Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownA Small Town Was Torn Apart By Coronavirus RumorsTwo days of chaos and riots show what can happen when people don’t trust their government but instead believe rumors and misinformation spread on social media by Christopher MillerBuzzFeed News Contributor Ukraine — The day the riots broke out began just like any other Bells rang out from the church as people shuffled to work and students filed into classrooms Doctors at the town’s hospital donned their white gowns and snapped on their latex gloves Vendors at the local market sipped sugary coffee and laid out their wares The head of the town council pulled back the curtains in her corner office to let in the morning light before going about her usual paperwork By nightfall, the Ukrainian town of Novi Sanzhary, population 8,300, would be turned upside down, thrust into a state of panic and chaos stemming from residents’ fears that the novel coronavirus was going to bring death to this previously unheralded backwater Violence would soon break out, leading to nine police officers being injured, 24 people being arrested for rioting, with five officially charged, and a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky describing the melee as “medieval” behavior The government response would include visits not only by ministers but also by a celebrity TV doctor who tried to calm the town’s frayed nerves What caused it all? A toxic mix of limited information released by Ukraine’s authorities, disinformation spread by the public on social media, and a targeted fake news campaign from yet-to-be-identified malign actors according to more than a dozen government officials and local residents interviewed by BuzzFeed News to learn how the otherwise sleepy municipality became ground zero of the country’s misinformation pandemic Buses carrying evacuees from China to a medical facility in Novi Sanzhary on February 20 Everyone said it began with a rumor that spread across Ukraine at blistering speed and word started getting around that several of the 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreign nationals on board were infected with the novel coronavirus they were to be immediately bused to an undisclosed medical facility While the government confirmed the arrival of the plane and said it would indeed bring those on board to a medical facility in Novi Sanzhary it stressed there was nothing to worry about: The evacuees had all been tested and none of them were infected they would be kept in quarantine for 14 days as a precautionary measure But the rumor that some evacuees were infected took hold and quickly caused an uproar afraid that some evacuees could be brought there used tires and cars to block the entrance to a hospital people gathered with a priest to pray that the group would be taken elsewhere residents went to the extreme after learning that the group would be taken to a sanatorium there Surrounded by sprawling pastures and babbling rivers Novi Sanzhary is the type of place where everybody knows just about everybody and hospital are all within walking distance of one another Shopkeepers welcome customers by using diminutives of their first names The information people trust the most comes from their friends and neighbors usually by word of mouth but increasingly over messaging apps remembered only learning about the evacuees’ destination from social media around 10 p.m when her phone started ringing and the town started buzzing residents began organizing over the messaging app Viber They met on the town’s streets and erected barricades — even assigning lookouts on street corners Koba admitted the behavior was unusual but said that desperate times called for desperate measures we’ve been told and we’ve seen on TV that this is a horrible disease that there is no vaccine against “Then suddenly we find out about a plane transporting sick people Koba told one Ukrainian news outlet that the moment felt like “Armageddon,” with everyone in panic mode She told BuzzFeed News it was fueled by a barrage of “misinformation and fake news” spread on a Viber channel used by the town’s residents which one of her constituents had added her to It read: “50 infected people from China are being brought to our sanitarium We can’t afford to let them destroy our population The Ukrainian news site Texty documented several of the messages that followed counting more than 10 that were posted in quick succession that included false information A user named Natasha said that “if we sleep this night Someone named Tanya wrote that “Chinese refugees will come dressed in camouflage” — a thinly veiled reference to the Russian soldiers who had disguised themselves during the 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula “because people will die from the coronavirus.” Novi Sanzhary was whipped into a terrifying frenzy groups of people left their homes to occupy the town’s center and block access to the medical facility a Soviet-era sanatorium subordinated to the country’s Interior Ministry that sits on the bank of the Vorskla River As more people gathered in the town center and at the facility the next day even more police and National Guard forces donning riot gear and driving armored personnel carriers arrived Residents recalled them marching together in a way that felt ominous Koba said that only heightened tensions on the ground and seemed to confirm people’s suspicions everyone got scared and thought that it’s true — that they are bringing sick people here,” she said more misinformation spread online from what appeared to be an advisory sent out via email from the country’s Health Ministry It claimed what Novi Sanzhary’s residents most feared that the evacuees included people infected with the coronavirus but it spread rapidly nonetheless and brought tensions in Novi Sanzhary to the boiling point government officials were trying to figure out what was going on and how to stop it “I have grounds to believe that this [email] is an information attack on the ministry I have asked the head of the security service to react,” Zoryana Skaletska “The panic spreading in Ukrainian society in connection with the evacuation of our citizens from China has been created artificially.” and the government’s Public Health Center both quickly published statements echoing Skaletska They didn’t identify who they thought was behind the email which spoofed the ministry’s actual email address But they suggested it may have been done by outsiders because a foreign email service had been used to do it It’s still unclear where the email came from in this case, but with Russia’s documented efforts to sow discord in Ukraine through hybrid warfare — a military strategy that combines conventional warfare and cyberwarfare — and recent reports that Moscow was behind a coronavirus disinformation campaign many in Kyiv believe their adversary to the north could be involved the misinformation found its way into conversations on the streets of Novi Sanzhary who were chatting in the town’s market last week when BuzzFeed News arrived received it with great anxiety that afternoon who recalled hearing about it from a friend on Instagram the temperature of the Novi Sanzhary crowd rose and they