Russia demands extradition of Ukraine security service chief
- Russia says head of Ukraine’s SBU Security Service and others were behind ‘terrorist’ acts on its territory
- Russia has alleged Kyiv was linked to a recent concert hall attack, despite Isis-K claiming responsibility
Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the head of the country’s SBU Security Service, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The SBU immediately dismissed the Russian demand as “pointless” and said the Russian ministry had “forgotten” that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was the subject of an international arrest warrant.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement listed violent incidents that have occurred in Russia since the Kremlin’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, including bombings that killed the daughter of a prominent nationalist and a war blogger, and an incident in which a writer was seriously hurt.
The ministry said investigation of these incidents showed that “the traces of these crimes lead to Ukraine”.
“Russia has turned over to Ukrainian authorities its demands … for the immediate arrest and extradition of all those connected to the terrorist acts in question,” the statement said.
Among those listed in the statement to be handed over are SBU head Vasyl Maliuk, who has acknowledged his service was behind attacks on the bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland since the Kremlin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.