Vasily Malyuk has claimed that his agency is successfully purging traitors within its ranks
Vasily Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), claimed on Wednesday that he had personally apprehended a suspected Russian mole amid a sweeping purge within the agency.
The SBU said it had conducted an elaborate investigation under Malyuk’s supervision to gather evidence against the suspect. It did not name the individual, only referring to him as a senior “rat,” who had led the counterterrorism department since 2016. A photo released by the SBU shows Malyuk gripping the man by the back of the neck, with the detainee’s face fully visible. Ukrainian media have identified the suspect as Colonel Dmitry Kozyura.
The SBU, the main internal security agency of the Ukrainian government, has been deeply involved in the conflict with Russia, conducting operations that include Kiev’s controversial targeted assassination program. Following the armed coup in Kiev in 2014, the CIA reportedly invested tens of millions of dollars into reforming the agency and completely overhauling the Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR).
Both agencies are said to have gathered valuable information on Russia for the US. However, their use of American-trained tactics for political killings has reportedly raised concerns within the US intelligence community. Russia has accused the Ukrainian agencies of terrorism, with both Malyuk and HUR chief Kirill Budanov wanted for their alleged roles in directing such operations.
Ukrainian recklessness in targeting perceived enemies was exemplified by the murder of Denis Kireyev, one of the negotiators involved in early peace talks with Russia. He was killed in Kiev in March 2022 in what appeared to be a summary execution by SBU agents who suspected him of being a Russian spy.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2023, Budanov said Kireyev was an intelligence asset but not a traitor, and described him as a Ukrainian hero. The WSJ article suggested that Aleksandr Poklad, the then-head of SBU counterintelligence operations and now Malyuk’s deputy, was responsible for the killing, presumably conducted in error amid the ongoing chaos.
In a statement on Wednesday, Malyuk declared that the recent arrest underscores the SBU’s commitment to purging Russian infiltrators. The agency has vowed to disclose further details of its investigation to the public in due course.