began taking action A truck blocks a road during a protest against the arrival of a plane carrying evacuees from China Residents erected barricades and assigned lookouts on street corners As the buses carrying the evacuees approached they set fires to try to keep them out of town They were met by phalanxes of police in riot gear who arrived with armored vehicles to push them back And when the buses carrying people from China finally arrived residents shouted at them to “get out” and hurled stones that shattered the windows Government officials couldn’t believe what they were seeing and weren't sure what else they could do to stanch the panic. The next day, Feb. 21, the prime minister was dispatched to the town along with the interior and health ministers would later be dismissed in a major government reshuffle ordered by Zelensky decided she would take up residence with the evacuees inside the sanatorium for the full 14 days of quarantine to show the public there was nothing to fear After the bout of violence and several arrests Ukraine’s government sent more officials and experts to better inform local residents about the coronavirus situation One of those people was the celebrity doctor Evgeny Komarovsky, Ukraine’s answer to Dr. Phil (he even has the mustache), who helped keep the peace and answer residents’ questions in impromptu meetings on the town’s street and at an organized question-and-answer session. Videos from his visit were posted on YouTube Ukraine only confirmed its first case of a coronavirus infection on March 3, in a man in the western region of Chernivtsi who had recently returned from Italy, where the outbreak is so bad that the whole country has now been completely locked down Yulia Tsarenko takes the blood pressure of a patient said the anger and panic were stoked by the government’s decision to withhold information from them misinformation that spread across social media and sensational coverage by the news media the information we receive daily from the media — about infections — actually hyped this panic,” said Olha Hirya head doctor of Novi Sanzhary’s main hospital whose walls were covered in signs showing patients how to protect themselves from getting sick with the coronavirus “We have encountered several types of this virus before The means of prevention against this virus are well known former chief of the Public Health Center of Ukraine which is subordinate to the Health Ministry placed much of the blame for the chaos on the news media but said some of it also rested on politicians who behaved irresponsibly “Watch any Ukrainian TV news show and you’ll see they cover the problem of the coronavirus but it’s being discussed by politicians; it’s not being discussed by professionals,” he said “How could a politician explain this virus The politicians are spreading disinformation and sowing panic in society.” head of the World Health Organization’s office in Ukraine told BuzzFeed News by phone that as the coronavirus spreads “what we have learned is that communication is extremely important.” Habicht said that the WHO has “global agreements” with Facebook and other social media outlets about how to ensure that “proper information evidence-based information,” is shared and that bad information is removed “That is very important in Ukraine because it is a very social media–oriented country,” he said Ukraine’s authorities are also working with Facebook and other social media companies to combat misinformation about the coronavirus spreading on the platforms “The office of the president always is concerned about disinformation and of course we are always in touch with social media companies,” she said “Usually we are in touch when there is fake news.” Facebook’s press office said in an emailed statement that the company is “in constant contact with government officials in countries where we operate in Representatives for Viber couldn’t be reached for comment A family leaves the medical facility after 14 days in quarantine When BuzzFeed News visited Novi Sanzhary last week there was still a lingering feeling of anxiety and fear but many residents doubted there would be any more violence who arrived by helicopter to attend a celebration for the group of evacuees being released from quarantine officials opened the facility’s front doors allowing the group to step outside for the first time since their arrival The Ukrainians embraced family members who came to greet them and bring them home three Salvadoran university students who were studying Chinese in Wuhan before they were airlifted out of the city looked awkward in a strange place they said was “definitely no five-star hotel.” Their parting gift for enduring the quarantine A giant pink teddy bear given to them by Zelensky After handing out gifts to other members of the group the Ukrainian president admitted to BuzzFeed News that the government’s response could have been better “We need to inform people the right way,” he said “I think we are not 1,000% [prepared for the coronavirus] President Volodymyr Zelensky with members of the crew that evacuated people from China many in Novi Sanzhary said they remain skeptical of their political leadership and the traditional news media Despite the spread of misinformation on social media many said they still trust what they read there more than they do elsewhere But it’s still their neighbors whom they trust most of all who was checking the blood pressure of Lyudmila Donets at the town’s hospital when BuzzFeed News met her Tsarenko said that even after the protests she has been stopped on the street and at shops around town by residents with questions about the coronavirus that suggested they are still misinformed Tsarenko said their curiosity is generally good But among the many questions she gets are those about home remedies for the coronavirus which she believes stem from disinformation from Soviet times For a glimpse into the world of Ukrainian alternative medicine where vendors offered up an array of “cures” for colds and even what they said was sure to keep away the coronavirus some prescribed a diet heavy on pickled vegetables and salt-cured pork fat known as salo a pensioner who was selling homemade sunflower oil near the market’s entrance said she had a surefire way to stave off the disease sweeping across the globe “The coronavirus is afraid of garlic and onions pointing to a pile of the bulbs on the ground Tsarenko said she tries not to laugh when people offer such remedies and tells them eating healthily is always a good idea Oleh Yakovenko said the best way to stop the spread of misinformation and panic like that kind that consumed his town is to provide people with accurate information and “changing people’s mentality from an outdated “People spread misinformation because they do not know the truth,” she said “All this happened because of the lack of information in the beginning Christopher MillerBuzzFeed News Contributor Residents of Novi Sanzhary clash with police over nearby quarantine site intended to host 70 people evacuated from China Ukraine’s effort to quarantine more than 70 people evacuated from China over the new virus outbreak was plunged into chaos on Thursday as local residents hurled stones at buses carrying