Editing Security Service of Ukraine (section)

==History==
===Ukrainian security services in Soviet era ===
On January 14, 1918, the [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] founded its Security Services.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" />

In May 1918 the Department of the State Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the [[Ukrainian State]] started to form a new intelligence service.<ref name="969SecSevUkr">{{in lang|uk}} [https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/28969341.html Ukrainian intelligence services. Victory and defeat of the last century], [[Radio Svoboda]] (January 14, 2018)</ref> This was a much more effective agency than its predecessor due to the incorporation of former employees of [[Okhrana]] (the secret police force of the [[Russian Empire]]).<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /> After the fall of the Ukrainian State and the return of power of the [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] (UNR) in December 1918, the new UNR authorities destroyed virtually all of the state infrastructure of the Ukrainian State.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /> Therefore, the new secret services founded in January 1919 (with two divisions – domestic and foreign) had to start practically from scratch.<ref name="969SecSevUkr"/><ref name="SecSevUkrnev">{{in lang|uk}} [https://m.dt.ua/HISTORY/nevidimiy-front-specsluzhbi-chasiv-ukrayinskoyi-revolyuciyi-_.html "Invisible Front": Special Forces of the Times of the Ukrainian Revolution], m.dt.ua (November 26, 2018)</ref> It never became as well-led, nor as successful, as its forerunner, the security services of the Ukrainian State.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /><ref name="SecSevUkrnev" /> The security services of the [[West Ukrainian People's Republic]] on the other hand were well-organized.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /> The West Ukrainian People's Republic were formed in March 1919 as the Field Gendarmerie of the [[Ukrainian Galician Army]] (it also served as [[military police]]).<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /> There was no cooperation between the security services of the West Ukrainian People's Republic and Ukrainian People's Republic.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" />

In 1924, former (April–July 1919) head of intelligence of the Ukrainian People's Republic [[Mykola Chebotarov]] started intelligence work on his own initiative for the Ukrainian People's Republic [[government in exile]] on the territory of the [[Ukrainian SSR]].<ref name="cle1mw8t8html">[https://history.vn.ua/article1/mw8t8.html Summary on Military secret service of the state center of the UNR in the exile and its leaders (1926–1938 biennium)], history.vn.ua</ref>
[[File:СБУ 2017.jpg|left|thumb|SBU [[Alpha Group (Ukraine)|Alpha Group]] operators]]

The All-Ukrainian [[Cheka]] was formed on December 3, 1918, in [[Kursk]]<ref name="vuchk" /> on the initiative from [[Yakov Sverdlov]] and [[Lenin]]'s orders. The commission was formed on the decree of the [[Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of Ukraine]] and later adopted on May 30, 1919, by the [[All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee]]. To support the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet government in Ukraine]], in Moscow was formed a corps of special assignment with 24,500 soldiers as part of the All-Ukrainian Cheka. In spring 1919, there was created the Council in fight against counterrevolution and consisted of [[Adolph Joffe]], [[Stanislav Kosior]], and [[Martin Latsis]]. In its early years the security agency fought against the "kulak-nationalistic banditry"<ref name="Lek-AUCEC" /> (peasants who resisted having their land confiscated and being forced into collective farms). On August 19, 1920, the All-Ukrainian Cheka arrested all members of the [[All-Ukrainian Conference of Mensheviks]] after accusing them of counterrevolutionary activity.<ref name="Day100819" /> On December 10, 1934, the [[State Political Directorate]] of Ukraine was dissolved, becoming part of the [[NKVD]] of Ukraine.<ref name="vuchk" />

===1990s–2005===
[[File:Будинок Губернської Земської управи.JPG|thumb|SBU Headquarters in [[Kyiv]]]]

The SBU originated from the [[Ukrainian SSR|Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'s Branch of the Soviet [[KGB]], keeping the majority of its 1990s personnel.<ref name=wpusbfrs>{{cite news |last=Sishkin |first=Phillip |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-spy-games-are-sabotaging-ukraines-intelligence-agency-1426127401 |title=How Russian Spy Games Are Sabotaging Ukraine's Intelligence Agency |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=March 11, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519154556/https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-spy-games-are-sabotaging-ukraines-intelligence-agency-1426127401}}</ref> It was created in September 1991 following the August 1991 [[independence of Ukraine]].<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /> The last Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's Branch head Colonel-General [[Nikolai Golushko]] stayed on as chairman of the newly formed Security Service of Ukraine for four months before moving to Russia.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" /> (Golushko headed the Russian [[Federal Counterintelligence Service]] in 1993 and 1994.<ref name="969SecSevUkr" />)

Since 1992, the agency has been competing in [[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] functions with the [[Chief directorate of intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine|intelligence branch of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense]]. Despite this, a former Military Intelligence Chief and career [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]] technological espionage expert, [[Ihor Smeshko]], served as an SBU chief until 2005.

