Fact Check: Russian Troops, Not Ukrainians, Caught in Viral ‘Handcuffed for Battle’ Hoax

Russian propagandists are spreading a fake narrative on social media, claiming that Ukrainian soldiers are being taken to combat missions in handcuffs, according to Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security Council.

“The enemy is circulating a video allegedly showing Ukrainian soldiers being taken to battle in handcuffs,” the report on Telegram said.

The Center claims that the footage depicts Russian servicemen from the 15th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade.

The video first surfaced on a Russian Telegram channel dedicated to exposing problems within the Russian Armed Forces, as per the report. However, Russian propagandists quickly seized on it, falsely claiming it showed Ukrainian troops.

Kyiv Post reviewed the video and found that the men in the video are not wearing Ukrainian military uniforms and speak with Russian accents.

Kyiv Post’s investigation found that, on Jan. 26, the Russian Telegram channel Russia Against Mobilization originally posted the video with the caption: “Refugees from the 108th Airborne Assault Regiment are being taken to a combat mission in handcuffs.”

Other Topics of Interest

Ukrainian Drones Slam Massive Lukoil Refinery Deep in Russia – Again

Lukoil facilities have become frequent targets of Ukrainian drone and cyberattacks recently. The refinery in Volgograd is one of Russia’s largest.

The footage later spread across TikTok, uploaded by a user named Zaliv_Rodnoy, with the caption: “We’re going to storm in handcuffs, damn it! Soldiers of the 155th brigade showed how they are taken to a combat mission, chained to each other so they can’t escape.”

The video sparked outrage among Ukrainian-speaking users, who mistakenly believed it showed Ukrainian soldiers. However, others pointed out that it was a Russian fake, and Zaliv_Rodnoy confirmed in the comments that the footage depicted Russian troops.

“You’re right, this is the 155th Marine Infantry Brigade of Russia,” he responded to commenters.

Kyiv Post also discovered that Russian propaganda Telegram channels had begun spreading the video, with some attaching footage from the Zaliv_Rodnoy account and adding captions such as the following:

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine are introducing a new practice – they will deliver recruits to the front line in shackles so that they do not escape along the way.”

“A video has been released online showing chained-to-each-other AFU soldiers being taken to the front for slaughter. The Kyiv regime is going to extreme measures in conditions of a shortage of infantry.”

The exact identity of the Russian unit remains unclear. While Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation identified them as soldiers from the 15th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, other sources mention Russia’s 108th Airborne Assault Regiment and the 155th Separate Marine Brigade.

Reports of the Russian command’s harsh treatment of its own soldiers frequently appear in the media. In summer 2024, Russian milblogger Yegor Guzenko released footage from a basement in the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic,” where Russian troops accused of disobedience were being held. Many were severely wounded, some missing limbs.

“This is how [the soldiers] live, [expletive] in the Russian army. Those who are no longer needed are hidden from everyone in pigsties,” Guzenko said.

The Russian Telegram channel ASTRA has identified 16 such punishment basements.

In one case, ASTRA published a video from a basement in Rozsipne, in the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic,” where Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine were confined. The footage shows them sitting or sleeping on wooden planks or bare concrete, using flashlights for light and plastic bottles as makeshift toilets.

Moreover, Russian soldiers are often forced to move forward and attack under the threat of anti-retreat squads. Recently, a commander of a special operations reconnaissance group, known by the call sign “Bashka,” described a mission to reclaim previously Ukrainian-held positions from Russian forces, saying that Russian troops in the area had deployed anti-retreat squads.

One Russian soldier, identified as Alexey, surrendered to Bashka’s unit and served in the 394th Motorized Rifle Regiment. He admitted that the presence of anti-retreat squads made him fear his own military more than Ukrainian forces.