Myrotvorets

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Myrotvorets
Myrotvorets logo-300x300.png
OwnerNGO ″Myrotvorets Centre″
URLmyrotvorets.center
CommercialNo
Launched15 December 2014; 7 years ago (2014-12-15)
Current statusOnline

Myrotvorets or Mirotvorets (Ukrainian: Миротворець, lit. 'Peacemaker' /mɪrɔ'tvɔrɛt͡sʲ/), is a Ukrainian Kyiv-based[4] website that publishes personal information of people who are considered to be "enemies of Ukraine",[8] 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".[9] The website was launched in December 2014 by Ukrainian politician and activist Georgy Tuka.[10][11]

The site reflects the work of NGO ″Myrotvorets centre″, led by Roman Zaitsev, former employee of Luhansk Security Service of Ukraine office.[12] The website is allegedly curated by the government law-enforcement and intelligence agency Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and promoted by Advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Herashchenko.[13] 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.[13] Another controversy occurred in April 2015 when the website published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former Verkhovna Rada parliamentarian Oleg Kalashnikov just days before they were assassinated.

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 Donbas, and therefore were considered by the site to have cooperated with terrorists.[22] 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 the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic. In response, the Security Service of Ukraine issued a statement that it found no violations of Ukrainian law by Myrotvorets.[23]

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

The staff of the "Myrotvorets" Centre

Myrotvorets Centre began to develop the project in summer 2014, during the War in Donbas. The project was launched in December 2014 as part of the work of the volunteer group known as "".[11][24] The first true leader and participants were not reported, for their safety.[12]

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.[12]

The website was promoted by Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, who publicly called himself the initiator of the creation of the project.[25] An anchor at Hromadske.TV claimed the centre is affiliated with the government law-enforcement and intelligence agency, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)[14] and the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.[25]

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.[12]

"Myrotvorets" it is also recognised by the courts of Ukraine when making decisions. The data of the collected on the website it is used in court decisions at all stages - from the beginning of the pre-trial investigation to the conviction of the person. In numerous rulings, judges also accept information from the Myrotvorets" as material evidence. The use of the website applies not only to criminal cases, but also to civil legal relations and factfinding acts.[25]

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.[12]

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".[13] 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.[26][27] After the information was published, the Investigative Committee of Russia launched criminal proceedings against Anton Gerashchenko for "public calls to terrorism."[28]

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 Donbas.[29]

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.[30][31]

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 – 57,775 people;[32] by 27 January 2017 - more than 102 thousand,[33] on the 23rd of August 2019 - 187 thousand.[34] The most complete database contains residents of the Crimea.[12]

On 15 April 2018, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's name was added to the website.[35]

Western celebrities and intellectuals (such as Steven Seagal, Silvio Berlusconi, Thierry Mariani, Henry Kissinger, and Gerard Depardieu) have also found themselves landing on Myrotvorets's list, although not all have been formally banned from Ukraine.[36][37][38][39][40][non-primary source needed]

Controversy[]

In April 2015, Myrotvorets published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina[41] and former Verkhovna Rada parliamentarian Oleg Kalashnikov, just days before they were assassinated.[42]

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.[43] 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.[44][45]

On 24 May 2016, Committee to Protect Journalists wrote an open letter to then Ukrainian President Poroshenko urging him to "condemn the unfounded and damaging allegations published on Myrotvorets, and to clarify publicly that the Ukrainian Interior Ministry is dedicated to protecting journalists and apprehending the people responsible for threatening them, in contrast to Interior Minister Avakov's previous statements".[46]

On 2 June 2016, G7 ambassadors to Kyiv 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.[47] 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.[48][non-primary source needed]

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.[49][better source needed]

In September 2018, Myrotvorets wrote on Facebook that their database included residents of Zakarpattia Oblast who had illegally taken out Hungarian citizenship.[50] 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.[51] 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".[52]

Andrea Rocchelli, an Italian journalist murdered by the Ukrainian army in 2014 during the Donbas war, has been filed on the site. In Rocchelli's file, on whose photo the Myrotvorets Center has applied the red writing superimposed "Liquidated", there is a note stating that the photojournalist was "cooperating with pro-Russian terrorist organizations" and that he had violated the border of state of Ukraine to enter the territory occupied by "Russian terrorist gangs".[53][54][55]

In 2018, Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize in Literature, received threats from local nationalists and had to cancel a meeting with readers in the Green Theater of the Ukrainian city of Odessa when her name was added to a list of "enemies of Ukraine" by the Myrotvorets for "propagating interethnic discord and manipulating information important for society".[56]

