Ukraine’s security chief charged with terrorism in Russia – TASS

Vasily Malyuk helped organize a drone attack on the Crimean Bridge in summer 2023, investigators reportedly believe

Russia has charged Vasily Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), with terrorism for his alleged role in the deadly bombing of the Crimean Bridge in 2023, TASS reported on Sunday, citing sources.

The strategic link connecting the peninsula with the Russian mainland was attacked by two explosives-laden Ukrainian maritime drones in July 2023, injuring a teenager and killing her parents, while damaging part of the roadway. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the attack, as it did for the previous bombing of the bridge in autumn 2022.

According to a TASS law enforcement source, Russian investigators “have enough grounds” to prove that the head of Kiev’s successor to the Soviet KGB was involved in the 2023 bombing of the bridge. Malyuk has now been charged with terrorism and could potentially face life in prison if apprehended, the agency said.

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In March, Malyuk was arrested in absentia as part of an investigation into the 2022 Crimean Bridge bombing, which Russian officials believe he was the main organizer of. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also previously said that Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, played an important role in the attack.

That same month, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on Ukraine to extradite all those involved in the Crimean Bridge terrorist attacks, as well as numerous assassination attempts on high-profile Russian figures.

While Ukrainian officials were initially reluctant to admit their involvement in the bombings of the bridge, they later claimed responsibility. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has also described it as a “legitimate target” that should be neutralized. Russia has said that the bridge is used only for civilian purposes.