For several weeks, intense fighting has been taking place in the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. At the same time, AI-generated videos of Ukrainian servicemen have been circulating on social media. The content of these videos, shared across different platforms and in different languages, is similar: young Ukrainian men in military uniforms (mostly aged 22-23) supposedly do not want to go to war, so they cry and ask for help. Some videos also show soldiers talking about surrendering, defecting to the Russian side, and leaving Pokrovsk. Such videos are also spread by Georgian- and Russian-language Facebook accounts. In November (from November 6 to November 20), Myth Detector identified numerous such videos and verified them together with partner organizations.
Myth Detector offers an overview of how AI is used to create and disseminate videos aimed at discrediting Ukrainian soldiers and how to recognize AI-generated footage.
One of the posts we verified included several videos and photos claiming that all of them were filmed in Pokrovsk and depicted Ukrainian soldiers being captured. The photos attached to the post were real, but the dates they were taken did not coincide with the current fighting in Pokrovsk, ruling out the possibility that they showed Ukrainian soldiers surrendering in recent days. We determined that some of the videos circulated together with the photos had been created using artificial intelligence. In some of them, the use of AI is indicated by the Sora logo or by flaws typical of AI-generated videos. In one of the videos, which allegedly shows hundreds of captured Ukrainian soldiers, the soldiers’ fingers, as well as the figures of those standing further back, are fused together.
We also verified another video, generated by AI and shared by a Russian-language account, which claimed to show Ukrainian soldiers surrendering. Beyond the fact that such a video and information have not been disseminated by credible sources, the footage contains several inconsistencies confirming that it is not real. For example, the number of people shown in the video and the number of hands visible do not match. Some raised hands appear to have more than five fingers, while the face of one of the soldiers standing further back is smudged, and it is impossible to discern details. We also used an AI-detection tool to verify the footage, and it assessed the video as highly likely to be AI-generated.
Part of a new campaign aiming to discredit Ukraine and its military are videos circulating across various social networks and in multiple languages, which supposedly capture the emotions of Ukrainian servicemen: they are 22-23 years old, targeted by forced mobilization, unwilling to go to the front, crying, and asking for help. Videos with similar content have spread in many countries, and their scale has drawn the attention of disinformation researchers and journalists. Myth Detector examined two such videos, both shared by the same TikTok account. As in the cases discussed above, the videos were spread by suspicious sources, and it was impossible to identify the individuals appearing in them as real servicemen. In addition, we observed several visual characteristics that confirmed the footage was not real and indicated the use of AI. For example, in one fabricated video, a man portrayed as a 23-year-old Ukrainian soldier is crying and saying he does not want to go to war. He is shown wearing a military uniform and a helmet. The helmet resembles one used in the airsoft game, but the AI added unclear, non-functional details to it.
Furthermore, the uniform shown in the fabricated video does not match the Ukrainian model. The helmet is also different. AFP’s fact-checking team wrote about this, comparing the uniforms and helmets side by side.
Another fabricated video features a man dressed in a military uniform. In the video, he is crying and saying that he is being forced to go to war, that he does not want to die, and asks viewers to share the video. A closer look at the visuals reveals that the soldier’s face and tears appear unnatural, the image looks “smooth,” and in some parts his glasses seem to merge with the skin of his face. Along with these visual inconsistencies, the inscription on the soldier’s uniform is also noteworthy. Ukrainian soldiers have their surnames written on their uniforms in Ukrainian, in Cyrillic. However, on this uniform we only see letters of an indeterminate form.
What do we know about the spread of videos featuring Ukrainian soldiers?
Media outlets and fact-checking organizations have been examining a new disinformation campaign targeting Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers, and mobilization. On November 6, when the circulation of fabricated videos showing Ukrainian soldiers crying and surrendering had only just begun, the Spanish fact-checking platform Maldita determined that similar videos had been circulating on X in at least 13 different languages and had accumulated millions of views. Researchers noted that only a small portion of the videos on X had visible Community Notes (user-added comments providing information about the reliability of a post or adding context). Meanwhile, Grok, the X platform’s AI-based chatbot, was incorrectly confirming the authenticity of the videos, telling users in various languages that the footage was not AI-generated.
The TikTok account Fantomoko was distributing the videos of 22-23-year-old Ukrainian soldiers crying. As of November 24, the account is no longer available. In reality, the individuals shown in the fabricated videos are not Ukrainian soldiers, and their images were created using visuals of Russian streamers. Specifically, the face of Russian streamer Каша88 was used to generate the AI videos, which Myth Detector later verified.
Каша88 commented on Telegram about a report aired by Swedish television regarding the fabricated videos of Ukrainian soldiers. The report discussed whose face had been used to create the videos. Каша88 wrote on Telegram that he had become a “hero” of the Swedish media story.
In addition to Каша88, videos were generated using the faces of several other individuals. These include another Russian streamer known as T2X2 and anti-Putin activist Aleksei Gubanov. A TikTok account was creating videos using Gubanov’s face, including videos showing a man with a Ukrainian flag on Red Square in Moscow.
Fantomoko had posted numerous videos of similar content on its TikTok channel. Some of them featured the Sora logo; others showed visible signs of AI generation. For instance, in one of the videos, the person portrayed as a Ukrainian soldier is shown crying red-colored tears.
Source: Open.online
During the same monitoring period, Myth Detector identified several additional videos on Georgian (1;2) and Russian-language (1;2;3;4) accounts. Those who shared the videos claimed that the footage showed Ukrainian soldiers crying, surrendering, and leaving the city of Pokrovsk. Although the Sora logo appeared in the footage, some Facebook users still perceived it as a real video. In one of the videos, showing supposedly wounded Ukrainian servicemen leaving Pokrovsk, the uploader stated in the description that it had been created using artificial intelligence. However, fact-checking organizations from other countries also assessed it as AI-generated and produced reports about it.
