Ukrainian Military Attempt to Hijack Russian Plane: Investigation Underway

The Security Service of Ukraine is investigating a criminal case due to an unsuccessful attempt by the Ukrainian military to hijack a Russian plane.

Source: UE material “Flight Rostov – Kropyvnytskyi. How the Ukrainian military recruited a Russian pilot, but received a case from the SBU”

Details: From April to July 2022, several men, including a soldier of the Special Operations Forces, former intelligence officer Roman Chervinsky, a civilian IT specialist, representatives of the SBU and the Air Force, tried to recruit a Russian pilot and persuade him to overtake a military aircraft to Ukraine.

They developed a plan that, according to the participants in the operation, assumed that the Russian would be given a “square” in which he would fly into Ukrainian airspace at a specified time.

In front of Russian controllers, the pilot had to simulate an accident. Ukraine would announce the capture of the pilot. The Russian and his family would receive money and new documents.

In addition, while preparing the operation, the Ukrainian military and security forces elicited information from Russian pilots about who gives them orders, where they perform their tasks, who oversees their work, etc.

At the same time, the Russian special services were playing their own game, trying to extract secret information from the Ukrainian military. The participants in the operation assure that they did not give out any data to the enemy. According to them, the operation was coordinated by the SBU and the General Staff.

By agreement, the Russian with the plane was supposed to land on July 23 at the Kanatovo airfield near Kropyvnytskyi. However, the pilot did not arrive, the airfield was fired upon by Russian missiles that morning. One Ukrainian soldier was killed, buildings and military equipment were damaged.

The events of the operation were publicly confirmed by investigative journalist Khristo Grozev, who recorded the communication of the military with the Russians, as well as the interlocutor of the UP in the Main Intelligence Directorate. The initiators of the operation appealed to the GUR for cooperation, but they refused, considering the idea unpromising.

In August 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings under the articles “high treason” and “abuse of power.” Punishment under these articles reaches life imprisonment.

According to investigators, the military Chervinsky allegedly did not coordinate the operation with intelligence, which exceeded his authority. He, according to the SBU, independently sent the military to the airfield to meet the aircraft.

At the request of Ukrayinska Pravda, the Security Service refused to disclose the details of the case, citing the secrecy of the investigation. The Special Operations Forces did not respond to UP’s request for comment. The president’s office, whom ex-intelligence officer Chervinsky accuses of pressure, declined to comment.

Chervinsky himself considers the persecution politically motivated. He associates him with the so-called “Wagnergate” – a thwarted operation in 2020 to detain militants of PMC “Wagner”.

Added: After the release of the material, the SBU provided Ukrayinska Pravda with an additional commentary. The security forces say: from the shelling, which “provoked the unauthorized actions of individual servicemen”, the commander of the military unit was killed, 17 defenders were injured, 2 combat fighters were completely destroyed, the runway and other equipment and buildings were significantly damaged.

The operation, according to the SBU, “was carried out despite the remarks of the SBU and without the consent of the relevant state bodies,” and the enemy allegedly received information about the deployment of the Air Force personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian aircraft.

What was before: Chervinsky was one of the intelligence officers who organized an operation in 2020 to detention of Russian militants group “Wagner”, luring them to Belarus. There, PMC employees were supposed to board a plane, which Ukrainian special services would later crash-land in Ukraine.

This operation failed, the departure of the “Wagnerites” was postponed, and in the meantime they detained in Minsk.

When this story became public, it was called “Wagnergate”. Several intelligence officers have publicly accused Office of the President in pressure and disruption of the operation. Among them was Chervinsky. Him, along with several colleagues canceled passports and fired from intelligence.

Know more: “Flight Rostov – Kropyvnytskyi. How the Ukrainian military recruited a Russian pilot, but received a case from the SBU”