Zelenskyy is party to conflict with NABU and SAPO, not observer - media
After the attack on anti-corruption bodies in July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to retreat, but only to regroup and continue.
ZN.ua journalist Inna Vedernikova writes about this in her article, Censor.NET reports.
What caused the conflict?
According to the journalist, the trigger for the Office of the President was not the NABU investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshev or former Deputy Head of the OP Shurma, or even the Mindich tapes.
"At first, it was the NABU's termination of the so-called "hacker lawyers" scheme, who were served with a notice of suspicion on 2 April. Until then, the lawyer Dmytro Borzykh, who was invisible in wide circles, was very visible in narrow circles. The man who, according to the investigation, for several years oversaw unauthorised access to the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations (URPTI) and leaked information about searches and other investigative actions for money, has long-standing ties with the current Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. Both come from the military and prosecutorial environment," the article says.
Borzykh's relationship with SSU Deputy Head Oleksandr Poklad is even closer - they are godfathers. Poklad is close to Yermak.
According to law enforcement officials, a group of "hacker lawyers" monitored the work of the NABU in the interests of the defendants through the register of pre-trial decisions. This, according to the author, allowed Bankova to understand what the anti-corruption body was doing.
"When the integrity of this systematic methodology was destroyed, the authorities, who found themselves in a dark room, had to groping for threats to fat cats of all colours. This is uncomfortable and even dangerous. That is why preparations for the operation against NABU and SAPO with the idea of "reforming" the anti-corruption block began in the spring. But the cases against people close to Bankova - Mindich, Chernyshev, Shurma - obviously forced them to speed up," Vedernikova added.
The journalist writes that the NABU continued its investigation, which hit the president himself. In fact, there are no "Chernyshev, Shurma or Mindich groups" - these are only conditional "Kurchenko groups" that are involved in certain tasks. They have no independent power. The promotion of the "subjectivity" of these individuals in the media looks like a campaign that distracts from the real centres of influence - Yermak and Zelenskyi, who control the processes using straw men for schemes.
The Rada and the SSU as a tool
"Some observers have already called the current actions of the authorities the tactics of small cuts, where the main instruments remain the same - the parliament and the SSU, which is directed by the Prosecutor General," Vedernikova noted.
Thus, the Rada is considering amendments to the second reading of draft law No. 12439 on business protection.
"The biggest threat to the NABU and the SAPO is the provision on exemption from liability for tax crimes, smuggling, and abuse based on 'explanations' from the authorities. This is an official indulgence: it can also be obtained through corruption, which undermines the role of the courts and opens up space for abuse in tax, customs, and procurement," the article says.
The parliament is also considering draft law No. 11228-1 on "countering the intelligence activities of foreign special services."
"Its key innovation is the exemption from criminal liability of persons who performed an approved counterintelligence or intelligence task, even if they caused damage to law enforcement interests. In essence, the document introduces absolute immunity for SBU officers, intelligence officers, and persons involved in their tasks. Moreover, the draft law does not specify what kind of damage is permissible - up to and including damage to the state or a threat to the health of citizens. A particular danger is that the SSU will be able to involve officials and businessmen in "secret tasks", effectively releasing them from any responsibility," the author added.
At the same time, the SSU is "protecting its own", Vedernikova claims.
After Artem Shyl and Ilya Vityuk, NABU targeted Pavlo Dudar, head of the SSU's Main Directorate for Counterintelligence Support of Critical Infrastructure and Countering Terrorist Financing of the SBU's National Security Protection Department, and his deputy Ivan Sukhorada, who is suspected of passing information to Kolomoisky's lawyers in the Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta cases through Bohdan Yakymets. During the searches in February, Yakymets' phone was seized, which became an important piece of evidence for the investigation.
The NABU has also targeted the SSU head's closest ally, Brigadier General Serhiy Duka, first deputy head of the National Security Protection Department. According to the AntAC, his relatives are likely to have Russian passports and businesses registered in Russia.
"It was Serhiy Duka and his deputy Anton Kravchuk who supervised the security part of the high-profile political special operations against investigative journalists of Bihus.info and NABU detectives, including Ruslan Magamedrasulov," she said.
According to Vedernikova, there is a serious business confrontation within the SSU between the Dudar/Sukhorada and Poklad/Duka groups, but they act together against the NABU. Kravchuk, who was being promoted to general, was sent on a business trip to Dubai to avoid NABU suspicion and keep his chance for promotion.
Cases of the SSU against the NABU
1. NABU employee Viktor Husarov, detained after searches in July. He is suspected of high treason. According to the SSU, the FSB recruited him back in 2012. He allegedly passed more than 60 episodes of classified information to Yanukovych's former deputy head of security, Dmytro Ivantsov.
"And this is the only clue the SSU has today. According to the head of the SAPO, Oleksandr Klymenko, the SSU, following the urgent requests of the anti-corruption block, provided evidence regarding Gusarov, which has now been satisfied by the NABU and the SAPO. Their leaders have repeatedly publicly stated that they are ready to conduct internal investigations and, if the illegal activities of any of their employees are confirmed, to assist the investigation," the article says.
2. Ruslan Magamedrasulov, who was notified of two suspicions - preparation to aid the aggressor state and tax fraud.
The journalist notes that Prosecutor General Kravchenko's assistants today include the same person with whom Magamedrasulov corresponded when Kravchenko was head of the State Tax Service.
3. NABU detective Vitaliy Tebekin, whom the SSU suspects of false property declarations.
Resistance of anti-corruption agencies
The NABU and the SAPO have fewer options for defence. After the "lawyer-hackers" scheme was dismantled, the NABU recorded "abnormal interest" in all its cases in the register.
"According to law enforcement sources, 342 NABU criminal proceedings in the URPTI have been reviewed by someone in recent months. Of course, it could be judges, but when the legal address of the person of interest has a VPN and a private entrance, this is a pattern to which NABU responds. And it has worked repeatedly. The issue is being studied," the journalist writes.
Conclusions.
Vedernikova believes that President Zelenskyy is a party to the clashes, not an observer.
"As the case of Mindich's tapes progresses (and, according to our information, Bankova Street does not understand where NABU is digging and who it can strike first), we should expect even more serious attacks on the anti-corruption unit than the story of detective Tebekin's failure to declare and screenshots from Magamedrasulov's phone," she added.
The EU and NATO, albeit inactive, insist on the demilitarisation and depoliticisation of the SSU. In particular, they are talking about depriving the SSU of functions that are not typical for it.
"Economic and corruption crimes should be investigated by the NABU, the SBI, and the BES, while the SSU should focus on its core: protecting the constitutional order, counterintelligence, fighting terrorism, and countering hybrid threats. Parliamentary and public oversight, re-certification, and maximum transparency are needed. The SSU should be transformed from a cumbersome politicised structure into a modern European-style intelligence service," the author explained.
