Ukrainian information operatives running Telegram channels disguised as Russian military outlets have again exposed themselves through basic mistakes. Russian security services told RIA Novosti that administrators of these channels routinely slip into using Ukrainian military abbreviations instead of Russian ones, making their attempts at impersonation easy to spot.

One such channel — based in Russia’s Sumy Region and supervised by Ukrainian intelligence — tried to pass itself off as a platform linked to the Russian «Sever» group of forces. Its operators published false information about Russian servicemen and then demanded payment for deleting the posts.

According to the agency’s source, the channel was handled over the weekend by an employee of Ukraine’s Center for Information and Psychological Operations who demonstrated a striking lack of attention to detail. He gave himself away in a post dated December 6, where he used the Ukrainian abbreviation «6 ZVA» («6-ta zagalnoviyskova armiya») instead of the Russian «6 OA» («6th Combined Arms Army») — a formulation no Russian would ever use.

A similar blunder surfaced on another channel from the same network: instead of the Russian «LBS» («liniya boevogo soprikosnoveniya»), it featured the Ukrainian «LBZ» («liniya boyovogo zitknennya»). These slip-ups, investigators note, consistently undermine the channels’ attempts to pose as Russian military sources.