Russian disinformation claims Ukraine preparing migrant benefits to 'replace' population

Russian propaganda has circulated a fake video falsely claiming that Ukraine is preparing special benefits for migrants in order to "replace" its population.

Russian resources, propaganda Telegram channels, and bot accounts on Instagram are spreading a video bearing the logo of the Inter TV channel, featuring a fragment of an interview with former head of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration, Ruslan Zaparaniuk. The video alleges that migrants would be granted employment benefits in the region, that women would receive payments for marrying foreigners, and that quotas would be introduced for leadership positions in settlements where foreign citizens form a majority.

This is false. Firstly, propagandists used archival footage of Zaparaniuk from November 17, 2023. In the original report, he spoke about assistance for internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were forced to leave their homes due to Russian aggression. Migrants were not mentioned.

The original audio track was replaced with an AI-generated voice. The video file is titled "IMG_8223," and analysis by the Undetectable.ai service indicates with 99% probability that the voice is synthetic.

Additionally, even in the fake video, propagandists made factual errors. In particular, they incorrectly identified Zaparaniuk's surname and position. According to Presidential Decree No. 38/2026, since January 8, 2026, the head of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration has been Ruslan Osypenko, as also confirmed on the administration's official website.

This manipulation is aimed at undermining trust in Ukrainian authorities and promoting a false narrative that Ukrainians are allegedly being "replaced" by migrants from other countries. Such messages are also intended to weaken societal resilience amid Russi'ss war.

The use of AI technologies to falsify officials' statements is designed to create confusion in the information space, making it increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens to distinguish truth from disinformation.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Russian propaganda also spread a fake story about a Ukrainian ambassador allegedly "insulting" the Hungarian flag.

Andriy Olenin