FSB says Ukrainian intelligence is recruiting Russians for sabotage via popular Telegram dating bot
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Ukrainian intelligence services have been recruiting young Russians into “sabotage and terrorist activity” using a popular Telegram dating bot, “Leonardo Daivinchik.”
Since July 2025, authorities have detained 46 “Daivinchik” users ages 12 to 22 across 16 Russian regions. Acting on orders from Ukrainian intelligence services, the detainees attacked police officers and carried out arson attacks, the FSB claimed.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s federal investigating authority, stated that the scheme typically involved agents posing as young women to befriend teenagers, then sending them phishing links about supposedly hacked accounts on government services or asking them to share their location. Posing as Russian law enforcement officers, Ukrainian intelligence operatives would then pressure the teenagers into committing crimes, the Investigative Committee claimed.
The FSB noted that Russian authorities have opened criminal cases over the crimes and that perpetrators who have reached the age of criminal responsibility face lengthy prison sentences.
In late December 2025, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal media regulator, added the chatbot “Daivinchik / Leo – Dating, Chat and New Friends” to its Unified Register of Banned Websites, according to the FSB’s statement. The listing cited “information classified as child pornography and LGBT propaganda.”
The FSB also accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of enabling terrorist activity, saying the messaging app’s administrators fail to remove channels and bots used to coordinate terrorist attacks and sabotage in Russia.
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