The Security Service of Ukraine, or the SBU, announced on Aug. 2 that it uncovered a pro-Kremlin organization attempting to destabilize the political situation in Ukraine.
According to several Ukrainian media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, the organization is controlled by controversial pro-Kremlin Ukrainian lawmaker Ilya Kyva, accusations he has denied.
Kyva is one of 44 lawmakers from the pro-Kremlin Opposition Platform — For Life faction.
The SBU said that the organization operated in eastern Ukraine. It was uncovered during an operation in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, as well as Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in Luhansk Oblast.
The organization specialized in provocative acts meant to trigger mass protests and destabilize the political situation in the country. One of these acts involved a group of organization members who stabbed an ideological opponent with a knife in March.
The SBU carried out searches in the suspects’ residences and the organization’s offices. The officers seized non-firearm weapons and instructions on how to prepare members of the group for radical action.
The SBU granted a notice of suspicion to the organization’s leader — a court now has to decide whether to detain them as a pre-trial measure. The SBU is working on bringing other suspected organization members to justice.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, the organization SBU reported about is Kyva’s Patriots — For Life public organization.
In a Facebook video published on Aug. 2, Kyva said that the SBU hadn’t arrested anyone and had no proof to back up their accusations. According to Kyva, the SBU officers allegedly threatened a witness, forcing them to testify against suspect Oleh Shyriaiev, one of the leaders of Patriots – For Life.
