Russia Deploys AI-Generated Fake Ukrainian Soldiers, Rabbis in Viral Propaganda

Russia is deploying AI-generated «Ukrainian soldiers», «rabbis», and other fake authority figures on Ukrainian social media. A Hromadske investigation, with LetsData and Molfar Intelligence Institute, documented three viral AI-generated propaganda videos targeting Ukrainian audiences in early May 2026.

This tactic exploits a structural information-warfare advantage: AI-generated lies spread rapidly, while human fact-checkers take hours or days to refute them. Russia uses «synthetic authoritative figures»—AI-generated characters presented as trusted individuals—whose fake statements carry perceived legitimacy that anonymous posts lack. This marks an industrialization of production and deliberate choice of «authoritative» identities, evolving from earlier AI disinformation campaigns like the 2024 anti-mobilization TikTok network and 2025 fake surrender videos.

One Facebook video from Soldatska Pravda on May 7, 2026, with over 915,000 views, featured a fake Ukrainian soldier questioning his sacrifice while politicians enrich themselves abroad. A TikTok video on May 1, 2026, with 557,000 views, showed an AI-generated rabbi suggesting draft dodgers be stripped of citizenship, promoting an antisemitic trope. Another TikTok video on April 30, 2026, with 425,000 views, depicted an AI soldier claiming Zelenskyy would prolong the war until no one remains.

Molfar Intelligence Institute identifies detection markers: artificial blinking, sound-lip desynchronization, and lack of micro-expressions. Other signs include anonymous characters, synchronized dissemination across dozens of new accounts, artificial promotion («warming») with hundreds of views/likes from empty accounts, and cross-platform posting. Ukrainian cybersecurity expert Kostiantyn Korsun emphasizes critical thinking and verifying claims through independent sources as the main defense.