Russia uses fake “victory” videos to pressure Trump

Russia is creating fake footage showing the capture of Ukrainian territory to give the illusion of success on the battlefield. These “victory reports” are later manipulated in negotiations with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported on the filming of staged videos of “captured” towns.

“The enemy sends small groups with Russian flags ("twos") around Ukrainian defensive positions. Some of them manage to infiltrate individual settlements and film short videos allegedly confirming the "capture" of the territory,” the report says.

One such fake video was recently filmed in the village of Andriivka-Klevtsove in Donetsk region.

According to the Defence Intelligence, in reality, this settlement remains under Ukrainian control, as confirmed by fighters from the “Russian Volunteer Corps” within the “Timur Special Unit” of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, and soldiers of the 5th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade.

Ukrainian military intelligence added that a group of Russian “flag-bearers” was recently eliminated by fighters from the “Brotherhood” unit within the Defence Intelligence's “Timur Special Unit” in the village of Zelenyi Hai, also in Donetsk region.

The British outlet Daily Mail reports that the filming of fake videos is likely aimed at convincing U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia is supposedly defeating the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

This Kremlin strategy is linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s goal of gaining control over the entire Donetsk region in exchange for a peace deal, which Trump is believed to support.

To stage such fake “victories,” Russian soldiers are sent on suicidal missions to raise the Russian tricolor in towns controlled by Ukrainian troops while drones record the spectacle.

According to the report, two Russian “flag-bearers” were killed by Ukrainian fire, and two others were captured alive.

One of the captives admitted during interrogation: “Our task was to raise the Russian flag in five places in front of the drone and take photos.”