Ukraine hacktivists trick wives into exposing Russian airmen suspected of war crimes

Military wives' sultry photos have led Ukrainian hacktivists to sensitive personal information about Russian air force pilots accused of war crimes in Ukraine.

According to a report by InformNapalm, a Ukrainian volunteer intelligence website, Cyber Resistance accessed the email account of Col. Sergey Atroshchenko, who is thought to have ordered a bombing of the theater in Mariupol. The building served as an air raid shelter at the time and Ukraine deems the attack a war crime.

While looking through the colonel’s emails, hacktivists noticed that his wife, Lilia Aleksandrovna Atroshchenko, likes sending “photo surprises” to her husband, including nudes, according to InformNapalm.

The hacktivists saw an opportunity here and, pretending to be someone from her husband’s regiment, duped Lilia into doing another “surprise” for her husband – and his men.

She agreed to a “patriotic photoshoot” at an airfield and convinced 11 other wives to join her while wearing their husbands’ ceremonial uniform jackets, complete with full decorations. They did a group picture and some close-ups.

“Lilia did very well,” InformNapalm reported, noting that the wives’ pilot husbands are “normally very careful with their own photos and try to keep a low profile on social media.”

The photoshoot allowed hacktivists to obtain sensitive information about Col. Atroshchenko and his regiment, including their home addresses, passports, and salaries. Their performance evaluations, officer records, and operational planning documents were also exposed.

The photoshoot allowed hacktivists to obtain sensitive information about Col. Atroshchenko and his regiment, including their home addresses, passports, and salaries. Their performance evaluations, officer records, and operational planning documents were also exposed.

It adds that the information obtained by the Ukrainian hacktivists is being submitted to the International Criminal Court in the Hague so an arrest warrant can be issued against Col. Atroshchenko and his subordinates.

Col. Atroshchenko is the commander of the 960th Assault Aviation Regiment, based in occupied Crimea. The unit is believed to have carried out hundreds of attacks against targets in Ukraine, including civilian installations.