Volodymyr Sivkovych, a former deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, was charged with treason. According to the investigation, he staged a provocation in the interests of the Russian Federation to beat Maidan participants on November 30, 2013.
What is known about the new suspicion of Sivkovych
According to the investigation, Sivkovych was recruited by Russia at the end of the 1990s, when he was a personnel officer of the KGB of the USSR and the FSB and carried out the tasks of the top political leadership of Russia to prevent the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
Investigators documented that in October 2013, he met with the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, as part of consultations between the NSDC delegations of the two countries in Odesa. At this event, as noted, Sivkovych received instructions on further subversive activities against Ukraine and suppression of potential protest actions.
Law enforcement officers point out that on the night of November 30, 2013, Sivkovych personally supervised the dispersal and beating of students organised by him from the office of the Kyiv police chief.
At that time, 55 participants of a peaceful assembly on Independence Square in Kyiv were injured due to the illegal actions of internal affairs officials, more than 300 participants were forced to flee from the city center and hide in the premises of St. Michael's Cathedral. This beating of the students became the driving force behind the further events of the Revolution of Dignity, and later — the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, — notes State Bureau of Investigation's statement.
Investigators note that Sivkovych harmed Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability, defence capability, and state and economic security by his actions.
His actions were qualified under Chapter 1 of Art—111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — treason. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.
What is known about Sivkovych's previous suspicions
Sivkovych was already informed of the suspicion of treason in connection with working for the FSB and managing the Ukrainian part of the group that spied for the benefit of the Russian Federation, as well as the coordination of information sabotage against Ukraine, which involved in particular, MP Nestor Shufrych.
Currently, the suspect is hiding from the investigation and the court in the territory of the aggressor state and is one of the leaders of the anti-Ukrainian movement created by the special services of the Russian Federation.
