses videos of Ukrainian POWs to fuel disinformation campaign; Ukrainian collaborators arrested
Ukrainian law enforcement has uncovered a Russian psychological operation aimed at spreading false narratives about Ukrainian soldiers laying down their arms.
Source: Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office; Security Service of Ukraine (SSU)
Quote from the Prosecutor’s Office: "According to the investigation, three Ukrainian citizens – residents of Kyiv, Dnipro and Khmelnytskyi Oblast – assisted the occupiers in conducting propaganda intended to discredit the country’s leadership and disrupt mobilisation efforts.
On instructions from Russia, the suspects participated in a so-called special operation titled Ukraine is disappearing without a trace. They distributed harmful messages on social media involving captured Ukrainian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, who were forced by Russian special services to deliver disinformation."
Details: The videos featured calls for Ukrainian soldiers to surrender, mutiny within the ranks and disobey combat orders from the command.
The investigation revealed that the Russians forced eight Ukrainian prisoners of war to participate in staged videos urging defence forces soldiers to "refuse to fight" and disobey military orders.
To film the fabricated videos, the Russians set up a makeshift studio inside a detention facility in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
The SSU emphasised that prisoners who refused to participate were subjected to brutal torture and inhumane detention conditions.
Quote from the SSU: "To amplify the spread of provocative content, Russian intelligence also tried to involve the relatives and acquaintances of Ukrainian POWs.
Agents who agreed to carry out these hostile assignments – and were later apprehended by the SSU – admitted they not only spread the videos on social media, but also received orders to set fire to defence forces vehicles and adjust the targets of airstrikes."
More details: During searches of the suspects' homes, law enforcement seized computer equipment, flash drives, handwritten notes, phones and SIM cards used to collaborate with the Russians.
All detainees have been formally charged under Article 114-1, Part 1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code (obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations).
The court has ordered that the suspects be held in custody without the possibility of bail.
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