A listening device was found in the new office where the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhnyi, was supposed to move

The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case under the article on illegal acquisition, sale or use of special technical means of obtaining information after a listening device was found in the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi, Meduza writes.

The SBU said the device was not found in Zaluzhnyi’s office itself, but in one of the rooms, which “could be used by him in the future.” The intelligence service also stated that it had not found any means of storing information or means of transmitting information remotely, and the device itself was inoperative.

According to data from Ukrainskaya Pravda intelligence sources, the device was found on December 17 during an inspection of the office where Zaluzhny plans to move. The newspaper’s sources also reported that several subordinates of the commander were found listening devices.

At the same time, former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Maliar, commenting on the news related to phone intercepts, said that she does not see a danger in this, because when communicating, the military always takes into account the possibility of information leakage.

Since November, Ukrainian and foreign media have been reporting on a possible conflict between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valery Zaluzhnyi. It all started with Zaluzhnyi’s interview in The Economist, in which the commander-in-chief said that the war had reached a dead end and could last for years.

Ukraine’s president publicly disagreed with Zaluzhnyi’s statements and later said the army should not be involved in politics. At the same time, Zelenskyy’s office denies the alleged conflict between the country’s military and political leadership.