Yellow Ribbon to 'completely reformat' flawed chatbot following Kyiv Independent investigation

Prefer on Google by Yuliia Taradiuk Black, blue and yellow ribbons are tied to a tree outside an apartment building at 118 Naberezhna Peremohy Street hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile on January 14, 2023, which killed 46 people, including 6 children, Dnipro, central Ukraine. (Mykola Miakshykov / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images) The Ukrainian Yellow Ribbon resistance movement is to "completely reformat" a chatbot used to recruit activists in Russian-occupied territories, after an investigation by the Kyiv Independent revealed it was encouraging civilians to engage in "suicidal" activities. In a post on Telegram, the group said currently it was only issuing "safety instructions" and a complete overhaul would be done "in the near future." The Kyiv Independent investigation published last week revealed how a Western-funded classified program supported the "non-violent" initiative inside Russian-occupied Ukraine for more than three years, despite credible reports of the deaths, torture, and imprisonment of activists. The tasks activists could choose from on the chatbot included incredibly risky options including listening to Ukrainian music in public, or reporting the positions of Russian troops. One of those involved in the Western-funded program, Ukrainian think-tanker Hanna Shelest , was unaware untrained civilians were being encouraged to partake in such high-risk endeavors, and denied listening to Ukrainian music in public was listed as one, describing such a mission as "suicidal." Meanwhile, the Yellow Ribbon chatbot instructions said exactly that. The exact wording from the chatbot — after being told that the potential recruit lives in Crimea — was "слухайте українські пісні в публічному місці," the direct translation of which is "listen to Ukrainian songs in public places." Perhaps of most concern, an extensive list of security protocols — nearly 4,500 words covering things including "phone security basics," "how to avoid being tracked," "precautions for women," and how to safely plan the activity from start to finish — are optional. Those involved in the Western-funded program — Dubai-based British communications firm, IN2 , Shelest , and British journalist David Patrikarakos , all denied being responsible for the safety of activists. All three as well as Yellow Ribbon itself denied it was aware of any Yellow Ribbon activists had ever been tortured or killed despite multiple reports of such incidents, many stated publicly by Yellow Ribbon itself. In its April 28 post, Yellow Ribbon stated that it "never made a secret" of the fact that resistance under Russian occupation is a risk. "But it is important to call a thing by its name. It is not the resistance that poses a risk to Ukrainians. The risk stems from the Russian occupation, repression, and terror against the civilian population," the statement reads. Ed Bogan, a 25 year veteran of the CIA who helped lead the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, headed the agency’s station in Kyiv for two years, and who has decades of experience running human intelligence assets in some of the most dangerous countries in the world, told the Kyiv Independent he believed Yellow Ribbon’s methodology was "wildly irresponsible" and there is "no more important obligation in the world of lethal consequences" than the safety of activists. "Given what I've seen of (Yellow Ribbon activities) to date, in my estimation this access is simply not worth the risks to these Ukrainians." Resistance in Russian-occupied territories is highly dangerous as anyone deemed to be defying the occupying authorities faces the very real possibility of imprisonment, torture , and death. As of the end of 2025, about 116,000 square kilometers (44,800 square miles) of Ukrainian territory remained under Russian occupation , according to the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState.