Russian propaganda is spreading a fake investigation published by a Dutch website.
Russian media, Telegram channels, and bot networks on platforms like Facebook and X are circulating an article from the Dutch website Cafe Weltschmerz, which falsely claims that top officials in Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) are under investigation for involvement in smuggling across the border, operating fraudulent call centers, and even having links to the major drug cartel “Khimprom.”
As supposed “evidence,” the article includes a diagram with arrows pointing to individuals allegedly involved in the case.
This is fake. The author is anonymous and claims they received information from an unnamed SBU officer, following another “sensational” article that falsely alleged high-ranking Ukrainian officials were involved in child trafficking. That previous article was published on ellaster.nl, a conspiracy website, but has since been taken down.
One article on ellaster.nl, still online, promotes anti-Semitic and historically inaccurate narratives, describing Ukraine as a “Khazar mafia” that Russia has supposedly been fighting for a thousand years. In short, the source of this disinformation is an anonymous figure citing a deleted post from a fringe conspiracy site.
There is no evidence in the article beyond the anonymous claim.
Cafe Weltschmerz itself is known for conspiracy content, pro-Russian narratives, and even neo-Nazi affiliations. The site primarily publishes podcasts, featuring guests who push conspiracy theories about the MH17 crash, 9/11, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Posts on the site are infrequent — the last one before this appeared in October 2024. Curiously, the fake article on the SBU is tagged “Iran,” despite no mention of Iran in the text.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, Cafe Weltschmerz has taken a clearly pro-Kremlin stance. In May 2022, one of its so-called journalists interviewed then-Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, Alexander Shulgin. In October 2024, podcast host Ab Gietelink spoke with the new ambassador, Vladimir Tarabrin. Both interviews echoed Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine.
Gietelink has also shown open support for Russia on his social media, including expressing outrage when a pro-Russian film was pulled from Dutch cinemas.
Another frequent guest on the platform is Dutch politician Thierry Baudet, known as one of the most outspoken pro-Russian figures in the Netherlands. He campaigned against Ukraine’s EU Association Agreement during the 2016 Dutch referendum and has blamed the West for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This fake SBU “investigation” is not Cafe Weltschmerz’s first attempt at disinformation about Ukraine. The site previously posted a 16-minute video full of falsehoods about the war and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In summary, a pro-Kremlin outlet in the Netherlands has published a baseless “investigation” to discredit the leadership of Ukraine’s State Security Service and undermine Ukraine’s path toward European integration.
“Khimprom” is a Russian criminal organization that has been working to destabilize Ukraine since 2014. The SBU has been actively fighting it for years. Since the start of the full-scale war, the SBU has dismantled more than 60 criminal groups attempting to use Ukraine as a drug transit hub into the EU. Authorities have seized narcotics worth nearly UAH 2 billion.
On December 30, 2023, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions on six individuals believed to be connected to “Khimprom.”
Russian propaganda recently pushed another fake story accusing Ukraine of planning terrorist attacks in Germany under the guise of the AfD (Alternative fur Deutschland) party.
Andriy Olenin
Source: Russian fake from the Netherlands: Ukraine accused of SBU ties to drug syndicate
