Denys Kireyev

Denys Kireyev (Ukrainian: Денис Борисович Кірєєв; 1 January 1977 – 5 March 2022) was a Ukrainian banker and intelligence officer.

On 23 February 2022, Kireyev obtained information that Antonov Airport would be the site of the main attack of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which allowed Ukraine to repel the initial assault on the airport and damage it heavily enough that it could not be used by Russia. Following the invasion on 24 February, he joined the 28 February peace negotiations in Gomel, Belarus.^[1] He was killed a week later by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).^[2] Kireyev was supposed to participate in the next round of peace talks in Belarus on March 3.^[3]

According to Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR), if it was not for the information given by Kireyev, Kyiv would have probably fallen.^[1]

Banking career

In 2010–2014, he was First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank, and prior to that he was a member of the supervisory board of Ukreximbank. He also worked for Citibank, Credit Lyonnais, ING Group, and Rabobank.^[4]

Death

Kireyev died on 5 March 2022. According to preliminary reports in Russian and Ukrainian media, he was suspected of working as a double agent for Russia and was killed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) while trying to escape detention. According to these reports, he was suspected of treason, and the SBU held records of telephone conversations as evidence. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence's Directorate of Intelligence subsequently confirmed Kireyev's death in a Facebook post, but asserted that he was an intelligence operative for Ukraine who died in the line of duty on a "special mission."^[5][6][7]

On 18 January 2023, Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) Kyrylo Budanov stated that Kireyev was the one who, on 23 February 2022, warned GUR of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence agencies decided to use Kireyev to obtain timely information during the Russian military buildup in September 2021 under the guise of military exercises Zapad 2021. The security forces took him to Kharkiv, from where he and another intelligence officer would enter the Russian Federation, and a few days later he would return and report to the GUR leadership. Thus, Kireyev warned the Ukrainian leadership about the Russian leadership's plans to attack Kyiv in January-February 2022, and a few hours before the Russian invasion, he described in detail the main location of the attack on the Antonov Airport in Hostomel. This intelligence provided several hours for the deployment of some amount of Ukrainian troops and helped to defend Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. Budanov said that Kyiv most likely would have been occupied if not for Kireyev.^[8]

In January 2023, Zelenskyy's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said that Kireyev's death was a tragic mistake possibly due to "poor coordination" between the GUR and the SBU.^[3]

References

1. Forrest, Brett (18 January 2023). "Russian Spy or Ukrainian Hero? The Strange Death of Denys Kiryeyev". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
2. "Глава военной разведки Украины: участника переговоров с Россией Дениса Киреева убили в машине СБУ и выбросили на улицу в Киеве" [Head of Ukrainian military intelligence: Denis Kireev, a participant in negotiations with Russia, was killed in a SBU car and thrown onto the street in Kyiv]. Meduza (in Russian). 22 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
3. "Denys Kireyev was a Ukrainian spy hailed as a hero who saved Kyiv from Russian invaders. So why was he killed for treason?". ABC. 2 February 2023.
4. "СБУ нібито застрелила Дениса Кірєєва. Чи це правда та чий він шпигун?" [The SBU allegedly shot Denis Kireev. Is it true and whose spy is he?]. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
5. "Reports claim Ukraine negotiator shot for treason; officials say he died in intel op". Times of Israel. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
6. "Ukrainian official dead after accusations of 'treason' and working for Russia". 7NEWS. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
7. Серватинська, Єлизавета (6 March 2022). "Вбитий Денис Кірєєв був розвідником на спецзавданні, – ГУР Міноборони" [Denys Kireev, who was killed, was a scout on a special mission - the Ministry of Defense's GUR]. Львівський портал (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
8. "Russian Spy or Ukrainian Hero? The Strange Death of Denys Kiryeyev". WSJ. 18 January 2023.