In Kharkiv, the SBU detained a foreign blogger who denied Russian crimes and insulted Ukrainian defenders. "Babelʼs" sources in law enforcement agencies say that it is about a pro-Russian blogger from Latin America, Gonzalo Lira, who is posing as a journalist.
The man has the citizenship of one of the countries of Latin America, but has been living in Kharkiv for several years. According to the investigation, after the start of the full-scale war, the blogger supported the Russian occupiers and glorified war crimes.
He also engaged in discrediting the top military-political leadership and the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Law enforcement officers recorded that in the spring of 2022, he personally shot provocative videos in which he tried to show the faces of the Ukrainian military and insulted defenders. He published videos on YouTube and Twitter, where he has a total of almost 300,000 followers.
In addition, as the SBU says, he denied the facts of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and mass murders of civilians by the occupiers.
During the searches, mobile phones and a computer with evidence of illegal activities were found in his possession. So far, the investigators of the Security Service have informed him of the suspicion under Art. 2 and 3 Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The court took him into custody — the investigation is ongoing.
In 2022, Gonzalo Lira was also detained, then Russian propaganda wrote that he was allegedly kidnapped and killed by "Azovs".