Ten officers of the State Protection Department (SPD) have expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of the acting head of the SPD, Maksym Donets, and have filed a complaint with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders of the country. They claim that after the removal of Serhiy Rudy from the post of head of the department, which Donets held, he was not appointed to this position in accordance with the requirements of the law by presidential decree, but he independently issued an order on his promotion.
Which, according to the signatories, is illegal and indicates an “unauthorized seizure of power in a state law enforcement agency.”.
They also stated that the new chief is preventing UDO employees from performing their duties. In particular, he ordered the security team to enter the country's first-person security detail without weapons, which violates the instructions and "may lead to unforeseen consequences.".
Another claim is the disbandment of two combat units of the UDO, which were carrying out tasks on the border of the Sumy region with Russia.
In addition, by verbal order from Donets, the State Security Department transferred all explosives and explosive devices to the SBU for storage, “thereby destroying the combat capabilities” of the UDO. In particular, the explosives were taken from the dog handlers who trained the dogs to find them.
“In the context of constant attempts to carry out sabotage against the top leadership of the state, the above-mentioned actions of the acting head of the UDO of Ukraine will in the future lead to the fact that the enemy will be able to unhindered prepare and carry out sabotage using explosive devices against the President of Ukraine, top leaders of the state, or representatives of foreign delegations who are under state protection,” the letter states.
In May, Maksym Donets ordered some of his employees to be transferred to the reserve without explanation, effectively suspending them from service, the appeal states. They were ordered to undergo a medical examination, and some were transferred to a department that deals with, among other things, cleaning dry toilets at checkpoints. Among those transferred there are people of the rank of colonels and heads of departments.
The signatories believe that this order is illegal and is caused by “personal hostility towards a certain circle of subordinates.”.
The undersigned officers also believe that they were unjustly subjected to a number of sanctions – from reprimands to demotions for “disciplinary misconduct” or “failure to perform duties.” No official investigation was conducted prior to the imposition of sanctions.
The authors of the appeal ask Zelensky to cancel Donets's, in their opinion, illegal orders and appoint a legitimate head of the probation department.
