Russians invented new fake about Ukrainian Intelligence Chief

Photo: head of the Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov (gur gov ua)

Russian propagandists have concocted a fake story about the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, alleging that he has been captured by occupiers, reports the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security (SPRAVDI).

“In fact, propagandists had already captured Budanov – this fake was circulated as far back as October 2023,” the statement reads.

According to SPRAVDI, Kremlin propaganda used deepfake technology with the face of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate to create this falsehood.

What’s the essence of the fake?

Russian propagandists claimed that after a supposed massive rocket strike on Ukrainian positions, it was reported that one of the important Ukrainian political figures had been “eliminated.” Later, it was alleged that it was the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Budanov, and he was “captured by Russian military forces.”

Russian fakes involving Budanov’s participation

Russians aren’t new to fabricating fakes about the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov. Literally at the end of March, Russian propagandists concocted a fake involving former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, replacing Kyrylo Budanov with him. This was their attempt to “prove” Ukraine’s alleged involvement in the terrorist attack at Crocus City near Moscow on March 22.

It’s worth noting that Kremlin propagandists had previously invented a fake about the supposed death of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov. To spread false information, they used the logo of one of the Ukrainian media outlets.

Additionally, in June 2023, the German publication Stern debunked the Russian fake claiming that the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, was supposedly in a coma.