Russia Deploys AI-Generated Fake Images Claiming Ukraine is Forcibly Drafting Women
Kyiv denounces the fabricated content as a tactic to sow panic and undermine voluntary military recruitment amid weakening battlefield positions for Russia.
Russia is circulating artificial intelligence-generated images that falsely claim Ukraine is forcibly drafting women into its armed forces, Ukrainian officials said. Kyiv alleges this is a disinformation campaign aimed at creating panic and weakening voluntary recruitment efforts as Russia faces battlefield challenges.
The fabricated images, which began appearing on Russian Telegram channels this week, depict women in military settings, with captions suggesting compulsory mobilization. One widely circulated AI-generated image shows a woman with a baby and an assault rifle, accompanied by text claiming it is a recruitment advertisement from the Armed Forces of Ukraine displayed in a Kyiv shopping mall.
Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation has identified these as "informational provocations." The center stated that women are not subject to compulsory mobilization in Ukraine, and no plans exist to introduce it. Women can join the country's Defense Forces on a voluntary basis.
Russian television presenter Olesya Loseva was among those who amplified the image, posting on Telegram that "swaddling a child and assembling a machine gun is the same thing, according to the Ukrainian authorities." Other purported mobilization advertisements featured women in uniform with slogans such as "now it’s your turn, show your superpower."
Fact-checkers in Ukraine reported that the image of the woman and child exhibited characteristics of AI generation, with Hive Moderation estimating a 99% probability of it being AI-created. The government agency asserted that the "enemy's goal is to artificially create a sense of the 'inevitability of forced mobilization of women,' sow anxiety and discredit voluntary recruitment into the Defense Forces."
According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, "The primary source of the spread of these fakes is a network of Russian Telegram channels, which systematically produces and spreads AI fakes to destabilize the situation in Ukraine."
Beyond the AI-generated images, Russian media and Telegram channels have also distributed alleged "draft notices" purportedly sent to women in Kyiv and Kharkiv, falsely claiming they had received them.
This is not the first instance of Russia using manipulated visuals to spread misinformation since the full-scale invasion began. Previously, Russian disinformation outlets have disseminated fabricated screenshots of news reports from established international media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, and Al Jazeera.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously stated his belief that Ukraine would resort to forcibly mobilizing women due to military manpower shortages, despite Russia having sustained significant casualties on the battlefield. This claim was made during an embassy roundtable in Moscow in September.