According to [[Taras Kuzio]] during the 1990s in some regions of Ukraine (Donetsk) the SBU teamed up with local criminals taking part in privatization of state property (so-called ''prykhvatizatsiya'') ignoring its operational objectives and sky-rocketing level of local violence. A notorious incident took place in December 1995 in Western Ukraine when a local citizen Yuriy Mozola was arrested by SBU agents, interrogated and brutally tortured for three days. He refused to confess in trumped up murder charges and died in SBU custody. Later it turned out that the real killer was [[Anatoly Onoprienko]]. He was arrested the next year.<ref name=kuzio />

Reports of SBU involvement in arms sales abroad began appearing regularly in the early 2000s.<ref name=wpusbfrs /> Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged these sales and arrested some alleged participants.<ref name=wpusbfrs />

In 2004, the SBU's Intelligence Department was reorganized into an independent agency called [[Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine]]. It is responsible for all kinds of intelligence as well as for external security. As of 2004, the exact functions of the new service, and respective responsibilities of the [[Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine]] were not regulated yet. On November 7, 2005, the President of Ukraine created the Ukraine State Service of special communications and protection of information, also known as Derzhspetszvyazok (StateSpecCom) in place of one of the departments of SBU and making it an autonomous agency. The SBU subsumed the Directorate of State Protection of Ukraine ({{langx|uk|Управління державної охорони України}}), the personal protection agency for the most senior government officials, which was the former Ninth Directorate of the Ukrainian KGB.

The SBU's State Directorate of Personal Protection is known for its former Major [[Mykola Mel'nychenko]], the [[communications protection]] agent in President [[Leonid Kuchma]]'s [[bodyguard]] team. Mel'nychenko was the central figure of the [[Cassette Scandal]] (2000)—one of the main events in Ukraine's post-independence history. SBU became involved in the case when Mel'nychenko accused Leonid Derkach, SBU Chief at the time, of several crimes, e.g., of clandestine relations with [[Russian mafia]] leader [[Semyon Mogilevich]]. However, the UDO was subsumed into the SBU after the scandal, so Mel'nychenko himself has never been an SBU agent.

Later, the SBU played a significant role in the [[Criminal procedure|investigation]] of the [[Georgiy R. Gongadze|Georgiy Gongadze]] murder case,<ref name=UP050630 /> the crime that caused the [[Cassette Scandal]] itself.

In 2004, General Valeriy Kravchenko, SBU's intelligence representative in Germany, publicly accused his agency of political involvement, including overseas spying on Ukrainian [[Opposition (politics)|opposition]] politicians and German TV journalists. He was fired without returning home. After a half-year of hiding in Germany, Kravchenko returned to Ukraine and surrendered in October 2004 (an investigation is underway).

Later, the agency commanders became involved in the scandal around the [[poison]]ing of [[Viktor Yushchenko]]—a main candidate in the [[2004 Ukrainian presidential election]]. Yushchenko felt unwell soon after supper with SBU Chief Ihor Smeshko, at the home of Smeshko's first deputy. However, neither the politician himself nor the investigators have ever directly accused these officers. The Personal Protection department has been officially responsible for Yushchenko's personal security since he became a candidate. During the [[Orange Revolution]], several SBU veterans and [[cadet]]s publicly supported him as president-elect, while the agency as a whole remained neutral.

===2005–2010===
In 2005, soon after the elections, sacked SBU Chief Smeshko and other intelligence agents stated their own version of the revolution's events. They claimed to have prevented [[Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine|militsiya]] from violently suppressing the protests, contradicting the orders of President Kuchma and threatening ''militsiya'' with armed involvement of SBU's [[special forces]] units. This story was first described by the American journalist C.J. Chivers of ''[[The New York Times]]'' and has never been supported with documents or legally.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

An episode of human rights abuse by SBU happened during the case of [[serial killer]] [[Anatoly Onoprienko]]. Yuriy Mozola, an initial suspect in the investigation, died in SBU custody in [[Lviv]] as a result of [[torture]]. Several agents were convicted in the case.<ref name=UNHCR090717 /> The SBU remains a political controversial subject in Ukrainian politics.<ref name=IFUA081226 />
[[File:SBU agents in Kramatorsk, April 2014.png|thumb|SBU agents provide security during the [[Battle of Kramatorsk]], April 2014.]]

