On Monday, June 15, 2015, special services of the newly-minted terrorist organizations in the East of Ukraine, together with their inspirers and patrons from the FSB and the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation played another performance in the audience.
In Luhansk at the LuhanskInformCenter, some new information agency, two defectors, or fugitives, or deserters were introduced to the public. Miroshnychenko brothers, Oleksiy and Yuriy, were introduced as a member of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine and the Commandant of the Ukrainian Embassy in France, warrant officer of the State Border Service of Ukraine respectively. They said they were allegedly disappointed by the Ukrainian reality and refused to continue working because of disagreement with the actions of the authorities.
So, are they the next dissidents for political beliefs or deserters and traitors who have been bought for some promises of enemy intelligence services? Once in the Soviet history there were plenty of such “idea-driven” runaways. However, it turned out that the motive was the same for all of them — money, promise of a beautiful and rich life, satisfaction of all kinds of unrealized ambitions and so on. Let us see what is behind the act of the brothers from Luhansk.
The information gathered by bits from official and unofficial sources, although it is not sufficient to draw definitive conclusions, but it sheds light on the nature of the flight, or desertion, to be exact, because they are the military. It is too early to speak about high treason, let the lawyers and investigators qualify by the collected evidence, whether the brothers revealed some secrets, came over to the enemy's side, and so on. There are many nuances here.
Let's start with Yuriy Miroshnychenko. According to the official statement of the Director of the Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleksiy Makeyev, the Commandant of the Ukrainian Embassy in Paris has disappeared from France on June 9. It was found out that on this day he did not come to work. On the same day, the competent authorities of France were informed. June 10, his international passport was announced invalid and on June 11, he was dismissed from his post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine draws attention to the fact that Yuriy Miroshnychenko, “was a member of the State Border Service, sent to our embassy in France to the post of Commandant - he was responsible for guarding the building. That is, he was not a diplomat, but in fact the guard of our embassy”.
According to Makeyev, “at the moment the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has taken all necessary measures to find out how Miroshnychenko left France.”
According to preliminary information, it was found out that on June 11, Yuriy Miroshnychenko and his family were seen on the territory of the Russian Embassy in Paris. So, it is clear how he left France, and who is involved in this. And not just assisted in crossing borders, but also forced to such a deed.
But was Yuriy the first object for study and development by the Russian special services, or did they start with Oleksiy? And how did it happen? — directly, through his brother, through other close relatives?
As for Oleksiy Miroshnychenko, there is less official information about him. This is understandable, since he had been working in the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. From the statement of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine we learn that “Senior Lieutenant Miroshnychenko Oleksiy Mykhaylovych, born in 1983, has defected to the terrorist organizations operating in the east of Ukraine...” In fact, this all factual information about him. The statement provides an assessment of his actions: SZRU condemns this shameful act, calls it defection, the legal assessment of which will be given by law enforcement agencies of Ukraine.
The statement contains a reference to the fact that “taking into consideration the insignificant position and short time of service, O. Myroshnychenko had not had access to important information that could harm national security interests of Ukraine”.
Little information, but at least something. From unofficial sources we have managed to get additional information that sheds light on this event. As it has become known, Oleksiy Miroshnychenko had worked in the Intelligence Service for a short period of time, just for a couple years on operational positions, and had not had an access to important information. And he had come into the ranks of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine in pre-Maidan times. And here emerges an interesting bunch, which may shed some light on the nature of some things.
The father, former Chief of the Customs Security of the Customs in Luhansk Mykhaylo Ivanovych Miroshnychenko, interceded for the son. It is not hard to guess whom he asked. At that time the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine was led by a native of Luhanks and former Head of the SBU in Luhansk region Hryhoriy Ilyashov. Probably he had always had normal relations with the main Luhansk Customs officer. But this, after all, is not important, and there is nothing special about it.
Interestingly, Mykhaylo Miroshnychenko now permanently lives in Luhansk and claims to be Chief of the newly established Customs of the so-called “LPR”. And, therefore, he is in the orbit of close relationships with the leaders of the local terrorist organization and the Russian security services, which call all the shots there, and only they give consent to the appointment to key positions.
Thus, the thread runs to his father. Although the parents divorced long ago, and lived separately, the father has always stayed in touch with his sons. And the Russian special services, did not fail to take advantage of this opportunity. The payment for the desertion could be both money and positions in the new structures of the “LPR” or something else.
Undoubtedly, it was not without the special services of the Russian Federation there. After all, the simultaneous escape of the two brothers and their families, and even their mother, who lived in Luhansk region, had to be synchronically planned and coordinated. And after that there came the time for creation of a propaganda effect. How could they do without loud statements and press conferences? But it turned out somehow primitive.
The brothers obviously did not look like heroes. They looked scared, over-instructed, kept looking into the prompting messages prepared by their masters in advance, squinted somewhere to the right, at the person that must have been the director of the whole show. They occasionally stumbled, their chins trembled nervously, their eyes were shifty, arm muscles were strained... Had they had pencils in their hands, they would have broken them like Viktor Yanukovych did at his landmark press conference in Rostov...
They were broadcasting stamps daily poured down Russian television screens, about Ukrainian authorities' violation of the Minsk agreements, the genocide of the local population, the involvement of US special services in all events and appointments. Moreover, the senior lieutenant of the Ukrainian Intelligence Service even joined the revelations of a number of Ukrainian state and political figures, their strategic plans, tried to debunk some party program directions. Not forgetting at this to look into the papers in front of him. All that looked funny and sad at the same time.
I do not want to stoop to the analysis of speeches at that press conference. There really was nothing interesting and sensational there. The information bomb, despite its masterminds' plans, did not explode. All they got was some zilch.
Probably brothers Miroshnychenko will be again and again used by the Russian propaganda, which will invite them to various television and radio studios. As it had always been in the old days with traitors and defectors. They are used to the full, squeezed for the maximum of the propaganda foam, and then the initiators of this process will switch to new objects, while these will be forgotten, or settled in some warm places. And you must keep in mind that at all times the attitude (of both, insiders and strangers) to such people and their actions has been negative.
They say that the new secret characteristics of former employees of Ukrainian special services who had remained on the territory of the Crimea, and agreed to serve to new masters, read: “Inclined to betrayal”. This says a lot.
For the Ukrainian special services this case, of course, is unpleasant, and hurts the image. But we should not make a tragedy out of it. Other developments could not have been expected. As they say, a la guerre comme a la guerre — at war as at war. No one promised it would be easy, and that the Russian special services would not deal with such things. They had never disdained such things before, despite the signed agreements that the Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services would not work against each other and lead intelligence and subversive activities. The Russians had always ignored these agreements and now even more so.
Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the powers and means of units of our own security, counterintelligence component, to work proactively, to resolutely stop such illegal actions in the bud, and to pull the rug from under the feet of the enemy.
