Regional police head Shevtsov (left) is accused of separatism / Photo from UNIAN

"Officers of the Security Service of Ukraine have detained the former head of the police in Vinnytsia region, Anton Shevtsov, who was going to flee Ukraine," SBU Press Secretary Olena Gitlyanska wrote on Facebook on Thursday evening.

She also wrote that more details would be provided later.

#СБУ затримала Шевцова, він намагався втекти до РосіїСпівробітники Служби безпеки України затримали колишнього керівни...

Опубликовано Гітлянськой Оленой 17 марта 2016 г.

Chief of the National Police of Ukraine Khatia Dekanoidze signed an order on Shevtsov's suspension on March 14.

Ukrainian activists earlier claimed that Shevtsov allegedly supported separatism and the annexation of Crimea by Russia, in particular, he participated in the Victory Day parade in Sevastopol on May 9, 2014. Later Shevtsov submitted a document to prove he had successfully passed a lie detector check by the SBU Security Service of Ukraine.