Ukrainian Minister of Information Policy Yury Stets claims that nearly 35,000 people have joined the so-called Ukrainian “information troops” in the first day of its operation.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 35,000 people have joined the so-called Ukrainian “information troops” in the first day of its operation, according to Ukrainian Minister of Information Policy Yury Stets.

The purpose of the information troops is to block information from the foreign media, which Ukraine considers to be “untrue”.

“I would not want to say how many there are now… but I can say that 35,000 people signed up in the first day,” Stets told Dozhd TV channel.

The website, which recruits the so-called “information fighters” was launched a few days ago. The information fighters are tasked with commenting on the news about military operation launched by Kiev in southeastern Ukraine, spreading Kiev's stance on the matter.

The Ministry of Information Policy was established in Ukraine in December 2014. According to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the ministry’s main function is to stop “the spreading of biased information about Ukraine”.

Earlier this month, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) recommended to strip 115 Russian news outlets of accreditation in governmental institutions. An SBU source told RIA Novosti that the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and all Russian television channels apart from Dozhd will lose accreditation.