Ukraine's top spies face anti-corruption raids
Investigators from NABU and SAPO searched offices of senior Security Service officials on Nov. 4, with reports of a standoff involving General Serhii Duka.
By Bianca Herrera ·
On the morning of Nov. 4, 2026, anti-corruption detectives executed searches at locations tied to senior employees of Ukraine's Security Service, or SSU. The agency confirmed the activity in a statement released that same day. It said the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office were conducting the work under court orders.
The SSU said it was cooperating fully with the investigators. The agency described the process as objective and impartial. It did not provide a list of specific individuals targeted in the initial confirmation. The statement noted that the actions were part of several ongoing criminal cases.
A more specific account emerged from the anti-corruption agencies themselves. NABU and SAPO reported a confrontation during one of the searches. They said a senior SSU official threatened to use a firearm. The official reportedly prevented detectives from entering the premises where they held a warrant from the High Anti-Corruption Court.
Ukrainska Pravda identified the official involved in that specific incident as General Serhii Duka. The SSU's official response did not address the reported threat or the obstruction. The agency stuck to its broader statement about cooperation without commenting on the specific friction described by the prosecutors.
Sources told the outlet that the raids also involved Anton Kravchuk. He heads the SSU's Main Internal Security Directorate. Another official named in the reports was Oleksandr Kovalchuk. He serves as First Deputy Head of Directorate D within the SSU's Department for the Protection of National Statehood. The SSU press service referred generally to employees in its confirmation of the morning's activity.
Investigators may be linking these searches to the activities of Andrii Osipov. He is known by the nickname Criminal and has previously been detained by NABU and SAPO. Sources described this connection as a possibility rather than a confirmed fact. The SSU did not address the potential link in its public statement.
The searches concluded the initial phase of investigative actions on Nov. 4. The SSU continues to work with the anti-corruption bodies. The criminal proceedings remain open under the oversight of the relevant courts.
