Former lawyer in Bukovina created fake news for Russian talk show

Cyber-specialists at the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) have exposed an internet agitator in Bukovina [a historical region divided between Romania and Ukraine, represented in Ukraine by Chernivtsi Oblast] who had been spreading disinformation about the internal situation in the oblast and discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Source: press service of the Security Service of Ukraine; Chernivtsi Oblast Prosecutor’s Office

Details: The SSU’s information indicates that the agitator typically posted on the banned Russian social media platform VKontakte about the apparent worsening of the socio-political situation in western Ukraine due to the war with the Russian Federation.

He also spread disinformation about the activities of state authorities, Ukrainian military units and volunteer organisations.

One of the recipients of his fake news was Vladimir Solovyov, the Kremlin propagandist, with whom the detainee was in direct contact.

The SSU says the agitator helped create destructive content specifically for Solovyov for further publication in provocative stories and talk shows on the TV channel Russia-1.

As a reward, the aggressor’s accomplice hoped to obtain Russian citizenship and settle down in a Moscow suburb.

The investigation revealed that the perpetrator was a resident of Chernivtsi Oblast and a former lawyer. After the full-scale invasion started, he actively called for support for the occupiers on social media and also used to justify their war crimes.

In this way, he came to the attention of representatives of the Kremlin's information resources and began to cooperate with them to the detriment of the state security of Ukraine.

He used Russian messenger apps and anonymous Telegram channels to communicate with them. During searches of the perpetrator’s residence, law enforcement officers found computer equipment and mobile phones with evidence of his correspondence with the invader.

On the basis of the evidence collected by the SSU, the perpetrator has been notified of suspicion under Art. 436-2.3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification, recognition as legitimate, or denial of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine, and glorification of its participants).

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