SBU Major-General Recruited by Russia and Suspected of Plotting Murder of Volunteer Taken into Custody

15 April 2020 18:36

Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi District Court has ruled for Valeriy Shaytanov, an SBU Major—General allegedly recruited by Moscow, to be held in custody for two months (until June 14).

Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi District Court has ruled for Valeriy Shaytanov, an SBU Major-General allegedly recruited by Moscow, to be held in custody for two months (until June 14).

This was reported by the court service.

Shaytanov was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on April 14 on suspicion of being a Russian spy recruited by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The SBU believes that Shaytanov had also planned the murder of Chechen Adam Osmaev, who took part in the Donbas conflict on the Ukrainian side as a volunteer.

Shaytanov now faces charges of treason and of taking part in terrorist acts.

The court granted the request of the senior investigator of the SBU's chief investigative department.

The court also ordered the investigator and prosecutor in criminal proceedings to provide Shaytanov with an urgent medical examination in order to identify possible chronic illnesses and, if found, to take measures to ensure appropriate treatment.

“Unfortunately, a person who received the rank of general after the Revolution of Dignity and who was supposed to defend Ukraine, was actually working against it. We conducted a long, complicated, and multi-level special operation,” stated SBU head Ivan Bakanov.

Shaytanov was one of the former heads of Special Operations Group A at the SBU, while at the same time he was acting as a spy for FSB agent Igor Egorov, under the codename “Bobil.” Egorov works for the FSB’s Department of Counterintelligence Operations 1 – a subdivision of the FSB that specializes in planning, organizing, and executing surveillance, sabotage, and terrorist acts – both in Ukraine and in other countries.