The Security Service of Ukraine jointly with international partners and the State Border Guard Service carried out a special operation during which Dmitryi Chistilin, the kremlin’s ideologist of russia’s armed aggression, was apprehended.

He is an assistant to former putin’s advisor Sergey Glazyev, one of the main ‘moderators’ of the seizure of the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the developer of the ‘Information warfare strategy’ that justifies russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

During 2016-2024, Chistilin prepared a number of ‘analytical materials’ for the kremlin, in which he supported russia’s armed aggression and the ‘integration’ of the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine into russia.

Providing assistance to russian intelligence services, the ideologist became the author of numerous publications aimed at conducting information sabotage against our country.

Chistilin also took an active part in promoting the kremlin’s interests outside russia. Among other things, he organized interference in electoral processes in Eastern and Central Europe for moscow’s benefit.

Acting supposedly on behalf of Ukrainian public, he participated in so-called ‘round tables’ in European countries. During such events, he spread kremlin’s narratives, hoping to reduce support for Ukraine from Western partners.

After Chistilin’s participation in one of these ‘forums’, he was detained in cooperation with the law enforcement of the Republic of Moldova when he tried to return to moscow through third states.

Thanks to these efforts, the propagandist, who had left Ukraine before the full-scale invasion, is now in custody and has been notified of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU:

• 111.2 (high treason, committed under martial law);
• 436-2.3 (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, glorification of its participants).

Now, the SSU is documenting the facts of his assistance to the russian military intelligence, in particular in setting up mechanisms to circumvent sanctions imposed against the aggressor state.

The suspect faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office.