The former commander of the Ukrainian special forces, General Serhiy Kryvonos, said that a criminal case was opened against him on the order of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Babel reports.

The case concerns the period when Kryvonos was in charge of the defense of Kyiv Sikorskyi International Airport after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.

“On August 2, the SBI initiated a criminal case against me. The SBI investigators were instructed to recognize as illegal the order personally signed by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny on my appointment as the commander of the Kyiv airport and enlistment in military service,” Kryvonos told Ukrainian military journalist Yury Butusov, who published the general’s words on his Facebook page.

The general says that he is accused of giving illegal orders during the organization of the airport in February and March, and that he was required to provide the prosecutor’s office with a document that provided for his reinstatement in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a retired officer. and his dismissal from the command post.

The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office says it is investigating “thefts” from the airport

In a press release, the SBI said it was investigating the theft of airport property during its defense and the damage to runways ordered by Kryvonos, an action they say “was not dictated by military necessity.”

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that General Kryvonos participated in the defense of the airport, but stated that he did so on public grounds and was not officially reinstated in the Armed Forces by order of Valery Zaluzhny.

The Ukrainian army also stated that during the “stabilization of the situation around Kyiv” the object was protected by territorial defense units.

In addition to commanding the Ukrainian special forces, General Serhiy Krivonos also held the position of Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine from 2016 to December 2020.

He was fired from his post by President Volodymyr Zelensky after criticism of his idea of ​​mass mobilization of Ukrainians in the event of a Russian attack on Crimea. Kryvonos then claimed that the Ukrainians were not “ideologically” prepared for this and were not properly trained to fight.

The former commander of the Ukrainian special forces directly attacked Volodymyr Zelenskyi

In July of this year, Kryvonos launched a veiled attack on Kyiv’s military-political leadership, claiming that it had not invested in the Ukrainian defense industry.

His comments came amid widespread concern over Ukrainian forces receiving American HIMARS systems, with Kryvonos noting that Ukraine has its own self-made salvo systems.

“But we have not invested money in developing our own defense and defense industry,” the officer said.

In early August, Kryvonos launched a direct attack on the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, claiming that there are pro-Russian agents in his office.

Speaking about the information of the leadership in Kyiv about the inevitability of the Russian invasion, he stated, among other things, that in January American officials “at an extremely high level” came to the Ukrainian capital and “showed us on maps what will happen and how. But the political leadership said , that these are lies, bluffs and provocations. Why Because pro-Russian agents are probably in the president’s office.”

“There is no other way to justify it. Let them say that they did not know. This is an outright lie. Ukrainian and foreign special services reported about Russia’s offensive to the leadership,” he accused.

Follow the latest events of the 187th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.