Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov has said Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU) should be recognized as terrorist organizations, and Russia – as a state sponsor of terrorism.
According to him, on April 17, at a joint briefing of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, "irrefutable evidence was provided about the participation of the FSB and the GRU in organizing terrorist attacks on the territory of Ukraine," the NSDC's press service reported.
"The security structures of our state exposed an intelligence network created by the secret services of the aggressor state that is responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in the territory of Ukraine, explosions and assassinations, in particular, of the SBU and the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," he said.
According to Turchynov, operatives of Russia's secret services have been detained, and their confessions testify to the purposeful organization by Russia's FSB and military intelligence of terror acts in Ukraine.
"According to the evidence obtained, responsibility for the organization of terror and sabotage on the territory of Ukraine is borne by FSB Director, General Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of the FSB counter-intelligence operations department General Dmitry Minaev, and chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Vice Admiral Igor Kostyukov.
The NSDC secretary stressed that criminal cases were opened against all those involved in the organization and execution of terrorist attacks. In addition, these individuals should be included in the Interpol base as terrorists, as well as to the sanctions lists.
"Similar crimes of Russia's secret services were exposed also outside our country, in particular, the use of military poisonous substances in the territory of the United Kingdom, etc.," he reminded.
"All these criminal acts give grounds for recognizing the secret services of the Russian Federation, in particular, the FSB and the GRU, as terrorist organizations, and Russia – as a state sponsor of terrorism," Turchynov added.
