Ukraine is running networks of saboteurs inside Russia, report claims
June 6, 2023 3 Comments
THE UKRAINIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICES are training and arming cells of saboteurs inside Russia, who are responsible for several acts of sabotage on Russian soil, including a recent attack on the Kremlin, according to CNN. In an exclusive report published on Monday, the American television channel cited “multiple people familiar with US intelligence on” the activities of Ukrainian “agents and sympathizers” inside Russia.
According to the report, pro-Ukrainian saboteurs may be responsible for a growing number of incidents involving mysterious explosions, fires and malfunctions of Russian critical infrastructure. In recent months, such incidents have caused serious damage on Russian military warehouses, energy pipelines, fuel depots and refineries, railway networks, and military enlistment offices. Last month saw a widely reported attack by a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the Kremlin, which serves as the official residence of the Russian president in Moscow.
The CNN report claims that the UAV attack on the Kremlin, and possibly other similar incidents that have taken place inside Russia in recent months, represent the “culmination of months of effort” by the Ukrainian government. The latter has now allegedly assembled and is operating semi-autonomous sabotage cells inside Russia. These cells are said to consist of Ukrainian nationals operating in an undercover capacity, as well as of Russian nationals who sympathize with Ukraine. They also include Russians who are militantly opposed to the administration of President Vladimir Putin.
These cells have been “well-trained” in sabotage and have been provided with lethal hardware —including UAVs or UAV components— by the Ukrainian government, CNN said. These provisions reach the saboteurs through “well-practiced smuggling routes” that the Ukrainians have established across the Ukrainian-Russian border. The latter is “vast and very difficult to control”, and has been so for decades, according to the report. In most cases, the weaponry used in acts of sabotage is assembled and operated from within Russia, rather than from command centers in Ukraine, the CNN report claims.
The broad strategic parameters of the saboteurs Russia have reportedly been established by the highest echelons of the Ukrainian government, under the direct supervision of President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officers who handle, train and arm the saboteurs have deliberately given them significant autonomy in terms of targeting and tactics. CNN said it contacted the Ukrainian government for comment on this report. The SBU did not confirm or deny that it was involved in handling cells of saboteurs inside Russia. However, a SBU spokesperson told CNN that “the mysterious explosions and drone strikes inside Russia would continue”.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 06 June 2023 | Permalink
Ukraine’s counterintelligence agency has arrested the principal translator of the country’s prime minister, accusing him of spying for Russia. The translator has been identified as Stanislav Yezhov, who has served as a translator for two consecutive Ukrainian prime ministers. As part of his job, Yezhov has been present at nearly all high-level meetings between Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Volodymyr Groysman, and foreign leaders since 2016, when Groysman assumed his executive post. In the last year alone, Yezhov accompanied the Ukrainian prime minister during official trips to Washington, London and Berlin. Before translating for Groysman, Yezhov is thought to have served as an interpreter for Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s former President. Yanukovych, a pro-Russian politician, occupied that office from 2010 until his ousting from power in 2014, as a result of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.
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Female suspect in Monaco bombing that targeted sanctioned oligarch found dead
July 8, 2026 by Joseph Fitsanakis 3 Comments
Authorities in Monaco believe that Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, a Ukrainian national, planted a parcel bomb that seriously injured multi-millionaire Vadym Yermolaiev on June 29. Yermolaiev’s mistress and their 13-year-old son were also injured, according to reports. In 2019, Yermolaiev renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a citizen of Cyprus. In 2022, when Russia launched the latest phase of its invasion of Ukraine, Yermolaiev moved his family to Monaco.
In 2023 the Ukrainian government imposed financial sanctions on Yermolaiev, claiming that he collaborated with the authorities in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. But Yermolaiev refuted these allegations, claiming that he regarded Russia as an “enemy” and that he had provided financial donations to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He also claimed that he had renounced his Ukrainian citizenship because the Ukrainian tax system was unfair and he wanted to receive “international protection”.
On Tuesday the BBC reported that it contacted the office of Monaco’s prosecutor, who said that Berezovska had “spent days casing out” Yermolaiev’s residence and that she had disguised herself as a man when she planted the parcel bomb in the entranceway of Yermolaiev’s Monaco apartment. Shortly after the bomb exploded, at 9:00 p.m. local time, Berezovska used a rented car to drive across the border to Italy and then to Germany.
By that time, Interpol had issued a Red Notice alert for Berezovska, which prompted German special forces personnel to raid an apartment the suspect had rented in Germany’s central state of Hesse. However, Berezovska was not found there. It now appears that she had entered Ukraine on July 1, where she made contact with her family and two men, according to Ukrainian authorities. According to the prosecutor general’s office, Berezovska “traveled a certain distance with [the two men], after which she was killed”.
Citing the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and “a current officer” in Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), the BBC reports that Berezovska’s body was found buried in a forest in Kyiv. Her body displayed two bullet wounds to the head. A law enforcement officer and a DIU officer have been charged with murdering Berezovska, according to the BBC. Previously, the men are believed to have transferred funds to Berezovska’s bank and cryptocurrency accounts.
In a statement cited by the BBC, the SBU said that a house belonging to one of the two suspects contained a basement room that “resembled a torture chamber”. The two men have been charged with “intentional murder committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons”. Ukrainian law enforcement officials stated on Tuesday that they are working on identifying more suspects in the case.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 07 July 2026 | Permalink
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Anastasiia Berezovska, assassinations, Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Monaco, News, organized crime, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine, Vadym Yermolaiev