A video created using artificial intelligence has appeared online, allegedly showing strikes on Ukrainian data centers. In the propaganda plot, Kyiv is attempted to be linked to an operation against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but there is no evidence for this version.
AI video instead of evidence: what Iranian channels spread
Iranian and pro-Russian information resources began spreading a video created using artificial intelligence, which allegedly shows missile strikes on Ukrainian technological facilities. The video features three Ukrainian cities — Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. According to the authors of the video, these were the locations of the “centers” allegedly involved in preparing an operation against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The first noticeable publications and reposts of the video appeared on April 30, 2026. By May 1, Ukrainian and international media noted that it was not about real strikes, but a propaganda AI video being spread as an element of pressure on Ukraine. UNITED24 Media reports that the video was distributed online, including through an account linked to Sprinter Press Agency, and that it shows alleged “strikes” on facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.
The main point in this story is the lack of evidence.
Currently, there is no publicly confirmed data that Ukrainian data centers were indeed used to prepare any operation against Ali Khamenei. According to open publications, the video itself was created using artificial intelligence and does not show real footage of an attack, but rather a fabricated visualization.
Which cities and facilities were mentioned
In publications surrounding the video, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro are named. The Ukrainian specialized publication dev ua writes that in the propaganda video, data centers De Novo, UKRNAMES, and iDataCenter, as well as facilities related to DNIPRO-Technocenter, were allegedly targeted. According to dev ua, the addresses mentioned in the video house civilian IT infrastructure and technology companies, not proven “intelligence centers,” as the video authors attempt to present.
This is a fundamental point.
Propaganda takes real cities, real addresses, or company names, and then overlays them with a political plot. As a result, the viewer gets the impression that it is about verified military information. But in reality, it may be ordinary manipulation: real geography plus artificially created imagery plus accusation without evidence.
Why it is beneficial for Iran to involve Ukraine in this plot
Iran has long ceased to be a neutral observer in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Iranian Shahed drones have become one of the symbols of night attacks on Ukrainian cities. Therefore, the appearance of a video where Ukraine is portrayed not as a victim of Iranian weapons, but as a participant in an alleged operation against Iranian leadership, does not look like a random outburst of emotions, but part of a broader information line.
This scheme is convenient for Tehran for several reasons.
Firstly, it allows shifting attention from Iran’s role in the war against Ukraine. Instead of discussing drones, supplies, military cooperation with Russia, and strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, the audience is offered another image: Ukraine allegedly became part of a hostile operation against Iran.
Secondly, it provides an opportunity to link Kyiv with Israel and the USA in the eyes of the Iranian audience. For Iran’s internal propaganda, such a plot is especially convenient: Ukraine is presented not as a separate country defending itself from Russian aggression, but as part of a “foreign camp” against which the population needs to be mobilized.
Thirdly, such videos can work as a warning or threat. Even if there is no immediate military scenario behind them, they create a background: Ukrainian cities are named as targets, Ukrainian companies are shown as objects, and the viewer is made to believe that a “response” is allegedly possible and justified.
That is why NANews — Israel News considers this story not as a single fake, but as a worrying example of how artificial intelligence is used in political warfare. The video may be fake, but the consequences of its spread are quite real: fear, pressure, an attempt to discredit Ukraine, and preparing the audience for harsher statements.
Reaction of Ukrainian companies
Representatives of the Ukrainian IT sector reacted to the video with irony, but also with an understanding of the risks. The dev ua material provides the reaction of company leaders mentioned in this propaganda construct.
In particular, the head of UKRNAMES DATACENTER, Oleksandr Loboda, stated that the video looks more like a propaganda work with little relation to reality than a real description of a threat. According to him, monitoring systems and security services did not record any suspicious activity related to the appearance of the video.
For Ukraine, which lives daily under the threat of Russian attacks, a propaganda video from Iran is not something more frightening than the real war. But the problem is different: such videos can be picked up by Russian channels, translated, amplified, and used against Western, Israeli, or Middle Eastern audiences.
For Israel, this is also an important signal
For the Israeli audience, this story has a separate significance. Iranian propaganda tries to build a worldview where Ukraine, Israel, and the USA end up in one “enemy block.” Meanwhile, Tehran itself has been participating in destabilizing the region for years, supporting anti-Israeli forces, and cooperating with Moscow, which is waging a full-scale war against Ukraine.
This is where the common interest of Ukraine and Israel arises: not allowing Iran to rewrite reality.
Ukraine did not attack Iran. Ukraine is defending itself from Russian aggression. Israel, in turn, lives under constant threat from the Iranian axis. Therefore, Tehran’s attempt to present Ukrainian data centers as part of an operation against Khamenei without evidence is not just a fake about technology. It is an element of a political construct where the victim is made to look guilty.
NANews — Israel News considers it important to record such cases at the moment of their appearance. The faster a propaganda video is checked, the harder it is to turn it into a “well-known fact” for millions of people.
Why this is dangerous even without a real strike
AI videos are changing the rules of information warfare. Previously, propagandists had to search for footage, edit archives, and pass off old recordings as new. Now it is enough to generate a “strike,” add city names, insert a political accusation — and the video already looks like an almost ready news story.
It is especially dangerous when such materials are spread against the backdrop of real international crises. Iran can use them for internal mobilization. Russia — to strengthen the anti-Ukrainian campaign. Pro-Russian bloggers — for the thesis that Ukraine allegedly “draws itself” into new conflicts.
But the facts so far speak otherwise: there is an AI video, there is an unsubstantiated accusation, there is an attempt to link Ukraine with an operation against Ali Khamenei. There is no evidence of Kyiv’s involvement in such an operation in open access.
The story with the Iranian AI video shows that the war against Ukraine has long been waged not only with missiles, drones, and diplomatic statements. It is waged with images, fakes, pseudo-evidence, and emotional videos designed for fear and hatred.
Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro in this video became not real targets of a strike, but decorations for someone else’s propaganda campaign. But that is precisely why such materials cannot be ignored.
When Iran, an ally of Russia and an enemy of Israel, begins to link Ukraine with operations against its leadership without evidence, it is no longer a local informational provocation. It is an attempt to expand the field of accusations and prepare the audience for a new wave of pressure.