Russia’s FSB used drones to spread disinformation in Kharkiv

The Russian special services distributed a large number of fake text messages in Ukraine through Leer-3 systems, which mimic cellular base stations and are connected to the Orlan-10 long-range reconnaissance drone.

According to a report by Reuters, the FSB and the game used such tactics and spread disinformation via text messages and Telegram when Russian troops were advancing in the Kharkiv region.

The Russian invaders also used their traditional methods, such as bot farms, to spread lies in the Kharkiv region, which they were trying to capture.

The average number of messages with disinformation about the war increased to more than 2,500 per day in May (during the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region) compared to 200 per day in March.

According to Ukrainian reports, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian special services have blocked the activities of 86 Russian bot farms in Ukraine, which controlled three million social media accounts.

It shows that massive disinformation attacks have been an integral part of Russia’s military operations and war efforts in Ukraine.

Both TikTok and Telegram are leveraged by Russians to disseminate disinformation online, targeting audiences in Ukraine and Europe.