Russia is attempting to recruit Ukrainians by posing as SSU or other law enforcement agencies. VIDEO

Russian security services are making widespread attempts to recruit Ukrainians ‘under a false flag’.

This was reported by the SSU press service, according to Censor.NET.

Details

The occupiers are posing as officers of the SSU and other Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and, under various pretexts, are forcing citizens to carry out arson attacks, terrorist acts or other crimes.

Since the start of 2026, the SSU and the National Police have uncovered dozens of such recruitment attempts.

How does it work?

Russian special services:

They call or message people via messaging apps, posing as officers of the SSU, the National Police and other law enforcement agencies;
they use online shops’ customer databases to obtain personal data;
they blackmail people with the threat of criminal prosecution under fabricated pretexts (for example, for allegedly ‘purchasing medicines on Russian websites’);
demand money to close non-existent ‘criminal cases’;
incite people to set fire to administrative buildings, Defence Forces vehicles, etc.

Representatives of the Russian security services may also contact Ukrainian citizens directly by telephone, posing as law enforcement officers. In other cases, they use various ‘covers’ and approaches.

"One of the enemy’s most common tactics is to send out fake summonses for questioning by the SBU, search warrants and the like. To make them appear convincing, these ‘documents’ feature forged signatures of senior SSU officials.

Next, they begin to blackmail people. The ruscists convince their victims that they can help have the relevant criminal proceedings dropped, but in return, they expect them to carry out certain tasks," the statement reads.

Those recruited are forced to carry out various illegal acts: to surveil a specific individual, to transport a parcel from one address to another, to purchase chemical components and construct a homemade explosive device, to set fire to a Defence Forces vehicle or an administrative building, to prepare a terrorist attack or act of sabotage at a key facility, and so on.

The Russian handlers also demand money from the victims: they usually ask them to transfer funds to the enemy’s bank details or to hand over cash via a courier, ostensibly to ‘verify authenticity’.

The SSU urges citizens to remain vigilant and emphasises that it operates strictly within the framework of current Ukrainian legislation, does not set any dubious "tasks" and does not send official documents via messaging apps.