Ukrainian authorities brought charges against 20 present or former officers of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) for aiding Viktor Yanukovych's security services in suppressing the EuroMaidan Revolution, the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) reported on Oct. 16.
The suspects include Viktor Zolotov, the former head of the Security Service of the President of the Russian Federation and the current commander of the Russian National Guard. Three former senior officials of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) were also charged.
According to the investigation, the Russian officers were present in Kyiv between Dec. 13-15, 2013. They reportedly assisted the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), then loyal to pro-Russian President Yanukovych, in creating videos and other materials aimed at discrediting pro-EU protesters.
Following the Russian officers' departure, the SBU's leadership signed documents claiming they had been invited to Ukraine as representatives of the special services to the Commission on Information Security under the Council of Heads of Security and Special Services of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Sofiya Doig
The investigation concluded that the activity of the SBU's former leadership and the FSB officers harmed the information security of Ukraine. It has also proven the influence of Russian special services on the former SBU leadership and FSB's role in subversive activities against Ukraine, DBR emphasized.
The EuroMaidan Revolution began in November 2013, when Yanukovych refused to sign the long-awaited Association Agreement with the European Union, shortly thereafter receiving a loan from the Kremlin.
The government moved against the revolution in a violent crackdown, which resulted in over 100 protesters killed. The protests culminated in February 2014 with Yanukovych and other high-ranking officials fleeing to Russia and being replaced by a pro-Western interim government.
Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said on Oct. 4 that the investigation into the killings of EuroMaidan protesters had been completed. The pro-Russian ex-president and several senior officials have been formally charged with a range of crimes, including murder.
Alisa Sobolieva
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