Summons for Slidstvo.Info journalist: SBU cybersecurity chief sent to combat for the time of investigation

Illya Vitiuk, chief of the SBU Department of Counterintelligence and National Information Security has been suspended from work by the SBU head Vasyl Maliuk for the time of the investigation into the incident reported by Slidstvo.Info, writes Interfax-Ukraine.

"While the details disclosed by Slidstvo.Info journalists are being confirmed, the head of the Service, Vasyl Maliuk, suspended the chief of the SBU Department of Counterintelligence and National Information Security, Illya Vitiuk, from his duties," the SBU press office told Interfax-Ukraine.

The press office clarified that the SBU head decided that while the investigation is ongoing, Vitiuk would serve in his Department's combat unit, which is carrying out defense tasks and taking direct action to destroy the enemy and their equipment at the front line together with the SBU's Special Operations Center "Alpha".

"He has been assigned to this unit and has left for the combat area earlier today," the press office reported.

"The Security Service pays respect to the mass media and journalists for efficiently fighting Russia with us on the information front," the Ukrainian special service added.

Background

On April 6, Slidstvo.Info reported that an SBU officer may have instructed the army staffing center to deliver a summons to their journalist. In this way, the special services wanted to punish the man for exposing the SBU head of cyber security Illya Vitiuk for owning elite real estate.

The Media Movement demands a police investigation into the SBU and the TSC officers in view of the incident with the Slidstvo.Info journalist.

On April 6, the UAF Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that he had ordered an official inspection into the Slidstvo.Info report about an attempt to serve an army summons to their journalist following his investigation.

The SBU have said they were looking into the report by the Slidstvo.Info team about the the SBU allegedly using TSC officers to put pressure on journalist Yevheniy Shulhat following his investigation into the SBU's head of cyber security, Illya Vitiuk.

On April 8, 2024, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a case over the incident with summons delivery to Slidstvo.info journalist Yevheniy Shulhat.