Russian propaganda fakes Human Rights Watch video claiming 76 Ukrainian families died at border

Russian propagandists used a fabricated video and a fake quote to discredit Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are circulating a video allegedly issued by the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch, which purports to show Ukrainian men allegedly traveling with their wives and children during attempts to illegally cross the border, supposedly believing this would protect them from border guards.

The fabricated narrative further claims that Ukrainian border guards allegedly opened fire on such groups, resulting in the "deaths" of 76 Ukrainian families since the beginning of the year. The video also includes a supposed quote attributed to former Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan, claiming that Ukrainians are in "complete despair."

The claim is false. No such video exists on the official website or verified social media accounts of Human Rights Watch.

An analysis of the video shows it was assembled using publicly available photos and footage from the internet.

There are also no statements from Tirana Hassan or Human Rights Watch matching the quote included in the fake video.

Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation confirmed that the video is fabricated. Analysts said Russian propaganda systematically creates such forgeries in the names of Western media and human rights organizations to legitimize information manipulation.

The disinformation is part of a broader Russian campaign against Ukraine. By using the name of Human Rights Watch, propagandists aim to discredit Ukraine's border service, demoralize society, and promote the false narrative that Ukrainians are fleeing en masse and using women and children in illegal border crossings.

Earlier, Russia had also circulated fake videos impersonating global media outlets to discredit Ukrainian refugees.

By Andrii Olenin