Ex-chief of police in Vinnytsia region Shevtsov notified of suspicion of high treason

(The updated version of the news item issued at 17:05)

KYIV. March 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) collected evidence of guilt of former Chief of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Vinnytsia region Anton Shevtsov, who has been in temporarily occupied Sevastopol since 2016 and received Russian citizenship, and notified him of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law).

“He, on his own initiative, assisted the Russian intelligence service in carrying out intelligence and subversive activities against Ukraine. He also passed his “recommendations” on undermining the internal political situation in our state to the former Member of Parliament Volodymyr Sivkovych accused of high treason. It was established that it was Shevtsov who, after a full-scale invasion, personally developed the so-called plan of carrying out sabotage work on the territory of Ukraine for the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service],” the SBU said on Wednesday.

The document provided for a series of explosions by the invaders at civilian infrastructure facilities in different regions of Ukraine.

“According to the developed scenario, after the terrorist attacks, demonstrative detentions of the perpetrators were to take place and trumped-up accusations of their involvement in the resistance movement were to be publicly voiced. All this was planned to be widely publicized in the media landscape through the main mouthpieces of the Kremlin and Telegram channels controlled by it. Thus, Moscow planned to discredit Ukraine in the international arena and try to justify the occupation of part of the territory of our state,” the SBU said.

Shevtsov also provided his curators from the FSB with information about former Ukrainian law enforcement officers, whom he proposed to involve in intelligence and subversive activities against Ukraine. In addition, according to the intelligence service, Shevtsov submitted proposals to the invaders to create a so-called “Ukrainian volunteer corps” from captured Ukrainian soldiers.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), in 2018, the former law enforcement officer, while in temporarily occupied Crimea, provided the curator from the FSB with information about Ukrainian politicians, heads of enterprises in the fuel and energy industry, owners of online media outlets that, in his opinion, could be used for subversive activities against Ukraine.

In particular, the transfer of information about the heads of public organizations on ATO/JFO veterans, retirees from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, special services, and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine with their personal data and contacts was established.

“After February 24, 2022, the ex-police officer personally developed and sent to the curator a plan for carrying out sabotage work on the territory of Ukraine,” the PGO said.

The investigation also established the cooperation of the suspect with the leader and members of the banned pro-Russian political Party of Shariy.

Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by the investigative department of the Security Service of Ukraine in Vinnytsia region.

As reported, on the night of March 18, 2016, SBU officers detained Shevtsov while trying to leave for Russia as part of criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code (high treason). However, on March 20, he was released from custody and stated that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation. On May 20 of the same year, the prosecutor’s office of Vinnytsa region closed the criminal proceedings in the case of Shevtsov’s treason due to the absence of corpus delicti in his actions.