RT news stated the propaganda footage was allegedly sponsored by the British government.

by Alison Ryan

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the staged combat scenes were filmed on behalf of the Ukrainian government and paid for by the British government. The ministry named the date of May 28 and place of Meshkovka in Ukraine’s Nikolaev Region for the filmimg.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the videos are meant to inspire confidence in Kiev’s fighting abilities both in Ukraine and Western nations, and to showcase the “supposed effectiveness” of Western weapons supplied to the country.

The shootout scene, according to the statement, is meant to be a recreation of a heroic Ukrainian stand against overwhelming Russian forces that never actually happened.

The first video, the Russian military claimed, is supposed to show advancing Russian troops, who were played by a group of Ukrainian militias. The statement claimed the film crew couldn’t get any actual Russian armored vehicles for the scene and used Ukrainian ones instead.

“The next filming session is scheduled for June 5 and 6,” Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov claimed. “The footage will be of staged testimony by ‘ordinary Ukrainians’ accusing Russia of supposedly firing at peaceful communities on purpose.”

The ministry claimed that the UK not only funded the filming, but also offered its creative input. The project was launched “amid Kiev’s political disaster in Mariupol and military defeats in the Donbass,” the statement said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/556544-staged-footage-action-ukraine/