Boris German, who is suspected of plotting a contract hit on Russian journalist and Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko in Kyiv has explained his involvement in the crime, claiming he was providing counterintelligence support as part of cooperation with the Ukrainian secret service and was following its instructions.
"We are now seeing the consequences of a special operation conducted by the internal intelligence of Ukraine. I have been cooperating with this internal intelligence to expose the Russian Federation's attempts to change power in Ukraine. I have been working for six months already," German said during a court hearing on Thursday, May 31.
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German testified that a "longtime acquaintance" of him from Moscow, who "is engaged in organizing unrest in Ukraine," had contacted him. German alleged that the Ukrainian counterintelligence agency had given him the authority to monitor cash flows coming from the Russian Federation to Ukraine and to find out which political parties, political figures and terrorist groups use the money.
German claimed that the "hitman" had been selected by the counterintelligence service, as they knew that a former participant in the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donbas would not commit the crime and would report to the SBU Security Service of Ukraine.
The court ruled to arrest German for 60 days without bail on May 31.
Ukraine's law enforcement agencies on May 29 prevented the assassination of Babchenko in Kyiv, having staged his fake killing. The hit was ordered by Russia's special services, the SBU said.
