Video of Indian soldier tricked into fighting for Russia is AI-generated
After families of Indian nationals reportedly “duped” into joining Russia’s war with Ukraine pressed authorities for help in bringing them home, an AI-generated video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed one of the men recruited into the Russian army pleading for help from India’s government. The video and several similar clips previously circulated with a disclaimer on a Facebook page that shared other content made with AI.
“Are the lives of our youth so cheap? Agents deceitfully send young people to Russia under the guise of employment, and after 10 days of training, they are sent to war. A young Indian survivor of the Russia-Ukraine war is seeking help from the Indian government,” reads the Hindi-language caption of a video shared on X on November 24, 2025.
The video appears to show an exhausted soldier leaning against rubble as they speak directly to camera. They say in Hindi: “Brothers, please help me out here. Share this video as widely as possible. There’s a lot of fighting going on here. Ten people with me died, and I’m the only one left. Please get this video to the government. Please save me.”
“I am the only one left; all my companions are dead and martyred,” reads text superimposed on the video.
Screenshot of the false X post captured on December 2, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
The same clip was also shared elsewhere in similar Facebook and X posts.
It circulated after dozens of families gathered in New Delhi to urge the Indian government to help bring home young men who were reportedly “duped” into joining Russia’s war with Ukraine.
According to a France 24 report, the families said the men had been caught up in a shadowy network that brought them to Russia, promising legitimate jobs, but later sent them to fight on the front lines in Ukraine (archived link).
The Ministry of External Affairs said 44 Indian nationals were serving in the Russian army, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on November 7, adding that the ministry had raised the matter with Moscow and urged them to stop recruiting Indians into the Russian military (archived link).
Citing official data, the report said close to 170 Indians had been recruited by the Russian military. Authorities have discharged 96, and another 16 have been listed as missing. At least 12 Indians have been killed while fighting on the frontlines of the conflict in Ukraine.
The video circulating online, however, was generated with the help of AI.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same clip shared on Facebook on November 21, by a page that regularly posts AI-generated content (archived link).
“If you love the Indian Army, then definitely watch this video,” reads its Hindi-language caption, but adds in English: “This content is AI-generated for entertainment only.”
Screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and in the post where it is labelled as AI-generated (right)
The page has also shared several similar videos, with one soldier’s speech being nearly identical to the falsely shared video except he says seven of his companions had died, rather than 10 (archived link). It also includes a disclaimer in its caption: “This content is AI-generated for entertainment only.”
Screenshots of AI-generated videos shared on the same Facebook page
Visual errors in the falsely shared video, such as the soldier’s unnatural hand gestures and repeated facial movements, are also indicative of AI-generated content.
Moreover, voice-cloning detection tool Hiya, available within the Verification Plugin, assessed the falsely shared clip’s audio was “likely AI generated.”
Screenshot of the results from the Hiya voice cloning detection tool
AFP has debunked a similar false claim about a soldier supposedly sent to the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war.
