Ukrainian police link draft board attacks to Russian agencies
The Ukrainian police have identified the most probable perpetrators behind the attacks on military draft boards. Ivan Vyhivskyi, head of the Ukrainian police, stated that, in coordination with the Security Service of Ukraine, they have determined that these attacks are a deliberate operation by Russian special services.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been at least nine incidents in Ukraine, including explosions related to military conscription.
The head of the Ukrainian police stated that these actions by Russian services are intended to manipulate public perception of mobilization, destabilize the situation, and foster negative sentiment toward the security and defence forces.
He noted that in three of the nine sabotage cases, there were attempts on the lives of police officers. He also reported an incident in which a police patrol was dispatched to a location where an explosive device had been hidden inside a children's toy in a flat.
Vyhivskyi stated that since last year, all police officers had been cautioned that Russians are targeting members of the security and defence forces, including police personnel and draft board representatives.
Russian services primarily recruit teenagers, unemployed individuals, or those with legal troubles, such as drug dealers, to carry out the attacks. Vyhivskyi noted that the perpetrators were eliminated in two instances after completing their mission.
Russian services operate in Ukraine. Worrying incidents
Ukrainian media remind us that the series of notorious attacks began on 1st February in the town of Pyriatyn in the Poltava region. An employee of the draft board, who was travelling with soldiers by bus to a training centre, was shot at a petrol station.
On the same day, there was an explosion at the draft board's headquarters in Rivne, resulting in one death and injuries to eight people.
On 2nd February, a device exploded at the draft board in Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring a military officer. Furthermore, on 5th February, an explosion occurred near the board building in Kamianets-Podilskyi.
Andriy Kovalenko from the government's Centre for Countering Disinformation stated that Russia's military intelligence (GRU) and the Federal Security Service (FSB) are responsible for overseeing operations targeting military personnel and attacks on draft boards.