===2010–2014===
The former Security Service of Ukraine Head [[Valeriy Khoroshkovsky]] was involved in several controversies during his tenure. The rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv [[Borys Gudziak]] heavily criticized a visit from the SBU, forcing Khoroshkovskiy to apologize. Later the head of the Kyiv Bureau of the [[Konrad Adenauer Foundation]], [[Nico Lange]], was detained for a short while and released only after several high-ranking officials from the ''[[German Chancellery]]'' vouched for him. The Security Service described the incident as a misunderstanding.<ref>Cicero. Berlin. August 2019 p. 38 (in German)</ref>  Khoroshkovskiy, as the Chairman of the SBU, eliminated the main competition of Ukrainian TV-giant [[Inter (TV channel)|Inter]],{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} officially owned by his wife Olena Khoroshkovskiy, in the face of [[TVI (channel)|TVi]] and [[5 Kanal (Ukraine)|Channel 5]]. In July 2010, Konrad Schuller of the ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' wrote that Khoroshkovskiy had connections with [[RosUkrEnergo]].<ref name=Unian100720/><ref name=FAZ100719/><ref name=FAZ100714/> The most important source of Khoroshkovskiy's{{clarify|date=December 2014}} came from RosUkrEnergo.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} The President's spokesperson, [[Hanna Herman]], in an interview with this newspaper, did not dispute that [[Dmytro Firtash]] was one of the sponsors of the Presidential [[Party of Regions]], with the help of which Khoroshkovskiy was appointed to the position of the State Security chairman. Khoroshkovskiy denied any connections to RosUkrEnergo. However it is a fact{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} that Firtash possesses certain privileges in Inter. Schuller also stated that the SBU acts in direct association with RosUkrEnergo, arresting their main opponents (see [[RosUkrEnergo#History|RosUkrEnergo]]) to recover their invested money in the recent{{which|date=November 2014}} presidential campaign. Khoroshkovskiy having declined to give an interview to ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]'', Schuller posted a quote from one of his other interviews:

{{cquote|All my experience until now indicates that I am a patriot. ... I see through economic intrigues, crime, know methods of money laundering, banks that illegally exchange currency. ... My knowledge is much wider than most of those who work here.}}

When [[Ministry of Finance (Ukraine)|Minister of Finance]] Fedir Yaroshenko resigned on January 18, 2012, Khoroshkovsky replaced him in the post on the same day.<ref name=KP120119-Khor /> Khoroshkovsky is also the owner of [[U.A. Inter Media Group]] which owns major shares in various [[Television in Ukraine|Ukrainian TV channels]] including [[Inter TV]].<ref name=KP100612 /> 238 members of the [[Verkhovna Rada]] voted for Khoroshkovsky, however the head of the parliamentary committee for the National Security and Defense [[Anatoliy Hrytsenko]] stated that the committee accepted the decision to recommend Verkhovna Rada to deny the candidature of Khoroshkovskiy on the post of the chairman of Security Service of Ukraine.<ref name=Unian100311 />

Khoroshkovskiy said the SBU's main duty was to protect the president rather than the interests of Ukraine. On July 26, 2010, it arrested an internet blogger, producing a warrant for his arrest the next day. SBU accused the blogger of threatening the [[President of Ukraine]], citing his comment "May thunder strike Yanukovych!"; he was released after a short discussion.<ref name=Glav100802 /> However, SBU showed a rather passive reaction to the statements of the Russian state official who claimed that [[Crimea]] and [[Sevastopol]] belong to the [[Russian Federation]].<ref name=GR100722 /> [[Protest group]] [[FEMEN]] said that after [[2010 Ukrainian presidential election|the early 2010 election]] of President [[Viktor Yanukovych]] the SBU attempted to intimidate the FEMEN activists.<ref name=FEMENHell />

[[File:SBU_raid.jpg|left|thumb|A SBU raid against organized crime in [[Sumy Oblast]]]]

On May 22, 2012, Volodymyr Rokytskyi, Deputy Head of the SBU, was photographed in public wearing a $32,000 luxury wristwatch despite the fact that its price amounts to his yearly official income. The instance happened at a joint Ukrainian-American event dedicated to fighting the drug trade.<ref name=UP120523 />

