Head of Ukrainian Security Services: Another separatist republic nearly emerged in the Odessa region last year
There were attempts last year to establish a separatist “Bessarabian Republic” on the territory of 9 districts in the Odessa region, as stated by the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), Vasyl Hrytsak, during the opening of the Service's Public Recepton Office, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported.
According to him, the attempts were facilitated by “the secret services of the foreign countries... By April 2015, they were planning to begin an operation to establish the separatist republic by first blowing up two bridges. The new Bessarabian Republic was to include 9 districts from the Odessa region. We seized multiple documents that show that there was already a candidate for the head of Southern Bessarabia [Bessarabian separatist republic]. According to the uncovered information, unidentified troops were supposed to enter Ukraine from the territory of Transnistria, and then they would start destabilizing the situation in Moldova, Romania and other European regions using hybrid war tactics."
Hrytsak spoke of the three stages of the sweep operations conducted by SSU in Odessa in 2015. He expressed confidence that the situation has changed significantly since then thanks to the effective and swift work of the Ukrainian Security Services and other government bodies. According to him, the threat of separatism in the region is now very low.
When speaking about the SSU's Public Reception Office, Hrytsak said that he will work day and night to address all applications and complaints submitted by the citizens of Ukraine.