"Boasted 'I Destroyed a Tank' Russian Veteran... Was a Chinese Fraud"

Gaining Popularity by Posting Videos on Chinese SNS
"Fought with US Troops" Boasts Heroic Tales
Also Opens Online Store and Starts Business

Russian military veteran 'Pavel Korchati,' who claimed to defend his homeland against the Ukrainian army.

He gained hundreds of thousands of followers on social media by boasting numerous military achievements, but it has now been revealed that he is actually a Chinese fraudster with no connection to Russia, shocking many.

Pavel Korchati, who has been impersonating a Russian soldier and selling various goods. [Image source=Douyin]

On the 25th, Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Pavel Korchati, known as a Russian influencer, was in fact Chinese. As a result, his online store was shut down and his Douyin (Chinese short-form video platform) account was blocked.

Pavel was a famous influencer with about 380,000 followers. Introducing himself as a 'Russian military veteran,' he became popular by sharing various 'war stories,' such as shooting down American drones and capturing Ukrainian prisoners of war.

He was especially popular in China because he spoke Chinese fluently and introduced himself by saying, "Hello friends from China."

He even told stories about fighting against the US Navy SEALs and produced many contents mocking the US military, such as claiming, "We blew up American tanks," which excited Chinese netizens.

Pavel also earned huge profits from his fame. He opened an online store under his name and started selling various souvenirs, mainly Russian specialties like alcohol, honey, and vodka.

According to SCMP, after starting the online store business, Pavel received over 200 pre-orders and even expressed gratitude by saying, "Salute to the heroes who bought items from the store."

However, his popularity did not last long. Some netizens began raising doubts about Pavel’s videos. Many pointed out that the background of the videos seemed to be Henan Province in China, not Ukraine.

SCMP also reported that the IP address of the videos Pavel shared was from Henan Province, China, and the nuclear power plant he claimed was the "Ukrainian nuclear power plant" was actually located in Henan Province.

Ultimately, Douyin suspended Pavel’s account and closed his online store on the 16th, citing the spread of false information.

Local netizens agreed on the need for measures to regulate fake news flooding social media platforms. One netizen expressed concern, saying, "Just by watching the original videos, it’s hard to believe he’s not a Chinese person speaking with a Beijing accent."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.