Hero or traitor: Polish television has made a film about Shevchenko, the special forces soldier from Ochakiv

The «Vot Tak» programme on the Polish public broadcaster TVP has released a documentary about Eduard Shevchenko, the former commander of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre. The film shows his time in a remand centre and archive footage of his arrest.

The film has been published on the project’s YouTube channel.

At the start of the film, Eduard Shevchenko is shown in public for the first time in a remand centre cell. A voice is heard saying: «Prisoner Shevchenko, come out».

Eduard Shevchenko in the Mykolaiv remand centre. Screenshot from the documentary

Next, a clip is shown of his arrest at the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration in 2023.

«He was apprehended in the city of Mykolaiv by our special forces. During the interrogations, well, there were no confessions, because from his side, it was presented as a friendly conversation. After all, the other side was the enemy, and Shevchenko could not have been unaware of the position that person held. It was clear that he was working for our enemy’s intelligence service. Therefore, any information passed on by Shevchenko was regarded as treason,» a law enforcement officer who took part in Shevchenko’s arrest told journalists.

Eduard Shevchenko is a full recipient of the Order «For Courage» and has been awarded two Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. The film recounts his military career: from cadet to commander of the 73rd Special Operations Centre.

One of Eduard Shevchenko’s comrades-in-arms, Vadym, recalls that they carried out combat missions together in the Donetsk region, including operations behind enemy lines.

Vadym is Shevchenko’s comrade-in-arms. He attended the court hearings in his case at the Zavodskyi District Court on several occasions. Screenshot from the documentary

— The Ochakiv Special Operations Unit, by its very nature, consists of underwater saboteurs. In 2014, of course, the brigade itself was re-trained to operate more or less on land. «From Donetsk to Shyrokyne — that was all our area of operations,» says Shevchenko’s comrade-in-arms.

— So you were operating behind enemy lines? — the journalist asks.

— «Yes. We were in one unit and seized some documents there. And it said: «The head of the 73rd Centre’s Second Detachment at the time — 25,000 dollars».» Shevchenko rose through the ranks, shall we say, from cadet to brigade commander, and he’s a lieutenant in the brigade. He’s gone through every level of command.

— Did you go on combat missions with him? — asks the correspondent.
— A few times.
— And how was it?
— Brilliant. You knew that with him, you’d get in and out safely.

The footage then cuts to Oleksii Vaskov, Deputy Mayor of Ochakiv, who spoke about the situation in the town, which lies under the crosshairs of the Russian army from occupied Kinburn.

Oleksiy Vaskov, Deputy Mayor of Ochakiv. Screenshot from the documentary

He shared archive footage with journalists of a «Kalibr» missile strike on a grain silo containing 600 tonnes of grain.

«Do you know how many people were there waiting for Russians and still are here? Ochakiv used to be called the «city of Russian glory». There was a rotation system in the Soviet Union. How did Shevchenko end up here? He was studying there and was posted here as part of that system. Why did he get in touch? Because his friends were there. They’d studied and served together in the past. I believe this was done unwittingly,» says Oleksii Vaskov.

A grain silo hit by a Russian missile. Screenshot from a documentary film

The grain silo hit by a Russian missile. Screenshot from a documentary film

The grain silo hit by a Russian missile. Screenshot from the documentary

Eduard Shevchenko himself, in conversation with a journalist, once again categorically rejects the charges of treason and states that he did nothing that could harm Ukraine.

Eduard Shevchenko in the Mykolaiv remand centre. Screenshot from the documentary

Eduard Shevchenko in the Mykolaiv remand centre. Screenshot from the documentary

Eduard Shevchenko in the Mykolaiv remand centre. Screenshot from a documentary film

«What is treason? Let’s take a closer look. Treason consists of three elements. The first is espionage. The second is defecting to the enemy. The third is subversive activity. Well, for some reason the court didn’t see fit to hear this, or perhaps it was ordered not to; I don’t know. The prosecution is trying to present this as an attempt at recruitment. I put a question to the prosecutor, saying: «You see, you can tell this to a civilian who has absolutely no connection to special intelligence or intelligence in general, but to talk about recruitment to someone who has spent his entire career in special intelligence is foolish,» says Eduard Shevchenko.

The programme also reveals the identity of Serhii Kolesnikov, with whom Eduard Shevchenko spoke.

Sergei Kolesnikov, an officer of the Russian GRU. Screenshot from the documentary

According to a representative of the investigation, he is a native of Ukraine who held Russian citizenship and the rank of captain first class. However, according to information available to the law enforcement agencies, Kolesnikov was no longer alive at the time the film was shot.

It should be noted that following the verdict of the Zavodskyi District Court, which found Eduard Shevchenko guilty of high treason, he lodged an appeal.

It was due to be heard by the Odesa Court of Appeal back in September, but the hearing was postponed.

Read also: «Unfortunately, all Russians are our enemies today.» The mayor of Ochakiv appeared for questioning in the treason case in which his adviser is accused

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. Not only did he head the Ochakiv City Council department responsible for security in the city, but he was also, at one time, commander of the 73rd Naval Special Forces Centre, an ATO veteran and a recipient of state honours.

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

At the hearing on 27 May, the court examined the procedure for conducting a 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 carried out at 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 concerned his 16-year-old son’s mobile phone and a thermal imager.

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

When Eduard Shevchenko was arrested in March 2023, the SBU reported, amongst other things, that he had attempted to recruit Mayor Serhiy Bychkov.

According to the investigation, whilst Eduard Shevchenko was head of the security and surveillance department of the Ochakiv City Council’s Housing and Communal Services Department, he was tasked by Serhii Kolesnikov with recruiting the mayor to ensure his loyalty. In a face-to-face meeting 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 he go 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 SBU’s press release, which claimed that he had attempted to recruit Mayor Serhiy Bychkov to work for the Russians.

Denys Zhelo, deputy chair of the Public Oversight Council of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, commented on the fact that law enforcement agencies had no allegations against Ochakiv’s mayor, Serhii Bychkov, whose colleague had been detained on charges of treason. According to Denis Zhelo, Ochakiv’s mayor, Serhii Bychkov, «was on friendly terms in every respect with the 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, Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, suggested that Serhii Bychkov does not address the community or report on the results of his work because he is «a private person».

During one of the hearings in the case against Eduard Shevchenko, an excerpt from a conversation 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 could not understand why the mayor of Ochakiv, Serhii Bychkov, was frequently abroad whilst the city was under daily shelling. It was only after several summonses that the mayor appeared for questioning in court on 12 February.