Ukraine Blocks Crypto Wallet Used to Raise Funds for Russian Forces – Bitcoin News

A cryptocurrency wallet that was used to fund the Russian military campaign has been seized by the Ukrainian law enforcement agency and counter-intelligence agent. Kyiv officials claim the money taken from the wallet was used to purchase military equipment for pro-Russian separatist forces.

Ukraine Seizes Crypto Donations Funding Russia’s Invasion

For the first time, the Security Service of Ukraine has implemented a mechanism that limits cryptocurrency fundraising for troops supporting the Russian side of the current hostilities. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war when the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in late February in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in support of the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

In a press release on Tuesday, the SBU announced that a crypto wallet operated by a citizen of the Russian Federation and used to sponsor Russia’s military effort in Ukraine has been blocked. This man, who claimed to have been volunteering, was raising money to support the Russian forces ever since the invasion.

By the time the wallet was blocked, it had 800,000 Hryvnia worth of digital coins. This is almost $22,000 at current rates. The SBU stated that funds were subsequently seized. Experts now work to trace the transactions and to transfer custody to Ukraine. While the agent did not say how they seized it, the company said that crypto firms from abroad had assisted them.

Ukrainian investigators have been able to establish that the wallet’s owner devoted a significant portion of the donated crypto to the purchase of military supplies for the separatist fighters of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. Representatives of the National Police of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office also took part in the operation.

Russian ‘Volunteer’ Active on Social Media

Since the start of the current conflict, this Russian activist was actively looking for financial support on social media. To promote his efforts, he has been creating and regularly posting photo and video content, distributed posts published by associates and reported on the use of the collected funds, the SBU detailed without revealing the Russian’s identity.

Chainalysis, a blockchain-forensics company revealed last month that over $2.2 Million worth of cryptocurrency has been received by 54 pro-Russian organizations. Donetsk (and Luhansk) were the locations of these organizations. They received most of their donations in bitcoin and ether (ETH), but also other currencies.

Ukraine has relied on crypto donations for years. Both the Kyiv government and volunteers have been raising money digitally to support its defense. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov recently announced on Twitter that $54 million worth of crypto funds collected through the Aid For Ukraine initiative have been spent to purchase body armor, medicines, night sights, and even vehicles for the Ukrainian army.

In addition to providing humanitarian assistance, the industry and crypto community have also provided aid for Ukraine. European crypto exchange Whitebit, which has Ukrainian roots, offered to support Ukrainian refugees through its representative offices abroad and the world’s largest coin trading platform, Binance, issued a special crypto card for Ukrainians forced to leave their homes.

You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.

What do you think Ukraine will do to prevent more foreign crypto wallets being used for financing the Russian military offensive against Russia? Comment below.

Lubomir Tatsev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.