Myrotvorets

Myrotvorets
Owner NGO ″Myrotvorets Centre″
Website psb4ukr.org
Commercial No
Launched 15 December 2014 (2014-12-15)
Current status Online

Mirotvorets, or Myrotvorets (Ukrainian: Миротворець /mɪrɔ'tvɔrɛt͡sʲ/, lit. "Peacemaker"), is a Ukrainian Kiev-based[1] website that purports to reveal personal information of people who are considered to be "enemies of Ukraine",[2][3] or, as the website itself states, "whose actions have signs of crimes against the national security of Ukraine, peace, human security, and the international law".[4] It was launched in December 2014 by Ukrainian politician and activist Georgy Tuka,[5][6] then a head of "Narodny Tyl", who since 29 April 2016 serves in the Ukrainian government as Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs[3] and before that, in 2015–2016, was the governor of Luhansk Oblast ("chairman of the Luhansk Regional Military and Civil Administration") appointed by president Petro Poroshenko.[7][8][9]

The site reflects the work of NGO ″Myrotvorets centre″, led by Roman Zaitsev, former employee of Luhansk Security Service of Ukraine office.[10]

The website is curated by the government law-enforcement and intelligence agency Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)[11] and promoted by Advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko.[11][12] In October 2015 he proposed to add a special section titled "Putin's crimes in Syria and Middle East" dedicated for personal data of Russian military personnel of the operation in Syria collected by Inform Napalm,[13] as he cited from his correspondence:[14] in order "to help ISIS take revenge" on them "in accordance with Sharia law".[3][12][14][15][16]

In April 2015 the website published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former Verkhovna Rada parliamentarian Oleg Kalashnikov just days before they were assassinated.[3]

On 7 May 2016 the website published the personal data of 4,508 journalists and other media members from all over the world who had worked (or had received accreditation to work) on the war in the uncontrolled government territory of Donbass, and therefore cooperated with terrorists.[1][2][3][11][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] There were phone numbers, email addresses, and some countries and cities of residence of Ukrainian and foreign journalists received from the hacked database of Donetsk People's Republic Ministry of State Security; journalists and support staff provided these data to be "accredited" by Russia-controlled militants. In response, the Security Service of Ukraine issued a statement that it found no violations of Ukrainian law by Myrotvorets.[24]

The slogan of the centre's website and the centre itself is a Latin saying: Pro bono publico (for the public good).

History

The staff of the "Myrotvorets" Centre

Myrotvorets Centre began to develop the project in summer 2014, during the War in Donbass. The project was launched in December 2014 as part of the work of the volunteer group known as "Narodny Tyl".[6] The first true leader and participants were not reported, for their safety.[10] For distraction a leader was presented as "Narodny Tyl" leader[10] Ukrainian politician and activist Georgy Tuka, who since 29 April 2016 serves in the Ukrainian government as Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs[3] and before that, in 2015–2016, served as the governor of Luhansk Oblast ("chairman of the Luhansk Regional Military and Civil Administration") appointed by president Petro Poroshenko.[7][8][9]

The director of the Centre is Roman Zaitsev, a former employee of the territorial office of the SBU in the Luhansk region. At the Centre, there are about 250 people living both in Ukraine and abroad. During the first two years the Centre incurred losses in killed, wounded and missing people.[10]

The website is promoted by Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The centre is affiliated with the government law-enforcement and intelligence agency, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)[11][17] and the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.[3]

Activity

Coat of "Myrotvorets" staff member with field version of emblem

The "Myrotvorets" leader states that the centre's objective is to provide information and advice to the executive authorities, to finally bring peace and harmony in Ukraine. In its work the centre pays special attention to expressions of "separatist and terrorist activities" on the territory of Ukraine.[10]

Sources of information for the centre are primarily public materials posted on the Internet, publications and more. Much like other volunteer organisations, the centre widely uses OSINT methods. In addition, the centre uses information provided by individuals on a confidential basis. Under current Ukrainian law, the centre does not use information contained in anonymous appeals.[10]

