The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have neutralized two bot farms in Poltava and Zakarpattia regions that were operating on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies.
As a result of the operations, the organizers of these hostile networks have been identified as two local IT specialists who sold fake accounts to the aggressor country. These accounts were used by Russian intelligence to conduct information operations favoring the Kremlin.
Specifically, the Russian operatives used these "registered" Ukrainian accounts to spread misinformation about the socio-political situation in Ukraine, falsely portraying it as if coming from Ukrainian citizens.
Additionally, the fake accounts were used to disseminate discrediting messages about the activities of the Defense Forces and the situation at the front.
In Poltava region:
- A local resident was discovered to have created nearly 15,000 anonymous accounts on various social media and messaging platforms "on order" for Russia.
- To conceal the crime, the individual attempted to sell the accounts via the dark web at $1.50 per virtual "user."
- The bot farm, equipped with necessary hardware and SIM cards from Ukrainian operators, was located directly in the suspect's apartment.
In Zakarpattia region:
- Authorities shut down an underground channel selling unique IP addresses registered in the region to Russia. This allowed Russian users to impersonate Ukrainians online.
- For concealment, the suspect received payments from "clients" via Russian payment systems in the form of cryptocurrency.
Both suspects have been charged under Part 2 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized interference with the functioning of information (automated), electronic communication, and information-communication systems, networks, committed by a group of individuals in collusion).
Investigations are ongoing. The perpetrators face up to 5 years in prison.
These actions were carried out by SSU employees in Poltava and Zakarpattia regions in cooperation with the National Police, under the procedural guidance of the Kremenchuk District and Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Offices.
