Russian Propaganda Circulates Fabricated MI6 Video Falsely Linking Ukrainians Abroad to Terrorism

Russian intelligence services have been caught fabricating a video allegedly from Britain’s MI6 in their latest attempt to discredit Ukrainian refugees across Europe, security analysts revealed this week.

The fabricated footage, which has spread widely across Russian Telegram channels, purports to show an MI6 representative claiming that Ukrainian refugees were responsible for 80% of attempted terrorist attacks in France last year. The doctored video further alleges that “actions” by Ukrainian nationals abroad pose a security threat to all European Union countries and the United Kingdom.

Digital forensic experts have thoroughly debunked the video, confirming it was created using sophisticated editing techniques to combine unrelated footage. The opening segment was taken from an authentic MI6 video featuring former intelligence chief Richard Moore, who stepped down from his position earlier this year. Moore has since been replaced by Blaise Metreweli as the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service.

The original MI6 video, published approximately four months ago, shows Moore addressing the public with general guidance about civilian cooperation with intelligence services during potential terrorist threats. It makes no mention of Ukraine or Ukrainian refugees.

“This represents a clear escalation in Russia’s ongoing disinformation campaign targeting Ukrainian refugees,” said Dr. Elena Kovacs, a disinformation researcher at the European Digital Rights Institute. “The use of actual MI6 footage makes this particularly concerning as it attempts to give credibility to completely fabricated claims.”

The fake portion of the video was assembled using various unrelated materials, including footage of the Eiffel Tower taken from a Brazilian tourism company’s promotional video. Images purporting to show Ukrainian protesters were actually from a peaceful solidarity rally held in Madrid in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

This fabrication appears to be part of a broader Russian strategy to sow discord between Ukrainian refugees and their host communities across Europe. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, more than 6.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced across Europe, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“Creating tension around refugee populations is a well-documented tactic in information warfare,” explained Marcus Reynolds, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. “By falsely linking Ukrainians to terrorism, Russian propagandists aim to undermine European support for Ukraine and potentially pressure countries to reduce humanitarian and military aid.”

This isn’t the first time Russian operatives have deployed such tactics. Security officials have documented previous instances where Russian propaganda networks distributed fake videos purportedly from Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation. Similar fabrications have targeted respected French media outlets such as L’Equipe and Le Figaro, with doctored content suggesting negative impacts from Ukrainian refugees in France.

The timing of this disinformation campaign coincides with ongoing debates across Europe about sustained support for Ukraine, as the conflict approaches its third year with no immediate resolution in sight.

European intelligence agencies have increasingly warned about the sophisticated nature of Russian disinformation operations, which often blend genuine content with fabricated elements to create convincing but entirely false narratives.

British authorities have not yet commented specifically on this fabricated video, though MI6 has previously warned about Russia’s active measures campaigns targeting Western democracies and institutions.

Experts recommend that media consumers verify information through multiple reliable sources, particularly when content makes dramatic claims about refugee populations or security threats.