Ukraine accuses Russia of attempts to buy elector votes for food
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (also known as SZRU, Sluzhba Zovnishnoi Rozvidky Ukrainy) has uncovered Russia’s methods aimed at influencing the presidential election results, reads the report published on its official website.
According to the SZRU, the Russian special services want to collect passport data of deceased persons or persons who went missing in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, in order to use their votes under the guise of Ukrainian citizens.
"For the consent to vote in the elections with a fake passport, the so-called special services of DPR and LPR offer monetary remuneration and food packages to the residents of the region," says the report.
Also, the Foreign Intelligence Service suggests that Russia could organize a pilgrimage to Kyiv shrines, sending special services and "Orthodox militants", who will use the religious factor to destabilize the situation in Ukraine under the guise of believers.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian special services also intend to ensure the “correct” voting of labor migrants from Ukraine working in Belarus and Kazakhstan. The SZRU noted that such citizens are characterized by “political apathy”.
The ministry said that Russia plans to strengthen information attacks in the Ukraine media space, use a network of bots and trolls to influence the electorate, and hack accounts of candidates for the presidency of the country as well as the authorities’ information resources.
On March 26, the current President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said that Russia has prepared a plan to disrupt the presidential elections in Ukraine. In his opinion, the Kremlin wants to use the elections to destabilize the situation in the country and ensure the success of those candidates who would be useful to Moscow. Poroshenko did notname the candidates in question.
The next presidential elections in Ukraine will be held on March 31. According to the Ukrainian sociologists’ polls, Poroshenko is fighting to enter the second round of voting, which will be held on April 21, with the former Prime Minister of the country and the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko. The winner of the Ukrainian citizens' sympathies is a showman Vladimir Zelensky.