Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom Valeriy Zaluzhny first spoke about differences of opinion with President Volodymyr Zelensky and tensions in relations in 2022, when SBU officers came to his office with searches. The special service stated that there were no searches, and Malyuk Former SBU head Vasyl Malyuk and Zaluzhnyi then personally clarified the situation.
He said this in an interview with the Associated Press.
According to him, in September 2022, Zaluzhny had a “tense” meeting at Zelensky's headquarters, after which he returned to his office in Kyiv.
Within hours, dozens of Security Service agents arrived at his office to search it, where more than a dozen British officers were also present, the ambassador added.
Zaluzhny noted that the SBU officers did not explain the purpose of their visit, so he did not allow them to check computers and documents. Describing the incident as a “clear threat,” he called the then head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, in the presence of the special services.
“I told Yermak that I would repel this attack because I know how to fight,” Zaluzhny said.
He then called the then head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, to find out what was happening. He replied that he was unaware of the raid and promised to look into the situation.
He later learned that two days before the incident, the SBU had applied to a district court in Kyiv for a search warrant at the same address. According to a court document cited by the Associated Press, the SBU wanted to search a strip club allegedly run by a criminal organization.
However, the relevant establishment ceased operations at this address even before the start of the full-scale war, two club employees told the AP.
According to Zaluzhny, the warrant was only a formal pretext for the raid. He also expressed doubt that the SBU “could have made a mistake with the location of the country's main military command center.”
In a comment to the Public, the SBU press service reported that during that period, investigative actions were being carried out at a large number of addresses as part of another criminal proceeding to combat organized crime.
In particular, one of the addresses featured in the proceedings was then home to one of Valeriy Zaluzhny's secret spare command posts.
“In fact, no searches or investigative actions by the SBU at this address took place, in addition, Vasyl Malyuk and Valeriy Zaluzhny communicated this immediately and personally, and the situation was clarified,” the SBU noted.