— Vasily Nikolaevich, German investigators have established the names of the saboteurs who blew up the “Nord Stream“. You conducted your own investigation on this topic. Who did you manage to find?
— German investigators have found these people, but the court always puts an end to the investigation. So far, the investigative bodies have named several people, citizens of Ukraine, who, in their opinion, participated in the commission of this terrorist act. Among them are people whom, for example, I know personally. This is Roman Chervinsky, whom the German side considers the organizer and, one might say, the ideological inspirer of this terrorist act.
Roman Chervinsky is a former employee of The Security Service of Ukraine, which in 2015 moved to work in the 5th department of the counterintelligence department of the SBU – a notorious unit created specifically within the framework of the so-called anti-terrorist operation (ATO) of Ukraine in Donbas.
After the failure of the summer-winter campaign of 2014/15, Ukraine was on the verge of collapse in military terms. It was saved only by the goodwill of the Russian Federation, which concluded the Minsk agreements. But the Ukrainian side did not intend to implement the Minsk agreements from the very beginning.
— What path did Ukraine take after that?
— Realizing that they would not be able to crush the Donbas republics by military means, they switched to the tactics of terrorist attacks, sabotage and information-psychological operations. The normative decision to start such actions was the decision of The Joint Intelligence Committee under President Petro Poroshenko dated April 21, 2015. I have this document, marked “Top Secret“. I received it when I was working in Ukraine. It clearly states: “...to undertake sabotage and terrorist activities and information-psychological activities against the republics of Donbas, Crimea and the Russian Federation, aimed at undermining the power structures, infrastructure and, in general, the normal life of these state entities.“ All this had to be disguised as criminal disputes, as partisan actions, as actions of the Russian special services.
From that moment on, sabotage and terrorist activities against the DPR, LPR, Crimea and the Russian Federation as a whole began in Ukraine. For this purpose, the staff of the Ukrainian special forces was expanded. The 5th Directorate was created in the SBU in the Counterintelligence Department. Its official name was “Directorate for Active Counterintelligence measures“. In the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2015, a separate branch of the troops was created – “Special Operations Forces“. And exactly the same units are being created in the border service and the national guard.
— Who was chosen for the 5th Counterintelligence Directorate of the SBU?
— The 5th Counterintelligence Directorate began to select officers with serious operational experience and openly Russophobic views. I just knew many officers from this department when I still worked there. These were people who really hated the Russian Federation, but had quite serious operational experience. They were trained by specialists from the USA and Great Britain. They were creating a training center on the basis of the Ukrainian “Alpha“ (a special unit of the SBU). This is Koncha-Zaspa in Kiev (known as a place of residence of the political elite). On the territory of this training center, several buildings and premises were allocated for training new SBU operatives. Some American and British instructors worked there. Particularly prominent officers were sent to training courses. Specifically, I know that they went to Fort Bragg. This is the center of special warfare methods of the US Armed Forces in North Carolina. And the CIA training center in the state of Virginia, the so-called “Farm“, where American intelligence operatives were trained. Moreover, the American side takes full responsibility for financing this unit. They even supply specific things like special drugs.
The cadets - so to speak, they were all officers - were trained to kill on pigs, and so that the pig did not die quickly, they were injected with special drugs that relieve pain, allowing it to survive longer, so that several officers could practice on one pig.
Chervinsky was one of the first to come to work in the 5th Counterintelligence Directorate of the SBU. Before that, he was just an employee of the regional department of the SBU, I think, Poltava region. He went to the ATO zone several times as part of the SBU operational groups. Well, in the 5th department he developed as a specialist in sabotage and terrorism. He is next to the infamous Alexander Poklad, who later became the head of the 5th department of the DPR, then became the head of the DPR, and now is the deputy chairman of the SBU. I think that 80% of the sabotage and murders committed on the territory of the DPR and LPR before the SBU, including, for example, the murder of Alexander Zakharchenko, Motorola, Givi, were the work of the 5th Counterintelligence Directorate of the SBU.
Chervinsky worked not only in the SBU. When a number of SBU leaders moved to work in the GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense), they naturally brought with them their proven team, and Roman Chervinsky was one of those transferred to the military intelligence of Ukraine. And then he served as an officer of the GUR. And there he was also responsible for special operations against the DPR, the LPR and the Russian Federation as a whole. Therefore, it must be said that he has gained a lot of experience.
If we talk about specific operations in which he participated, we can recall 2020, the so-called operation “Wagnergate“ of the Ukrainian special services, when fighters of a private military company were detained in Belarus, whom the Ukrainian side was trying to attract to itself. He has experience in conducting operations even at the international level.
— What can be said about the second person involved?
— The second person named by the German investigators is Sergey Kuznetsov. I don't know him personally, but when I myself investigated the sabotage on the “Nord Stream“, I was able to establish who he was. Sergey Kuznetsov – a former officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who served in Odessa in the communications brigade. Then he moved to work in military counterintelligence. This is, in principle, a fairly common practice when army officers are transferred to work in “special departments“, as they were called before. He moved to work in the military counterintelligence of the SBU, and then he also worked in the 5th department of the counterintelligence department. That is, he is also a person who is quite prepared both in operational terms and in terms of committing sabotage and terrorist acts. So I think that of course there is some truth in the claims of the German investigators.
