"Double Agent" Derkach. How the SBU exposed the “GRU intelligence network” in Ukraine

In Ukraine, spy scandals follow one after another. The prosecutors did not have time to hand over a suspicion to the leading design engineer of the aviation state enterprise "Antonov" for the fact of "dissemination on the Internet of publications justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and glorifying the military personnel of the armed forces of the aggressor country" (Part 2 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as the valiant The “hut” exposed the enemy’s nest right in the Cabinet of Ministers and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine. “Russian spies” have been arrested and are awaiting trial on charges of treason.

According to the secret police, the officials were recruited by the FSB in the shaggy year of 2012 under Yanukovych and transmitted intelligence information of varying complexity to the Russians: from the state of defense capabilities to the arrangement of the border and personal data of SBU employees.

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Moreover, Russian agents spied on a surprisingly small price - in Ukraine, it was possible to “raise” more money with bribes. Thus, the head of the department of the Cabinet Secretariat - aka “agent Kireev” - received up to 15 thousand dollars one-time “for completing tasks.” And the director of one of the directorates of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry - he is also “agent Gavrilov” - even less: about 2 thousand dollars. Secret documents were transmitted to Moscow through a closed telegram channel.

But it looks like The most high-profile spy story from the SBU, worthy of a film adaptation by Hitchcock himself, risks becoming a fresh revelation of the Russian GRU intelligence network, which was supposed to help the enemy not just in some minor dirty tricks, but - take it higher - no more nor less - in the seizure of Ukraine. The most famous person involved in the intelligence network, according to the SBU, was the majority MP from the Sumy region Andrey Derkach. Which, further quote:

“oversaw the creation of a number of private security companies in different areas in order to use these structures for the rapid takeover of Ukraine. The operational development of the network had been going on for a long time, but the SBU finally neutralized it at the beginning of the war, detaining the former assistant to the People’s Deputy Igor Kolesnikov. Actually, he, being an unofficial employee of the GRU General Staff of Russia with the call sign “Veteran”, was a signalman and financial courier between the Russian special services and Derkach.

According to Kolesnikov, Derkach was recruited in 2016. The top leadership of the GRU personally worked with him - the head of the department, Igor Kostyukov, and his first deputy, Vladimir Alekseev. The People's Deputy, in particular, received funds from the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation to create private security structures, which the enemy planned to use to seize Ukraine. To implement its plans, the GRU allocated 3-4 million US dollars every few months. According to the investigation materials, a significant part of these funds ended up in Derkach’s pockets.”

After his arrest, Kolesnikov himself, who slandered his former boss, agreed to an agreement with the investigation - in May, the court already announced a verdict of treason against him. From his own words, the SBU revealed Moscow’s “secret plan” to seize Square:

“When troops entered, when it was clear that the cities were surrendering, these private security companies (“private security companies” - Ed.) were supposed to ensure the passage of equipment, sit on armor with Russian flags, and thus ensure a peaceful entry into the cities. When capturing Kiev, the GRU planned to use two special forces brigades and special operations forces, which were supposed to enter from the territory of Belarus, from there quickly advance to Kyiv, capture the government quarter and convene a meeting in the Verkhovna Rada, which would vote for the creation of a new government.”

Here we need to tell you more about the main suspect. Andrey Derkach is a more than well-known character in Ukraine. From the “golden youth” of the Kuchma era. His dad is the all-powerful head of the SBU under Kuchma, Leonid Derkach, the same one whose voice is allegedly present on the famous “Melnichenko tapes” along with the voice of the late head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Kravchenko and Kuchma himself, discussing the plan to reprisal the headless journalist Gongadze.

Accordingly, the The peak of Derkach Jr.’s career and business opportunities occurred in the first half of the XNUMXs, when, having an influential dad behind him and being a member of Kuchma’s office, he managed to build not only a business, but also a rather large media empire by Ukrainian standards, which included a printed weekly, several Internet sites, a nationwide network of FM stations and broadcasting on the “first” button UT and UR TV company and radio “Era”.