In October 2015, the centre added a special section titled "Putin's crimes in Syria and the Middle East" dedicated to providing personal data of Russian military personnel involved in the operation in Syria, according to Russian media "to help ISIS take revenge" on the Russian pilots "in accordance with Sharia law".[3][12][14][15][16] Myrotvorets' actions caused extremely strong reactions from the Russian presidential administration and among Russian experts in military affairs and special operations. As stated in the website InformNapalm, an important element of the operation was to compare the numbers of Su-24 from the Russian airbase "Shagol" and the same type of aircraft, overturned in Syria. A few days after the operation began, Russian TV started to hide the numbers of military aircraft based in Syria for their video shoots.[25][26] After the information was published, the Investigative Committee of Russia launched criminal proceedings against Anton Gerashchenko for "public calls to terrorism."[27]

In February 2016, members of the centre took part in the operation of mobile groups against illegal transport of cargo through the line of armed conflict in the War in Donbass.[28]

Myrotvorets Centre repeatedly provided information on the participation of foreign nationals in the armed conflict, on the side of pro-Russian separatists. In early March 2016, due to the materials published by the centre, law enforcement authorities in Bulgaria initiated criminal proceedings against George Bliznakov, a Bulgarian citizen. Similar materials are being considered regarding other Bulgarian citizens.[29][30]

According to the head of the centre, 4.5 thousand people were in the file cabinet in October 2014; 16 December 2015 – 7.5 thousand; January 2015 – 9000; 13 April 2015 – 30 thousand. In October 2015 – 45 thousand people; by 21 March 2016 – 57775 people;[31] by 27 January 2017 - more than 102 thousand.[32] The most complete database contains residents of the Crimea.[10]

On 15 April 2018, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's name was added to the website.[33]

Controversy

In April 2015, Myrotvorets published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former Verkhovna Rada parliamentarian Oleg Kalashnikov, just days before they were assassinated.[3]

After the site published the data of various journalists, Valeriya Lutkovska, Ukrainian lawyer and Ombudswoman of Ukraine since April 2012, demanded both the website and the Centre be shut down.[34] Ukrainian editor and journalist Vitaly Portnikov and Ukrainian parliamentarian and military expert/blogger Dmytro Tymchuk have compared accreditation of a Ukrainian journalist in Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic to accreditation of an Israeli journalist with the Hamas "Ministry of Information" in Gaza.[35][36]

On 2 June 2016, G7 ambassadors to Kiev released a joint statement expressing deep concern about disclosures of journalists' personal data on the Myrotvorets website and called on the Myrotvorets team to withdraw personal data from public access.[37] The next day President Petro Poroshenko at a press conference condemned the publication of journalists' personal data, but stressed that he is extremely limited in terms of influence over the "Myrotvorets" website, which is curated by the government law-enforcement and intelligence agency Security Service of Ukraine; thus he is not going to press for a policy change.[38]

On 22 November 2017, Russia's foreign ministry sent a note of complaint to the US Department of State to protest the migration of the site to US servers.[39]

