Russia’s AI Honey Traps Killed 6 Ukrainian Soldiers
Ukraine says Russia used fake AI-generated women online to lure soldiers into deadly ambushes, while Amnesty International reports foreigners were tricked into fighting for Moscow.
Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, says Russia is using fake online profiles of women to lure Ukrainian soldiers to their deaths, with six soldiers identified as killed through this scheme [1]. The operation uses three versions of the honey trap, in which Russian agents create women using artificial intelligence (AI) who start long conversations with soldiers to win their trust and gather information [1]. Once trust is built, the fake women ask to meet the soldiers in person, and those meetings lead to ambushes; the SBU calls it a “fast kill but also long game” tactic — quick to execute, but built on patient relationship-building [1]. The SBU is warning soldiers to be careful with strangers online [1].
Separately, Amnesty International said Thursday that Russia illegally trafficked foreigners to fight in Ukraine, basing its report on interviews with prisoners of war who said Russia deceived them into signing military contracts [2].