SBU officers detained “pro-Russian” Ukrainian nationalists
Ukrainian law enforcement officers in Odessa detained a group of nationalists who created supposedly pro-Russian radical organizations “Ukrainian Insurgent Army” and “Ukrainian National Army”, whose goal was to destabilize the situation in the country during the elections.
This was reported by the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“SBU officers established that the group was coordinated by US citizen Rustam Tashbaev, a native of the Russian Federation, a former cadet at the Kaliningrad Higher Naval School, who was expelled from Ukraine in 2015 for subversive activities.
On instructions from the Russian special services, the members of the association were to create their own military formations: the “Ukrainian Insurgent Army” (“UPA” - with deployment abroad) and the “Ukrainian National Army” (“UNA” - with deployment in Ukraine).
On the territory of our state, the process of creating the “Ukrainian National Army” was led by Ukrainian citizen Yu. Zabolotny, who was repeatedly detained by members of the National Police for illegal possession of weapons and robbery and was prosecuted for calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order in Ukraine. It was established that for a long time Zabolotny negotiated with the well-known agent of the Russian special services M. Dulsky about receiving financial assistance for carrying out extremist activities,” the SBU press service noted.
It is also reported that during martial law, UNA leaders organized the collection of information about the locations and routes of movement of Ukrainian Armed Forces units, allegedly with the aim of committing sabotage and disrupting mobilization.
Also, SBU officers found a “Russian trace” in Ukrainian nationalist groups, explaining this by the presence of Russians and Pridnestrovians among the organization’s members.
“The Russian trace in the activities of UNA was confirmed by the results of searches conducted at the members of this extremist organization in Odessa, two of whom are citizens of the Russian Federation and the unrecognized Transnistrian People's Republic, and the third is a citizen of Ukraine, a native of Transnistria. In particular, law enforcement officers seized means of destruction and a thousand copies of newspapers that contained calls to join the activities of UNA.
During sixteen searches, firearms and bladed weapons, improvised explosive devices and grenades, explosives, military equipment, communications equipment and internal documents of the illegal military formation that related to its illegal activities were also discovered and seized,” the SBU added.
SBU Chairman Vasily Gritsak also commented on the situation, promising that all attempts to “destabilize the situation” in the country would be stopped.
“All attempts to undermine the situation in Ukraine, including under the guise of patriotic slogans, are doomed to failure. The Security Service of Ukraine will fulfill its tasks to ensure the safety of our citizens during the elections of the President of Ukraine,” he said.
The SBU added that investigative actions, which will result in a joint briefing by the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, are ongoing.
SBU officers detained "pro-Russian" Ukrainian nationalists.