Ukraine: fake dead border guards exemplify wartime ‘information chaos’

Published on : 04/03/2022 – 18:14

On February 24, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister declared that thirteen border guards had been killed by strikes by the Russian army. In the aftermath, he broadcast an audio recording on Telegram of a message that these Ukrainian soldiers supposedly sent to the Russian military shortly before the bombardment of Serpents’ Island. “Russian warship, fuck you!” We hear in this recording that has gone viral on social networks and picked up by international media.

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a statement the loss of this small island in the Black Sea, as well as the death of all the border guards who were there. “They did not give up. All of them will posthumously receive the title of Hero of Ukraine,” the statement read. The announcement had aroused a wave of emotion in Ukraine and around the world.

But four days later, on February 28, Marine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces reconsider this statementand ensure that the soldiers are finally alive: “Our brothers are alive, everything is fine for them!”

Russia, for its part, had indicated as early as February 25 that the border guards were alive. A dispatch from the official Tass news agency announced that day that eighty-two Ukrainian soldiers were on Serpents’ Island and had surrendered to the Russian army, which transferred them to Sevastopol, Crimea. The dispatch also specifies that the soldiers will be sent back to their families when they have signed a refusal to participate in hostilities.

Besides, the media and the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video on February 26 showing the arrival of these soldiers in the port of Sevastopol, in Crimea.

A video showing soldiers lined up in front a russian warship particularly circulated. We find it in this article from the Russian media Izvestia published on February 26. It is specified that the scene takes place in the port of Sevastopol, in Crimea. On the uniform of these men, we can indeed recognize a patch of the Ukrainian flag (at 02′:04″ and 02′:12″) or even a ukrainian patch recognizable by its trident shape, or Tryzub, at 02′:12″)

On social networks, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government were then accused of having lied to fuel Ukrainian propaganda.

Today, the Ukrainian and Russian versions agree that Ukrainian soldiers are still alive. But gray areas persist, in particular on the number of Ukrainian soldiers who were present on the island, and on the authenticity or not of the audio recording broadcast by the Ukrainian authorities.

Russia also claims that the soldiers surrendered without a fight and that they never had an exchange with the Russian ship, while Ukraine maintains that the border guards fought before they were finally captured .

It is actually difficult to know if the Ukrainian government announced the death of its soldiers in a hurry, without verifying, or if it is a deliberate lie aimed at attracting sympathy and mobilizing public opinion. against the Russian invasion.

Haste or calculated lie? “Disinformation is part of modern warfare”

Yevgeniy Golovchenko is a researcher specializing in political communication and wartime disinformation. He has been following the conflict in Ukraine since 2014. According to him, this episode is one example among many of the “information chaos” typical of modern wars.

In the specific case of Serpents’ Island, only Volodymyr Zelensky needs to know if it was a deliberate lie or if he really believed it.

Misinformation is part of modern warfare. It is difficult to know what is misinformation or too quick a conclusion without verification. War is a time when parties have a vested interest in creating information chaos […]. Whether it’s truths, misinformation, or something in between, it’s clear that both Ukraine and Russia will push forward with claims that encourage resistance and demoralize the enemy.

Valentina Shapovalova is a researcher specializing in Russian media propaganda. According to her, Russian propaganda has everything to gain from this turnaround:

For Russia, this example shows that Ukraine lied. It does not matter whether it is voluntary or not: the Russian media presents this as a desire to misinform on the part of the Ukrainian government.

It is also a good way to reinforce their discourse that this is a peacekeeping mission. In other words, they say: “In reality, Russia did not kill the soldiers, but transferred them to a safe place.”

The Russian media notably shared “interviews” of people presented as soldiers captured on Serpents’ Island. Among them are this “interview” of February 27 in Izvestia. A man with a Ukrainian accent says : “Dear citizens of Ukraine ! It’s a risen dead man talking to you […]we receivedu posthumous awards, which are not necessary […], our government is bad.“ Note that we do not know the conditions under which he spoke these words or his exact identity. “You have to be careful with this type of video,” warns Valentina Shapovalova. “I’m not saying that’s the case here, but the Russian media are known for having already hired actors.”

According to the two researchers, we must therefore remain very careful with the information that comes from both parties in this context of war. However, Yevgeniy Golovchenko doubts that this case will change much for the belligerents:

For the Russian state press and those who read it everything said by Ukraine and Western media is anti-Russian and unreliable. For Ukraine, that these soldiers are finally alive does not change the substance of the official narrative, that they are being attacked.”

This is not the first time that information shared by Ukrainian officials has been undermined. Several official accounts have, for example, used false images, in particular to illustrate the exploits of the “ghost of Kiev”, a Ukrainian aviator to non-certified existence which reportedly shot down six Russian aircraft.