The SBU uncovered seven spies and 16 special service agents in 2009.<ref name=IFU091230 /> A large number of arrests and searches occurred in 2011.<ref name=EP120111 />

===2014–2022===
[[File:СБУ блокувала діяльність фінансової піраміди, 02.jpg|thumb|SBU agents and [[Alpha Group (Ukraine)|Alpha Group]] operators during a raid against organizers of a [[pyramid scheme]] in 2020]]
In February 2014, numerous documents, hard drives, and flash drives, including data on over 22,000 officers and informants, were stolen or destroyed in a raid on the SBU allegedly ordered by President [[Viktor Yanukovych]].<ref name=Mash141230 />

Late February 2014 opposition MP [[Hennadiy Moskal]] released papers that showed the SBU had allegedly infiltrated the late 2013 – February 2014 anti-government [[Euromaidan]] protest.<ref name="usbbbc28214">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26368479 Ukraine: Security services 'infiltrated protest groups'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423173806/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26368479 |date=April 23, 2016}}, [[BBC News]] (February 28, 2014)</ref> According to [[BBC Ukrainian|BBC Ukraine]] analyst [[Olexiy Solohubenko]], many tactics discussed in the paper had indeed been performed.<ref name="usbbbc28214" />

After the overthrow of Yanukovich in the [[Revolution of Dignity]] the new SBU head [[Valentyn Nalyvaichenko]] claimed to have found his new office building empty, saying "the agency's former leadership had all fled to Russia or [[Crimea]]. There were no operative files, no weapons. Institutionally, the place was totally destroyed".<ref name="voausb26715">[https://www.voanews.com/a/ex-ukrainian-spy-chief-russian-camps-spreading-chaos/2877981.html Ex-Ukrainian Spy Chief: Russian Camps Spreading Chaos], [[Voice of America]] (July 26, 2015)</ref> Nalyvaichenko also claimed that at that time the agency was heavily infiltrated by Russian spies.<ref name="voausb26715" /> Indeed, Nalyvaichenko predecessor [[Oleksandr Yakymenko (politician)|Oleksandr Yakymenko]] with about 15 former SBU top officials surfaced in Russia a few days later.<ref name=Mash141230 /> Allegedly in the months following the Revolution of Dignity thousands of Ukrainian spies switched sides and began reporting to Russia during the [[2014 Crimean crisis]] and the [[2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine|pro-Russian unrest]] in [[East Ukraine|east]] and [[south Ukraine]].<ref name=Mash141230 /> At the end of 2014 235 SBU agents, including the former counterintelligence chief and his cousin, and hundreds of other operatives had been arrested and 25 [[high treason]] probes against Yanukovych-era SBU officials had been launched; also all regional directors had been changed, as well as half of their deputies.<ref name=Mash141230 /> In July 2015 Nalyvaichenko claimed "There's no longer a total infiltration of Russian agents. The danger is no longer widespread".<ref name="voausb26715" /> The arrested agents were replaced by new recruits from [[western Ukraine]], many of them in their early twenties.<ref name=Mash141230 /> To test loyalty, all SBU agents are subjected to recurrent interrogations and [[lie detector]] tests.<ref name=Mash141230 />

In June 2015, the ''[[Kyiv Post]]'' reported that a deputy chief of the SBU, Vitaly Malikov, had supported events leading to the [[annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexation of Crimea]].<ref name=KP150628 /> According to February 2016 official figures of the [[Ukrainian parliament]]ary Committee on National Security, after Russia's annexation 10% of SBU personnel left Crimea.<ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/02/8/7098237/ After the annexation left only 10% of staff SBU] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209094509/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/02/8/7098237/ |date=February 9, 2016}}, ''[[Ukrayinska Pravda]]'' (February 8, 2016)</ref> According to the SBU itself (in November 2017) 13% did so.<ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2017/11/7/7160923/ After the annexation, only 217 SBU officers went to the mainland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108035802/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2017/11/7/7160923/ |date=November 8, 2017}}, ''[[Ukrayinska Pravda]]'' (November 7, 2017)</ref>

In 2016, [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]] reported that the SBU operates [[Secret detention centers of SBU|secret detention facilities]] where civilians are held incommunicado being subjected to improper treatment and torture.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur50/4455/2016/en/ |title=Ukraine: "You don't exist": Arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and torture in Eastern Ukraine |author=Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch |date=July 21, 2016 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=February 22, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207015151/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur50/4455/2016/en/ |archive-date=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