the evacuees and engaged in violent clashes with police. The vehicles were finally able to reach the designated place of quarantine after hours of clashes. The masked evacuees, exhausted by the long journey, peeked through shattered bus windows as they drove slowly under heavy police escort. Since the early morning, several hundred residents of the village of Novi Sanzhary in Ukraine’s central Poltava region had barricaded the road to a sanitarium intended to host the evacuees, fearing that they could become infected. Demonstrators, some of whom appeared drunk, put up road blocks, burned tyres and clashed with hundreds of riot police who moved to restore access. One protester tried to ram police lines with his car. The Ukrainian authorities say all passengers on board had been screened twice for the virus before being allowed to fly, but that was not enough to pacify the protesters. “Isn’t there any other place in Ukraine that can host 50 people, that is located in more or less remote villages or in far-off areas where there is no threat to population?” queried resident Yuriy Dzyubenko. One protester was heard suggesting they should be kept at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986. Another suggested taking them to parliament, while another said Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, should house them himself if he really believed there was no danger. “This is what I am telling him, telling the president: ‘Take 10 people, then I will take two,’” a man called Yuriy, who did not give his last name, said. Read moreNine police and one civilian were hospitalised visited the site of the skirmishes to try to calm the crowd down He urged the protesters “not to fall for provocations and be understanding of the necessity for these temporary measures” “The situation is rather heated,” Poltava’s regional police spokesman Yuri Sulayev said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also weighed in saying the protests showed “not the best side of our character” Zelenskiy said the authorities had done everything possible to make sure the virus would not spread to Ukraine “But there is another danger that I would like to mention The danger of forgetting that we are all human and we are all Ukrainian,” he said Municipal legislators in the village vowed to continue opposing the evacuation saying that the sanitarium’s sewage system was linked to the one in the village and ends up in a nearby waste facility “We can’t allow putting the health and life of local residents at risk and demand that top officials take urgent moves to prevent people from China from being put here,” they said in a statement Amid the clashes between local residents and police said he would immediately fly to the site to oversee matters personally A plane with 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreign nationals took off from Wuhan early on Thursday, the origin of the outbreak that has infected more than 75,000 people worldwide and killed over 2,100 Those evacuated included nationals from Belarus Key Takeaway: Likely Russian actors conducted a disinformation campaign against Ukraine exploiting COVID-19 fears related to the Ukrainian government’s evacuation of its citizens from Wuhan and nature all point toward Kremlin involvement The campaign’s false information increased distrust of the Ukrainian government caused protests in at least five different towns and forced the resignation of a Ukrainian governor The campaign is likely part of the Kremlin’s efforts to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for more concessions in the war in Donbas This campaign may be part of a global Russian information operation on COVID-19 The COVID-19 disinformation campaign in Ukraine employed the following tactics a terrible trouble is coming to our village Law enforcement agencies were ordered to bring infectious patients from China (50 people) Today the authorities selected a military sanatorium as the place to take the infected from China Tonight at 2 AM a flight will land in Boryspil [Kyiv’s main international airport] and in the early morning a bus will be sent here In Lviv and other Cities the roads have been blocked [likely a reference to previous protests with blockades] We cannot allow the destruction of our population Caption: “At this moment there are 5 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine (Kyiv –2 The disinformation campaign likely contributed to protests against the evacuees in Novi Sanzhary and across Ukraine Caption: Persons in Lviv received this message en masse: “Hello they will record your voice saying that we are against and are not ready to accept and quarantine people from China Tomorrow at 8 in the morning a flight from Wuhan will arrive at Vinnytsia airport The plane was originally supposed to fly to Lviv but people gathered and after that began asking Boryspil [to accept the plane] Vinnitsa quietly decided to accept the plane as my close relatives are being sent to take care of the plane This is all because they will pay money to those who accept the plane!” Social media proliferated misinformation about the quarantine’s supposed location in eastern Ukraine indicating the campaign was likely nationwide received misinformation on social media that the quarantine site would be a military hospital in Severodonetsk This disinformation did not provoke protests in Luhansk “The Ministry of Internal Affairs named the place of the quarantine for evacuees from the PRC Evacuees from the PRC will be taken to a military hospital in Severodonetsk.” Caption: A post on Facebook for a Severodonetsk group reads the people that were evacuated from China were not accepted in western Ukraine They’re taking them to us [to the village of Rubezhnoe]!!!!”  The disinformation operation and subsequent protests helped saturate the Russian- and Ukrainian-language news cycles to crowd-out Kremlin-adverse topics The news about protests in Novi Sanzhary corresponded with the sixth anniversary of the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution and the beginning of Russia’s occupation of Crimea ISW assesses with moderate confidence that the Kremlin supported the disinformation campaign Caption: “They’re planning to keep evacuated Ukrainians from China for 14 days at the Shklo sanatorium Zaporizhia [a region is south-central Ukraine] did not allow them [to be quarantined there]!! WE also CANNOT [allow them to be quarantined in Shklo]!!!!!” The Kremlin previously sent text messages and a fake letter posing as the Ukrainian government. The Kremlin sent false military mobilization orders to Ukrainians via mass text messages and fake orders to a Ukrainian hospital in a forged letter in 2018.