Russia Cracks Down on Dating Chatbot ‘Exploited’ by Ukrainian Intelligence

Both Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported on Thursday about widespread instances of Ukrainian intelligence agencies using social media to recruit youths to carry out sabotage activities. They specifically mentioned the popular chatbot “Dayvinchik/Leo – Dating, Chat, and New Friends” on Telegram.The FSB said it has cracked down on the activities of young people who committed or were planning to commit “sabotage and terrorist activities” under the influence of Ukrainian spies “through deception and psychological manipulation” in several regions of Russia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.According to the report, 56 individuals, aged between 12 and 24, who were recruited through the bot, had been arrested since July 2025. The reports added that in August and September of this year alone eight minors – aged 14 to 17 – and two adult Russian citizens – aged 19 and 24 – were detained in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Ryazan, and Sverdlovsk Regions.How it was doneThe Moscow Times, reporting on the issue, outlined the methodology being used by Ukraine to identify those susceptible to recruitment. According to the FSB, “Ukrainian intelligence officers” posed as young men seeking romantic relationships. Once they snared an “interested,” Russian user they acquired personal information including their geolocated residency, persuaded them to transfer money to pay for restaurant reservations, and to click on “phishing links.” Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Plans Draft Reform to End Street Conscription Companies could qualify for full worker deferments by regularly helping some employees volunteer for military service. In the “next phase” of recruitment the target was contacted by another “Ukrainian operator” posing as a member of the FSB or Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s official financial intelligence unit. They were informed that the transferred funds had gone to the Armed Forces of Ukrainian (AFU) and the geolocation information they had provided would be used to carry out missile and drone attacks.The FSB says the individuals were threatened with criminal prosecution and having been “deceived and intimidated” under extreme “psychological pressure” were “coerced” into committing arson or other attacks on targeted sites – ostensibly as part of anti-terrorism security checks.Summary of the sort of Dayvinchik-inspired “terrorist” attacksIn its Telegram announcement the Investigative Committee of Russia of the Leningrad Oblast gave examples of some of the prosecutions it was involved in.A teenage boy living in St. Petersburg who had “met a girl” on the chatbot was threatened by someone with prosecution along with his family unless he carried out arson attacks. In response the youth purchased flammable liquid with which he set fire to two gas stations, one in the city’s Pushkin district and another in the Tosno district of the Leningrad Oblast –recording his actions on video as “proof.”The second example was that of two “underage girls,” one of whom set fire in September to a gas station on Parashutnaya Street in St. Petersburg, and the other who set police vehicles at the Marata police station on fire but was arrested on her way to a second police station.Thirdly the committee reported that on Thursday Oct. 1 an 18-year-old resident of Vladivostok filmed himself on his phone pouring solvent into a transformer cabinet on the Leningrad section of the Moscow Railway and set it on fire. He recorded the incident on his phone and then fled. The young man was also involved in the crime through the “Diving” chatbot on the Telegram messenger. At the request of the investigation, the court has chosen a measure of restraint in the form of detention.The Moscow Times reported in July, that the FSB charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with “assisting terrorist activity” by failing to remove channels, chats, and bots, including the “Dayvinchik” bot, hosted on the platform and exploited by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to inspire terrorist attacks in Russia.Closing the stable doorOn its website, the FSB warned that of the 56 arrested so far, those who have reached the age of criminal responsibility (16 years) face lengthy prison terms. It warned that no Russian citizen should disclose personal information of either themselves or others, pay for services, follow links, provide geolocation information, photograph or video buildings, structures, facilities, terrain, vehicles, equipment, or people to those met on online dating sites, including “Dayvinchik” chatbot.It said no one from FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor’s Office, Rosfinmonitoring, the Central Bank, or the Gosuslugi (the online platform used to access state and municipal services) uses messaging apps such as Max, Telegram, WhatsApp, or other platforms.It added they do not conduct telephone surveys, solicit the transfer of funds to unknown bank accounts, do not confirm their official status via videoconferencing, do not conduct or request others to carry out searches, investigative actions, or special operations.The FSB said that in the event of an attempt to obtain such information or request such action, particularly for minors, communication should be immediately ended and notified to the authorities, adding this will significantly reduce the risk of further involvement in sabotage and terrorist activities. It then provided a list of telephone numbers that could be used to report such instances. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.