“It’s no secret to anyone that fakes like this are made by a group of US counselors staying in the Kiev building of the Security Council, led by General Randy Kee,” he noted.

Konashenkov branded the scheme “an informational merry-go-round.” The general outlined the cycle as follows: US counselors in Kiev feed false information to the Ukrainian media, and the news is then presented as fact by official Washington representatives.

Also last year, Pyatt was found guilty of posting fake images of US drills and tanks taking part in exercises, after internet users immediately noticed the photographs had been published at a much earlier date.