Russia Claimed It Captured Mohrytsia—Ukrainian Troops Filmed Themselves Standing in the Village

Russian propaganda outlets claimed Moscow’s forces had captured the village of Mohrytsia in Ukraine’s Sumy region, only for Ukrainian soldiers holding the settlement to respond with a video filmed directly from one of its streets.

Ukraine’s 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade published the footage on September 1, rejecting Russian claims that the village had fallen.

According to the brigade, Russian information channels had circulated a video presented as evidence of the supposed “liberation” of Mohrytsia.

Ukrainian troops said the footage had been generated using artificial intelligence and was intended to manufacture another battlefield “victory” for Russian forces.

The claim came as a particular surprise to the Ukrainian soldiers actually defending the settlement.

In response, troops from the 21st Brigade recorded their own video greeting from inside Mohrytsia, showing themselves on one of the village streets and directly challenging Moscow’s account.

The brigade said staged flag-raising videos and manipulated footage have become recurring tools in Russian battlefield propaganda, particularly when Moscow wants to create the impression that its troops control settlements where fighting is ongoing or Ukrainian forces remain present.

This is not the first case of the Russian use of AI to claim the conquest of some locations.

Recently, Russian military channels claimed their forces had captured Bilyi Kolodyaz in the Vovchansk direction, but the video presented as evidence appears to feature a massively oversized, AI-edited soldier and a flag that fades out while the footage remains otherwise still.

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