Zaluzhnyi: Unlikely that secrets were discussed in room with recording device

The room in which a recording device was found had not been used in a long time, and it's unlikely that any state secrets were captured by it, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said to RBC Ukraine on Dec. 18.

It was Zaluzhnyi's first public comment on the news that recording devices had been discovered in rooms used by the general and his staff.

Zaluzhnyi said that he had planned to use the room in which one of the devices was discovered for future work, including on Dec. 18, but there had been a "significant break" since its last use.

The general did not speculate on who might have placed the item there, saying instead, "it's a war" and "anything can happen."

Ukraine's General Staff said earlier on Dec. 18 that more than one recording device had been found, an update from a report by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Dec. 17, in which only one recording device was described as being detected.

The SBU said the incident was being investigated.

Ukraine finally moves to fortify front line, but could it be too little too late?

“If you want to live, dig.” The words, often spoken by Ukrainian troops, are universal advice for trench warfare in general, but especially for both sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Normally expressed as advice to the individual soldier, the maxim now applies to the country as a whole.

The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell