2.2. Original web sources

Moreover, those posts contained new messages which correspond with the identified information operation of countering international assistance to Ukraine:

• Ukrainian oligarchs are criminals;

• The Government / military officials are criminals, drug addicts, barbarians, incompetent, cowards;

• EU integration is a mistake / unattainable idea ;

• Ukraine is a country of fascists, gays, villains (peasants), uneducated people, schismatics ;

• Ukraine is a non-state (glued from the territories of other countries) ;

• The government does not follow the Minsk agreement;

• The government interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, conducts operations abroad;

• Ecological catastrophe in Ukraine;

• The government puts pressure on the opposition;

• The government artificially creates a humanitarian catastrophe in the Crimea;

• The government pressures the minorities and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchy.

2.2. Original web sources

According to the results of the previous stages, 62 sites have been identified, which are characterized by the highest intensity of negative influence aimed at countering International (Western) support to Ukraine.

It should be noted that among them only 16 are subjects to restrictive measures (sanctions) by the Ukrainian authorities (decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, enacted by decrees of the President of Ukraine №133 / 2017 of 15 May 2017, №126 / 2018 of 14 May 2018, №82 dated March 19, 2019 and №184 dated 14.05.2020). Access to the remaining 46 sites is free.

In addition, during the project implementation the following methods of bypassing the prohibitions were established:

1. Creation of clone sites, which involves changing the www-address (usually a domain to leave the known name unchanged).

For instance, the access to the Antifascist website (antifashist.com) is prohibited in Ukraine (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 . Screenshot of the appeal to the site antifashist.com in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet

Instead, the Russian special services created a clone site antifashist.online, available in Ukraine (Figs. 4 and 5).

Fig. 4 . Screenshot of the main page of the banned in Ukraine site antifashist.com (access from the Russian segment of the Internet)

Fig. 5 . Screenshot of the main page of the antifashist site, which is not banned in Ukraine . online (access from the Ukrainian segment of the Internet)

2. Disguise of the website site, including its hosting on European or US platforms, as well as the development of site design, which does not contain any reference to the Russian “traces”.

For example, the site “Voice of Truth” (golospravdy.eu), uses the EU domain (.eu), externally designed as a purely Ukrainian resource (Fig. 6), registered and has IP addresses located in the United States (Fig. 7). However, the site is actually administered from the Russian Federation remotely (using remote access tools).

Fig. 6 . Screenshot of the main page of the site “Voice of Truth” banned in Ukraine g olospravdy.eu

(access from the Ukrainian segment of the Internet)

Fig. 7 . Screenshots of information about the IP address of the site “Voice of Truth” g olospravdy .eu , its registration and location ( access from the Ukrainian segment of the Internet)

3. Creating pages of banned sites on social media platforms available in Ukraine , for example, Facebook (Fig. 8-10) and Twitter (Fig . 11-13).

Fig. 8 . Screenshot of the appeal to the banned in Ukraine site “Novorossiya” novorosinform.org (access from the Ukrainian segment of the Internet)

Fig. 9 . Screenshot of the main page of the banned in Ukraine site “Novorossiya” novorosinform.org (access from the Russian segment of the Internet)

Fig. 10 . Screenshot home page site banned in Ukraine “Novorossyya» novorosinform.org in network Facebook (access from the Ukrainian segment of the Internet)

Fig. 11 . Screenshot of the appeal to the banned in Ukraine site “News of Kharkov” nahnews.org

Fig. 12 . Screenshot of the main page of the banned in Ukraine site “News of Kharkov” nahnews.org (access from the Russian segment of the Internet)

Fig. 13 . Screenshot home page site banned in Ukraine “Kharkov News» nahnews.org in network Twitter (access from the Ukrainian segment of the Internet)