Ukraine’s primary intelligence service said Wednesday that it had detained one of its own high-level officials, accusing “the rat” of working for Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had documented “14 episodes of the ‘rat’s’ illegal activities,” saying the man had headed the SBU’s Anti-Terrorist Center.
Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the SBU, led the investigation and carried out the arrest himself, according to a statement from the agency, which said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been kept updated on the “complex” and “multi-step” operation.
“Using encrypted software bookmarks, we penetrated the traitor’s gadgets — mobile terminals, computers,” Malyuk was quoted as saying in the SBU’s statement. “In the process of all this, we managed to qualitatively document the collection and transmission of relevant information by the traitor to the enemy.”
In a photo published with the statement, Malyuk is seen holding the alleged traitor — who appears to have a bruise on his forehead — by the scruff of the neck.
HANDOUT/SBU
In an accompanying video, Malyuk said the man had worked with the SBU since 2016, and that he was now being investigated for suspected high treason.
The SBU also claimed it had used the man to feed disinformation back to Russia.
Ukrainian authorities have reported the arrest and conviction of hundreds of others, including some high-ranking officials, accused of working with Russia.
“The self-purification of the SBU continues,” said Malyuk. “No matter how the enemy tries to penetrate our ranks — he thinks he has all possible forms and methods of conspiracy — he will not be able to do it successfully. Because we detect, document, and detain them in a timely manner.”
The arrest of the alleged spy came amid a push by President Trump to usher ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
Earlier Wednesday, the Kremlin rejected the idea of a swap of occupied territory with Ukraine as part of any peace deal. The vehement rejection came days after President Zelenskyy floated the idea of exchanging Ukrainian-held parts of Russia’s Kursk region for parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine.
“This is impossible. Russia has never and will never discuss the topic of exchanging its territory,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, shortly after Russia hit Kyiv with a deadly drone and missile attack.
Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty
Zelenskyy is expected to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance Friday at the Munich Security Conference, which will be dominated by the war that has killed tens of thousands of people in Ukraine. German officials have played down the prospect of any major breakthroughs during the summit.
Keith Kellogg, President Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, is also due to visit Ukraine next week, just days before the three-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, on February 24.
