SBU, police nab group suspected of attempt to disrupt military draft via social media influence
The Security Service of Ukraine and National Police exposed 19 administrators and subscribers of a number of Telegram channels who had conspired to disrupt the Army mobilization campaign and made public the locations of the Ukrainian military.
That’s according to the Security Service of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.
Also, the perpetrators would post provocative video streams and circulate misinformation about the Ukrainian military, including draft officers.
In Khmelnytskyi region, 14 suspects had been publicly calling on potential conscripts to dodge draft and post on Telegram the routes of draft officers and police teams who were checking draft-age men’s military IDs.
To circulate subversive content, the culprits administered dozens of chat groups on Telegram and Viber.
In Kyiv, four local residents were exposed, who had been publishing on Telegram the exact locations of mobile roadblocks deployed across Kyiv region.
In order to conceal their criminal operation, the suspects set up anonymous accounts on Telegram using aliases.
In Vinnytsia region, a 30-year-old draft dodger will be tried, who also urged citizens via his Telegram channel to follow his suit.
Five perpetrators from the said group have already been charged with obstructing the legitimate activities of the Armed Forces and other military formations).
Other detainees are also set to be charged, facing up to eight years in prison.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the SBU and National Police eliminated another two schemes to evade mobilization in Kyiv and Vinnytsia region, detaining the masterminds.