“The stakes have become enormous for our safety”

In Ukraine, the war is also fought on the Internet. A highly publicized police operation resulted in the arrest of six kyiv residents, accused of treason. On all the Ukrainian media, this announcement goes on a loop: “The SBU has identified six bloggers who filmed and photographed Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense work during yesterday’s Russian attack on kyiv.”

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On Tuesday, May 16, particularly intense Russian strikes fell on kyiv, but almost all the missiles could be destroyed by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense. But these six residents of the Ukrainian capital filmed the bombings from their window, and then broadcast these images on the Internet. Their names and photos appear in all Ukrainian media, with images of their apartments raided and computers seized.

This is to send a clear message to Ukrainians. “The SBU recalls the ban on filming and broadcasting images of the actions of our anti-aircraft forces and the consequences of the strikesexplains Olga Suprun, spokesperson for the security services. The publication of these images on the Internet is considered as an aid provided to the enemy to specify their shots, a crime punishable by law.”

Images that can be exploited by the Russians

On these amateur images posted in real time, we can see the traces of the Ukrainian air defense missiles, and we can therefore locate their starting point. Cybersecurity expert Mykola Khudintsev assures him that the Russians have the means to exploit this information to destroy Ukrainian batteries.

“This surveillance of networks by the Russians is done with very sophisticated means, software for analyzing and recognizing all the video files and images published, automatically and almost in real time.”

Mykola Khudintsev, cybersecurity expert

at franceinfo

For Mykola Khunditsev, the sudden severity of the Ukrainian police is linked to the crucial role taken by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense in recent weeks. “All of this seems to be related to the damage that was caused by the latest Russian strikes on a Patriot defense batterydevelops the cybersecurity expert. With these very effective weapons delivered by our allies, which manage to destroy all Russian targets, the stakes have become enormous for our security.”

Last week, a battery of Patriot missiles was indeed damaged by a Russian strike on kyiv. And the SBU believes that these images – even broadcast out of patriotism or a taste for buzz – could have given information to the Russian army on the location of these missiles. The images filmed by the six inhabitants of kyiv prosecuted were also very quickly republished by bloggers and media closely linked to the Russian authorities. The authors of the videos risk up to eight years in prison in Ukraine.

A security issue that concerns the Ukrainian services

The American Patriots air defense missiles, which arrived in April, sent to Ukraine by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, have significantly strengthened the defense of the capital. With the intensification of Russian strikes in early April, almost all Russian missiles are shot down, and the Patriots are the only ones able to shoot down the fastest and most powerful Russian missiles in flight, yet deemed invincible by Moscow. The stakes are therefore enormous for the Russian army to locate and destroy these batteries of Patriots, and for the Ukrainians not to reveal any information on their location – which changes very often.

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But the amateur images broadcast on the Internet are not the only concerns of the SBU. The Ukrainian services are also worried about webcams installed on buildings and which broadcast their images continuously on the Internet. They could give valuable angles of view to the Russians. The Ukrainian authorities therefore also put pressure on the owners of these cameras to disconnect them as soon as possible.