The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed the Law "On Amendments to Article 259 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the strengthening of liability for knowingly false information about a threat to the safety of citizens." This was reported in the press service of the head of state.
The purpose of this document is to significantly reduce the number of knowingly false reports about the mining of objects and to ensure the economy of material and other resources of state authorities involved in checking false information.
According to the National Police, in 2019, investigators began pre-trial investigation of about 2 criminal offenses under Article 259 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which is twice as many as in 2018. And from January to March 2020, 213 criminal proceedings were initiated under the specified article. At the same time, dozens of objects are often reported to be mined at the same time.
The law introduces criminal liability for knowingly false information about the preparation of an explosion, arson, or other actions threatening the death of people or other serious consequences, if the knowingly false information concerns critically important infrastructure facilities or buildings and structures that support the activities of state authorities or health care institutions, or educational institutions Such actions are punishable by imprisonment for a term of four to eight years.
In addition, Article 259 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is supplemented with a note that defines the term "critically important objects of infrastructure", used in the sense defined by the Law of Ukraine "On the Basic Principles of Ensuring Cyber Security of Ukraine".
