Cells in Ukraine of sect linked to Russian intelligence services broken up by SBU and police
Ukraine’s SBU security service and the National Police say they have “neutralized” more than 20 cells linked to the AllatRa pseudo-religious movement in Ukraine – a movement suspected of collaborating with the Russian intelligence services.
The SBU revealed the operation to break up the cells of the movement in a press release issued on Nov. 2.
The investigation revealed that members of the sect, operating under the guise of doing ‘”missionary work,” were allegedly justifying Russia's armed aggression and advocating the Kremlin's concept of establishing a “union of Slavic peoples” under Moscow's leadership.
The suspects established a hierarchical structure and their own “representations” in regional centers across Ukraine, calling on residents to join them.
They used various media platforms, including a YouTube channel with nearly half a million subscribers, and launched their own network of media and social media pages. There, the group called for missile and bomb strikes on civilian infrastructure in cities and promoted Russian propaganda, the SBU said.
Law enforcement officials found out that the leaders of the sect illegally crossed the country’s border in the spring of 2022, using forged documents to evade military registration.
"While staying in one of the European countries, they continued to remotely manage their criminal organization in Ukraine,” the security service said.
“The SBU-conducted investigation confirmed AllatRa’s subversive activities on behalf of the Russian Federation.”
Searches were carried out at the sect's cells and the homes of the suspects in several oblasts, including Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk, resulting in the seizure of computer equipment, mobile phones, literature, documents, and other evidence of illegal activities.
The leadership and members of AllatRa are now awaiting charges under multiple articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. These include charges related to treason, creating or leading a criminal organization, participating in it, propagating the communist totalitarian regime, and justifying or denying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.
Convictions under these charges could lead to sentences of up to 15 years or even life imprisonment with property confiscation.
Although the AllatRa movement presents itself as a non-political and non-religious public association, it has frequently been referred to as a sect associated with the “Russian World.”
“Russian World” is a propaganda term and concept used by the Kremlin to justify Moscow’s imperialistic claims to areas of other countries where there are Russian-speaking populations.
AllatRa is accused of spreading conspiracy theories and Russian propaganda. The movement first emerged in Ukraine in the early 2010s and later expanded into Russia, Moldova, the United States, and EU countries.
The sect drew attention again when allegations were made that former SBU chief Ivan Bakanov and Oleh Kulinich, the former head of the SBU's Main Directorate in Crimea, who is facing charges of treason, were members of AllatRa.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
