“According to databases of citizens of the Russian Federation, the recently arrested coal baron Kropachev by the SBI has a Russian passport with the surname “Mirny”! Recently published Telegram links to the “Chimera” database indicate that as of June 8, 2016, Kropachev changed his last name to “Mirny” in the registry office of Taganrog, Rostov region, act number 24,” expert Okhrimenko said on his page on the social network Facebook .
The expert believes that Kropachev (Mirny) did not renounce Russian citizenship. Most likely, Kropachev did not paste the photograph into his passport upon reaching the age of 45, and his passport is formally considered invalid, while Kropachev’s (Mirny) Russian citizenship remains intact. He can contact the Russian consular office at any time, pay fines, paste in photographs and receive a new passport. “It’s a convenient status, especially when you have questions from Ukrainian law enforcement,” summarizes Okhrimenko.
Information about Kropachev's Russian citizenship and photographs of extracts from the Russian passport system were previously published in EUTODAY by an international group of journalists who are investigating Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at creating pseudo-experts and manipulating European public opinion.
“Kropachev attracted the attention of investigators with a series of complimentary articles in international media and the fact that he attracted the top management of the nationalized holding “112 Ukraine” to open the UWN TV channel. All this happened against the backdrop of a loud scandal in Europe around the Russian propaganda project “Voice of Europe”, in the creation of which the top management of the holding “112 Ukraine” was also involved. As a result of the scandal, a number of European countries demanded that the former director of the 112 Ukraine TV channel, Artem Marchevsky, be included in the new package of sanctions. Whether Kropachev is involved in the activities of the “Voice of Europe” is unknown, as is the fact whether former employees of “112th” use the power of the UWN channel, owned by Kropachev, for the work of the “Voice of Europe” project. Why did Kropachev, whose business really needs the loyalty of the authorities, move closer to Medvedchuk’s team, which, as expected, caused sharp criticism and the attention of investigative journalists? Ukrainian and European law enforcement officers should answer all these questions in the near future,” the expert wrote.
Previously, the media reported that the managers and employees of the closed media holding “112 Ukraine”, in parallel with Ukrainian projects, are creating two large projects in Europe: “Voice of Europe” and “Compatriots”. The Voice of Europe portal acts as a news resource promoting a pro-Russian agenda and aimed at manipulating public opinion in Europe.
The “Compatriots” project is a virtual legal assistance center for oppositionists, supposedly fighters for freedom of speech. Both projects actively use the resources and expertise of former 112 Ukraine employees. Their activities are aimed at undermining trust in European institutions and supporting pro-Russian sentiments. These projects are part of a wider disinformation campaign aimed at destabilizing Europe's information space, the investigation claims.