Experts speaking to the Ukrainian outlet Kyiv Independent discussed the recent disinformation campaign targeting military personnel. According to them, the spread of video fabrications depicting Ukrainian soldiers represents a new stage of Russia’s information war, aimed at undermining trust in Ukraine’s leadership, sowing panic, and weakening Western support. Kyiv Independent also highlights a legal detail – under Ukrainian law, mandatory conscription applies to men aged 25 and older. Therefore, the claim made in the fabricated videos that 22-23-year-olds are being taken to the front cannot be true.
What is Sora, and how can we identify AI-generated visuals?
Although some of the videos discussed above clearly contain the Sora logo, many Facebook users still perceive them as real. In recent months, numerous Sora-marked videos have circulated on social networks. Sora is a project by OpenAI that can generate videos from photos and text. Myth Detector has previously reported on visual materials created using this model (1;2;3).
With Sora, users can create realistic videos about almost any topic – for example, videos depicting protests, arrests, natural disasters, and other events. Sora also allows users to upload photos of themselves and appear within the generated footage. The application can integrate fictional characters, corporate logos, and even the likenesses of deceased individuals. Experts warn about the growing volume of misleading content; however, OpenAI states that the application was released after large-scale safety testing and includes protective safeguards. According to its usage policy, deception through impersonation or fraud is prohibited, and the company takes action when examples of Sora misuse are identified.
The main indicator that footage was generated using artificial intelligence is the presence of the Sora watermark or logo. The transparent watermark shown in the image often appears multiple times throughout the video, confirming that AI was used to generate it.
Nevertheless, there are many cases in which the video’s low quality makes the watermark difficult to detect, or the video is cropped in such a way that the logo and text are not visible. Notably, open sources also contain videos in which creators teach viewers how to remove Sora watermarks. Myth Detector also verified a video that appeared to be generated by Sora but did not display the watermark.
In addition to the Sora sign, such videos frequently contain errors indicating that they are AI-generated. For example, both in the videos of Ukrainian soldiers and in other cases, these errors include unnatural visuals, distorted facial features, limbs, and fingers, unnatural movement of the eyes, mouth, or body, as well as the sudden disappearance of objects in motion, etc.
In one video verified by Myth Detector, which was compared to police behavior during protests in Georgia, a pepper spray canister suddenly “appears” in an officer’s hand, and he sprays it at someone nearby.
Even though Sora videos are realistic, careful observation of limbs and fingers often reveals that they are AI-generated. For example, in the fabricated videos showing Ukrainian soldiers surrendering, some hands had more than five fingers. Such errors are especially noticeable in footage featuring many people.
Another sign to look for is the repetition of identical details – when AI is asked to generate such scenes, it often produces perfectly repeated elements. For instance, in clips showing soldiers with their hands on their heads, the hands in one row may look identical. This is characteristic of AI-generated videos. A similar error appears in another video fabrication verified by Myth Detector, in which a soldier is shown praying inside a Ukrainian supermarket. In that case, the products arranged on the shelves all appear identical.
The same example also illustrates another issue – the generation of logos, flags, and other insignia. In Sora-generated videos and AI-generated videos generally, logos often appear, but they may differ from real ones in color, font, or shape. Their appearance may also change during the video. For example, in one clip supposedly showing a Ukrainian soldier, the screenshot displays a blue-and-white flag, whereas the flag of Ukraine is blue and yellow. The supermarket’s logo also differs from the real one: the font is not the same, and the logo displayed in the video is one the brand used only in the past.
One method for recognizing Sora-generated videos is to check whether the depicted physics makes sense. For example, in footage used by The Wall Street Journal to demonstrate how to identify Sora content, ocean waves move not toward the shore but in the opposite direction.
What do we know about the military operations in Pokrovsk?
The city of Pokrovsk is located in eastern Ukraine. Fighting has been ongoing there for more than a year, but in recent weeks the battles have become particularly intense. Pokrovsk is strategically important for both Ukraine and Russia. Control over the city means gaining access to a railway and highway corridor in Donetsk. Seizing full control of Pokrovsk would put Russia a step closer to the complete occupation of eastern Ukraine and pave the way for Russian troops to advance toward the central Dnipropetrovsk region. As for the Ukrainian side, Pokrovsk is located near Ukraine’s coking coal mine, whose operation is vital for the steel industry.
Western media have been actively writing about the potential fall of Pokrovsk. They describe the continuation of fighting in the city as Ukraine’s main dilemma. According to the media, Ukrainian leadership will have to decide whether to withdraw from Pokrovsk – now on the verge of falling – to save soldiers’ lives or to continue the battle and delay Russia’s victory there, though at the cost of serious losses.
On 13 November, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the situation in Pokrovsk. According to Zelenskyy, the situation in Pokrovsk is “very difficult,” but any decision about withdrawal is made by the military commanders on the ground. The President of Ukraine also stated, “Nobody is pushing them [the soldiers] to die for the sake of ruins. I will support our soldiers, especially commanders who are there, and how they can control the situation. Or it’s too costly for us – the most important [thing] for us is our soldiers.”
According to the Institute for the Study of War’s update of 24 November, Ukrainian forces are present in Pokrovsk in limited numbers. A source in the Ukrainian army told the organization that Russian troops are poorly coordinated and incidents among them are frequent.
