The SBU proposes to continue the sanctions against Russian social networks Odnoklassniki and VKontakte for another three years. The relevant proposals were made by the Head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

The SBU cyber specialists have analyzed that during sanctions the number of Ukrainian users in these social networks has decreased by 3 times. It significantly narrowed the target audience of information operations conducted by Russian special services.

“Fakes in democratic countries are equated with the weapons of mass destruction.
A hybrid war is ongoing against Ukraine, and we continue to withstand Russian information attacks. Therefore, the continuation of sanctions makes sense: in doing so, we will protect our citizens from fakes and manipulations, and preserve the security of the state as a whole respectively,” said the Head of SBU Ivan Bakanov.

Overall, during 2017-2020 years, the SBU has documented thousands of publications with destructive content being posted on Odnoklassniki and VKontakte platforms.
Since the imposition of sanctions, the SBU investigators have registered nearly 100 criminal proceedings against owners and administrators of anti-Ukrainian communities in these social networks.

Such activity is treated as encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, actions aimed at forceful change or overthrow of the constitutional order or take-over of government, as well as creating terrorist groups.

The SBU cyber specialists also note that agitators, trolls and bots are actively working in Russian social networks. This is due to the quarantine measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, Easter celebration and May holidays. According cyber specialists estimation, approximately 70% of destructive content about Ukraine is made by Russia, in particular in these social networks.