Viral video of Putin warning Pakistan while offering support to Afghanistan is doctored

The iVerify Pakistan team reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to find the original source.

Pro-Afghan and Indian users were sharing a video on social media platform X on October 29, 2025, claiming it showed Russian President Vladimir Putin warning Pakistan’s army and offering support to Afghanistan amid the current tensions between the two countries. However, the video is dubbed over and has nothing to do with Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan is witnessing a deterioration in ties with Afghanistan, with recent border skirmishes, counter-statements and allegations. The hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched on Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of Oct 11. The attack had followed an allegation from the Taliban of airstrikes by Pakistan into Afghanistan — an accusation which Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied.

For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Taliban stop terror groups from using its soil against Pakistan. Taliban, however, deny the allegation of allowing terrorists to operate from Afghan soil. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to grapple with the issue of terrorism and has suffered multiple casualties among security forces in intelligence-based operations.

After the initial skirmish on Oct 11, multiple others took place along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Meanwhile, strikes by Islamabad also targeted Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan.

Eventually, the two sides came together for dialogue in Doha, which resulted in a temporary ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries. Last week, the second round of talks, which were being mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, between the two sides began in the Turkish capital.

But earlier today, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced in that the latest round of talks between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul “failed to bring about any workable solution”. He also asserted that Pakistan would continue to take all possible measures to protect its citizens from terrorism.

HOW IT STARTED

On Oct 29, a video of the Russian president was shared by an Afghan user on X with the following caption: “Breaking news: Putin’s warning to Pakistan’s military regime. We are ready to provide all kinds of military and civilian assistance to the people of Afghanistan when needed. We do not want anyone to disrupt the peace of Afghans.”

The audio of the video was in Persian and the transcription is provided below:

“They are encouraging Islamabad to pressure the oppressed people of Afghanistan. Their goal is clear, to break Afghanistan, to prevent the formation of a state in Kabul and to create a circle of siege against Russia, Iran and China. But we know this scenario very well and we will not allow history to repeat itself.

Russia stands by the people of Afghanistan, the people who have been victims of occupation for decades, but still have not given up. I openly declare that any threat to the integrity of Afghanistan’s territory, any threat to the stability and the security of the region, including political and legal support, and if necessary, even military support, should be understood that Pakistan has serious consequences. We do not want this country to be turned into a battlefield of great powers.

But if the Pakistani army or its opposition groups want to invade Afghanistan, not only from Kabul, but also from other places, they will be able to do so. We told Washington in the past, and I will repeat it again, to stop the movement of the region. They have been defeated in Ukraine, they have been trapped in the Middle East, and now they are looking for a solution in Central Russia.
This is our territory, not your territory. Afghanistan is a small country, but with a big heart. The Afghan people will stand up against terrorism and occupation, and today they will stand up against rape.

We consider this standing as a legitimate right. Russia welcomes any economic, security and defence cooperation with Kabul. We are ready to strengthen our military and information infrastructure to defend the borders of Afghanistan.”

The post gained 22,000 views.

Several other pro-Afghan and pro-Indian accounts on X also shared the same video with similar claims as can be seen here here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, collectively gaining 171,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the matter amid ongoing tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A keyword search conducted to corroborate whether Putin had actually uttered any such remarks yielded no news reports from credible mainstream Russian, international, Pakistani or Afghan media outlets.

Analysing the audio of the video using forensic tool DeepFake-Total, which detects potential manipulation throughout the audio spectrum, showed a Fake-O-Meter score of 82.3 per cent.

The score indicates a very high probability of AI-generated or synthetically altered content.

A reverse image search using keyframes from the clip led to a Reuters YouTube video uploaded on October 24, 2025, titled: “Putin says new US sanctions won’t affect Russia’s economy | REUTERS” that notably featured the same background, location and clothing as the viral clip.

The video showed Putin addressing reporters during a media briefing in Moscow in which he said he would not bow to pressure from the United States or any other country after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies.

A keyword search further led to a Reuters news report published on October 23, 2025, titled “Putin defiant after Trump sanctions Russian oil companies over Ukraine”.

As per the report, Putin had criticised sanctions on its oil companies by the US and said they would not significantly affect the Russian economy while talked up Russia’s importance to the global market. He had warned that a sharp supply drop would push up prices and be uncomfortable for countries such as the US.

The article made no mention of Pakistan, Afghanistan or any related warning by Putin.

The same story was also reported the same day by Al Jazeera, confirming that the media address was focused solely on Russia’s economic response to US sanctions and the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral clip shows Russian President Vladimir Putin warning Pakistan while expressing support for Afghanistan amid the tensions between the two countries is false.

The clip is doctored and has been dubbed over through AI-generated audio.