In 2017, the [[United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine]] (HRMMU) expressed concerns about a situation with "freedom of opinion and expression" in Ukraine which facing "mounting challenges". According to the UN reports the SBU is taking advantage of broad interpretation and application of Ukrainian Criminal Code against independent Ukrainian journalists, bloggers, and media activists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/UAReport20th_EN.pdf |title=Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 16 August to 15 November 2017 |website=www.ohchr.org |publisher=United Nations |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228223256/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/UAReport20th_EN.pdf |archive-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref> According to reports of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the SBU personnel is responsible for multiple cases of human rights abuses including sexual violence and torture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/UAReport19th_EN.pdf |title=Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 16 May to 15 August 2017 |publisher=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |access-date=February 22, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20171202184420/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/UAReport19th_EN.pdf |archive-date=December 2, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/ReportCRSV_EN.pdf |title=Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine 14 March 2014 to 31 January 2017 |publisher=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |access-date=February 22, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207015148/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/ReportCRSV_EN.pdf |archive-date=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

A new fifth directorate of SBU was created in 2015 to act as a saboteur force. It was associated with several assassinations of prominent pro-Russian commanders in Donbas: [[Alexander Zakharchenko]], [[Mikhail Tolstykh]] and [[Arsen Pavlov]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside Ukraine's assassination programme |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/09/05/inside-ukraines-assassination-programme |access-date=7 September 2023 |publisher=The Economist |date=5 September 2023}}</ref>

On December 21, 2017, two Ukrainian civil servants were arrested by the SBU for spying on behalf of Russia, one of them being an SBU employee while the other, Stanislav Yezhov, worked for various cabinet ministers.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Sharkov |first=Damian |url=https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-two-russian-spies-arrested-double-agents-inside-kievs-own-ranks-755504 |title=Ukraine Arrests Two 'Russian Spies' as Double Agents Inside Kiev's Ranks |date=December 21, 2017 |access-date=October 19, 2020}}</ref>

In late 2018, the SBU carried out raids across the country targeting the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]] churches and priests.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vasina |first1=Olena |last2=Williams |first2=Matthias |title=Ukraine's security service raids home of Russian-backed monastery head |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-church/ukraines-security-service-raids-home-of-russian-backed-monastery-head-idUSKCN1NZ1I1 |publisher=Reuters |date=November 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine raids Orthodox churches with Russia ties |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181203-ukraine-raids-orthodox-churches-russia-ties-putin-poroshenko-azov-crimea |work=France 24 |date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine set to establish new church, secure split from Russia |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/ukraine-set-establish-church-secure-split-russia-181215075840519.html |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=December 15, 2018}}</ref>

On July 8, 2019, the SBU announced that they conducted a raid into areas held by the [[Donetsk People's Republic]] to apprehend Vladimir Borysovich Tsemakh, who was head of the air defense in [[Snizhne]] and a 'person of interest' when a [[Buk missile system|Buk missile launcher]] was used to [[Malaysia Airlines Flight 17|shoot down MH17]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2019/07/09/the-arrest-of-vladimir-tsemakh-and-its-implications-for-the-mh17-investigation/ |title=The Arrest of Vladimir Tsemakh and Its Implications for the MH17 Investigation |work=[[Bellingcat]] |date=July 9, 2019 |access-date=October 19, 2020}}</ref> The SBU mentioned that he's a witness to the incident.<ref>{{cite news |last=Luhn |first=Alec |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/05/ukraine-captures-separatist-believed-linked-mh17/ |title=Ukraine captures separatist believed to be linked to MH17 |work=Telegraph |date=July 5, 2019 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=July 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705170347/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/05/ukraine-captures-separatist-believed-linked-mh17/}}</ref>

