“Russia has infiltrated the Ukrainian government”: Zelensky suspends top officials for high levels of “treason and collaboration with Moscow”

It is a war within the war.

Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv have been embroiled in an intense battle between their intelligence agencies.

Both governments have tried to insert themselves into the other to find out what the highest echelons of power are thinking or plotting.

But since last February, when the Kremlin sent its tanks and troops into the neighboring country, Ukraine has been forced to remove, suspend and even imprison some top government officials and their agencies on suspicion of working for Russia.

The most recent case occurred this weekend, when President Volodymyr Zelensky suspended and put under investigation the head of Ukraine’s spy agency (SBU), Ivan Bakanovand to the attorney general, Iryna Venediktovaciting many cases of betrayal in the two institutions.

The officials were not accused of collaborating directly with Moscow, but rather failing in their roles to prevent personnel under their command from spying for Russia.

The president indicated that more than 60 former employees of both agencies now work against Ukraine in the areas occupied by Russia.

According to him, since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian authorities have opened a total of 651 cases of collaboration and treason against officials of both organizations who have gone over to the Russian side.

“Such a variety of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the State pose very serious questions to the relevant heads [de las dos organizaciones]”, affirmed the president.

“Each of these questions will receive a proper answer,” he added.

In a subsequent appearance on Ukrainian television, Andriy Smirnov, one of Zelensky’s top advisers, clarified that the officials were not fired, as initially suggested, but merely suspended pending an investigation.

“In order to prevent the possible influence of these two officials in criminal proceedings, which are being investigated in relation to SBU employees suspected of cooperating with the aggressor country, and the same applies to the prosecution, the president took the appropriate decisions,” Smirnov said.

The dismissal of Bakanov, Zelensky’s childhood friend, follows the arrest and treason charges against Oleh Kulinych, a former SBU regional chief in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

“Everyone who, along with him, was part of a criminal group working in the interests of the Russian Federation will also be held accountable,” Zelensky said.

“It is about the transfer of secret information to the enemy and other acts of cooperation with Russian special services,” he added.

Senior Kherson-based intelligence officials have also been indicted, and Zelensky suggested further action would be taken against other SBU officers.

For years it has been reported that Ukraine had a problem with Russian infiltration of its security services.

Last June, Kyiv authorities claimed to have uncovered a Russian espionage network involving Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, who had previously been accused by Washington of being a Russian agent.

Intelligence services alleged that Derkach set up a network of private security companies to help facilitate the entry of Russian units into cities during the February 24 invasion of Moscow.

Shortly before, Ukraine announced the arrest, also on charges of collaboration with Russia, of a senior official of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers and of a head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, although it did not reveal their names.

“These officials passed on various intelligence information to the enemy: from the state of our defense capabilities to arrangements at the state border and the personal data of Ukrainian law enforcement officers,” the government alleged.

Zelenskiy announced on Monday that Bakanov would be replaced by Vasyl Maliukwho headed the anti-corruption and organized crime unit of the central intelligence department.

For several weeks, rumors circulated in the local press that Zelensky wanted to replace Bakanov, blaming him for failures in trying to stop the Russian advance in February.

The 47-year-old was chosen to lead the intelligence agency in 2019 after managing Zelensky’s campaign for the presidency.

Opposition figures criticized the appointment, arguing that the former TV producer was not qualified to lead the SBU.

Meanwhile, Venediktova will be replaced by her deputy, Oleksiy Symonenko.

The now-former prosecutor general took office in 2020 as Ukraine’s first female law enforcement chief after Zelensky fired her predecessor, accusing him of failing to produce results.

Earlier this month, Venediktova told the BBC that her office was investigating 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression allegedly committed by Russia since the beginning of its invasion.

It will come as no surprise to many in Ukraine that Moscow has tried to infiltrate their security services and prosecutor’s office.

The Russian FSB has a long history of trying to work from the inside. In fact, all intelligence agencies do. This is how they work.

What may be more shocking is the extent to which they were successful, seemingly undermining Ukraine’s defenses at a crucial moment.

The strategically important city of Kherson fell within days, and bridges that should have been blown up were apparently left standing.

The fear is that the insidious actions of a surprisingly large number of Ukrainian officials and officers will aid Russia’s offensive, leaving Ukraine exposed.

It is not suggested that Ivan Bakanov or Iryna Venediktova betrayed their country, but rather that they led organizations where others did.

For this, both have been suspended from their positions.

It is also worth remembering that the problem of infiltration of the security services is not unique to Ukraine.

In fact, shortly after the start of the war it was reported that there was a purge of FSB officers suspected of working for Ukraine or at least sympathizing with its cause.

There isn’t a secret service on Earth that doesn’t have some problems with foreign agents.

But the apparent scale of this is genuinely worrying for Ukrainians, especially at a time when the stakes are so high.

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