Kyiv detains Ukrainian general on suspicion of spying for Russia
Ukrainian counterintelligence officials have detained a of a high-ranking agent of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Major General of the Ukrainian Security Service Valery Shaitanov.
According to a statement published on the website of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), Shaytanov is suspected of treason and committing terrorist acts.
"Following the instructions of the Russian special services, he planned to kill a well-known military volunteer Adam Osmayev. The SBU has collected a sufficient amount of evidence, which clearly proves that Shaytanov is an agent of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation," the SBU said.
The SBU has assured that Shaytanov's guilt has been proven by audio and video recordings provided to the investigation.
According to the SBU, FSB Colonel Igor Yegorov coordinated Shaytanov's activities. The SBU says that Yegorov visited Ukraine several times before 2014 and participated in establishing cooperation between the FSB and the SBU. On one of these visits he recruited Shaytanov.
Investigators believe that Shaytanov conducted the selection, training and recruitment of officers of Ukrainian special services to carry out the tasks of the FSB. He himself passed to Moscow information about classified military operations in the Donbas and the employees of the Ukrainian special services involved in them, data on cooperation between the SBU and other special services of Ukraine, information about the heads of the SBU, departments of special services of Ukraine.
In this case, there is another accused, a person recruited by Shaytanov know as "Agent H." The SBU reported that meetings between Shaytanov, Yegorov and this agent took place in Germany, Croatia and France. Shaytanov’s alias for communication with Yegorov was Bobil.
"The investigation also has indisputable evidence that on the instructions of the Russian special services, Major General Shaytanov planned to carry out terrorist acts in Ukraine. For this, the representative of the FSB guaranteed a reward of $200,000 and a Russian passport. As an organizer of the crime, Shaytanov specifically picked up a person among former special forces employees. Preparations for these crimes have been clearly recorded in the materials of the case," the SBU said.