An office used by the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces was “bugged”, according to local media reports.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident after a listening device was discovered in a building set to host Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.
Ukraine’s security service said that the device – initially characterised as a bug by local media – was considered under preliminary information to be “in a non-operational state”, and no means of information storage or remote transmission of audio recordings were found.
General Zaluzhnyi told Ukraine’s RBC media that he had used the office before, but not recently, and was supposed to work there again on Monday.
“(I regard this) as a war. Anything can happen. The investigation will prove what it was,” he said.
He denied employees of the General Staff could have been involved in the installation. He also said he did not believe state secrets had been discussed in the office.
The incident came after Gen. Zaluzhnyi said at the beginning of November that the war in Ukraine had reached a stalemate. His assessment was publicly derided by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the remarks would only aid Moscow.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
