Russia is using videos that appear to have been generated by artificial intelligence to support its claims of battlefield gains near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka.
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According to the latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), published on June 15, Russian intelligence sources circulated footage purporting to show troops raising Russian flags in the western suburbs of Kostiantyniivka and the nearby village of Dova Barka, and the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have filmed the footage on the same day.
ISW said it had grounds to assess that the flag-raising video may have been generated using AI, noting that the footage is consistent with previous Russian information operations that used artificial intelligence to support territorial claims.
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June 11, 2026 15:18
The assessment came amid intensifying fighting around Kostiantynivka, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk region. According to ISW, Russian intelligence operations appear to be aimed at portraying the city as already under Russian control, despite ongoing fighting in the area.
Brigadier General Oleksandr Bakulin, commander of Ukraine’s 19th Corps, said on June 15 that Russian military commanders had already reported the capture of Kostynyvka to their military superiors and were now trying to make their claims a reality on the battlefield.
Bakulin said between 93 and 153 Russian soldiers had entered parts of the city, adding that estimates of a presence of 250 to 300 Russian troops were exaggerated. He also noted that the Russian military is employing infiltration tactics similar to those used earlier near Pokrovsk, while the Ukrainian military has adopted stronger countermeasures.
According to ISW, Ukraine’s tactical situation surrounding Kostyantynivka has worsened in recent weeks. However, the think tank assessed that the Russian authorities were exaggerating the importance of a possible future occupation of the city by presenting it as a prelude to the rapid capture of the entire Ukrainian defense zone in the Donetsk region.
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June 12, 2026 17:42
ISW continues to assess that Russian forces may achieve additional tactical gains around Kostiantynivka during summer 2026. At the same time, the organization said it remained unlikely that Russian forces would be able to achieve a rapid operational breakthrough that would allow them to seize a broader network of fortified Ukrainian military positions in the region.
The institute also claimed that Russia’s information campaign around Kostyantynivka is aimed at reinforcing the narrative that Ukraine’s defenses are nearing collapse and the occupation of the remaining parts of the Donetsk region is inevitable.
According to ISW, recent battlefield developments do not support such a conclusion, citing a slowing of the pace of Russian advances across much of the front.
Previously, ISW reported in May 2026 that Russian intelligence sources are increasingly distributing AI-generated “flag-raising” videos to exaggerate battlefield victories in Ukraine. The think tank said the campaign was part of a broader Kremlin intelligence operation aimed at increasing awareness of Russia’s progress as the offensive progress slows.
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