Ukraine Spots AI-Generated Russian Advance Video—Giant Soldiers and Even the Buildings Are Fake

Russian forces are turning to AI-generated battlefield footage to manufacture evidence of advances they cannot convincingly demonstrate on the ground, according to Ukrainian OSINT group DeepState on August 18.

DeepState said Russian sources recently published a video that was presented as proof that Russian troops had infiltrated the outskirts of Oskil.

The footage, however, appears to have been generated with artificial intelligence rather than recorded at the location, according to the group’s analysis.

DeepState pointed to several visual anomalies in the video. Entire buildings appear to have been generated, while structures that should be hangars were transformed into private homes in parts of the footage.

Russian troops depicted in the clip also show distorted proportions and other visual artifacts characteristic of AI-generated imagery.

The episode appears to represent a digital evolution of Russia’s so-called “flag-planting” tactic, in which small groups are sent forward to raise a Russian flag at a location and film it as supposed evidence of territorial control, even when Russian forces do not actually hold the area.

DeepState described the emerging practice as “AI flag planting,” suggesting Russian commanders may increasingly use generative tools to create the appearance of battlefield gains without having to send troops forward to produce the footage physically.

According to the Ukrainian OSINT group, the apparent shift may reflect the growing risks associated with traditional flag-planting missions, where troops can be exposed and killed simply to create propaganda footage claiming an advance.

Usually, Russian forces send actual troops instead of generating them with AI to create propaganda videos.

Recently, Ukrainian troops captured a Russian soldier who appeared in a propaganda video presenting the Ukrainian-controlled village of Zirnytsia in the Zaporizhzhia region as having been seized by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s 142nd Separate Mechanized Brigade said the prisoner was a serviceman of Russia’s 5th Tank Brigade who had been sent to the area to display a Russian flag and record footage that could later be presented as evidence of a Russian advance.

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