On April 14, 2020, the SBU announced the arrest of Lt. General {{Ill|Valeriy Shaytanov|uk|Шайтанов Валерій Альбертович}}, who was recruited in 2014 by the FSB during a Russian-Ukrainian anti-terrorist working group under the command of Colonel {{Ill|Igor Anatolievich Egorov|uk|Єгоров Ігор Анатолійович}}.<ref name="News">{{cite news |url=https://ssu.gov.ua/en/news/1/category/2/view/7448#.8kZ9Tb1n.dpbs |title=SBU exposes a general working for the Russian FSB |work=Security Service of Ukraine website |date=April 14, 2020 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426044328/https://ssu.gov.ua/en/news/1/category/2/view/7448}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-sbu-fsb/30552781.html |title=Служба безпеки України: затриманий генерал, який працював на ФСБ Росії |trans-title=Security Service of Ukraine: detained general who worked for the FSB of Russia |work=[[Radio Svoboda]] |date=April 14, 2020 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |language=uk}}</ref> He was known to head the anti-terrorist division who had played a prominent role in negotiating ceasefires and prisoner exchanges with Russia-backed militants in Eastern Ukraine.<ref name="News" /> He had planned the future assassination of [[Adam Osmayev]], a Chechen in the [[Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion|International Peacekeeping Battalion named after Dzhokhar Dudayev]] which is defending Ukraine against Russia aggression.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-valery-shaitanov/30882633.html |title=Офіс генпрокурора направив до суду справу генерала СБУ Шайтанова, якого підозрюють у держзраді |trans-title=The Prosecutor General's Office sent to court the case of SBU General Shaitanov, who is suspected of treason |work=[[Radio Svoboda]] |date=October 8, 2020 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Стек |first1=Левко (Stek, Levko) |last2=Гриценко |first2=Олексій (Gritsenko, Alexey) |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/29365156.html |title=Адам Осмаєв про замахи, Аміну Окуєву і чеченців на Донбасі. Ексклюзивне інтерв'ю |trans-title=Adam Osmayev about the assassination attempts, Amin Okuyev and the Chechens in Donbas. Exclusive interview |work=Radio Svoboda |date=July 16, 2018 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |language=uk}}</ref>

=== 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine ===
[[File:UA SSU operator (1).jpg|thumb|SBU agent arresting a suspected Russian spy during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]]]
With the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the SBU started to conduct extensive [[counter-espionage]] against Russian intelligence services. The SBU captured [[Fifth column|fifth-columnists]], Russian sympathizers, collaborators, spies and infiltrators.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-29 |title=Ukraine cracks down on 'traitors' helping Russian troops |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-europe-kharkiv-51c514b6dc9cc1f935e018e4877222cc |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> The SBU, with help of the American [[NSA]] and [[CIA]], also broke through the Russian encrypted cellphone services, intercepting phone calls to find valuable targets or other useful intelligence. [[List of Russian generals killed during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine|Several Russian generals died]] due to the intercepted calls.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bryen |first=Stephen |date=2022-05-26 |title=The fatal failure of Russia's ERA cryptophone system |url=https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/the-fatal-failure-of-russias-era-cryptophone-system/ |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}</ref> They also published many supposed intercepted phone calls on their website, showing morale issues or admissions of [[war crimes]] by Russian troops.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vavra |first=Shannon |date=2022-05-09 |title=Russians Caught in Bitchfest Over Putin's 'Bullshit' Victory Day |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/intercepted-calls-catch-russians-slamming-vladimir-putins-bullshit-victory-day |access-date=2022-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Intercepted audio said Russian soldiers almost blew up a top general for ordering them to the front line, Ukraine says |url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/intercepted-audio-shows-russian-soldiers-102055444.html |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=ca.news.yahoo.com |date=May 31, 2022 |language=en-CA}}</ref>

On March 5, 2022, SBU agents shot and killed [[Denis Kireev]], a member of Ukraine's negotiating delegation during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], while he was being arrested.<ref name="pravda-2022-Kireev">{{cite news |last1=Kravets |first1=Roman |title=The SBU shot a Ukrainian negotiator in Gomel during detention - sources |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/03/5/7328458/ |access-date=5 March 2022 |work=[[Ukrayinska Pravda]] |date=5 March 2022}}</ref> According to the SBU, Kireev was suspected of treason and was claimed to have clear evidence of him working for the enemy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unian.net/politics/sbu-ubili-chlena-ukrainskoy-delegacii-denisa-kireeva-podozrevaemogo-v-gosizmene-novosti-ukraina-11730304.html|title=СБУ убила члена украинской делегации Дениса Киреева, подозреваемого в госизмене|website=UNIAN|date=5 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.interfax.ru/world/826552|title=Нардеп сообщил, что участника переговоров от Украины убили при задержании за госизмену|website=Interfax|date=5 March 2022}}</ref> However in August 18, later the [[Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine]] (GUR) disclosed the information that he was their agent and that he "died while performing special tasks" for the GUR.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Україна втратила своїх відданих синів |url=https://gur.gov.ua/content/ukraina-vtratyla-svoikh-viddanykh-syniv.html |access-date=2022-08-18 |website=gur.gov.ua}}</ref>

