Fear of Russian infiltration into the security services and administration remains in Ukraine. 650 investigations have been opened, according to the presidency. The stakes are high, especially at the time of kyiv’s counter-offensive in the Kherson region, occupied since the start of the invasion by Russian forces, no doubt thanks to accomplices.
650 suspicions of treason, this may seem almost insignificant compared to the plethora of Ukrainian security and intelligence agents. The SBU, the secret service, alone have 35,000 employees. But Russian infiltration has been a problem since independence, explains Oleksiy Melnyk, co-director of international security at the Razumkov Center for Studies in kyiv, who underlines the country’s vulnerability:
” There are high-ranking officers in the Ukraine, still in service, graduates of Soviet military schools – who have classmates in high positions in Russia. There is also the common language, and I would say common cultures (up to a point) because you know, one of the most powerful weapons of Russia is corruption. »
Intelligence number two arrested in Serbia
Among the arrests that have taken place are those of several officials who would have facilitated the rapid capture of Chernobyl and Kherson, at the very beginning of the Russian invasion. Intelligence number two Andrei Naoumov was arrested in Serbia with 600,000 euros in his car in June. And the kyiv government remains on alert.
” The biggest concern is the inner circle of our president, and the people who are at the head of the security services, or in command positions “, according to Oleksiy Melnyk.
Neither paranoia nor witch hunts, the threat is real, believes the researcher who recalls that it only takes one spy to do strategic damage.
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