[44] but part of a coordinated campaign to escalate the protest’s violence These factors may indicate advanced coordination between the disinformation campaign’s central organizers and a pro-Russian actor in Poltava The COVID-19 disinformation campaign in Ukraine advanced the Kremlin’s objective of increasing pressure and imposing costs on Ukraine The Kremlin likely supported this campaign as a component of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to reduce Zelensky’s maneuvering room in the peace process for the war in Donbas The disinformation campaign on COVID-19 had real impacts by provoking protests in several oblasts that led to the resignation of a Ukrainian governor This disinformation campaign likely targeted western Ukraine to bolster Russian propaganda tropes about “Ukrainian nationalists” in western Ukraine intensify domestic frictions within Ukrainian society and provoke mistrust of the Zelensky government The Kremlin will likely intensify and diversify its efforts to pressure Zelensky to extract concessions on the war in Donbas [2]  [“Skeletskaya Reported About ‘Three Safe Places’ for Evacuees from Wuhan,”] Ukrainska Pravda, February 18, 2020, https://www.pravda.com(.)ua/news/2020/02/18/7240927/ [3] Ruslan Polischuk and Stanislav Gruzdyev [“About Novi Sanzhary and More: The First Big Interview of the New Chairman of the Poltava Regional State Administration Oleg Sinegubov,”] Glavkom https://glavcom(.)ua/interviews/pro-novi-sanzhari-i-ne-tilkibr-pershe-velike-intervyu-novogo-golovi-poltavskoji-oda-olega-sinjegubova-661373.html [4] AFP reported on February 22 that the U.S State Department's Global Engagement Center assesses the Kremlin is conducting a global information operation on COVID-19 “Coronavirus: US Says Russia Behind Disinformation Campaign,” The Guardian https://www.theguardian(.)com/world/2020/feb/22/coronavirus-russia-disinformation-campaign-us-officials [5] Ibid [6] Ibid [7] Ibid [8] “Evening Joint Forces Operation Press Briefing on 02/18/2020,” Joint Forces Operation Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/pressjfo.news/posts/793317444494207?__tn__=K-R ; [“Since Morning in the Zolote Region an Intensive Battle has been underway with all Types of Weapons https://censor.net(.)ua/news/3176305/s_utra_v_rayione_zolotogo_idet_intensivnyyi_boyi_s_primeneniem_vseh_vidov_orujiya_vklyuchaya_artilleriyu [10] Nataliya Bugayova “The Balancing Challenge for Ukraine,” Institute for the Study of War http://iswresearch.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-balancing-challenge-for-ukraine.html [11] Ibid Level of Trust in Social Institutions and Politicians Electoral Orientation of Citizens,”] Razumkov Center http://razumkov.org(.)ua/napriamky/sotsiologichni-doslidzhennia/otsinka-gromadianamy-diialnosti-vlady-riven-doviry-do-sotsialnykh-instytutiv-ta-politykiv-elektoralni-oriientatsii-gromadian-liutyi-2020r [14] See paragraphs about targeted regions and subsequent protests [15]  [“Protest in Novi Sanzhary: Population Scared by Text Messages https://inforesist(.)org/protest-v-novyh-sanzharah-naselenie-pugali-sms-kami-aktivistov-spaivali/; TSN [“Scared and Confused: In Novi Sanzhary Parents Do Not Allow Children to Go to School https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=SAsc30ni42Q&ab_channel=%D0%A2%D0%A1%D0%9D [16] Ruslan Polischuk and Stanislav Gruzdyev [17] [“The Plane with Evacuated Ukrainians Sat at Boryspil Airport,”] Glavkom https://glavcom(.)ua/news/v-aeroportu-borispil-zustrichayut-evakuyovanih-z-uhanya-ukrajinciv-660660.html [18] [“Warning Information on 5 Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Coronavirus in Ukraine is Untrue!”] Ministry of Health of Ukraine https://phc.org(.)ua/news/uvaga-informaciya-pro-5-pidtverdzhenikh-vipadkiv-koronavirusu-covid-19-v-ukraini-ne-vidpovidae [19] Ibid [20] [“SBU Establishes that Organizers Used Fake Mail to Assert there is COVID-19 Virus Detection in Ukraine,”] Security Service of Ukraine https://ssu.gov(.)ua/ua/news/1/category/2/view/7165#.4UNXIhvl.dpbs [21] Veronica Klimska [“Clashes Resumed in Novi Sanzhary: Tires were Lit on a Local Bridge,”] 24 Canal https://24tv(.)ua/u_novih_sanzharah_ponovilisya_sutichki_politsiya_gotuye_koridor_dlya_avtobusa_n1284731 [22] Ibid [23] Veronica Klimska https://24tv(.)ua/u_novih_sanzharah_ponovilisya_sutichki_politsiya_gotuye_koridor_dlya_avtobusa_n1284731; [“Protests in Novy Sanzhary Due to Evacuation From Wuhan: 9 Police and Civilians Were Injured,”] Zik https://zik(.)ua/ru/news/crime/protesty_v_novyh_sanzharah_za_evakuaciyu_s_vuhanyu_postradalo_9_policeyskih_i_grazhdanskiy_959847 [24] Ibid [25] Vitaliy Chervonenko [“It Burned:  How Zelensky was Thanked for ‘Contagion’ in Novi Sanzhary,”] BBC https://www.bbc(.)com/ukrainian/features-51581996; Nadya Trush [“The Arrested in Novi Sanzhary- Are Who They https://kolo(.)news/category/suspilstvo/18733 [26] The characteristics of protests in specific regions is discussed below [27] Ksyushka Khodonovich https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=201622720990597&id=100034286118397 https://www.facebook.com/groups/varta1.official/permalink/2617040395246725/ [28] Sofia Minzhos [“‘If People From China Are Brought To The Sanatorium I Will Stay There’: How an Official Reassured the Inhabitants of Shklo (VIDEO),”] LMN https://www.lmn.in(.)ua/yakshho-evakujovanyh-z-ayu-pryvezut-v-sanatorij-sam-tam-poselyusya-yak-chynovnyk-zaspokoyuvav-zhyteliv-shkla-video/?fbclid=IwAR1t3KRYDRISEvl-kpeftjv4aFBHRZUOZHaqWjmnxJD8zwokFxF5ac_c2lw; Nadya Kozak https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=531703034126030&id=100018590147764 [29] Maxim Kozitzki https://www.facebook.com/maks.kozytskyy/posts/2666298656740125 [30] The disinformation operation successfully exploited an existing regional cleavage in Lviv to foment distrust of Zelensky’s government Former governor of the Lviv Oblast Oleh Synyutka suggested in a Facebook post the Zelensky government deliberately planned to send evacuees to Lviv as “revenge for patriotism” on February 17 Synyutka’s statement played to Lviv’s anti-Zelensky sentiments due to Zelensky’s perceived capitulation to the Kremlin in the peace process for the war in Donbas Zelensky said he believes there was tacit political support for the COVID-19 protests amongst officials in “some cities” in his address to the nation on February 21 https://www.facebook.com/oleg.synyutka/posts/1295095710678200; [“January Information Blasts: Public Opinion Reaction,”] Center for Social Monitoring https://smc.org(.)ua/news/informatsijni-vybuhy-sichnya-reaktsiya-gromadskoyi-dumky/?fbclid=IwAR1segFXyiwJ5zHkUPVtcLoitC-5tgaAHNiHrNEaF_GBKp6adAFlgZwUZcg; [“Citizens Assessment of Government Activity http://razumkov.org(.)ua/napriamky/sotsiologichni-doslidzhennia/otsinka-gromadianamy-diialnosti-vlady-riven-doviry-do-sotsialnykh-instytutiv-ta-politykiv-elektoralni-oriientatsii-gromadian-liutyi-2020r; [“‘Are We a Flock or a Nation?’ Zelensky Appealed to Ukrainians Because of the Situation in Novy Sanzhary,”] Gordon https://gordonua(.)com/ukr/news/society/-mi-stado-chi-natsija-zelenskij-zvernuvsja-do-ukrajintsiv-z-za-situatsiji-u-novih-sanzharah-1488034.html; [“’We Exhale’: How Ukrainians Protested Evacuated from China,”] BBC https://www.bbc(.)com/ukrainian/features-51563815 [31] Gregory Shevchuk [“Almost 100 People Evacuated From China Will Be Quarantined in Ternopil Region – mass media,”] 0352 UA https://www.0352(.)ua/news/2665518/majze-100-evakujovanih-iz-kitau-ludej-privezut-na-karantin-na-ternopilsinu-zmi; [“Almost 100 People From China Will Be Quarantined In Ternopil Region (updated),”] Ternoplyani https://ternopoliany.te(.)ua/43101-na-karantyn-na-ternopilshchynu-pryvezut-maizhe-100-liudei-z-kytaiu [32] Igor Benzal [“Inhabitants of Ternopil Region Protest Against Import of People Evacuated From China,”] Suspilnye https://suspilne(.)media/14909-ziteli-mikulinciv-protestuut-proti-vvezenna-na-ternopilsinu-evakujovanih-z-kitau-ludej/; [“Head of Ternopil Regional State Administration Resigns in Connection With Scandal Surrounding the Reception of Evacuees from China,”] Gordon https://gordonua(.)com/ukr/news/politics/-golova-ternopilskoji-oda-podav-u-vidstavku-u-zv-jazku-zi-skandalom-navkolo-prijomu-evakujovanih-z-kitaju-1488087.html; Fianye Misto “Protests at the entry points at the Medobory Sanatorium where Ukrainians likely will be evacuated from China,” Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fainemisto.tv/videos/183082996351837/ [33] Ihor Sopel resigned as Ternopil governor due to “unsatisfactory work of the [Ternopil] Regional State Administration in informing the population on epidemiological safety” on February 22 [“Head of Ternopil Regional State Administration Resigns in Connection With Scandal Surrounding the Reception of Evacuees from China,”] Gordon https://gordonua(.)com/ukr/news/politics/-golova-ternopilskoji-oda-podav-u-vidstavku-u-zv-jazku-zi-skandalom-navkolo-prijomu-evakujovanih-z-kitaju-1488087.html; [“’Are We a Flock or a Nation?’ Zelensky Appealed to Ukrainians Because of the Situation in Novy Sanzhary,”] Gordon https://gordonua(.)com/ukr/news/society/-mi-stado-chi-natsija-zelenskij-zvernuvsja-do-ukrajintsiv-z-za-situatsiji-u-novih-sanzharah-1488034.html [34] Nastya Semchyshyn https://www.facebook.com/nastia.choma/posts/1769441643198637; [“Evacuated Ukrainians From Wuhan Will Be Taken To Lviv,”] Visoki Zamok https://wz.lviv(.)ua/article/406539-evakuiovanykh-ukraintsiv-z-ukhania-dostavliat-u-lviv; Visoki Zamok online https://www.facebook.com/wz.lviv.ua/posts/2777788885647163 [35] Ibid [36] [“In Lviv Region Tires Were Taken to the Hospital: They Don’t Want Ukrainians to be Brought From China,”] Pravda https://www.pravda.com(.)ua/news/2020/02/19/7241020/ [37] Zakharova wrote on her Facebook “Today the whole world thinks Ukraine is Europe I have a question for the founding fathers of Ukrainian democracy: Isn’t it you who presented [Ukraine] as the premier example of progressive reforms This is a monstrous dehumanization of civil society and a disorganization of governance.” Maria Zakharova https://www.facebook.com/maria.zakharova.167/posts/10222164267245343 [38] [“Pozner Called the ‘Reception’ of Ukrainians Evacuated From China Shameful,”] RIA https://ria(.)ru/20200223/1565109657.html; Victor Marakhovsky [“Ukraine was Struck by a ‘Wild’ Virus that Could Spread to Russia,”] Sputnik https://uz.sputniknews(.)ru/columnists/20200222/13523020/Ukrainu-porazil-dikiy-virus-kotoryy-mozhet-perekinutsya-na-Rossiyu.html; Sergey Rudenko [“Opinion: Ukraine’s Attitude Towards Evacuated Ukrainians From Wuhan is Disgraceful,”] DW https://www.dw(.)com/ru/%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%83-%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE-%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%BA-%D1%8D%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%BC-%D0%B8%D0%B7-%D1%83%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8F/a-52459901 [39] [“Putin: Zelensky Cannot Provide Forces Withdrawal in Donbas Because of Nationalists,”] TASS https://nash(.)live/rus/news/politics/putin-zelenskij-ne-mozhet-obespechit-razvedenie-sil-na-donbasse-iz-za-natsionalistov.html [40] Ksyushka Khodonovich [41] Raphael Satter and Dmytro Vlasov “Ukraine Soldiers Bombarded by ‘Pinpoint Propaganda’ Texts,” Associated Press https://apnews(.)com/9a564a5f64e847d1a50938035ea64b8f/Ukraine-soldiers-bombarded-by-'pinpoint-propaganda'-texts [42] “Electronic Warfare by Drone and SMS,” DFRLab https://medium(.)com/dfrlab/electronic-warfare-by-drone-and-sms-7fec6aa7d696 [43] Ibid [44] A Ukrainian hospital in the Luhansk Oblast received a fake letter supposedly sent from the Lugansk Regional State Administration in December 2018 The letter exploited the fact that then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared martial law in November 2018 following the Kremlin’s escalation in the Kerch Strait The letter contained instructions for the hospital under the pretext of martial law and all standard bearings of an official letter Ukrainian officials determined the letter was a fake and former Ukrainian Minister of Health Ulana Suprun attributed the disinformation to the Kremlin [“Ukrainian Hospitals Receive Fake Instructions on Actions During Martial Law – MOH,”] UNIAN https://www.unian(.)ua/health/country/10377351-ukrajinski-likarni-otrimuyut-feykovi-vkazivki-shchodo-diy-pid-chas-voyennogo-stanu-moz.html; [“Beware of Fakes: Ministry of Health of Ukraine Calls on Medical Institutions to Check All Suspicious Orders Within the Framework of Martial Law and to Inform the Ministry of Counterfeit Letters,”] Ministry of Health https://moz.gov(.)ua/article/news/oberezhno-fejki-moz-ukraini-zaklikae-medzakladi-perevirjati-vsi-pidozrili-rozporjadzhennja-v-ramkah-voennogo-stanu-i-povidomljati-ministerstvo-pro-pidrobleni-listi-; [“The Ministry of Defense Accused Russia of Sending Fake Texts with an Order to Arrive to at Military Units,”] Strana https://strana(.)ua/news/173631-minoborony-rasskazal-ob-sms-o-mobilizatsii-kotoroe-jakoby-rassylaet-rf.html [45] The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense council said the Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) and Ministry of Internal Affairs assessed the protesters were “professional” provocateurs on February 22 [“‘Professional Provocateurs’: Danilov Told Who Incited the Crowd in Novi Sanzhary,”] 5 News https://www.5(.)ua/suspilstvo/profesiini-provokatory-danilov-rozpoviv-khto-pidburiuvav-natovp-u-novykh-sanzharakh-208842.html [46] The NPU spokesman said some of the 16 arrestees are from adjacent villages near Novi Sanzhary but did not specify how many protestors were not from the general vicinity https://kolo.news/category/suspilstvo/18733; [“‘Coronavirus Titushki?’: Police Commented on Possible Presence of Visitors in Riots in Novi Sanzhary,”] 5 News https://www.5(.)ua/ru/rehyoni/tytushky-koronavyrusa-v-polytsyy-prokommentyrovaly-vozmozhnoe-prysutstvye-pryezzhykh-na-besporiadkakh-v-novikh-sanzharakh-208795.html [47] Legion Svetlovodsk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uWJufAvvr8; Legion Svetlovodsk https://www.instagram.com/p/B8yqIsFlV0H/; Evgeni Rakhimberdiev https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100042025609186 [48] “Titushki – The Ukrainian President’s Hired Strongmen,” DW https://www.dw(.)com/en/titushki-the-ukrainian-presidents-hired-strongmen/a-17443078 [49] Sergey Cherednichenko [“Ukrainians from China Can Be Accommodated in Sanatoriums in Poltava Region,”] RegioNews https://regionews(.)ua/ukr/blog/a1050/p989031?fbclid=IwAR0Oo7R2YkSdqc5xRV4CflMtsJ8lIt1PB1bM2vNcloraVaQ4lKA-By_Ea-s [50] Ruslan Polischuk and Stanislav Gruzdyev [51] The SBU raided Cherednichenko’s office in October 2014 and found “Novorossiya” separatist propaganda newspapers reportedly belonging to one of Cherednichenko’s staffers This campaign staffer in question reportedly was an opponent of the pro-Western 2014 Euromaidan revolution and helped organized the subversive “counter-Maidan” protest in Poltava This campaign staffer reportedly