On April 12, 2022, the SBU announced they had arrested [[Viktor Medvedchuk]], an ally of [[Vladimir Putin]], in what Bakanov called a "a lightning-fast and dangerous multi-level special operation"; a treason case was opened against Medvedchuk the previous year and in February, and authorities said that Medvedchuk that escaped from house arrest.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-04-12 |title=Ukraine secret service says it has arrested top Putin ally |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-president-publishes-photo-pro-russian-politician-handcuffs-2022-04-12/ |access-date=2022-04-12}}</ref>

July 17, 2022, Head of the SBU [[Ivan Bakanov]] was dismissed by President [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]].<ref name=":1" /> While a long-time associate and personal friend of Zelenskyy, Bakanov was accused of allowing treason and collaboration of SBU agents with Russia, and failing to uproot them.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Tim |last1=Lister |first2=Mariya |last2=Knight |title=Zelensky fires top officials over staffers' 'collaboration' with Russia |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/17/europe/zelensky-fires-top-officials-intl/index.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=CNN|date=July 17, 2022 }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2022-07-18 |title=Ukraine names corruption department head as acting security agency chief |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-security-chief-prosecutor-general-suspended-senior-official-2022-07-18/ |access-date=2022-07-22}}</ref> [[Vasyl Malyuk]], the first Deputy Head of the SBU, was appointed as acting Head of the SBU.<ref name=":2" />

According to ''[[Ukrainska Pravda]]'' and the [[Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|UNIAN]], the [[2022 Crimean Bridge explosion|October 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion]] was carried out by the SBU.<ref name="PravdaSBU">{{Cite web |title=Security Service of Ukraine behind explosion on Crimean bridge |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/8/7370891/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008135229/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/8/7370891/ |archive-date=8 October 2022 |access-date=8 October 2022 |website=[[Ukrainska Pravda]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="MeduzaSBU">{{Cite news |title=Украинские СМИ со ссылкой на источник сообщили, что взрыв на Крымском мосту – операция СБУ |trans-title=Ukrainian media, citing a source, reported that the explosion on the Crimean bridge was an SBU operation. |work=[[Meduza]] |url=https://meduza.io/news/2022/10/08/ukrainskaya-pravda-so-ssylkoy-na-istochnik-soobschila-chto-vzryv-na-krymskom-mostu-operatsiya-sbu |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008150643/https://meduza.io/news/2022/10/08/ukrainskaya-pravda-so-ssylkoy-na-istochnik-soobschila-chto-vzryv-na-krymskom-mostu-operatsiya-sbu |archive-date=8 October 2022 |language=ru}}</ref>

On August 7, 2023, Ukrainian Security Service has arrested a woman in relation to an attempt to assassinate President [[Zelenskyy]]. The unnamed woman was accused of supplying information for a Russian air strike.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://abcnews.go.com/International/woman-arrested-plot-kill-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-ukraine/story?id=102065597 |title= Woman arrested in plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine says |date=2023-08-07 |publisher=ABCnews|author1= Yulia Drozd|author2= Kevin Shalvey}}</ref>

On August 12, 2024, SBU alleged that Russia was attempting to falsely accuse Kyiv's military of committing war crimes, as Ukraine advanced with a ground incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Meanwhile, Russian state media reported that [[Alexei Smirnov (politician)|Alexei Smirnov]], accused Ukrainian forces of using chemical weapons. Smirnov also stated that Ukraine had seized control of 28 settlements in the region.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ukraine says Russia tries to accuse it of false war crimes in Kursk |date=12 August 2024 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-russia-tries-accuse-it-false-war-crimes-kursk-2024-08-12/ |access-date=13 August 2024}}</ref>

==== Assassinations ====
SBU was connected to a number of targeted attacks on Russian military personnel and pro-Kremlin figures. Ukraine said it was behind the killing of a senior Russian naval officer in a car in Crimea. SBU said it was also responsible for the killing of a high-ranking officer in the GRU military intelligence service, who was assassinated outside his house in a village in the Moscow region.

