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Kiev official says Ukraine’s agents operate on Russian territory

Both the GUR and the SBU are reported to have a fairly effective network in Russia

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president's office MIkhail Podolyak has admitted that agents of Ukrainian secret services - the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Defense Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) - operate in Russia.

"Ukrainian special services - both the GUR and the SBU - have a fairly effective network in Russia," he said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel 24.

Ukrainian special services, Podolyak claimed, are able to use this network. At the same time, he added that some "unidentified drones" were involved in "incidents" taking place in Russia.

On Thursday, GUR spokesman Andrey Yusov admitted that the Shaman battalion, a commando unit operating under the command of Ukrainian military intelligence, carried out acts of sabotage on Russian territory. Earlier, the British daily The Times wrote that the battalion's personnel had been conducting subversive raids against Russian infrastructure facilities for more than a year and now pursued the aim of killing senior officers of the Russian Armed Forces.

In turn, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS in an interview that a peace settlement in Ukraine would be possible only if Kiev stopped combat operations and terrorist attacks and its Western sponsors refrained from beefing up Ukraine’s military muscle.

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