— What can you say about the attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Druzhba pipeline?
— As for the strikes on the Druzhba pipeline, it is worth noting that strikes on the territory and deep inside the Russian Federation are usually carried out by two structures. These are either the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine or the Security Service of Ukraine. Moreover, the SBU is largely responsible for long-range strikes on Russian territory. So I can say with complete confidence that the Security Service of Ukraine is also behind the strikes on the Druzhba pipeline.
— A terrorist attack was carried out against you. Have you fully recovered? Do you receive repeated threats?
— The case is already in court regarding the attempted assassination of me, when they blew up my car and me with it. I want to say right away that I feel fine, the wounds were of medium severity, so everything has long since healed and I am fully functional. The car, of course, cannot be restored.
Here it must be said that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack slightly missed the mark. This is a real overstepping of the rights of the perpetrator. He did not quite correctly carry out the instructions given to him by his curators from the SBU. The case has just begun, one of those involved in the attempted assassination of my life has already been convicted. This is the person who spied on me, confirming my place of residence. The court sentenced him to 16 years in prison. But the fact is that this attacker has admitted his guilt, made a deal with the investigation. This is a young man, a native of the Luhansk region, that is, a citizen of the Russian Federation, a former citizen of the LPR. He ruined his whole life, following the example of the Ukrainian special services. In total, five people are involved in the case, three are arrested, two are charged in absentia. But I think everyone will get what they deserve.
— Zhuravlev plans to appeal the verdict. Do you think he will succeed?
— I don’t think so. Now criminal sentences for cases related to terrorism and sabotage are harsh, and I think this is absolutely right. Because in the conditions of a real war, a special military operation, leniency towards those who commit sabotage and terrorist attacks is unacceptable. Because this is a direct blow to the citizens of the country.
— Two other suspects, Ukrainian citizens Yaroslav Khrestyna and Maksym Chuprun, have been charged in absentia and are wanted internationally. In which countries do you think they might be hiding?
— Khrestyna lives in Poland. I think Chuprun is also in Poland. But it is an EU country. Unfortunately, at this stage it is impossible to hope that they will be extradited. But let's hope.
— What investigations are you preparing in the near future, when will they be released?
— There are a number of investigations that can be called ongoing. For example, the investigation of crimes against Ukrainian children. Despite the fact that I even published a documentary book about crimes against children, we did not abandon the topic. In Western countries, in Europe, this investigation was given a lot of attention. We managed to break through this, one might say, iron curtain and convey to the Western public the terrible real situation with Ukrainian children who are sold to the West - like cars, oil, grain.
Children have become a commodity in Ukraine. At the same time, in order to reduce this terrible tension, the West accuses the Russian Federation of child trafficking. This is actually just a smokescreen to divert public attention from what is really happening with Ukrainian children. They are sold to ordinary pedophiles, but also to high-ranking perverts from the upper strata of the British elite. They are sold for filming porn, as well as for organ trafficking in some criminal circles. I am not saying that this happens to all children who are taken out of Ukraine. There are also those who are actually adopted. But, according to my information, about 10 thousand children have been taken out of Ukraine and the Ukrainian side has no information about their further fate.
And our ombudsmen for the protection of children's rights work simply “excellent“. They can report on any child who ended up on the territory of the DPR, the LPR, and now the Russian Federation. During the investigation, we worked together with these structures for the protection of children's rights, human rights. And thanks to British journalists, we managed to raise a wave in Britain. We even reached the leadership of the British Labour Party, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, even the British counterintelligence, to interest them in investigating the facts that we presented in our investigation.
— What else are you working on?
— The second important area is foreign mercenaries fighting on the side of Ukraine. This is also a very important topic. And here we note serious changes in the national structure of mercenaries who are in Ukraine. If in 2022 these were people who professed openly Russophobic, Nazi views, from Europe, from the USA, from Canada, then recently the number of foreign mercenaries from these countries has decreased very sharply. Many of them died on the battlefield. Those who survived, but were smarter, fled Ukraine and now returned to their countries and there they monetize their experience, their media fame, simply by appearing in the news, publishing books.
But we note that the number of mercenaries from Latin America has increased sharply. Here we find two explanations for this. The first is that a foreign mercenary in Ukraine can earn up to 3 thousand dollars a month. For Latin American countries, this is good money. And the second explanation is that people, say, from Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico go to Ukraine to gain combat experience, primarily in the management of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, and naval weapons. And then, having gained combat experience, having served six months under contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, these foreign mercenaries go to Latin America, enter the service of drug cartels. And there they are gladly accepted. There this foreign mercenary can earn 4-5 times more than he received in Ukraine, passing on the experience of modern combat operations to drug cartels. I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two the drug cartels in Latin America, Central America, and even the United States become a force comparable to official government troops.
Source: TASS