Apart from military figures, Ukraine has targeted prominent Russian pro-war propagandists, including [[Darya Dugina]], daughter of an ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue [[Aleksandr Dugin]], who was killed in 2023 when a car bomb smashed her [[Toyota Land Cruiser]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-23 |title=Washington Post: Ukraine conducts 'high-value' assassinations inside Russia |url=https://kyivindependent.com/washington-post-sbu-behind-duginas-death-target-was-her-father/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en}}</ref>

SBU said, it assassinated Mikhail Shatsky a leading Russian missile scientist who worked on upgrading cruise missiles used on the battlefield in Ukraine. His body of was discovered in Kuzminsky forest park, at [[Kotelniki]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Sauer |first=Pjotr |date=2024-12-17 |title=Russian general in charge of chemical weapons unit killed in Moscow scooter blast |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/17/lieutenant-general-igor-kirillov-russian-general-killed-moscow-explosion-chemical-weapons |access-date=2024-12-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In December 2024 the head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division [[Igor Kirillov (officer)|Igor Kirillov]] was killed by an explosive device attached to a scooter outside an apartment building in Moscow. It was the most targeted assassination of a senior military official since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Guardian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine says it killed Russian general Igor Kirillov in Moscow |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2ek388yxzo |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

[[File:Standard of Ukrainian Security Service Head.png|thumb|Standard of the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine]]

===Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)===
{{main|Head of the Security Service of Ukraine}}
[[File:Баканов Іван Геннадійович.jpeg|thumb|288x288px|Former Director of the SBU from 2019 to 2022 [[Ivan Bakanov]]]]
*''establishment September 20, 1991''
* [[Nikolai Golushko]] (acting; September 20, 1991 – November 6, 1991)
* [[Yevhen Marchuk]] (November 6, 1991 – July 12, 1994)
* [[Valeriy Malikov]] (July 12, 1994 – July 3, 1995)
* [[Volodymyr Radchenko]] (July 3, 1995 – April 22, 1998)
* [[Leonid Derkach]] (April 22, 1998 – February 10, 2001)
* [[Volodymyr Radchenko]] (February 10, 2001 – September 2, 2003)
* [[Ihor Smeshko]] (September 4, 2003 – February 4, 2005)
* [[Oleksandr Turchynov]] (February 4, 2005 – September 8, 2005)
* [[Ihor Drizhchany]]<ref name=AG-Drizchany /> (September 8, 2005 – December 22, 2006)
* [[Valentyn Nalyvaichenko]] (December 22, 2006 – March 11, 2010)
* [[Valeriy Khoroshkovskyi|Valeriy Khoroshkovsky]] (March 11, 2010 – January 18, 2012)<ref name="KP120119-Khor" />
* [[Volodymyr Rokytsky]] (acting; January 19, 2012 – February 3, 2012)<ref name=KP120203 /><ref name=KP120119-Rok />
* [[Ihor Kalinin (official)|Ihor Kalinin]] (February 3, 2012 – January 9, 2013)<ref name=KP120203 />
* [[Oleksandr Yakymenko (politician)|Oleksandr Yakymenko]] (January 9, 2013 – February 24, 2014)<ref name=KP130110 /><ref name=nmNaly />
* [[Valentyn Nalyvaichenko]] (February 24, 2014 – June 18, 2015)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-sbu-chief-dismissed/27079084.html |title=Ukrainian Security Service Chief Fired |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|REF/RL]] |date=June 18, 2015 |access-date=June 18, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618171727/http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-sbu-chief-dismissed/27079084.html |archive-date=June 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unian.info/politics/1090857-rada-dismisses-sbu-chief-nalyvaichenko.html |title=Rada dismisses SBU chief Nalyvaichenko |publisher=[[UNIAN]] |date=June 18, 2015 |access-date=June 18, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618161756/http://www.unian.info/politics/1090857-rada-dismisses-sbu-chief-nalyvaichenko.html |archive-date=June 18, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Vasyl Hrytsak]] (July 2, 2015 – August 29, 2019)<ref>[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/275494.html Rada appoints Vasyl Hrytsak Ukrainian Security Service chief] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703010126/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/275494.html |date=July 3, 2015}}, (July 2, 2015)</ref>
*[[Ivan Bakanov]] (August 29, 2019 – July 17, 2022)<ref name="pravda.com.ua">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/08/29/7224800/|title=Рада затвердила людину Зеленського на чолі СБУ|website=Українська правда}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №499/2022 |url=https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/4992022-43321 |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=ПРЕЗИДЕНТ УКРАЇНИ}}</ref>
*[[Vasyl Malyuk]], February 7, 2023<ref name="64530447Malyuk"/> – present (acting head from July 17, 2022<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2022-07-18 |title=Ukraine names corruption department head as acting security agency chief |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-security-chief-prosecutor-general-suspended-senior-official-2022-07-18/ |access-date=2022-07-22}}</ref> to February 7, 2023)