The SSU offered to exchange the intelligence officer Shevchenko on several occasions, but he refused: «I fought against the Russians for two years and do not consider them my own»

The Security Service of Ukraine has offered Eduard Shevchenko, the former commander of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre, an exchange to Russia on several occasions, but he has refused.

He spoke about this in a comment to NikVesti.

According to Shevchenko, whilst in the Mykolaiv remand centre, where he has been held since his arrest in 2023, he was offered the exchange at least three or four times. He explained his refusal by citing his combat experience in the war against Russia. In particular, he recalled that he had taken part in combat operations in the ATO zone, where he fought against the Russians.

Following the sentencing on 1 April, in which he was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for treason, he stated that he would not change his position.

«Why should I agree to an exchange with those I do not consider my own? To fight alongside them for two years and then agree to an exchange? To swap this prison for another?» said Eduard Shevchenko.

Eduard Shevchenko is a Captain 1st Rank. In 2014, he took part in the ATO and was a hero of the battles for Sloviansk and Toretsk. In 2021, the Verkhovna Rada’s newspaper «Holos Ukrainy» described the operation to liberate Toretsk as one of the most lightning-fast expulsions of Russian occupiers from cities in eastern Ukraine in history. A small assault unit of naval special forces under Shevchenko’s command played a key role in it.

The case of Eduard Shevchenko

The trial of Eduard Shevchenko, who was accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence services, began on 6 February. News of his arrest on charges of treason emerged in March 2023. He not only headed the Ochakiv City Council department responsible for security in the city, but was also, at one time, commander of the 73rd Naval Special Forces Centre, an ATO veteran and a recipient of state orders.

In an interview with journalists, he spoke negatively about his years of service in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, citing the unfair level of provision for military personnel.

At the hearing on 27 May, the court considered the search of the defendant’s home. However, apart from a dark screen, it was impossible to see anything due to the lack of light in the house.

On 4 June, the court considered the searches of the home of the father of an officer from the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, who is linked to the case concerning the recruitment of the mayor of Ochakiv.

In October, the court partially lifted the seizure of the defendant’s property. This concerns his 16-year-old son’s mobile phone and a thermal imager.

How is the mayor of Ochakiv linked to the treason case?

During the arrest of Eduard Shevchenko in March 2023, the SBU reported, among other things, that he had attempted to recruit Mayor Serhii Bychkov.

According to the investigation, whilst Eduard Shevchenko held the post of head of the security and surveillance department of the Housing and Utilities Department of the Ochakiv City Council, he was tasked by Serhii Kolesnikov with recruiting the mayor to ensure his loyalty. In a direct conversation with Bychkov at the city council, Shevchenko said that representatives of the Russian Federation wished to speak with the mayor.

«He is very wary. I suggested going through me,» he reported to Kolesnikov at the time following his conversation with the Ochakiv mayor.

Following his arrest, Eduard Shevchenko stated that he was surprised by the SSU’s press release, which claimed that he had attempted to recruit Mayor Serhii Bychkov to work for the Russians.

Denys Zhelo, deputy head of the Public Oversight Council of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, commented on the lack of allegations by law enforcement against Ochakiv Mayor Serhii Bychkov, whose colleague had been detained on charges of treason. According to Denys Zhelo, Ochakiv Mayor Serhiy Bychkov «was on friendly terms in every respect with Russian intelligence agent Eduard Shevchenko».

Eduard Shevchenko himself noted that he considers Serhiy Bychkov to be the most effective mayor Ochakiv has ever had.

The mayor himself was almost always reluctant to speak to the media. Commenting on this, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim, suggested that Serhii Bychkov does not engage with the community or report on his work because he is «a private person».

During one of the hearings in the Eduard Shevchenko case , an excerpt from a dialogue between Mayor Serhii Bychkov and the Russian side was played. The conversation took place under the supervision of representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine.

Serhii Bychkov himself was repeatedly absent when the court was due to question him in this case. Iryna Bobrova, a judge at the Zavodskyi District Court in Mykolaiv, even stated that she did not understand why the mayor of Ochakiv, Serhii Bychkov, was frequently abroad, whilst the city was under daily shelling.