Ukrainian security services hacked into a video call between Moscow and her Ukrainian supporters to tell them they were all charged with treason – before bombarding them with a rendition of Ukraine’s national anthem.
A video posted online appears to show a Ukrainian official interrupting a call attended by various representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, an area of Donetsk region currently ruled by supporters of Russian rule.
While this hasn’t been officially confirmed by government officials, those on the video certainly appeared convinced it was real as they rushed to turn off their cameras and exit the conference call.
It comes as the bodies of two Britons were handed over by Russian forces on Saturday as part of a large-scale prisoner swap.
In a translation posted below the video, the interviewer can be heard asking: “Donetsk People’s Republic, who is with us?”
The official allegedly hacked into the conference call between Moscow and some of its supporters in Ukraine’s Donetsk region
Then the beginning of a list of callers is read out, which includes colleagues, Gortsev Dmitry Anatolyevich, Minister of Internal Affairs, Deputy Minister of Medical Affairs, Martinov and two people named Anastasia and Lenin.
A few seconds later, the person filming the meeting interrupts the conference call and identifies himself as a member of the Ukrainian security service.
The man tells the interlocutors: “The Security Service of Ukraine identified and tracked you all.
“You will all be on the international wanted list starting tomorrow.
“They will all be held accountable under Article 111 of the Criminal Code, treason.”
When the man has finished speaking, the national anthem of Ukraine starts playing loudly.
While it’s difficult to independently verify whether this was in fact an operation by the Ukrainian security services, participants in the Zoom call certainly seemed convinced.
Participants quickly turned off their video feeds and left the call, after initially being somewhat skeptical about the interruption.
For the first few seconds of the interruption, the interlocutors looked confused and skeptical
As the official continued his announcement, more and more attendees turned off their cameras
Attacks have ravaged the Donetsk region of Ukraine since the war began a year ago (Image: Destroyed apartment buildings in Khasiv Yar, Donetsk)
At the end of the clip, hardly anyone was still talking as the Ukrainian anthem continued to play
Russian defense officials have released video footage they claim shows the return of Russian troops as part of Saturday’s prisoner swap
Ukrainian soldiers on a tank in the Donetsk region, Saturday, February 4
Article 111 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code prohibits the supply of material resources to Russian armed units in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory and punishes any economic activity in cooperation with Russia with a fine or three to five years imprisonment.
There are further penalties for citizens of Ukraine who voluntarily hold a position related to the performance of organizational, administrative or economic functions in “Occupying Power Authorities” and participate in organizing and conducting illegal elections or referendums in the temporarily occupied territory.
Even harsher prison sentences of 12 to 15 years can be imposed on Ukrainians who cooperate with Russian judicial or law enforcement agencies, participate in illegal military formations created by Russia on Ukrainian territory, or are involved in conducting combat operations against the Armed Forces of Ukraine .
The video emerged as news emerged that the bodies of two Britons were handed over by Russia on Saturday as part of a mass exchange of prisoners.
The bodies of the couple, who were killed trying to help evacuate people from fierce fighting in Ukraine, have been recovered, Kyiv officials said on Saturday.
Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, were volunteering in Soledar, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, when their vehicle was reportedly hit by a shell.
The two were returned to Ukrainian authorities as part of a broader exchange in which Kyiv took 116 prisoners and Russia 63.
“We managed to bring back the bodies of the dead foreign volunteers,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, naming the two British men.
Bagshaw was a scientific researcher in the field of genetics but had been volunteering as an aid worker in Ukraine since last April.
His remains are expected to be returned to New Zealand, where he and his family lived.
The Parry family said he previously worked as a software engineer.
Concerns about their fate had grown after the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which helped capture Soledar from Ukrainian forces, said on January 11 that one of the missing men’s bodies had been found there.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had also posted photos of passports that appeared to belong to Parry and Bagshaw, which he claimed to have found with the bodies, on the Internet.