Security Service of Ukraine releases names of 1,400 of its employees who defected
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) disclosed the names of 1,391 of its former employees who defected following the Ukrainian Revolution in the spring of 2014. The list was published on the SSU’s website on Saturday, RBC reported. Most of the SSU employees on the list were stationed in the Crimea prior to its annexation in March of 2014.
The list was primarily comprised of individuals who served in the 3rd SSU Alpha Group, located in Simferopol in the Crimea, as well as employees of the Main Directorate of the SSU in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Sevastopol.
The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many Western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.