'Information War': Russian Actors Identified In Purported German Video Against Ukraine Aid

A provocative video that was making the rounds on pro-Kremlin social media on July 26 depicts a German family -- father, mother, small son -- sitting at home when stern-faced security officers appear at their door and begin confiscating everything they own to give as assistance to Ukraine, down to the mother’s earrings and the contents of the boy’s piggy bank.

The officials hang a portrait of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the family’s wall and compel them to repeat, “Heil, Zelenskiy!”

At the end, the 1-minute film reports that Germany has provided 22 billion euros ($24.2 billion) of assistance to Ukraine since 2022, before concluding with the officers confiscating the boy’s toy stuffed leopard, a reference to the advanced Leopard battle tanks Germany has sent to Kyiv in recent months to fight off Russia’s massive invasion. “If you are at home in NATO, learn to expect NATO in your home,” the clip cautions.

Although there is no information in the video about who produced it, some of the Russian social-media channels distributing it claimed it was made by the far-right German political party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD).

However, the video itself does not mention Alternative for Germany, there was no reference to the video on the party’s website.

AfD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from RFE/RL.

Using facial-recognition software, RFE/RL’s Russian Service has identified the actors appearing in the clip as professional Russian actors. The matches were given the highest possible scores, leaving little room for doubt and strongly indicating that the video was produced in Russia.

One of the German security agents was played in the clip by Russian actor Igor Alekseyev.

The father is played by Russian film actor Valentin Vorobyov.