Budanov: Denys Kireev was killed in an SBU car, and his body was thrown into the street

The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the employees of the Security Service killed the banker Denys Kireyev in a SBU car on March 5, and the body was thrown into the street.

Budanov said this in an interview with Radio Svoboda.

"I share the opinion and believe the facts that Mr. Kireev was killed in the SBU car when they conducted an operation against this person. This fact is recorded, it is in the investigation materials. Everything else is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation. I am not authorized to comment on this information. The fact that he was killed in this car by employees is a fact," said the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence.

Budanov is convinced that Kireev is not a Russian spy.

"As the head of the special service, I am sure that the person who was our employee was not a spy. This, first of all. Secondly, I have known Mr. Kireev personally since 2009. Itʼs just for your understanding," said Budanov.

According to him, no one expected that SBU employees would act against a full-time employee of the GUR in this way, and the then-head of the SBU, Ivan Bakanov, could not explain anything properly. Budanov also said that he knows the people who killed Denys Kireyev, but did not answer whether they still work in the Security Service.

• On March 5, 2022, it was reported that the SBU representatives, during the detention, shot and killed banker Denys Kireyev in Kyiv, who participated in the negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia in Gomel on February 28. He was allegedly suspected of treason.
• The day before, The Wall Street Journal published a text which it tells how Kireyev got into negotiations with Russia and warned the head of intelligence Kirill Budanov about the invasion and attack on Kyiv on February 23, 2022. It turns out that Kireyev was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence several years ago, and his testimony helped Kyiv survive the first hours of the attack.
• Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the negotiation process with Russia and adviser to the head of the Presidentʼs Office, said that the murder of Denys Kireev was connected with the poor coordination of the Ukrainian special services at the beginning of the war.