A new campaign is unfolding in Ukraine's information space, aimed at sowing panic and dividing society. This time, the focus is on labor migration. Russian propagandists, using artificial intelligence tools and crude manipulations, are trying to convince citizens that the state plans to massively replace Ukrainians at the front and in the rear with foreigners.
A Fake That Went Viral
Natalia Naumenko, Head of the State Migration Service, revealed details of this information attack. According to her, an artificial wave of disinformation gained momentum at the end of January 2025. The trigger for the rumors was a local case in the Zakarpattia region: an enterprise in Tyachiv planned to hire 160 citizens of Bangladesh due to an acute shortage of staff.
However, reality was far from the propaganda slogans. The company never received the necessary permits, the recruitment was canceled, and not a single foreign worker crossed the border. Nevertheless, Russian resources continue to cite this incident as proof of the "mass influx of migrants," ignoring the actual cancellation of the project.
The Fifth Wave of Information Warfare
Experts from the SMS predict that the enemy's anti-migrant campaign has entered its fifth phase. A new surge of fakes created with the help of neural networks is expected during the period before the second reading of draft law No. 14211 on the employment of foreigners.
"Narratives that there is allegedly a policy of replacing our guys at the front with migrants who will come and live here — this is absolute nonsense. There is no such policy in the state and it is not being conducted," Naumenko stated categorically.
Scale of the Attack and the Real Situation
Experts from the Center for Strategic Communications are noting signs of a planned operation. In just the first ten days of May 2026, about 22,000 materials with anti-migrant rhetoric were published on Telegram and TikTok, gathering almost 50 million views. The enemy's arsenal ranges from memes and generated photos of "foreigners in TCCs" to calls to boycott labor migration.
The Cabinet of Ministers emphasizes that the current priority is the return of Ukrainians who have left the country. The issue of attracting migrants is not currently on the agenda. However, labor market analysts warn: after the end of the war, Ukraine will have to solve the labor shortage, which will only worsen due to demographic losses. For now, the main weapon against this threat is critical thinking and the ability to distinguish real facts from digital manipulations.