“SBU special forces tried to detain Zaluzhnyi in front of NATO generals” – former MP

In 2023, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) special forces allegedly stormed the Ukrainian General Staff building in an attempt to detain then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

This was revealed during a livestream by former MP Boryslav Bereza and former Deputy Commander of the Special Operations Forces, Serhii Kryvonos.

Bereza, citing accounts from his acquaintances, stated that in 2023, “SBU special forces tried to arrest Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi and stormed the building where not only Zaluzhnyi, but the entire General Staff was located.”

“This location was kept secret to avoid Russian strikes, and it also housed a conference room with more than 30 representatives from NATO and European armed forces. They witnessed everything firsthand. I was told that a security regiment and military special forces had to be mobilized to counter the SBU unit,” Bereza said.

According to him, the incident happened in central Kyiv, and the President’s Office “was frightened when they realized how quickly and effectively the military special forces could respond.”

Kryvonos confirmed he was familiar with the story. He claimed that the military special forces “stopped the assault, laid everyone down, and showed who the real military leadership in the country was.”

“Zaluzhnyi came out and made everything clear. That’s when the SBU commandos realized what a mistake they had made. It turned into a kind of dark joke that everyone who knew about it later laughed at. And hundreds of people knew,” Kryvonos added.

He stated that afterward, the SBU began making excuses, claiming: “We didn’t know that was the Armed Forces’ command center during wartime.” Kryvonos called this a lie, saying SBU leadership regularly visited the site and took part in meetings.

“The order came directly from Bankova Street (the President’s Office), and we all know who gave it. That’s no surprise to me,” he said.

Bereza added that Zaluzhnyi personally addressed the SBU commandos: “Do you understand what’s about to happen? Inside are American, European, and Canadian military personnel watching all this—some of them four-star generals.”

Zaluzhnyi reportedly also asked: “Guys, what’s the plan? You were ordered to arrest me, but what then? Do you even understand what will happen to this country if you arrest the Commander-in-Chief?”

According to Bereza, Zaluzhnyi later received a call from Bankova with apologies: “You misunderstood us, Valerii Fedorovych. It was a mistake. Let’s forget the whole thing.” Zaluzhnyi, however, never spoke about the incident publicly.

Kryvonos believes Zaluzhnyi kept the story quiet because “in the global information space, this would have been a total apocalypse.” At the time, the incident was classified and discussion of it was forbidden.

Nevertheless, Kryvonos said the story is known in the West and that “several times in the U.S., it was brought up to me as an example” of internal power struggles in Ukraine.

Neither the President’s Office nor Valerii Zaluzhnyi has commented on the incident so far.

Previously, Ukrainian media reported that Bankova had been pressuring Zaluzhnyi not to run in the presidential elections by threatening him with criminal charges.

Meanwhile, according to recent polling, if the presidential election were held today, Zaluzhnyi would win the first round with 27.2% of the vote, compared to 15.9% for Zelenskyy.