How Ukraine’s SBU Persecutes Independent Media During the War and Claims It Does Not

Journalists have identified the man who visited the home of The Kyiv Independent executive director, Daryna Shevchenko, in Kyiv on September 29. He turned out to be an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) named Oleksandr. The SBU claims that the visit was not related to the journalist.

This was reported by journalists from the “Schemes” project of Radio Liberty, according to Censor.NET.

According to their data, the man was identified using facial recognition tools. In phone number verification services, his contact is tagged as “Oleksandr SBU.”

He was born in 2000 and is a native of Kyiv.

Oleksandr did not respond to journalists’ messages via messenger or phone.

The “Schemes” project also contacted the SBU press service to ask whether the man is indeed an SBU employee, and if so, whether he really visited the home of one of the executives of the independent English-language publication and for what purpose.

“Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine did not collect any information regarding the executive director of The Kyiv Independent, Daryna Shevchenko. Currently, the SBU is investigating the illegal activities of one of the criminal groups in the capital. The presence of an SBU operative at the specified address was due to checking the location of a person involved in another criminal case. These actions are in no way related to the activities of the Kyiv Independent editorial office or media representatives in general. We would like to emphasize: the Security Service of Ukraine operates exclusively within the legal framework and respects the effective work of independent media,” the SBU press service told journalists.

Sources from “Schemes” within law enforcement agencies noted that the person being sought in the investigation is a former owner of the apartment where Shevchenko now lives. The “Schemes” editorial office passed information about the identified SBU officer to The Kyiv Independent.

Recall, on September 30, Kyiv Independent’s editor-in-chief, Olha Rudenko, reported that an unknown man had come to the apartment of the publication’s executive director, Daryna Shevchenko. He was photographing the door and collecting information about her. The journalist filed a stalking complaint.

Rudenko also said that the man had been brought to the building by local housing office employees. They said he showed an ID, but did not reveal what kind.

What happened before?

Earlier, Kyiv Independent, citing five sources allegedly familiar with the investigation, reported that the probe is targeting the company Fire Point, which manufactures the “Flamingo.”

It was noted that the investigation concerns whether Fire Point inflated the cost of components and the number of drones the company supplies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Three sources told the publication that the current NABU investigation suggests that the real owner of Fire Point could be a friend of President Volodymyr Zelensky and co-founder of the studio “Kvartal 95,” Tymur Mindich.

Later, NABU denied that it was investigating the Ukrainian cruise missile “Flamingo.”

EMPR