Russian Intelligence: Ukrainian Security Service Corruption Hinders Peace Deal with Moscow

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stated on Thursday that what it described as corruption within the new leadership of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) represents an obstacle to reaching a peace settlement between Moscow and Kyiv.

In a statement, the agency explained that the new SBU leadership allegedly organized a scheme to misappropriate European taxpayers' funds by procuring pistols from EU countries for the service's needs.

The statement added that the scheme relies on purchasing weapons through intermediaries in Eastern Europe, which triples the price of a single pistol from 250 euros to 750 euros.

The Russian intelligence agency identified a Polish company named "Wytwornia Broni Jacek Popinski" as a key intermediary in the alleged operation, accusing it of buying pistols—including weapons from the Panamanian branch of Austrian firearms manufacturer "Glock"—and reselling them to Ukraine.

The Russian agency said that each batch of 5,000 pistols results in the transfer of 625,000 euros to accounts held by individuals trusted by the SBU leadership, noting that these purchases are financed through the defense ministries of Belgium and Germany.

The Russian agency indicated that similar corruption operations may exist in more expensive arms procurements, particularly rare ammunition for air defense systems.

Russian intelligence linked its accusations to recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding an unplanned $27 billion gap in the Ukrainian defense budget, arguing that European taxpayers would ultimately bear the cost.

The Russian statement accused Zelenskyy and his inner circle of refusing to move toward a peaceful settlement due to what it described as financial benefits from the continuation of the war, without providing further details on these allegations.

The statement did not include independent information regarding the claims about arms deals or the entities mentioned therein.