Zelenskyy fires head of Ukraine Security Service, announces hundreds of criminal treason cases

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired two senior members of his administration, including the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, he said during a nightly address.

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that corruption was pouring through the ranks of his government and that the State Bureau of Investigation was undergoing a "full-scale investigation" into officials and law enforcement officers suspected of treason or other nefarious activities.

"As of today, 651 criminal proceedings have been registered regarding treason and collaboration activities of employees of prosecutor's offices, pretrial investigation bodies, and other law enforcement agencies," the Ukrainian president said. "In 198 criminal proceedings, relevant persons were notified of suspicion. In particular, more than 60 employees of the prosecutor's office and the Security Service of Ukraine remained in the occupied territory and are working against our state."

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Ukainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stands in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on April 4, 2022. (Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

"Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state and the connections detected between the employees of the security forces of Ukraine and the special services of Russia pose very serious questions to the relevant leadership," he added. "Each of these questions will receive a proper answer. Today I made a decision to remove the Prosecutor General from office and to dismiss the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine."

Zelenskyy also said he would be appointing a new head of the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine.

Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by Ukrainian forces, on the side of a road in Lugansk region on February 26, 2022.  (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)

The Ukrainian president also acknowledged an investigation into the former security leader of the Crimean Peninsula, whom he fired months ago.

"Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation together with the Security Service of Ukraine detained the former head of the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. This person was dismissed by me at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and as we can see, that decision was completely justified. Sufficient evidence has been collected to notify this person of suspicion of treason," he said. "All his criminal activities are documented. Everything he has done during these months as well as earlier will get a proper legal assessment."

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Zelenskyy added: "Everyone who together with him was part of a criminal group that worked in the interests of the Russian Federation will also be held accountable. It is about the transfer of secret information to the enemy and other facts of cooperation with the Russian special services.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the front-line positions of Ukrainian military in Donbass, Ukraine on December 06, 2021. (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

While the Ukrianian government continues the "self-purification" operation, they continue to endure a physical war with Russia, the president said.

"It is definitely possible to bring all Russian war criminals to justice. Each of the collaborators. All those responsible for terror. For everything that happens during 144 days and in more than eight years," he concluded. "It will be done."

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Russia first invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what many experts predicted would be a swift victory.