Slidstvo.Info journalist Yaroslava Nikitiuk performed an experiment to explore Russian agents’ search for people in Ukraine willing to carry out sabotage operations, the news outlet reports.
The experiment involved the journalist creating a fake Telegram account under the name Kateryna Shevchenko and posting a job-seeking ad in regional groups. She received offers to carry out sabotage operations for money almost immediately.
A user going by “Petro Bondar” offered her $25 to film the parking lot outside an enlistment office in Dnipro city and another $25 to pick up a “package” from a local school.
The recruiter promised $500 for setting fire to or planting explosives under the car of a servicemember working at an enlistment office.
During the conversation, the handler presented himself as a representative of a “guerilla movement.” He also offered the journalist a mission in Kyiv: filming a railway depot and setting fire to a locomotive for $1,700.
Journalists were unable to identify the agent. He used a fake name, a private phone number, and an AI-generated profile picture.
All data about the agent and his contact details obtained during the experiment were handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) via its official chatbot.
Earlier, the SBU warned of new schemes Russian intelligence services have been using to recruit Ukrainians.