RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR

Russo-Ukrainian War: Is Iryna Venediktova a spy?

Could Iryna Venediktova be working for the Russians?

It has been revealed, in recent days, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has questioned Iryna Venediktova’s loyalty. Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, is suspected of being a spy for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Both Venediktova and Ivan Bakanov, now formally the head of the SBU, have been dismissed from their respective positions. Citing multiple cases, references instances where agency officers have collaborated with Russian counterparts in occupied territories, suspicions appear validated.

“Breaking: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just dismissed Security Service of Ukraine chief Ivan Bakanov and Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova,” tweeted The New Voice of Ukraine. “This is the biggest political shakeup in Ukraine since the start of full-scale Russian invasion.”

Zelenskyy’s decision to fire both Venediktova and Bakanov is the most significant shake-up of Ukraine’s government since President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine. It has been approximately 145 days since Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine and there is no end in sight.

The firings, announced on Monday, 18 July 2022, were surprising. Zelenskyy doesn’t allow personal feelings to get in the way of making difficult choices. The Ukrainian president and Bakanov, friends since childhood, are well acquainted. Zelenskyy, after his initial televised televised speech, posted a Telegram message referencing what had been done.

It appears numerous cases, near and or in occupied territories, saw employees working for Venediktova and Bakanov of collaborating with Russia. Zelenskyy, with documentation detailing at least 651 cases, alleged treason. Collaboration with the Russians is readily apparent.

There is a strong possibility such unUkrainian activities have been happening across all agencies of the government. More than sixty officials, operating in Russian-occupied territories, were working against Ukraine’s best interests.

Zelenskyy, whilst Bakanov’s successor has yet to be named, has appointed Oleksiy Symonenko as acting prosecutor general. Symonenko, a Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University alumnus, qualified as a lawyer in 1998. The lawyer, up until recently, served as the Deputy Prosecutor General.