The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) together with the National Police conducted successful special operations in the Poltava and Transcarpathian regions, as a result of which two bot farms working for the Russian special services were neutralized. This was reported by the SBU press center, stressing that these structures were actively used for disinformation and discrediting the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Russian special services actively used fake accounts registered allegedly on behalf of Ukrainian citizens to spread false information about the situation at the front and the activities of the Defense Forces. The purpose of this information sabotage was to create panic, despair and discredit the actions of the Ukrainian military in society.
In the Poltava region, law enforcement officers exposed a local resident who created about 15,000 anonymous accounts in social networks and instant messengers at the behest of Russia. These accounts were used to spread pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation. To hide his activities, the attacker tried to sell fake accounts through the darknet, setting a price of $1.50 for each virtual "user". The bot farm with all the necessary equipment and SIM cards of Ukrainian operators was located directly in the apartment of this citizen.
In the Transcarpathian region, the SBU managed to eliminate the channel of underground sales of unique IP addresses registered in the region. These IP addresses allowed Russian users to impersonate Ukrainians on the Internet, which further increased the effect of disinformation. The impersonator received payment for his services through Russian payment systems in the form of cryptocurrency, which made it difficult to trace him.
Both perpetrators were notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for punishment for unauthorized interference in the work of information and electronic communication systems, committed by a group of persons based on a prior conspiracy. They face up to five years in prison. Currently, investigative actions aimed at fully exposing their criminal connections and activities are ongoing.