In September 2018, Myrotvorets wrote on Facebook that their database included residents of Zakarpattia Oblast who had illegally taken out Hungarian citizenship.[40] After two weeks of work in Zakarpattia Oblast, the database held more than 300 names of Ukrainian officials and local councillors from the oblast who had Hungarian passports.[41] On 11 October 2018, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said: "It is a lie that the Ukrainian state has nothing to do with the website that is listing suspected dual Ukrainian-Hungarian nationals", and claimed that President Petro Poroshenko "gave his consent to the hate campaign in an attempt to increase his popularity".[42]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "TASS: World – Ukraine's Security Council promises not to prosecute journalists accredited in Donbass". TASS. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Ukrainian Activists Leak Personal Information of Thousands of War Reporters in the Donbas – Global Voices Advocacy". Global Voices Advocacy. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Outrage as Ukrainian witch-hunt site leaks personal info of 'terrorist-collaborating journalists' — RT News". RT. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Center "Myrotvorets" invites to cooperation of law enforcement agencies of foreign States". Myrotvorets. 7 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "George Tuka post about webcite" (in Russian). Facebook. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Волонтери запустили в інтернеті сайт про зрадників і найманців, які воюють проти України" [Volunteers run the Internet site of the traitors and mercenaries fighting against Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). IPress.ua. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Luhansk Governor Tuka dismissed – media : UNIAN news". UNIAN. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Poroshenko appoints member of parliament Harbuz as governor of Luhansk Oblast instead of Tuka". 29 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Poroshenko appoints new Luhansk governor – read on – uatoday.tv". Ukraine Today. 30 April 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Роман Зайцев: "Для Кремля мы кость в горле. Огромные силы и ресурсы брошены на наше уничтожение"" [Roman Zaitsev: For the Kremlin, we are a bone in the throat. Enormous efforts and resources are left to our destruction.] (in Russian). Fakty i Kommentarii. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Ukrainian hackers leak personal information of thousands of journalists". International Business Times. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 "Russian Investigative Committee Opens Criminal Case Against Putin Accuser". The Moscow Times. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Украина слила личные данные российских пилотов террористам ИГИЛ" [Ukraine merged the personal data of Russian pilots to terrorists ISIS] (in Russian). Moskovsky Komsomolets. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "Top Ukraine official backs idea 'to help ISIS take revenge on Russian soldiers in Syria' — RT News". RT. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Украинский депутат Геращенко предложил избирателям помочь террористам" (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  16. 1 2 "'Extremism in Ukraine has risen to staggering level' — RT Op-Edge". RT. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Ukraine Tries to Terrify Journalists Who Cover the War". The Daily Beast. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "OSCE Concerned Of Journalists' Security in Ukraine". Sputnik International. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "OSCE Representative Mijatović expresses concern about journalists' safety in Ukraine". Interfax. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "Myrotvorets website leaks personal data of journalists accredited in "DPR": intl scandal brewing : UNIAN news". UNIAN. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "Kyiv prosecutors investigating case of publishing personal data of journalists who were accredited in DPR, LPR". Interfax Ukraine. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ukrainian hackers publish info on thousands of journalists". The Washington Post. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "Ukrainian Hackers Leak Personal Data Of Thousands Of Journalists Who Worked In Donbas". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 11 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "Творці сайту "Миротворець" не порушили законодавство України — СБУ" [The creators of the website "Peacemaker" not violated the law of Ukraine – SBU : UNIAN news] (in Ukrainian). UNIAN. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "Activists again publish the names of Russian pilots who are fighting in Syria" (in Russian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "Russia steps up Syria air campaign: Jets raise daily action to 88 strikes6" (in Ukrainian). RT. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  27. ↑ "RF IC opened a case against a deputy of the Parliament of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko". RIA Novosti. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "TSN 28 Feb 2016" (in Ukrainian). TSN Ukraine. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Ukraine can sue another Bulgarian mercenary" (in Bulgarian). club ″Z″. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Ukraine may seek to sue not one but four Bulgarians" (in Bulgarian). bTV (Bulgaria). 1 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  31. ↑ "Центр "Миротворец" прекращает свою деятельность в текущем формате" [Center "Peacemaker" cease its activities in the current format.] (in Russian). censor.net. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  32. ↑ Volkov, Alexander (27 January 2017), "Роман Зайцев: "Антона Геращенко должны были убить на Новый год"" ["Roman Zaitsev: Anton Geraschenko was ordered to assassinate on the New Year"], Fakty i Kommentarii (in Ukrainian)
  33. ↑ Syrian president lands up on Ukraine's Myrotvorets database due to his children's visit to Crimea, UNIAN, 16 April 2018
  34. ↑ "Лутковська рекомендує СБУ та Нацполіції заблокувати доступ до сайту "Миротворець" на території України" [Lutkovska recommends Natspolice and SBU block access to the site "Peacemaker" in Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). Interfax. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  35. ↑ "Портніков: Уявіть, що журналіст Ізраїлю акредитується при "міністерстві інформації" ХАМАС у секторі Газа" [Portnikov: Imagine Israeli journalists accredited with the "Ministry of Information" Hamas in Gaza] (in Ukrainian). expres.ua. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  36. ↑ "Журналіст у "гарячих точках": без акредитації ані кроку" [Journalist in "hot spots": no accreditation or step] (in Ukrainian). Deutsche Welle. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  37. ↑ G7 Ambassadors are deeply concerned by recent massive disclosures of journalists’ personal data on the Myrotvorets websiteв(in English)
  38. ↑ Fragment of Mr. Poroshenko's press-conference on 6 June 2016(in English)
  39. ↑ "Russia demands Ukrainian doxing site be closed down". TASS. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  40. ↑ Residents of Zakarpattia region with Hungarian citizenship included in Ukraine's Myrotvorets database, UNIAN, 22 September 2018
  41. ↑ Over 300 officials get Hungarian passports in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region – Myrotvorets database, UNIAN, 9 October 2018
  42. ↑ Hungary accuses Ukraine state of lying it has nothing to do with website listing dual nationals, UNIAN, 11 October 2018
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