The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) and former Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said that he was "freaking speechless" when he heard his name on the published recordings of conversations between those involved in the NABU and SAPO "Carthage" operation.
Klymenko said this during a meeting with journalists.
"I was freaking speechless, to be honest," he said when asked if he was surprised by the mention on the recordings. The NSDC secretary suggests that such recordings can be used to pressure officials.
According to Klymenko, in the investigation records made public back in April, the group members were already discussing his dismissal from the position of minister. He explained that the criminal organization created a network of Telegram channels and news sites where it spread fake news.
Klymenko said that the recordings discussed his dismissal and the dismissal of the leadership of the Department for Combating Drug Crime. This was linked to the preparation of a government decree that was to ban substances with synthetic cannabinoids sold in “U420” stores.
One of the participants in Operation “Carthage”, under the pseudonym "Mexican", according to Klymenko, threatened the officials with a political crisis, and after their dismissal, he was going to negotiate with the new leaders.
Klymenko called the mentions of the ministers of internal affairs and health "a tall talk between two criminals". He also stated that no one tried to reach an agreement with him or influence him through his environment. According to him, he rarely received people in order to avoid ambiguous interpretations of the meetings.
What Klymenko said about “U420”
Klymenko said that the criminal case against the “U420” network was opened in September 2025, and the operational and investigative work, along with the examinations, lasted for more than half a year.
At the same time, the government was preparing changes so that sellers could not circumvent the ban by changing the chemical formulas of synthetic cannabinoids. This resolution was adopted on February 5.
In April, the National Police conducted several hundred searches of the chainʼs stores in Kyiv and other regions. Klymenko claims that not a single store has resumed operations since then. In October, the government passed another resolution regarding the chemical formula of these substances.
According to Klymenko, in Kyiv, the group members expected to earn up to $500 000 per week from this network. He also stated that law enforcement officers cooperated with colleagues from other countries, and the “U420” network no longer exists.
About other law enforcement officers and the "Mexican"
Klymenko said that in the “U420” case, law enforcement officers discovered agents of influence in related law enforcement agencies who were selling information to the defendants.
At the same time, he emphasized that the case of the detained employee of the Department of Strategic Investigations (DSI), who was given a restraining order the day before, is a different case and does not involve drugs.
According to him, internal checks were conducted in DSI, and the dismissal of the head of the department was not related to illegal call centers. Klymenko emphasized that the involvement of individual employees does not mean the involvement of the entire unit.
As for "Mexican", Klymenko said that suspicions were declared to him back in April, and now new ones are being prepared.
About the events in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka
Klymenko said that he observed the events in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka and saw people participating in them. According to him, there were many young people there, including people of non-mobilization age, as well as children. Information about the events spread quickly, and participants came not only from Kyiv and Borshchahivka.
According to Klymenko, there were 29 streamers at the scene. He called the mobilization one of the most sensitive public issues and stated that Ukraine had effectively lost the information battle around it. When asked who was to blame for this, he replied: "Probably, all of them."
Klymenko also mentioned groups like the “lady doctor”. He claims that these are well-organized groups of people who receive orders and carry them out for money.
What happened in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka
On the afternoon of November 2, clashes broke out near a private house in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. Prior to this, statements were spread on social networks that people were allegedly being illegally detained and tortured there.
The National Guard later explained that the building was a temporary deployment point for the 14th Assault Regiment of the National Guard, which is part of the 1st Corps "Azov". It housed mobilized soldiers who were being prepared for deployment to training centers, as well as soldiers who had voluntarily left the unit and were waiting for further deployment.
In the evening, the situation escalated again: shots rang out near the house, people threw stones at windows, lit smoke bombs and firecrackers, and tried to overturn the bus. The National Guard Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko and the Presidentʼs Office head Kyrylo Budanov were at the scene.
The next day, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said that one of the participants in the incident had intended to take a man from a military unit who was in AWOL.
The house near which the clashes occurred was legally rented by the National Guard. The SBU officers opened three criminal cases in connection with the clashes, and the police identified 130 people who may have been involved in the clashes.
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