Administrator of the Telegram channel about Odesa is sanctioned

The administrator of the pro-Russian Telegram channel Typical Odesa, Oleksandr Sinitsyn, has been added to the sanctions list by a presidential decree.

The relevant decision was made by the National Security and Defense Council and put into effect by a presidential decree.

More than 250,000 people subscribe to the channel, and the main areas of propaganda on it are praising the life of Odesa during the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, spreading nostalgia for these times, and constantly discrediting Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Telegram channel "Typical Odesa" itself indicated that it was registered with Roskomnadzor, which is a mandatory requirement for all Russian sources of information in the Russian Federation. Thus, the administrator actually admitted that it was controlled from Russia.

In total, 71 individuals and 18 organizations were subject to personal sanctions. Among them are representatives of Russian propaganda media, as well as entities controlled by Viktor Medvedchuk.

In February 2023, the SBU reported that the founder of the channel was blogger Alexander Sinitsyn, who has been hiding from justice in the Russian city of Ryazan since 2014. He was a freelance correspondent for central Russian TV channels, including russia today and the rosbusinessconsulting media group, and after fleeing to Russia, he created the propaganda telegram channel Typical Odesa.

This is not the first time that telegram channels covering events in Odesa region and positioning themselves as "Odesa" have been linked to Russia.

For example, in July 2022, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security compiled a list of 100 Russian Telegram channels that mimic Ukrainian ones. The list included two channels related to Odesa: "Typical Odesa" and "Odesa Frayer".

Also on the list were the Telegram channels Legitimate, Resident, Cartel, Gossip Girl, and Black Quarter, which, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, are administered by Anton Davydchenko, an anti-Maidan activist from Odesa.

In 2021, the SBU identified "Chief" among the administrators of certain channels, including Odesskyi Frayer and Chornyi Kvartal, who, according to the investigation, is an employee of the Russian special services.

In December 2022, Detector Media analysts studied 1,700 Telegram channels in Ukraine and summarized the signs that can be used to prove that a particular Telegram channel is spreading messages favorable to Russia. Then the publication published a guide to recognizing propaganda and disinformation resources, of which journalists counted more than 300.

Ірина Глухова