Gonzalo Lira, ‘Red Pill’ dating coach accused of shilling for Putin, arrested in Ukraine

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has She arrested Gonzalo Lira – a dual citizen of the United States and Chile, who lived in Kharkiv – on charges of producing pro-Russian propaganda.

Lera, a prolific and controversial Internet personality, is accused of creating and publishing material justifying Putin’s armed aggression against Ukraine. He faces a possible prison sentence of five to eight years.

Lyra, a former online dating coach, was arrested May 1 at his residence in Kharkiv, according to two sources familiar with the investigation. Ukrainian authorities claim that a search of his home revealed additional evidence of his illegal activities, including data on his cell phone and computer.

The State Security Administration announced on Friday that an unnamed foreign blogger W The Kharkov prosecutor’s office posted a blurred video of Lera on its YouTube channel. The Daily Beast has obtained a longer version of the footage, showing his arrest and his home raid.

Lera was charged under Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, parts 2 and 3, related to wartime propaganda. He will remain in jail while the case moves forward, and the investigation is still ongoing.

A spokesperson for the SBU said that after the full-scale invasion began, “the blogger was one of the first to support the Russian invaders and glorify their war crimes… In addition, in his comments he questioned the details of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and the mass killing of civilians.”

Lera is a blogger, who has gone from providing sleazy “dating coach” advice to men as “Coach Red Pill,” to providing propaganda material for Russian state media. Impatiently snapped And post it His multiple missions from Ukraine. In his videos, Lyra insulted the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and called Ukrainians who were defending their land against Russian invaders “armed criminals”. Ukrainian authorities allege that Lyra photographed Ukrainian servicemen, and is making a determined effort to capture their photographs and attempt to discredit their military service.

Lyra also drew attention to his efforts to follow American reporters covering the conflict in Ukraine, describing them as “regime pig journalists” and Detect their whereabouts in certain hotels. Lyra commented: “They’re here to report on how they drove Ukraine down the garden path, and now Ukraine is great! These are the people that drive the narrative, so you can see them. I see them really well!”

American journalist Sarah Ashton Cirillo, who is currently serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said she is set to be one of the witnesses in the criminal case against Lyra. “That justice has been served for a long time,” she told The Daily Beast. “Obviously, when Maria Zakharova and the Russian Foreign Ministry accused me of complicity in Gonzalo Lyra’s disappearance last year, it led to a mob of his supporters accusing me of murder. His arrest this week shows that Ukrainian officials are not They bow to popular pressure when a factual investigation leads to the truth.”

Ashton Cirillo added, “I already submitted my sworn statement to the State Security Department regarding Gonzalo Lira several months ago, and I expect to be called as a witness at his trial.”

Lyra blamed Ukraine for being attacked by Russia, calling the ongoing war “one of the smartest invasions in military history”. He defended Putin’s motives, claiming that the Russians were taking special efforts to avoid harming civilian infrastructure or harming civilians and predicting that Ukraine would prosper under Russia’s control.

He has published a number of debunked conspiracy theories, including Russian allegations about the location of “US biological weapons laboratories” in Ukraine. Sources involved in the investigation say that Lyra’s appearance is on Donbass divushka The offer prompted greater scrutiny of Lyra’s activities, which were under surveillance after his interrogation and release last year.

The online personality has posted a slew of videos and comments on YouTube, Telegram and Twitter, trying to blame Ukraine for the strikes carried out by the Russian Federation. Russian state television described its vlogs as valuable reporting by an impartial observer, Show them in different shows And praise his efforts. Lira’s followers on YouTube and Telegram have exceeded 300,000 subscribers.