During quarantine measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Security Service of Ukraine has identified 157 agitators spreading coronavirus fakes. The SBU has also blocked over 2,000 relevant online communities with total number of followers to 800,000.

The National Police is submitted the information on 197 agitprops. The half of them has already been brought to administrative responsibility for spreading rumors that could cause panic or disorder.

SBU officers has already identified that 10 of 207 agitprops deliberately acted in Russia’s side.  Investigation is ongoing within the criminal proceedings initiated under Art.109 and Art.110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (actions aimed at forceful change or overthrow of the constitutional order or take-over of government and trespass against territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine).

The agitprops operated in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Lviv, Kherson, Poltava and Kropyvnytskyi cities.

The network of anti-Ukrainian agitprops functioned in Kirovohrad region. They spread not only fakes about quarantine, but also terrorism-oriented content and even recruited Ukrainians to the so-called L/DNR.

During authorized searches at the place of residence of an organizer of the network, law enforcement seized computers and means of communication with evidence proving involvement in the crime.

SBU investigators initiated a criminal proceeding under Part 1 Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

SBU is checking the contacts of the suspects with Russian special services, circumstances, the distribution of roles between the members of the network and the extent of their awareness with the real purpose of these information attacks against Ukraine.

The agitator in Poltava region has administered over 10 communities, bringing together almost 20,000 users. On these websites, he published destructive publications on the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic, calls for separatism and changes in the territory of Ukraine, distorted facts about the Day of Victory over Nazism.

The agitator took the information for his publications from the Russian propaganda publications. For conspiracy, the attacker traveled to another region, where he posted fake news. Travel funds he received from Russian curators.

During a search at the agitator’s place of residence, law enforcement found computer equipment with evidence of illegal activity.

Earlier, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov made proposals to the National Security Defense Council of Ukraine to continue the sanctions against Russian social networks Odnoklassniki, VKontakte  and other Russian websites.