Russia uses messaging apps to recruit terrorists, Ukraine's police says

Russian intelligence services are using messaging apps and online forums to recruit Ukrainian citizens for terrorist attacks, promising quick payoffs, according to Ukraine’s law enforcement.

Among those most likely to cooperate are young people, the unemployed and individuals leading antisocial lifestyles, said Ivan Vyhivskyi, head of Ukraine’s national police, in a statement Wednesday.

But instead of the promised funds, the perpetrators are often killed or imprisoned by Russia after completing the mission, he added. 

Vyhivskyi’s statement follows a recent surge in attempted terrorist attacks in Ukraine, targeting police, military recruitment centers, security services, and postal facilities. Since the start of the year, Ukrainian authorities have recorded nine such attacks, all believed to have been orchestrated by Russian intelligence.

“The primary objective of these attacks is to destabilize the country and undermine public confidence in the nation’s security and defense forces,” Vyhivskyi said.

He did not specify which messaging apps and online forums Russian intelligence reportedly uses to recruit Ukrainians. They have previously relied on Telegram to find individuals willing to carry out Kremlin-sponsored disinformation campaigns or cyberattacks against Ukraine for a reward.

Russia also actively uses Telegram channels to amplify conflicts involving Ukrainian military and recruitment officers, push pro-Russian narratives, and sow discord within society, Vyhivskyi added.

Earlier in December, Ukraine’s security service uncovered a suspected Russian espionage campaign involving the recruitment of Ukrainian teenagers for criminal activities disguised as “quest games.”

As part of the operation, minors were given geolocation coordinates and instructed to travel to those locations, take photographs and videos of targets, and provide brief descriptions of the areas to Russian spies via anonymous messaging apps. Russian armed forces reportedly used this data to coordinate airstrikes, Ukrainian authorities said.

In September, the SBU detained a local resident suspected of setting up surveillance cameras near critical infrastructure, allegedly enabling Russian intelligence to monitor these sites. The individual was reportedly recruited by Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU) via Telegram, lured by promises of “easy” money.