Russia creates video with professional actors to undermine Ukrainian mobilization efforts - ISW

Pro-Russia channels are circulating a propaganda video about mobilization in Ukraine designed to undermine Ukrainian trust in the Ukrainian government.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said this in its latest report, according to Ukrinform.

Russian opposition outlets Agenstvo and Mediazona reported that the actors featured in the video are professional Russian actors who have previously featured in Russian television shows. One actor refused to discuss his participation in the video, claiming he only acts in films, not commercials.

According to the ISW reported, the Kremlin has previously used high production value propaganda videos as part of centrally directed information operations before.

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“This recent video’s characteristics suggest that the video supports a broader Kremlin effort to erode Ukrainian trust in government, undermine Ukrainian mobilization efforts, and sow domestic discontent,” the report says.

As reported by Ukrinform, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that due to the redistribution of the workload between individual units and subdivisions, and the review of the Armed Forces' capabilities, the need for mobilizing reservists was "significantly reduced."