Russian secret services run operations to blow up Ukrainian military enlistment offices

Operations to blow up military enlistment offices in Ukraine are being organised by the Russian secret services. 

Source: Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council 

Details: Kovalenko stated that operations to disrupt the functioning of military enlistment offices are run by the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate and Federal Security Service.

In addition to physical attacks, Russia has intensified information operations, actively using the media landscape to undermine mobilisation processes. 

Quote: "At the same time, the media campaign is also picking up. It has been running since 2022, but since 2024, Russia has been making particularly significant efforts to undermine mobilisation and influence the media (influencers, bots and social media)."  

Background: 

• An explosion occurred near the building of a military enlistment office in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the evening of 2 February. A man was injured, presumably a military serviceman. 
• An explosion occurred in the Rivne Oblast Military Enlistment Office building during the afternoon of 1 February, as a result of which one person was killed and six were injured.  
• On the same day, On 1 February, at a petrol station in Pyriatyn in Poltava Oblast and while escorting military conscripts to a training centre, a serviceman from a military enlistment office in Poltava carrying a gun was shot by an unknown person who took his automatic weapon and fled the scene with one of the conscripts. Later, the police reported the detention of both suspects following a "hot pursuit".
• Mykhailo Drapatyi, the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, responded to the attacks on the members of military enlistment offices, calling for a tough reaction from the authorities and punishment for the murderers.     

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