Pro-Russian Telegram channels have been circulating a video, allegedly showing a Ukrainian soldier being executed for refusing to fight. The propagandists claim that such incidents are widespread, but are supposedly not being reported.

However, this video is a staged production. In the footage, the man, who is said to have refused to fight, is purportedly executed by hanging. However, the victim’s hands are not visible, suggesting that the individual is likely holding onto something above him. If this were truly an execution by hanging, the hands would logically be tied behind his back to prevent any chance of escape.

Another indication that the video is staged is the language used by the ‘Ukrainian soldier’ carrying out the ‘execution’. He asks the man, “Are you really refusing to defend our country?” in broken Ukrainian. Moreover, the pixelated uniform worn by the man posing as the ‘Ukrainian soldier’ could have been acquired in battle and used for such propaganda purposes.

This video is yet another example of Russian-produced staged propaganda. Previously, we have analyzed similar faked videos, including:

- (Fake) Ukrainian soldiers shooting ‘foreign mercenaries’ in the Ukrainian Armed Forces;

- (Fake) Russia Today publishing footage of a ‘captured Ukrainian saboteur’ detained in the Kursk region;

- (Fake) Posters with an ‘expired’ Zelenskyi appearing in Kyiv.