Former top Ukrainian intelligence general convicted of treason, sentenced to prison

A top former official in Ukraine’s intelligence agency was recently convicted for treason and will now spend significant time behind bars.

According to Breitbart, Valerii Shaitanov, who the outlet noted once served as a former Major General of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), was found guilty by Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District Court for "treason, attempted terrorism, and the illegal handling of firearms, ammunition or explosives."

Making matters worse for Shaitanov was that the court seized his property in addition to the 12-year prison sentence.

Valerii Shaitanov, a former Major General of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, an attempted act of terrorism, and possession of ammunition. pic.twitter.com/BZ9JUhEOSd

— Srbija Evropa (@srbija_eu) August 14, 2023

He was found guilty of passing state secrets to a Russian operative, which was especially serious given the ongoing war between the two countries.

Breitbart noted:

The court found that Shaitanov, operating under the alias Bobyl, had collected and passed state secrets to Igor “Elbrus” Yegorov, a colonel in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who is alleged to have been involved in the war over the contested Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014 including plotting of terrorist activities.

He was accused of recruiting intelligence service members for a terror attack operation directed by handlers in Moscow.

Breitbart reported that the "target of the attack is said to have been Adam Osmayev, the general of the Dzhokhar Dudayev International Peacekeeping Battalion, a Chechen volunteer force that has fought on the side of Ukraine against Russia."

Ukraine clearly has a corruption problem within the ranks of its defense and intelligence services, as it was noted that just days prior to the treason conviction, President Zelensky had fired all of his regional military recruitment heads over a growing bribery scandal.

So far, the Ukrainian government is pursuing cases against 112 military recruitment offices across the country.

The bribery scheme involved dozens of recruitment leaders accepting bribes from Ukrainian men who wanted to avoid the nation's military draft.

The bribes were massive, "with payoffs ranging between $2,000 and $10,000 per man, which would go in part towards the manufacturing of fake medical documents or other excuses to avoid military service," Breitbart reported.

President Joe Biden continues to push for additional military aid for Ukraine's war efforts and has recently asked Congress for billions as part of an emergency supplemental request.

Republican critics against sending additional aid to Ukraine have vowed to block the request, which also contains disaster relief aid, as long as the Ukraine aid request remains in it.