“Where is the summons: what lies behind the massive emergence of Telegram channels leaking information about the work of the TCC
24 May 2024 18:48
on 18 May, a new law on mobilisation came into force in Ukraine. Almost immediately, channels began to appear on the Telegram messenger, warning where, when and how someone saw the distribution of summonses by TCC employees. In fact, such Telegram channels existed before, but now their number has increased significantly.
Kommersant Ukrainian 
Who is behind the Telegram channels announcing the distribution of subpoenas
Telegram channels reporting on the distribution of summonses and the locations of TCC representatives appeared in 2022, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The Security Service of Ukraine is constantly tracking them down, bringing them to justice and blocking them. However, new ones appear to replace the cancelled ones. There are such Telegram channels in almost every city in Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro… Each of these channels is anonymous; you can contact the owners only through a bot, and Telegram channels do not leave any other contacts.
Journalists
Responsibility before the law
As lawyer Roman Ukhov explains, the administrators of these telegram channels are managed by the Security Service of Ukraine. In general, they are prosecuted under Article 114 of Part One of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the disclosure of information about the location of the armed forces and other military formations, if this is not disclosed by the General Staff.
“This is all regulated at the legislative level, it is a criminal offence, even if you have created two or three Telegram channels. If you create a second or third Telegram channel, these are just separate criminal proceedings, the person will be held liable for several crimes,” he explained,
– he explained.
At the same time, according to Roman Ukhov, those people who subscribe to such channels do not bear any responsibility before the law.
“If they do not disseminate information from these telegram channels, they are not liable. If they do disseminate information, they may be held liable,”
– says the lawyer.
Are there any realistic deadlines for creating Telegram channels on the distribution of subpoenas
The Security Service of Ukraine has been exposing their owners since the emergence of Telegram channels that record the distribution of subpoenas and the location of TCCs. For example, last week, the administrator of such a channel from Ternopil was tried. As a result, he got off with a suspended sentence.
But an Odesa resident, who was recently exposed by SBU cyber specialists, has only been notified of suspicion. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
It is not known how many Telegram channels reporting on summonses and TCCs have been discovered by the Security Service of Ukraine during the full-scale invasion. Journalists tried to contact the SBU spokesperson and sent a request with a number of questions about the effectiveness of the SBU in identifying such Telegram channels, but have not yet received a response.
Why do people subscribe to Telegram channels about summonses?
According to military psychologist Andriy Kozinchuk, Ukrainians are massively subscribing to such Telegram channels because the state does not conduct a full-fledged dialogue with potential conscripts and their families.
“People subscribe to these Telegram channels because they are scared, and why are they scared? Because there is no information. I don’t want to blame the state for this, but in my subjective opinion, the dialogue with potential conscripts is a bit limp. The information field is saturated with IPSO and similar materials,”
– said Kozinchuk.
The military psychologist explained that this is how our brains work, which switches to the emotional sphere when there is a lack of information.
“Our brains work either in the rational or emotional sphere. And when you don’t have enough information about something, you stop thinking rationally, the brain starts working more emotionally and forms some scenarios to survive. We are addicted to the need for information because our ancestors survived in this way. And here it is important to have information not that which is rational, but that which will help,”
– he added.
At the same time, Iryna Friz, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence, added that people subscribe to Telegram channels with calls also because the law on mobilisation does not specify clear demobilisation deadlines.
“People are scared of uncertainty. The absence of clear terms of discharge from military service during martial law in the law on mobilisation also does not add optimism to all those who are eligible by age and have no opportunities or prerequisites for deferment or reservation. Accordingly, people are scared, given what has been happening with mobilisation over the past year. And they are scared, first and foremost, of uncertainty and distrust in the government,”
– freese summarised.
