In early June 2025, a video circulated online claiming to show Ukrainian soldiers shooting deserters near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
The footage circulated amid reports of ongoing fighting near the city, a crucial transport hub in the Donetsk region.
A posting (archived) of the video by the right-wing media personality Alex Jones had more than 4.6 million views at the time of this writing.
(X user @RealAlexJones)
Jones wrote:
NATO backed, Ukrainian military caught by a Russian drones camera executing deserters.
The Ukrainian soldiers shot their own deserters in the Pokrovsk sector
As Ukraine slowly reaches the last stage before a collapse of combat capabilities.
Exclusive footage from Russian scouts, who observed the AFU on the Shevchenko-Pokrovsk line while conducting aerial reconnaissance.
Two Ukrainian "fighters" forced three fellow soldiers to their knees and shot them.
The video shows that one of the unfortunate ones, hearing the first shots, rushed from the spot, but he did not manage to run far.
Units of the 68th Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were stationed in this area.
The video mainly circulated
However, Snopes' investigation could not confirm exactly what the video, which was purportedly recorded near Pokrovsk, showed, nor the time or exact location it was recorded.
A spokesperson for the General Directorate of Public Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said via email that they could not verify the video in question but that it bore "all the hallmarks of falsification and manipulation of information."
They added: "We emphasize that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular the units performing combat missions in the Pokrovsk area, act exclusively within the framework of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and other norms governing the conduct of war."
Ukraine's criminal code punishes military deserters with up to 12 years in prison during periods of martial law. The code does not include capital punishment for desertion.
We reached out to the Russian military to ask if they could confirm that the video was authentic, when it was recorded, where, and what it showed, and await replies to our queries.
What we know about the footage
One early version (archived) of the footage circulated on June 4, 2025. The Telegram channel that shared the early version of the footage was called "Work, brothers," a phrase used to show support for Russian law enforcement.
Searches on the Telegram channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense located a video (archived) posted on April 16, 2025, with similar graphics to the one shared around June 4. Both videos appeared to be recorded using thermal cameras (indicated by the lighter shade of people in the video compared to the landscape) and featured a matching rotating compass wheel at the bottom of the video.
The Russian MOD said on Telegram that the April 16 video showed drone operators destroying "ammunition and fuel depots, equipment and personnel" in Luhansk and Donetsk, including near Pokrovsk. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian strikes hit near Pokrovsk on this date. Claims also said the June 4 video was recorded by drone.
According to online AI detectors Sightengine and Hive Moderation, it was unlikely the video was generated by AI.
(Sightengine/Hive Moderation/Snopes Illustration)
The 68th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, mentioned in the footage caption, posted footage on its Facebook (archived) page (archived) which they said was recorded near Pokrovsk around the time the video circulated. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (archived) (archived) (archived) confirmed fighting in the area around June 4-5.
Desertion has been an ongoing problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since Russia's invasion in 2022. The Associated Press reported in November 2024 that more than 100,000 soldiers had been charged under Ukraine's desertion laws since February 2022.