Videos hint at Russian information war targeting Ukraine

By LORI HINNANT
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Metadata from two videos posted by Russia-backed separatists announcing an immediate evacuation of women, children and the elderly from Ukraine’s tense border regions shows the files were created two days ago, The Associated Press has confirmed. The videos posted by the two separatists leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk on their Telegram channels Friday alleged that a Ukrainian offensive was imminent — one even mentioned the date of Feb. 18 — but data in the files showed they were created on Feb. 16. U.S. authorities have warned that Russia has planned an invasion all along, and said the Kremlin had planned pre-recorded videos as well as part of a disinformation campaign.