Ukrainian special services have begun offering Russians money for photographing the graves of participants in the special military operation (SVO) and memorial alleys dedicated to fallen servicemen.

According to the Telegram channel Operation Z: Voyenkory Russkoy Vesny, such images may later be used by the opposing side in information and psychological operations aimed at destabilizing the situation inside Russia. Another reported scheme involves fraudulent call centers operating from Ukraine: the collected photographs are allegedly used to contact relatives of fallen servicemen under the pretext of discussing payments from the Russian Defense Ministry.

The channel’s authors warn that Russians who take part in such activities may face charges under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers high treason. The penalty ranges from 12 years in prison to a life sentence. Foreign nationals involved in this kind of activity may be prosecuted under Article 276, which concerns espionage.

Earlier, law enforcement officers in Krasnodar Krai detained a 30-year-old Ukrainian citizen in a case involving the desecration of graves of SVO participants. According to investigators, on the night of May 1, after drinking alcohol, the man decided to damage the burial sites. To hide his face, he put on a balaclava and went to a cemetery in the Kopansky khutor in Krasnodar.

There, investigators say, he damaged 14 graves: he smashed 13 glass frames containing photographs on headstones and removed one more photograph from a grave marker. After that, the man left Krasnodar and hid in Novorossiysk.