fled to Russia after the SBU raided Cherednichenko’s office [“In Poltava the SBU Searches Office of a MP Candidate,”] Poltavshina https://poltava(.)to/news/30801/?fbclid=IwAR3daWIPcNfu-dVFGOFkI2_zGa0Rcv3YZo7TpYAFkQKQvpVgn7smnVMlLNQ; Ilona Chernohor [“The Name of the Man Who Kept Copies of ‘Novorossiya’ Newspaper in Poltava Became Known,”] Poltavshina https://poltava(.)to/news/29839/; Zloy Odesit [“Kremlin Special Operation in Novi Sanzhary,”] InfoResist https://inforesist(.)org/speczoperacziya-kremlya-v-novyh-sanzharah/ [52] Kiva recently employed Kremlin-preferable framing of the war in Donbas Kiva claims “the most important thing is to achieve peace,” and “sew Ukraine together.” Andrey Petrov [“Ilya Kiva in Poltava Spoke about the Tasks of the Socialist Party of Ukraine and Introduced the Leader of the Local Branch,”] Poltavshina https://poltava(.)to/news/46167/?fbclid=IwAR0CChckGi2NbXAHnbUUPnNwJTrXLFDAFxTTK3p4Th4DdEmd7x8UWRuF9BQ; [“Kiva Left the Socialists into Rabinovich’s Party,”] Glavkom https://glavcom(.)ua/ru/news/kiva-ushel-ot-socialistov-v-partiyu-rabinovicha-600109.html Women at the central bazaar in Novi Sanzhary do not want to deal with the press: “Your journalists have defamed us all on February 20 they were at the epicenter of events in the crowd surrounded by hundreds of National Guard soldiers and police This article was prepared by the joint efforts of Texty.org.ua and Liga.net head of Public Order and Prevention at Poltava region police department learned of people's intentions to close the roads at 10 PM we explained to people that this was not the final decision We didn't know 100% whether they’ll come to us or not” and at 7 AM on February 20 the road was blocked with agricultural machinery and cars a man in green military uniform came up to me and said Let's fight and see who’s stronger?' He did not behave normally at all And the citizens started moving towards the buses The police were wearing body armor and helmets.” The number of law enforcement officers in the streets of the village increased by the hour The locals did not understand why such security measures were required: “What did armored vehicles come for People were outraged that law enforcement officers did not want to talk to them in a humane way, but used force instead when the bus with the coming people was stopped at a railroad crossing five kilometers from the village of Novi Sanzhary the police broke the barrier in order to save thirty seconds “When the bus was approaching the crossing you must wait until the train moves at least 500 meters away from the station But the police decided not to wait,” an employee of the station explains The activity of law enforcement officers further annoyed a group of people nearby. Angry women shouting began to throw stones at buses with Ukrainians and foreigners arriving from China The result was a broken window and sensationalist headlines for the media around the world for the protection of the rights and freedoms of Ukrainians it is necessary to remove artificially created obstacles the Ukrainian law enforcement system will remove these artificially created obstacles,” Ivan Varchenko advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Law enforcement officers were not even stopped by the right of citizens to the inviolability of their private property. National Guard soldiers hacked a fence of a private house in order to take arrivees from China to the medical center Taxi driver Mykhailo tells how he was detained twice by the police: “Before the bus arrived in Novi Sanzhary we stood peacefully by the bridge for two and a half hours And when everyone learned that the bus was about to arrive We then collected the symbols on the roadside Videos show law enforcement officers beating a journalist with a camcorder, beating activists, and pulling individuals out of the crowd “They wanted to take my phone, but I didn't give it away,” says Andriy There were agents provocateurs in the crowd “There was an upstart who was disrespectful to me he wore a mask that covered his face,” recalls Inna Koba “He was a provocateur who asked: “For what money did people come here How much do police officers earn?” “He really wasn't ours Other people said they were similar provocateurs” They basically didn't care who to beat they ground us like meat,” 23-year-old Serhiy adds There is still an ongoing debate in Novi Sanzhary on whether there were paid provocateurs in the crowd Local people say that masked people received two thousand hryvnias So now the issue is being addressed by law enforcement as a part of questioning witnesses and suspects in the case of police assault and involvement in riots National Guard soldiers are walking in small groups on the territory of the medical center “Novi Sanzhary” Some guys don't even take off their disposable white masks during their service time: “My wife bought twenty pieces at the pharmacy at once She gave me them to avoid being infected with the coronavirus,” the serviceman explains to me through a military fence I saw that this means of protection against respiratory infections is not easy to get Medical masks are now in short supply at pharmacies of the town with the population of ten thousand people And it doesn’t matter that the gauze bandage does not save from the coronavirus: thanks to the masks “The police are wearing masks because they may need a psychological discharge,” Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko explains to me Personal protective equipment is only required when visiting the observatory wards” The official confesses that he still has no ideas as to why people were drowned in fear “though the Ministry of Health did everything possible to prevent panic not only in Novi Sanzhary Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko and advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Varchenko during a briefing near the Novi Sanzhary Medical Center on February 23 “We are also checking information that some elements of this panic were artificially created,” advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Varchenko filled in an awkward pause we will inform the society as to who’s behind it all.” Even a few days after the scandal-ridden operation of bringing the Ukrainians from China government officials still cannot explain the logic of their actions in simple terms “Why did so many armored vehicles come to Novi Sanzhary on February 20?” I ask Varchenko the question which seriously worried the people of Poltava region “We have a law on the national police and a law on the National Guard of Ukraine .. — Can you explain in an accessible (!) language why armored vehicles were on the streets on February 20 or when you participate in mass events and are confronted by people with a different opinion our law enforcement agencies have the task of standing between these people and preventing them from beating each other military vehicles appeared because people with radically different views came out on the street to prevent buses with people who came from China to arrive at the Novi Sanzhary Medical Center where there were also protests against the possible placement of evacuees) On February 20, the head of the Novi Sanzhary District Council Gennady Suprun came