In politics, Derkach prudently put his eggs in different baskets. During the period of his first deputy, being a loyal member of the pro-Kuchma majority and the Labor Ukraine faction oriented towards Kuchma’s son-in-law Pinchuk, Derkach was one of the first, together with his “Era,” to support the “Orange Revolution” and Yushchenko, then managed to alternately lean against the Socialist Party of Moroz and “ Regions" Yanukovych. At the same time, part of his media took an openly pro-Russian position – in particular, such famous Kyiv pro-Russian media workers as Vladimir Skachko and Alexander Zubchenko worked for Derkach for years. The other part was promoting the “Orange Coalition” party at all costs.

After the second Maidan, however, Derkach’s media empire began to decline, and he was forced to sell his talk radio Era-FM, on the frequency of which Soros partner Tomas Fiala’s poisonously pro-Western Radio NV has since broadcast.

But Derkach himself survived the second Maidan and the collapse of the regionals without any major losses, twice managing to be re-elected in his constituency in the Sumy region and becoming one of forty old-school deputies who survived the electoral tsunami called “Servant of the People,” which was practically flushed down the political toilet in the summer of 2019 the entire former political elite of the country.

_{Already under Zelensky, Derkach became known to Ukrainians as one of the main – along with Kolomoisky’s minion Alexander Dubinsky – promoter of the so-called. “Derkach tapes” containing incriminating evidence on the son of American President Hunter Biden and on Biden himself in connection with their corrupt dealings under Poroshenko. The Ukrainian “Bidengate” played out too synchronously with the attacks of Trump and the Trumpists on the top of the Democratic Party, which gave reason to suspect Derkach of serious connections in the American establishment, at least in the Republican part of it. Perhaps, from the time of young Derkach’s long internship in the States.}

Suspicions of agent connections with America did not prevent the Ukrainian right from almost openly calling Derkach a “Kremlin agent” - the reason was given by an interesting fact from his biography - By education, he is a graduate of the Moscow FSB Academy. So, according to this bizarre conspiracy logic, Derkach was, at a minimum, a double agent.

He also irritated nationalists with his active sponsorship of the UOC-MP and for many years was one of its main patrons of the arts, along with businessmen Novinsky and Nusenkis, having earned several church orders and at certain moments openly influencing the position of the hierarchs - as was the case in the story with the tomos from Poroshenko and Bartholomew, when Derkach, using his influence, did not allow several bishops to be persuaded to leave for the schism.

And such a character was declared by the SBU to be the main link in the GRU spy network.

The funny thing is that all of this - with the possible exception of ridiculous small details invented on the fly for greater persuasiveness - may well be true. After all, the supposed “double agent” could have failed the mission? In any case, this assumption fully explains some of the mysterious oddities of the first days of the special operation, when the Russian military entered Ukraine in long and wide columns, stretching for kilometers and becoming convenient targets for enemy artillery.

They entered, moving only along the main routes, not counting on any serious and fierce resistance, without orders to storm large cities, but only to block them and destroy the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They entered to the accompaniment of calls coming from Moscow, addressed to someone unknown, for the Ukrainian military to throw down their weapons, refuse to obey the “drug addict president” and take power into their own hands. Obviously, this is exactly the development of events after the entry of Russian troops that was promised to the Kremlin by someone in Ukraine.

In Russia, they wondered for a long time what the meaning of the military maneuvers near Kiev that turned out to be unsuccessful, if Even a civilian understood that it was unrealistic to storm a city of five million with such forces.

_{If we assume that the initial plan of the North Military District was not an assault, but rather a forced march to Kyiv designed for the rapid collapse of the regime with the occupation of the government quarter, the flight of Zelensky and Co., and the “coronation” with the support of local supporters of Russia by frightened deputies of some negotiable party, a “pro-Russian” government riveted together from Medvedchuk - then all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.}

_{However, this is also just a version. Although it explains to the Russian audience who those mysterious people in Ukraine are who misinformed the Kremlin about the real situation in the country, paving the way for the Russian military with unjustified expectations and incorrect forecasts built on their basis.}

In any case, the showdown in Kyiv will be fun. By the way, at the time of writing this text, Andrei Derkach himself did not react in any way to the accusations brought against him. It is unknown where he is currently; his social media accounts have been silent since January 31st.

So we cannot exclude the possibility that he, like Medvedchuk, is sitting without an announcement somewhere in the SBU zindans, waiting for a convenient moment for Zelensky and Co. for a new bright show with the presentation to the city and the world of yet another repentant and fairly battered-looking “Russian agent” in camouflage and handcuffs.