Ukraine Wipes Out Bot Farms Used to Scare Population

The national security service of Ukraine reported destroying a cluster of bot farms described as "enemy" entities. According to the news release, the security service shut down five separate bot farms.

The language used in the press release announcement on the Ukrainian security service website doesn't mince words. The release states that the bot accounts were used for misinformation and subversion by the "Russian invaders".

100 thousand accounts shut down

The bot farms were estimated to have a capacity of 100 thousand accounts used in various media to spread false news and misinformation concerning the Russian military actions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The accounts were used to "inspire panic" among the regular Ukrainian population, according to the release.

The Ukrainian security service believes the accounts were operated by Russian sources and were used in a coordinated and orchestrated campaign to carry out "information sabotage". The physical locations where the farms were discovered include the Ukrainian cities Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Ternopil, and the area of Zakarpattia.

As part of the raids on the locations containing the equipment used in the bot farms, Ukrainian authorities seized a hundred GSM gateway devices, nearly 10 thousand SIM cards, a number of laptop computers, and various other IT devices and equipment.

The news release does not mention any arrests or confrontation during the raids on the bot farms, suggesting they might have been abandoned.

Hope for peace in Ukraine

Today Ukraine and Russia appear to have made significant strides toward ending the conflict. Reports are in about Moscow officials offering to organize a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy and Russia reported significantly scaling down on military action inside Ukraine, "drastically reducing" attacks on the capital of Kyiv in anticipation of the new peace talks and as a result of the last round of negotiations that took place.