SBU head confirms involvement of SBU in attack on Crimean Bridge, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet by drones
In an interview with Dmytro Komarov's special project "A year. Offscreen," answering the question of whether the SBU was involved in the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, he said:
"A pseudo-investigation is being conducted in Russia regarding the situation that occurred with the Crimean Bridge. They qualify in their own way as a terrorist attack, they took more than 20 of their fellow citizens into custody ... If we start publicly decomposing them into molecules, then we will actually give them the opportunity to clarify and document more qualitatively. Therefore, we'd better watch it."
At the same time, as the head of the Ukrainian Security stressed, in accordance with the norms of Ukrainian and international legislation, "it was a logistical path that we were obliged to cut to the enemy, certain such measures were carried out accordingly."
"But I repeat, I will not say certain details publicly on camera," he added.
Speaking about the attack by drones of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in the city of Sevastopol, Maliuk said:
"As for the situation that happened with the Crimean fleet, namely, attacks by water combat drones, information has been publicly released repeatedly that the SBU was the corresponding author of that operational plan and implemented it, but not only the SBU worked there, we were carrying it out side by side with the Naval Forces, as well as with our concerned civilians."
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Ukrainian official acknowledges attacks on Crimean Bridge, Russian Navy
May 27 (UPI) -- A Ukrainian official confirmed Saturday the country's military played a role in last year's drone attack on a key Crimean bridge as well as on the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Vasyl Maliuk, chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, made the admission in a recent documentary film on the war with Russia, according to the agency's website.
"According to the norms of our current legislation and international, customs and traditions of warfare, and taking into account the fact that it was a logistical route that we were obliged to cut to the enemy, certain such measures were carried out," Malyuk says in the film.
In October 2022, a major explosion rocked the Russian-built, 11.8-mile Crimean Bridge linking the occupied Ukrainian peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar. The span has a route for vehicles and another for trains running parallel over the Kerch Strait.
Three people ultimately died after a truck exploded on the bridge, leading to a fire on a freight train carrying fuel. The bridge also partially collapsed. Russia at the time called it a terrorist attack, while Kyiv rarely confirms any operations carried out inside Russia.
Images showed parts of the bridge submerged under water.
Also called the Kerch Bridge, it is the longest in Europe and hailed at its opening in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a symbol of the "restoration of historical justice" represented by Russia's forced annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
"Regarding the situation with the Crimean fleet, namely the attack by water combat drones, the SBU was the author of that operational plan and implemented it," Malyuk said, referring to multiple attacks on the Russian Navy's Black Sea fleet in the major Crimean port city of Sevastopol.
The Ukrainian parliament appointed Vasyl Maliuk as the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, on Feb. 7, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak.
Maliuk has been the acting head of the SBU since July 2022, when Zelensky dismissed the previous SBU head, Ivan Bakanov, over endemic treason at the security service.
According to Zhelezniak, 324 lawmakers voted in favor of Maliuk's appointment. Most of the votes, 226, came from lawmakers of President Volodymyr Zelensky's ruling Servant of the People faction.
Earlier on Feb. 6, Zelensky sent an official request to Ukraine’s parliament to appoint Maliuk as the head of the SBU.
Maliuk is close to Zelensky's notorious deputy chief of staff Oleh Tatarov, anti-corruption activists say. In 2021, Maliuk attended a birthday party held by Tatarov, according to an investigation by the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet.
Tatarov was charged with bribery in 2020. Since then, his case has been destroyed by law enforcers, while Tatarov is believed to wield significant influence over most law enforcement bodies.
Maliuk's appointment comes after an anti-corruption crackdown on Feb. 1, when law enforcers raided powerful oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, scandalous former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, and top tax and customs officials.
The large-scale operation came as the Ukrainian government sought to show that it is tackling corruption as the West provides unprecedented amounts of aid to Kyiv.
Court seizes $13.6 million of assets from former Kherson Oblast official suspected of treasonMartin Fornusek
A Ukrainian court has seized Hr 500 million ($13.6 million) of assets of a former Kherson Oblast Council deputy who is suspected of treason and collaboration with Russia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on May 31.
Citing its unnamed sources in law enforcement, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that the person in question is Eduard Repilievskyi.
The seized assets of the ex-deputy and his family include 400 real estate objects and 1,200 hectares of land in southern Ukraine.
According to the SBU’s investigation, the former official was a member of the now-banned pro-Kremlin party Opposition Platform — For Life and switched sides when Russia occupied part of Kherson Oblast after the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
He then gained a position in the Russian occupation structures, overseeing the transportation of agricultural products.
The SBU said that in this position, the former deputy organized the looting of local farmers and the transfer of Ukrainian grain to Russia.
The suspected collaborator is currently residing in the occupied territories of Ukraine, according to law enforcement.
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