The Ukrainian Security Service's accusations against its Russian colleagues is a response of sorts to accusations that Ukrainians took part in the recent military activities in the Caucasus.
Photo: Alexander Techinsky
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FSB Trying to Frame It, Ukraine Says
The Ukrainian Security Service yesterday accused Russian special services of recruiting Ukrainians for extremist groups in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with the goal of using them later to discredit Ukraine. The accusations come after Moscow’s earlier accusation that Ukrainians fought on the side of Georgia against the Russians during the military activities in South Ossetia. The involvement of the special services in Russian-Ukrainian relations could put a damper on the recent warming in their relations.
Ukrainian Security Service officials held a press conference in Kiev yesterday at which they recounted incidents last month and this month of attempts to recruit Ukrainians to enter the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone. The recruits were to receive special military training and have demolition skills. Significantly, the recruits were to carry cards indicating where they were trained and what their specialty is. They were promised payment of $200-500 per day.
Ukrainian Security Service officials say the last recruitment was interrupted and documented by agents of the service on September 24. A 38-year-old Russian-born citizen of Ukraine who had served in the Soviet military action in Afghanistan was arrested. A short video of the interrogation of the recruiter and his intended target was shown to journalists at the press conference.
Head of the Ukrainian Security Service press center Marina Ostapenko said that Ukraine is the subject of a “targeted information campaign” by the Russian special services to create a negative image of the country. She accused “Russian law enforcement” of “using psychological and physical pressure” on unwilling Ukrainian citizens who “upon their return to Ukraine, were forced to engage in recruitment of Ukrainian citizens to participate in terrorist acts on Russian territory.” Ostapenko said that “The goal of all of these activities is to fabricate documentary material of a compromising character about the supposed participation of Ukrainian citizens in military activities in the Caucasus.”
The Russian FSB is not officially commenting on the Ukrainian claims. A high-placed FSB official denied the claims in an unofficial conversation with Kommersant, however.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 26, 2008
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