Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) uncovered new attempts by Russian special services to incite anti-Semitic sentiment among high-school-age students through Telegram channels, encouraging them to “commit acts of anti-Semitism” in various Ukrainian regions “indirectly,” read an SBU press release that asks parents to be vigilant over teen online activities.
The SBU’s online warning reads: “The Security Service of Ukraine appeals to Ukrainians to be vigilant and keep the range of interests and preferences of their children under control to prevent the influence of enemy special services on them. We also ask you not to succumb to provocations and assist law enforcement agencies in identifying the organizers, executors, and accomplices of criminal actions.”
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Using a radical right-wing Telegram channel called “Youth National Socialist Battalion,” the group attracted 13-17-year-old students and encouraged them to put offensive inscriptions on memorials and use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to attack local targets.
An earlier announcement posted on the Telegram channel read: “We must fight for our Idea [sic] because by uniting all our far-right organizations, we will be able to defeat the oligarchic government of our Ukraine!”
While featuring numerous anti-Semitic images and messages, the group also posted numerous messages mocking Russia.
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The channel, created and administered by a 14-year-old teenager in Dnipro, also encouraged other teenagers to document their acts, which would then be published by foreign media to discredit Ukraine, according to the press release.
The teenagers are based in the Zhytomyr region, as well as Dnipro, Lviv, and Vinnytsia.
In August this year, a 15-year-old teenager in the Zhytomyr region belonging to the group painted anti-Semitic inscriptions in local cemeteries and on the wall of an elderly woman’s residence. Authorities also searched the residences of other group members and uncovered anti-Semitic literature.
Kyiv Post is unable to establish a direct connection between the group and Russian special services at the time of publication.
The report comes at the height of the current Israeli-Gaza conflict with Ukraine pledging its alliance to Israel. Earlier, President Zelensky was quoted saying “Israel’s right to defense is indisputable” in his support for Israel’s action against Hamas.
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