Bug found in Ukraine's top general office: Incident details and Zalyzhnyi's reaction
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi (Photo: Getty Images)
In the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, a bug was discovered yesterday. This fact has been officially confirmed by the department and by the Commander himself, who has noted that elements of eavesdropping were found not only on his premises, adding that the investigation will identify those involved.
RBC-Ukraine below has compiled everything known about the eavesdropping on Zaluzhnyi and how the Commander-in-Chief himself reacted to it.
During the preparation of the material, the following sources were used: RBC-Ukraine's own sources, an exclusive comment from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Facebook page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine.
A bug was found in the office
First and foremost, RBC-Ukraine obtained information about the bug in the office of the Commander-in-Chief from sources within military circles.
According to sources, the discovered information-gathering devices were made from components of an unidentified sample, making it impossible to identify the installer.
"These devices were found today (the news was published on December 17), while preparing the room for work," the source added.
The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case
Later, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) announced that they had initiated a criminal investigation into this incident.
The investigation was opened under Article 359, Part 2 (illegal acquisition, sale, or use of special technical means to obtain information) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to the SSU's version, the equipment was found not directly in Valerii Zaluzhnyi's office but in one of the rooms intended for his future use. Preliminarily, the discovered device was non-functional.
"No means of accumulating information or remote transmission of audio recordings have been found. The said technical device will be sent for examination," the statement said.
General Staff confirmed the information
Today, an official response from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine surfaced.
"Yesterday, during a routine check of the premises, elements of equipment for information retrieval were found in one of the locations," the department has announced on its Facebook page.
They also have revealed that the bug was found not only in Zaluzhnyi's office.
"Listening devices were installed in the offices designated for the work of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the staff of his office," the General Staff has noted.
The department has added that to establish the circumstances of this event, its consequences, and the individuals involved, the Security Service of Ukraine has been informed.
Zalyzhnyi's reaction
Today, the Chief Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces responded for the first time to the news about the bug. In his comments to RBC-Ukraine, he confirmed that it was found not only in his office.
Zaluzhnyi informed the news agency that this office was not his regular workplace and hadn't been in use for a long time. He mentioned having multiple work locations.
"I'll tell you this: this was the room I was supposed to use today. They found it there during the check yesterday," the Chief Commander said.
When asked if this could mean someone within the General Staff might be involved, he responded, "No, we've long stopped using bugs."
Zaluzhnyi himself sees this incident as a "war" and noted that the investigation would clarify everything.
Furthermore, he added that he was supposed to start working in this office today at 7:00 am. Regarding whether any information constituting state secrets could have been discussed there, he said:
"This room was used before. But the break was significant. So it was probably being prepared for my meeting."
