Propagandists are spreading information in Telegram channels about the alleged destruction of four F-16 fighters during today's (26/09/2024) “unexpected missile strike”. This information is provided without evidence or confirmed facts. Therefore, it is untrue. This is reported by the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council.

Such news is yet another fake aimed at manipulating public opinion and creating the illusion of the “inefficiency” of Western military equipment, including F-16s. It is part of a larger disinformation campaign that is trying to weaken confidence in Western support for Ukraine and cast doubt on its success. Propagandists began spreading such fakes before F-16s appeared in Ukraine.

An unknown person created a deepfake of Dmytro Kuleba to hold a conversation with a US senator via Zoom, posing as the former Ukrainian Foreign Minister. According to The New York Times, the attacker was able to communicate with the head of the US Foreign Affairs Committee Benjamin Cardin, asking politically provocative questions, including about support for the launch of long-range missiles at Russia. The behavior of “Kuleba” aroused the senator's suspicions, and he ended the conversation. Later, the US State Department confirmed that the senator had dealt with a fraudster using deepfake technology. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

The purpose of such a deepfake was likely to obtain confidential information, stir up political controversy, or discredit the Ukrainian government and its international partners. Although the Kremlin’s involvement in this incident has not yet been confirmed, the questions raised during the conversation were clearly of interest to the Russian side.

Such technologies are increasingly being used for manipulation and disinformation. For example, on September 17, Russian propagandists released a deepfake with the former deputy head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma, in which he allegedly called for ending the war on Russia's terms. Also, before the Paris Olympics, Russian hackers spread deepfakes and disinformation about these competitions, trying to sow chaos and mistrust.

Propagandists are distributing an image on anonymous Telegram channels, which shows a propaganda poster, allegedly placed in one of the Ukrainian public toilets. The poster calls for joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and contains the provocative inscription “Don't piss yourself - join the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. However, this is a fake.

The poster looks evenly placed on the wall. However, paying attention to the overall plane of the image and the corners, you can see that the poster is too perfectly positioned on an uneven surface (in particular, the curvature of the walls). This may indicate that it was added using a graphics editor. The poster in the photo also does not have natural shadows that would fall from it onto the wall. This may be one of the key indicators that the image was superimposed on the photo using Photoshop or another image editing program. The lighting in the room does not match the appearance of the poster surface. The entire plane of the photo has a natural blurriness and low quality, which may be due to the poor quality of the camera. However, the poster looks too clear and bright against the background of the overall interior. Such a contrast may be a sign that the poster was inserted into the image in post-processing. In toilets, such materials quickly deteriorate from moisture or physical impact (dirt, damage), but the poster looks new, which also raises doubts. After all, the phrase “Don't piss yourself - join the Armed Forces of Ukraine” is a tracing from Russian, which is almost never used in official recruitment advertising for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A search for news about such a poster in the Ukrainian media, as well as this image on other resources, did not yield any results.

The aim of the fake is to discredit mobilization campaigns in Ukraine. The image is used to ridicule patriotic agitation and recruitment efforts into the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It attempts to provoke a negative reaction from the audience, especially people who may be sensitive to subtle provocations and emotional manipulation.

According to the State Special Communications Service, cybercriminals are sending Ukrainian military personnel emails with fake information about the latest weapons. The emails are accompanied by a file containing a RARSFX archive, which contains an EXE installer with the SPECTR malware. This virus collects confidential information, including passwords. In addition, hackers carry out attacks through the Signal messenger, where they send shortcut files that infect devices and allow remote access to the victims' data.

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security notes that this cyber group was created before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and consists of collaborators and former employees of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.

The purpose of such cyber attacks is to undermine the ability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to effectively defend the country and destabilize the situation at the front by breaking information systems. By collecting confidential data, including passwords and other important information, hackers can gain access to military plans, unit locations and other critical information, which can jeopardize both military operations and the lives of Ukrainian servicemen. In addition, Russia actively uses cyber attacks for information warfare to discredit Ukraine's defense capabilities in the eyes of the international community, presenting these breaks as weaknesses in the protection of critical infrastructure.