The website published a very detailed list of workers of the MT. Group involved in the construction of the Kerch bridge, that includes name, surname, date of birth, sex, place of birth, residential address and passport number of those working on the project. The bridge is a Russian project to connect the Crimean Peninsula to the territories of the Federal Republic.[55]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Dokumentation: Stellungnahmen zum Skandal um die Webseite Mirotworez (Friedensstifter)". bpb. 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  2. ^ a b "OSCE: Journalists' personal data leak in Ukraine endangers their safety". UNIAN. 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  3. ^ "Russia Reform Monitor: No. 2203". American Foreign Policy Council. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  4. ^ [1][2][3]
  5. ^ a b "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.
  6. ^ "Shadowy organization adds former Western top officials to 'enemies of Ukraine' list". Kyiv Post. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  7. ^ "Феномен «Миротворца»" (in Russian). Radio Liberty. 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2021-03-01. Задача этого сайта - зафиксировать всех тех, кто был против Украины.
  8. ^ [5][6][7]
  9. ^ "Center "Myrotvorets" invites to cooperation of law enforcement agencies of foreign States". Myrotvorets. 7 November 2016.
  10. ^ "George Tuka post about webcite" (in Russian). Facebook. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  11. ^ a b "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).  [uk]. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "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.
  13. ^ a b c Dolgov, Anna (2015-10-08). "Russian Investigative Committee Opens Criminal Case Against Putin Accuser". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  14. ^ a b "Ukraine Tries to Terrify Journalists Who Cover the War". The Daily Beast. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  15. ^ "OSCE Representative Mijatović expresses concern about journalists' safety in Ukraine". Interfax. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Myrotvorets website leaks personal data of journalists accredited in "DPR": intl scandal brewing : UNIAN news". UNIAN. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "Ukrainian hackers publish info on thousands of journalists". The Washington Post. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Ukrainian Hackers Leak Personal Data Of Thousands Of Journalists Who Worked In Donbas". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 11 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Debate Over Free Press in Ukraine Suffers From Old Stereotypes". Voice of America. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  21. ^ "Freedom of media / audio-visual development in Ukraine" (PDF). EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform. 2017-05-18.
  22. ^ [5][14][15][16][17][18][19][2][20][21]
  23. ^ "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.
  24. ^ "The Comparative Analysis of Reginal Governors' Approaches too Fostering Inclusive Political Institutions in Post-Euromaidan Dondas". Kyiv-Mohila Law & Politics Journal.
  25. ^ a b c "The right to freedom of speech and opinion in Ukraine: threats and opportunities" (PDF). osce.org. 2018-09-11.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "Russia steps up Syria air campaign: Jets raise daily action to 88 strikes6" (in Ukrainian). RT. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  28. ^ "RF IC opened a case against a deputy of the Parliament of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko". RIA Novosti. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  29. ^ "TSN 28 Feb 2016" (in Ukrainian).  [uk]. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Ukraine can sue another Bulgarian mercenary" (in Bulgarian). club ″Z″. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  31. ^ "Ukraine may seek to sue not one but four Bulgarians" (in Bulgarian). bTV (Bulgaria). 1 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  32. ^ "Центр "Миротворец" прекращает свою деятельность в текущем формате" [Center "Peacemaker" cease its activities in the current format.] (in Russian).  [uk]. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  33. ^ 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)
  34. ^ «Достанем всех, кто поднял руку на Украину»: центру «Миротворец» исполнилось 5 лет archived copy
  35. ^ Syrian president lands up on Ukraine's Myrotvorets database due to his children's visit to Crimea, UNIAN, 16 April 2018
  36. ^ https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/sigal-stiven-frederik/
  37. ^ https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/kissindzher-genri-alfredovich
  38. ^ https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/depardyo-zherar-ksavie-marsel/
  39. ^ https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/berluskoni-silvio/
  40. ^ https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/mariani-terri/
  41. ^ "Branded a 'Terrorist' for Reporting Two Sides of Ukraine's War". nytimes.com. 2016-06-05.
  42. ^ Mirovalev, Mansur (2019-08-27). "The Ukrainian website shaming pro-Russia voices". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  43. ^ "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.
  44. ^ "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.
  45. ^ "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.
  46. ^ Simon, Joel (24 May 2016). "CPJ urges Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to condemn threats to journalists". Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  47. ^ G7 Ambassadors are deeply concerned by recent massive disclosures of journalists’ personal data on the Myrotvorets websiteв(in English)
  48. ^ Fragment of Mr. Poroshenko's press-conference on 6 June 2016(in English)
  49. ^ "Russia demands Ukrainian doxing site be closed down". TASS. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  50. ^ Residents of Zakarpattia region with Hungarian citizenship included in Ukraine's Myrotvorets database, UNIAN, 22 September 2018
  51. ^ Over 300 officials get Hungarian passports in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region – Myrotvorets database, UNIAN, 9 October 2018
  52. ^ Hungary accuses Ukraine state of lying it has nothing to do with website listing dual nationals, UNIAN, 11 October 2018
  53. ^ "Così l'Ucraina continua a sparare sulla memoria di Andrea Rocchelli" [Thus Ukraine continues to fire on Andrea Rocchelli's memory]. espresso.repubblica.it. 2020-10-08.
  54. ^ "Andy Rocchelli - SPARI SULLA MEMORIA". it.insideover.com. 2020-10-27.
  55. ^ a b "Quel sito ucraino che condanna i filorussi e i nemici della patria". it.insideover.com. 2017-09-20.
  56. ^ "Ucraina, scrittrice premio Nobel Aleksievic costretta a cancellare un evento dopo le minacce dei nazionalisti". repubblica.it. 2018-08-09.

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