Fact Check: Viral CCTV Footage Claiming An Attack On Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Residence Is AI-Generated
The viral CCTV footage claiming to show an attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence is AI-generated.
- By: Sharad Prakash Asthana
- Published: Jan 7, 2026 at 10:26 AM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). Russia recently accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence. In connection with this, CCTV footage is circulating on social media, showing drones dropping bombs on a building. Some users are sharing the footage and claiming that it is an attack on Russian President Putin’s residence.
Vishvas News investigated and found that the CCTV footage circulating with the claim that Putin’s residence was attacked is AI-generated, not real.
What is the viral post?
Facebook user Ahmed Nisar shared the video (archived link) on January 2, 2026. It read, “Attack on Russian President Putin’s palace. “Video has emerged of a drone strike purportedly targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence. Reports suggest the drones penetrated deep inside Russia to carry out the attack.”
This video, posted on January 1, 2026, from the Instagram handle of Republic World, was reportedly of the alleged attack on Putin’s residence.
Investigation
To verify the viral claim, we first carefully examined the video. The CCTV footage begins at 2:14:23. A short time later, it changes to 2:14:10. Furthermore, the vehicle appears to make a turn in the middle. This makes the video suspicious.
To determine if it was AI-generated, we tested it with the Deepfake-O-Meter’s AVSRDD (2025) model, which assigned a 100% probability of AI-generated content.
We also tested it with TruthScan, which indicated a 99% probability of it being AI-created.
AI video detection tool undetectable.ai indicated a 59% probability of being AI-generated.
We contacted AI expert Azhar Machwe, who confirmed that the flag fluttering and the vehicle running indicate that it is made of AI.
According to a report published on Reuters‘ website on January 1, 2026, “Russia’s Defence Ministry released video footage of what it said was a downed drone. The briefing showed that Ukraine attempted to attack the president’s residence this week and challenged Kyiv’s claim that no such attack had taken place. Kyiv says Moscow has presented no evidence to support its allegations and that Russia fabricated the alleged attack to stall progress in talks to end the war in Ukraine. Video footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a senior official, Major-General Alexander Romanenkov, stating that Moscow believes Ukraine attacked a residence belonging to President Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region. Romanenkov said that 91 drones were launched from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions, a ‘perfectly planned’ attack that was thwarted by Russian air defences, causing no damage or injuries.” We did not find the viral clip in the video footage uploaded to the news.
We scanned the profile of the user who shared the AI-generated video footage. The user, a resident of Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, is affiliated with a political party.
Conclusion: The viral CCTV footage claiming to show an attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence is AI-generated.
- Claim Review : Video of Attack on Russian President Putin's palace.
- Claimed By : Facebook user Ahmed Nisar
- Fact Check : False
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