The Bizarre Case Of Two Fake Ukrainian Brigades

The Ukrainian ground forces have doubled in size in the 32 months since Russia widened its war on Ukraine. Between them, the army, air assault forces, marine corps, territorials and national guard have formed scores of new brigades, each with up to 2,000 troops and hundreds of vehicles.

At least two of those brigades were fake, however. In February 2023, someone created social media accounts for the 88th Mechanized Brigade and 13th Jager Brigade—and began posting what they claimed were photos of the new units’ soldiers and equipment.

A few weeks later, the local government in Ukraine’s Varash District, near the border with Belarus, reported that both the 13th Jager Brigade and the 88th Mechanized Brigade had joined up with Ukrainian forces in the area.

But the district had been duped. Militaryland, a collective that tracks the Ukrainian ground combat force structure, grew suspicious after seeing no evidence of the 13th Jager Brigade or 88th Mechanized Brigade in action since early 2023.

The collective recently asked the Ukrainian general staff in Kyiv to confirm the brigades’ existence. “No entity named the 88th Mechanized Brigade exists within the structure of the armed forces of Ukraine,” the staff responded.

“The 13th Jager Brigade very likely does not exist either,” Militaryland concluded.

Given that the people behind the two fictitious units never tried to raise money, it’s unlikely the “brigades” were part of some elaborate financial scam. “Both units may either be a psychological operation or, more likely, a small group of soldiers unofficially designating a platoon or company by these names,” Militaryland mused.

There are countless volunteer paramilitary groups in Ukraine that exist outside the formal military structure. Some train in the hope of eventually joining the armed forces. Others anticipate conducting resistance operations in the event the Russians overrun their communities.

It’s possible that, in twin acts of self-aggrandizement, two of these groups claimed the 88th Mechanized Brigade or 13th Jager Brigade monikers. But why would they both work so hard—with fake social media accounts and stolen photos—to create the impression they were part of the army?

It seems more probable the two brigades are part of a psychological operation—that is, a deliberate effort on the part of someone in the Ukrainian military to deceive the Russians into believing Ukrainians were stronger than they actually were.

Psyops are routine in the Russian-Ukraine war. Perhaps most notably, both sides deploy decoy vehicles—either inoperative derelicts or inflatable fakes—to draw enemy fire away from real vehicles.

Still, if 88th Mechanized Brigade is a psyops, why did the general staff in Kyiv give it up so easily?