
Despite the significant amount of cryptocurrency donations received by Ukraine in the past year, pro-Kremlin groups have also utilized digital currencies to acquire military equipment and disseminate propaganda.
But the Russian side has taken advantage of crypto too: a total of about $5 million was raised by pro-Kremlin groups and propaganda outlets in the course of the invasion, as revealed by a recent Chainalysis report. These entities are small grassroots organizations that have used crypto to bypass Western financial sanctions.
“We’re really looking at individual actors. So somebody who’s on the front, somebody who’s trying to help provide more military resources to the front […] things like bulletproof vests or drones,”
As noted by Andrew Fierman, Head of Sanctions Strategy at Chainalysis and a co-author of the report.
“When it comes to ransomware payments, a lot of the time bad actors have some sort of political agendas behind what they’re doing,” Fierman pointed out.