On Monday, the head of the Ukrainian military revealed that one of his offices had a covert listening device discovered, and he implied, without providing details, that other places also had bugs.
The news broke Sunday that the Ukrainian Security Service had discovered a bug in a room that Cmdr. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi often uses. According to the agency, the gadget was malfunctioning.
A criminal case is being examined under Article 359 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which pertains to the unlawful purchase, sale, or use of unique technological methods of acquiring information. The Ukrainian Security Service later made this information public.
Zaluzhnyi said that listening “devices” had been discovered at his workplace, but he failed to elaborate, leaving it unclear whether the Ukraine General Staff had also discovered more than one device.
Ukrainian officials have reported that the head of military intelligence in their country has managed to evade ten murder attempts orchestrated by the Russian National Security Agency, or FSB. His wife was sent to the hospital last month for treatment of heavy metals exposure.
At the same time, sabotage activities distant from the front line have allegedly been carried out by Ukraine’s espionage service.
Zaluzhnyi insisted that no General Staff member had any hand in the installation. He said he did not think any discussions about state secrets had taken place at the office.
This happened soon after General Zaluzhnyi said in early November that Ukraine’s conflict had reached a standstill. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy openly mocked his evaluation, saying it would only benefit Moscow.
Despite this, Russia is still the main target of suspicion.
Zaluzhny is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and 88% of Ukrainians trust him; just 4% are distrustful.
Ukraine’s almost 22-month conflict with Russia is expected to go on for another year.