out to people, stressing that he did not understand the actions of high-ranking officials: “There are two multi-storey residential buildings right near the fence of the medical center with more than 160 people living there Why didn't officials think about them Why did China build a new hospital in a week Because that's where they think about people a little bit At the central entrance to the Novi Sanzhary Medical Center Suprun's emotionality can be understood: during the day before the arrival of evacuees from China Poltava region was in an information vacuum which was rapidly filled with rumors and scares Even the chairwoman of the Novi Sanzhary Village Council learned about the upcoming arrival of “Chinese infected with coronavirus” at 10 PM on February 19 “The fakes started appearing that they bring people infected with coronavirus” So I call the head of the state administration Vladyslav Vasyuta and he says that he is not aware that the bus will be coming here Then I called the chief doctor of the Central district hospital Olga Hyria she said that she also did not know what was happening the head of the department of health of Poltava region And I didn't manage to reach the medical center at all.” chairwoman of the Novi Sanzhary Village Council The woman communicated with the residents of the village until 2 AM there were about a hundred people near the medical center Facebook is buzzing.” I suggested waiting till the morning and holding an extraordinary session of the council making a formal request to gather information from official sources There were many young men shouting: “They paid you the authorities could not say anything earlier during a similar panic in the Ternopil region On the evening of February 20, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called the Novi Sanzhary events “a disgrace seen by the whole world” and “one of his life’s greatest disappointments in people.” he called the actions of police “very professional” and expressed his regret at the beating of ten law enforcement officers: “We must be more responsible One must remain human in the most difficult conditions.” “Why did people find out about the arrival of evacuees from Facebook?” journalists interrupted the moralizing minister the minister silently ignored questions from local residents about why the government had selected a medical facility located in the center of the village According to Prime Minister Oleksi Honcharuk the final decision on where to send people arriving from China was made just a day before the airplane arrived “this is absolutely normal from a security standpoint”: “The first thing we thought about was the safety of the people they would be bringing And the safety of the people who will live around special operations and so on could occur.” However, the Prime Minister's calculations turned out to be incorrect. The result of such a “safe” operation was a broken window of the bus that brought in people arriving from China, ten injured police officers, countless journalists and activists beaten by law enforcement officers and Ukraine’s shame in front of the whole world As the government remained stubbornly silent about the details of the arrival of Ukrainians from the epicenter of the epidemic messages began to appear in social networks about fifty people infected with the coronavirus coming to Novi Sanzhary This information instantly spread throughout the village the people of the Poltava region were frightened to death Residents of the village of Novi Sanzhary say that they came out on the street because of simple fear “I learned about the arrival of people from China to Novi Sanzhary on February 19 from Instagram,” says 22-year-old Bogdan “The message was in the form of a screenshot from Facebook The message was that they want to turn our health resort into a quarantine area but other Facebook users took it seriously I’m walking down the street and an unfamiliar old man rides a bicycle and says to me in awe: “Did you hear that the Chinese are being brought?!” perceived the news about the arrival of “coronavirus-infected” people more seriously he recalls the events of the evening of February 19: “the infected people are being brought here.” I grabbed my head: “And what can we do then?!” At night we started to gather near the medical center And let them not say that we went out for money My personal motivation was to protect my wife and children The screenshot from “Voice of Sanzhary district” NGO was disseminated in Viber groups and on the Instagram in the evening of February 19 Especially because all this time people have been receiving more and more horrifying messages an ex-deputy of the Poltava City Council and chairman of the Socialist Party of Ukraine who was previously headed by the current pro-Russian deputy Ilya Kiva was the first to speak about the hospitalization of evacuees from China in Novi Sanzhary Cherednichenko's message appeared on the Facebook page at 10 am on February 19: “Ukrainians will be brought from China to Novi Sanzhary No infection hospitals were found in Ukraine.” Subsequently, Cherednichenko edits the post and sets a later publication time to hide the fact that he became the first newsmaker screenshots captured the real time of publication the politician states that the district administration “has already received orders” but this does not coincide with the words of the head of the Novi Sanzhary district council Hennady Suprun who did not possess such information until the morning of February 20 Serhiy Cherednichenko was the first to inform Ukrainians about the arrival of evacuees to Novi Sanzhary It is symptomatic that the post is picking up a record number of shares for this politician, 384. For comparison: usually Cherednichenko's posts have up to ten shares (anomalous sharing is one of the signs that the post is being disseminated by troll farms) the information spread to regional Facebook groups: “Poltava is the spiritual capital of Ukraine” (4400 participants) “Independent trade union of Poltava medical workers” (509 participants) “And in Poltava they say ...” (41 thousand participants) At 16:21, another powerful news feed appears on Facebook: a doctor at Vinnytsia Military Hospital on air of the NTA channel emotionally talks about the deplorable state of his medical facility and states that he is not ready to accept Ukrainians evacuated from China: we have not had a single training at Vinnytsia Military Hospital Question: Why are we conducting training on the eve of the airplane's arrival Nowhere in Europe do they hide the sick people’s dislocation.” The video was shared by over 20 thousand accounts Viber groups start appearing where thousands of residents of Poltava region join the “Novi Sanzhary” group was formed on February 19 at 10:16 pm The first message was posted here by a user named or rather titled “Olenka”: “Infectious patients from China (50 people) are brought to the military sanatorium We cannot afford to destroy our population The first message in the newly created “Novi Sanzhary” Viber group Over the next few hours, over a dozen fakes and scares appeared in the group calls are made for radical action in the group every 10-20 minutes: blocking the roads (which was done) the group