LUGANSK, December 2. /TASS/. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has begun an operation to intimidate and test the loyalty of officials in the Kharkov Region, threatening them and their close relatives in case of non-compliance with directives from Kiev, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"In the Kharkov Region, [the Security Service of Ukraine] has begun an operation to intimidate ‘doubtful’ officials. <...> Both overt and covert measures are being carried out. Their representatives are conducting so-called preventive conversations with all senior-level officials. The security forces are openly intimidating, blackmailing and explaining what will happen in case of non-compliance with directives from Kiev," he said.

According to his information, threats and pressure on civil servants are also exerted by applying punitive measures against their close relatives. "The case of the murder of a son of one of the heads of the occupation administration in Kharkov has already been recorded as a so-called arbitrary act," Marochko reported.