Ukraine's Security Service head on Bihus.Info scandal: 'Actions of officers are unacceptable'
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk (Photo: Getty Images)
Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk, reacted to the scandal regarding the wiretapping of journalists from Bihus.Info. He criticized the employees of the department of the agency and called their actions unacceptable, according to the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
Maliuk commented after today's Verkhovna Rada summoned him to report on the surveillance of Bihus.Info journalists.
What the head of the SSU said
First, in his statement, he reminded of the achievements of the SSU on the front line and successful operations of the special services both in the occupied territories and in the rear of the occupiers - in the Russian Federation. Then, he expressed outrage at the actions of "individual employees" of the Department of National Security.
"In such circumstances, the actions of individual employees of the Department of National Security cause genuine indignation. Unfortunately, measures to counter organized drug crime have led not only to obtaining information about the involvement of one of the operators of the editorial office in the distribution of narcotic substances but also to the public dissemination of video materials," Maliuk said.
He emphasized that such actions by representatives of the Department of National Security "are unacceptable and have already led to a number of personnel decisions."
"Among other things, I have submitted a proposal to dismiss the head of the Department of National Security of the SSU, and the President of Ukraine signed the corresponding decree on January 31," Maliuk reminded.
"My position is unequivocal - the actions of individual employees cannot negate all the positive results that the SSU has during the war, and cast a shadow on every representative of the Service: both those who fight the enemy within the country and those comrades-in-arms from the SSU who lay down their lives for the sake of Ukraine on the battlefield. Any unlawful actions must be punished," Maliuk added.
Scandal with wiretapping Bihus.Info
Earlier, the YouTube channel "Narodna Pravda" spread a video, which was later picked up on the network, where members of the Bihus.Info team allegedly used narcotic substances during a corporate event at one of the suburban complexes in Kyiv.
Founder and chief editor of Bihus.Info, Denys Bihus, reacted to the video, reported that the individuals seen in the video were not journalists but operators, and informed that those employees who used prohibited substances were fired.
In addition, he announced illegal surveillance and wiretapping and that the Bihus.Info team had been monitored for several months. Later, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that it is already investigating the circumstances of illegal wiretapping and video recording of journalists. On January 31, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dismissed the head of the Department of National Security of the Security Service of Ukraine.
However, yesterday, journalists published their investigation where they identified who exactly was involved in their wiretapping and the publication of relevant videos on the network. As a result, they stated that the surveillance of the Bihus.Info team was organized and carried out by the SSU's Department of National Security.
Law enforcement officials responded to the allegations. They said that countering organized drug crime is one of the areas of activity of the SSU.
However, yesterday, sources from RBC-Ukraine reported that the head of the SSU department was dismissed after all due to surveillance by the Bihus.Info editorial team.
