Former official who wished Ukraine's east to join Russia's Rostov Oblast detained in Kyiv – photo

The Ukrainian Security Service's Counterintelligence Department in Kyiv has detained a former official who collaborated with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and Russian-backed terrorists in Luhansk Oblast and advocated the annexation of Ukraine's eastern territories to Russia's Rostov Oblast.

Source: press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU); Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office

Quote: "Investigators found that after leaving the civil service in 2014, the former Ukrainian official claimed to be a 'political expert' and authored materials praising the Kremlin's aggressive policy towards Ukraine."

Details: The suspect's name is not mentioned, but Ukrainska Pravda's sources say the defendant in question is Volodymyr Yakovlev.

Reports indicate that the suspect repeatedly visited the occupied city of Luhansk after the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where he was engaged in public activities to the detriment of Ukraine's national interests.

He visited Russia in September last year, where he had a personal meeting with one of the heads of the 5th Service of the FSB, who oversaw his disruptive activities against Ukraine.

On the instructions of his handler, the suspect used social media and propaganda media to disseminate specially selected, inaccurate and biassed information about the situation in Ukraine, incite national hatred, and justify Russia's blatant armed aggression against Ukraine.

Moreover, the offender made posts on social media calling for Ukraine's eastern regions to be annexed to Rostov Oblast of the Russian Federation.

During the search at the suspect's home, law enforcement officers seized items with Russian symbols, a communist party membership card, medals, and special Russian insignia.

At the prosecutor's request, the suspect was remanded in custody without bail.

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