Ukraine detains former top DPR intelligence official
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it detained in Kyiv a Ukrainian citizen, who in 2014-20 was one of the top officials in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and worked for the General Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU of the Russian Federation).
According to the SBU press service, he was actively involved in the creation of the DPR intelligence agency and other DPR structures.
"The SBU has recordings of K.'s telephone conversations revealing details of inter-agency wars between the GRU and the FSB for control over the "leaders" of the DPR terrorist organization. People, taking part in those conversations, mention the names of the FSB director Alexander Bortnikov and his deputies Andrei Burlaki and Sergei Smirnov, assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladislav Surkov, the DPR leaders Alexander Zakharchenko, Alexander Borodai and others," the statement reads.
The SBU also has recordings of conversations between the detainee with The Russian GRU Major General Sergey Dubinsky (known as "Hmury" or “Gloomy”) and Leonid Kharchenko (known as "Krot" or “Mole”), who were put on the international wanted list in the case of Malaysian Boeing flight MH17, shot down over the Donbas in July 2014.
The detainee is charged with committing a crime under Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (creation of a terrorist group or terrorist organization).