Russian drone headed for Kyiv carried recruitment leaflets with suspicious QR code, Ukrainian commander says
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian attack drone heading toward Kyiv on November 4 that was carrying propaganda leaflets urging Ukrainians to join a Russian military unit, according to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces.
Brovdi said the drone, which he described as a "propaganda Shahed," was intercepted near the positions of Ukraine's 427th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade, known as Rarog.
Alongside its warhead, the drone carried a bundle of leaflets criticizing Ukraine's military recruitment authorities and promoting a so-called Ukrainian Volunteer Brigade within Russia's armed forces.
The leaflets also contained a QR code that Brovdi warned could pose a cybersecurity threat.
"If you find such a leaflet, do not scan it," he wrote on Telegram, saying the code could potentially be used to steal personal data or infect a smartphone with malware.
Brovdi published photographs of the leaflets with the QR code deliberately blurred for security reasons.
The commander described the incident as part of Russia's psychological operations against Ukraine, combining attacks on cities with attempts to influence public opinion.
The QR code's alleged malicious functionality has not been independently verified.