received about five thousand messages They were read by over six thousand members of the group they regularly posted fakes and called for violence The group also constantly recommended to watch online broadcasts of “NASH” channel (owned by pro-Russian politician Yevgeny Murayev) “ZIK” (both TV channels are owned by co-chairman of the pro-Russian Opposition Platform — For Life Viktor Medvedchuk the nepot of the President of the Russian Federation) the their Co-Chair of the same pro-Russian party a user named “Ivan Barylo” wrote: “Exactly a minute ago Subsequently, activists lit a large bonfire near the sanatorium so that buses with evacuees from China would not be allowed to enter the territory of the Novi Sanzhary Medical Center The phenomenal pace of growth in the number of members of the new Viber group has made us wonder: who created it and why the Novi Sanzhary group continues to be updated with new messages Three administrators are closely monitoring everything happening in the group: Slava Administrators say that the group is totalitarian and therefore all the comments they consider unnecessary are mercilessly destroyed: “You’ll be wise when people infected with coronavirus are brought to your home Create your own channel and be wise there” (in Russian) Some users are annoyed because they do not understand how they ended up in this group: “Who added me to this group?!? I'm coming out of this junk site for the third time!! otherwise I will be forced to notify the Security Service about threat to national security of Ukraine the head of the Novi Sanzhary Village Council does not know when and who added her to the group: “On February 20 the administrator writes: “Is there Inna Koba the administrator himself did not know that I was here we asked the administrators of the Novi Sanzhary group where they received contacts of thousands of residents of Novi Sanzhary and surrounding villages But they began to convince us that they were administering the group 24 hours a day because they.. Screenshot of correspondence with the user “Mad Beaver” an administrator of the group “Novi Sanzhary” We also have screenshots of correspondence with other admins of this group why do you need such information?” (in Russian) the administrator with the nickname “Mad Beaver” evaded the answer “This looks like the work of intelligence service” (in Ukrainian) “Why do you spend your time almost around the clock the admin summed up (in Russian) and deleted the correspondence (but we made screenshots) explained the rapid increase in the number of subscribers to the group with “fear And he explained his own interest in administering the group by having free time: “I have been working online for the last three days so I have an opportunity to read nonsense and panic.” (also in Russian) Novi Sanzhary is a small town in the Poltava region where people speak Ukrainian and young people cannot always speak Russian fluently the automatic Russian language of the group admins indicates that they are not local like messages that police spread fakes and act unprofessionally while investigating mass riots in Novi Sanzhary recommends reading the telegram channel “Dark Knight Vox Populi” with daily devastating criticism of all political forces except the pro-Russian ones Shariy Party and Opposition Platform — For Life these two parties are mentioned only in a positive or a neutral way at the channel And the topic of the arrival of evacuees from China was covered by the “Dark Knight” in the same spirit as it was in the Viber group “Novi Sanzhary” the coronavirus is about to spread all over Ukraine because of the incompetence of the Ukrainian authorities By the way, Poltava politician Serhiy Cherednichenko who started the panic, by a weird coincidence, turned out to be an ardent supporter of pro-Russian blogger Anatoly Shariy as well as of pro-Russian politician Andriy Portnov He continues to pump it up: “Today we have shown to the world that we are not Europe We are a third world country that fears its citizens.” the same thing is reiterated by fake accounts in the groups “Novi Sanzhary” in the Russian social network Vkontakte: “The shame of Ukraine!!!” yells in the comments of the group “Overheard in Novi Sanzhary” (3677 subscribers) Anton Berezhny (now renamed to Denezhny The fake ex-president Petro Poroshenko intervenes in the conversation: “People of Sanzhary who block the road “Residents of Sanzhary, the ones who arranged the circus, I have a question for you, when did you manage to turn from people into degenerative and backward pigs? You have disgraced the country before the whole world”, adds Valery Alferov from a page that looks fake Andriy Portnov, a famous pro-Russian politician, also speaks about the incapability of Ukrainian authorities. On February 20, “Strana.UA” website published an article citing his words What does Anatoly Shariy, the most popular pro-Russian blogger, say about the events in Novi Sanzhary? On his YouTube channel, on February 20, a video was released where people were outraged by the actions of law enforcement officers “How do they take our opinion into consideration “Why didn’t they bring them to Mezhyhirya [residency of captive ex-president Yanukovych — TEXTY] Why were they not taken to where all the profiteers live?” another man screeches After this episode, Shariy himself appears on screen to sum up the events of February 20: “How do you call it, the Day of Dignity or whatever Anatoly Shariy calls the events of February 20 a shame panic (which has led to this shame) was raised by the Telegram channels and Viber groups that support him It is also interesting to see how Anatoly Shariy and Serhiy Cherednichenko act synchronously in order to hide the traces of their participation in the information operation against Ukraine For example, Shariy posted a provocative movie about how the dirty PR of the European Solidarity Party works against him A pro-Russian blogger made up a conversation with Andriy Portnov about receiving a tranche of money from Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov and for $150 he posted this fake in the Facebook group Euromaidan This is a standard manipulation technique: if you cannot refute information (about working for the Russian Federation) they are already guessing that the information campaign against Ukraine was intensified by interested parties they still do not dare to speak out loud who the parties are: Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said recently “We are investigating who in social networks started calling for road blocking Some politicians and provocateurs are trying to create a promotion for themselves Отримуйте найкращі статті на e-mail (раз на два тижні) Подивитись свіжий випуск щоб отримувати найкращі статті на e-mail (раз на два тижні) Факт №1 про Тексти: ми намагаємося розбиратися у суті речей звертати увагу на головне і пояснювати читачам Сьогодні ми розповідаємо про злочини російської армії в Україні вміємо працювати з даними і приділяємо багато уваги дизайну Матеріали ТЕКСТИ.org.ua можна використовувати згідно ліцензії Creative Commons із зазначенням авторства, CC BY (переклад ліцензії українською) Велике прохання ставити гіперпосилання в першому чи другому абзаці вашого матеріалу.