- A fake Putin said in a video address that the Ukrainian army had invaded Russia and he was ordering martial law.
- The fake video was released, due to a reported hack, in border areas where anxiety is already high.
- Russian sources on Monday reported an increase in Ukrainian attacks on positions along the front lines.
Something was slightly off about Russian President Vladimir Putin whose emergency speech was broadcast to some Russian homes on Monday. The deep wrinkles in the 70-year-old leader’s furrowed forehead seemed to disappear too slowly as his expression changed.
That’s because it was apparently a fake, and a superb one at that.
Appearing with the caption ‘Emergency call from the President’, the seemingly digitized Russian leader says the Ukrainian military has entered three border regions where he is declaring martial law and urging listeners to ‘deep evacuate’ to Russia. Some television and radio stations in these regions aired it due to what Russian officials called piracy; they did not identify any culprits.
“Certainly there was no address. It is true that there were hacks in some areas,” Putin’s chief spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the news agency. official TASS. “In particular, I know that there was a hacking of Radio Mir and some networks. Now all this has been eliminated and brought under control.”
—Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) June 5, 2023
Unrest has grown in Russia’s border areas in recent weeks as small groups of armed Russian anti-Putin activists have stormed border guards, forcing heavy military responses to expel them. The message delivered by the fake Putin via television and radio seemed to play on these anxieties.
“Russians, brothers and sisters, today at 4 a.m. Ukrainian troops armed by the NATO bloc with the consent and support of Washington invaded the territories of the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions,” begins the announcement, according to a Russian account of the fake address. As this continues, Putin is expected to order a mass mobilization, a step that is sure to spark widespread concern that he has so far resisted taking full responsibility.
The timing of the fake broadcast is also noteworthy as Russian sources on Monday reported an increase in Ukrainian attacks at several positions along the long front lines. US satellites have also detected movement and increased activity by Ukrainian forces, The New York Times reported. Only time will tell if these moves are part of their impending counter-offensive to retake the stolen lands.