Propagandist from Medvedchuk's pool Molchanov detained in Poland, extradited to Ukraine
Ukrainian law enforcement officers, together with their Polish colleagues, conducted a multi-stage international special operation and detained a Russian agent who worked against Ukraine in the information sector, the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on its website on Tuesday.
"Initially, he was detained in Poland, and now he is in one of Kyiv pre-trial detention facilities. The person involved in the case is a 'political expert' from the media pool of Viktor Medvedchuk, a suspect in treason," the SBU said on its website without specifying the name of the detainee.
As Interfax-Ukraine was informed by law enforcement sources, the person in question is political scientist Kyrylo Molchanov, born in 1987, who previously often appeared on the television channels of former MP Viktor Medvedchuk, and spoke in support of the now banned party "Opposition Platform – For Life."
"The attacker was recruited and worked simultaneously for two special services of the aggressor country: the FSB and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. On the instructions of the occupiers, he was engaged in discrediting Ukraine in the international arena and worked to destabilize the internal situation in the partner countries of our state. In 2022, he left for Russia, where he later became one of the key ideologists of the Kremlin media projects "Drugaya Ukraina" and "Voice of Europe." The attacker was also one of the frequent guests of Vladimir Solovyov's talk show. In 2023, he participated in the Kremlin propagandist's live broadcasts 35 times, where he justified the Russian armed aggression and spread fakes about the situation in Ukraine," the SBU said.
It is also reported that on the territory of the EU he organized street rallies in the interests of Russia, where he called for the curtailment of international support for Ukraine.
"Another important direction of the person involved subversive activities were public calls for the preparation of commissioned terrorist attacks in Ukraine. For this, the pseudo-political scientist used his Telegram channel, on which he regularly reposted chatbots of Russian special services that collect intelligence about the Defense Forces," the service said.
The detainee was informed of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 436-2 and Part 6 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants and collaborative activities), the investigation is ongoing.
