Russians sought to drop leaflets about "abuses by TCR" over Kyiv: Madyar shows downed "propagandist Shahed". PHOTO
On the evening of November 4, Ukrainian troops shot down a Russian drone carrying both a warhead and propaganda leaflets intended for Kyiv. The leaflets contain QR codes that may lead to phishing websites.
Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) Commander Robert Brovdi, callsign "Madyar", reported this, Censor.NET reports.
What happened
According to Brovdi, the drone was shot down near the combat positions of the "Birds" unit of the 427th Separate Raroh Brigade of the USF. He called it a "propagandist Shahed": alongside its warhead, the drone carried a bundle of leaflets with inflammatory content.
"The terror inflicted on cities behind the lines in our homeland is now accompanied by ‘psychological care’: a ‘propagandist Shahed’ shot down over Ukraine on the evening of November 4 was carrying inflammatory propaganda material to Kyiv, complete with a phishing trap triggered by following a QR code," he wrote.
What the leaflets say
The released photographs show several versions of the leaflets:
- One is headed "Dear Kyiv residents, we need your help!" and claims that a Ukrainian volunteer brigade has been formed within the Russian army. Kyiv residents are invited to "take part in choosing its name". The options include "Kyivan Rus", "First Kyiv", "Volodymyr Monomakh", "Named after Nestor Makhno", "Named after Bohdan Khmelnytskyi", "Mace", "Dnipro", "Crossing" and "Bandera Rossa", with an option to suggest their own. At the bottom are the appeal "Follow the link! Vote!" and a QR code;
- Another reads "Stop abuses by military recruitment centres!" alongside a collage of photographs of detentions and the caption "Instructions".
Brovdi explained that the QR code had been deliberately blurred for security reasons.
Madyar urged anyone who finds such a leaflet not to scan the QR code: "It is highly likely to be an enemy trap to steal your data or infect your smartphone with a virus."
He also described it as an attempt to "destabilise Ukraine through information and psychological operations" at a time when society, in his words, is being "bombarded with disinformation".
Brovdi added that, according to their online "Killboard" tally board, USF units had killed 2,630 enemy personnel between November 1 and 4, as of 6:20 p.m.
