Dmytro Tymchuk, a military journalist, colonel in reserve who at the very onset of Russia’s aggression against eastern Ukraine in 2014 founded the “Information Resistance” group to expose Russian military tactics, and MP of the People’s Front, was found shot dead in Kyiv, Ukrainian police have confirmed.
Artem Shevchenko, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, told on air of the Priamyi TV channel that Tymchuk’s wife had found him with a gunshot wound to his head. Right now, law enforcers are examining three versions: murder, suicide, and careless handling of weapons.
An investigating and operational team is in place to find out the circumstances.
Anton Herashchenko, an MP from Narodnyi Front, had earlier written in a FB post that the tragedy happened while Tymchuk was cleaning his award gun at home. But this version has not been confirmed. Herashchenko has since edited his post.
Tymchuk had served in various departments of the Ministry of Defense. in 2008, he became the editor-in-chief of the internet project “Fleet-2017” and headed the NGO “Center of military-political studies.”
After Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the start of the conflict in Donbas, he became the coordinator of the group “Information Resistance,” thanks to which he became one of the most influential opinion leaders on the internet in Ukraine. During Ukraine’s snap parliamentary elections, he was elected an MP from the People’s Front political party.
Euromaidan Press had translated and covered many of the first works of Tymchuk’s Information Resistance Group in the first days of its activity.
Here is our first article telling about the foundation of the group on 10 March 2014: Ukrainian Army Reserve Officers Create Information Resistance.
Dmytro Tymchuk described the work of the group thus:
“The initiative group is made up of the recently retired reserve officers such as myself. This means that we do not have bosses, we do not get paid for our work and, therefore, depend on nobody. We are working on pure enthusiasm and the only force motivating us is patriotism,” writes Tymchuk.“Incoming information is checked by at least two, but normally three independent sources. […] Each message we transmit is backed up by the work of many people,” said Tymchuk.
“There is no point in lying. Aggressors need lies to cover up their vile intentions. Only an idiot would answer lies by lying. As we see, the Russian propaganda nonsense is easy to rebuke (it suffices to recall the fable about the crowd of “defectors” from the Ukrainian military units, or about the “Hetman Sahaydachniy” [flagship] leaving Sevastopol). Our weapon is the truth,” he says.
Information Resistance proceeded to cover the military action in eastern Ukraine based on their network of contacts in the military.
Some of their articles are below:
- Tymchuk: more fighters, ammunition cross into Ukraine from Russia
- Dmitry Tymchuk: units of Russian air assault division deployed in east Ukraine
- Ukraine army reporter Tymchuk: Russia moving crack police unit to Donbas
- Tymchuk: around 3,000 Russian troops in Ukraine’s Donbas
- Tymchuk: Russia rotating hardware in east Ukraine, training pro-Russia militants
- Tymchuk: pro-Russian ‘separatists’ preparing two-front offensive in eastern Ukraine, latest ‘aid’ convoy bought ammo, equipment
- Tymchuk: Russian forces coming to Ukraine July 15
- Russia hit problems recruiting for war in Donbas, Tymchuk says
- Mariupol under growing Russian threat — Tymchuk
- Donbas separatists formed four strike combat groups including 15 thousand Russian mercenaries
They released regular “Updates from the Conflict Zone” such as these:
- Dmitry Tymchuk: Updates from the ceasefire zone, 9/16
- Dmitry Tymchuk: Updates from the “ceasefire zone,” 9/20
- Dmitry Tymchuk: Update from the combat zone
- Dmitry Tymchuk’s Military Blog: Summary – September 12, 2014
You can find all the articles involving Dmytro Tymchuk on Euromaidan Press here, or check out the website of the Information Resistance Group.
