The Shevchenkivskyy district court of Kyiv has placed former intelligence officer Roman Chervinskyy into custody in the case of an attempted hijacking of a Russian aircraft, which, according to the investigation, led to the shelling of the Kanatove airfield in Kirovohrad Region, former MP Andriy Teteruk has said.
The decision was announced by judge Olena Chayka. Chervinskyy was arrested for two months without bail.
Prosecutors requested that Chervinskyy be placed into custody without bail, saying he may flee, put pressure on witnesses, destroy or distort material evidence.
Potential guarantors - MP Geo Leros, former MP Andriy Teteruk, and military journalist Yuriy Butusov - also arrived at the court.
The suspect called the charges politically motivated, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.
"The deaths of the military are being used for political pressure. The suspicion is based on incomplete, one-sided, falsified materials," Chervinskyy said. He also links the case to the Wagnergate.
The lawyers noted that they would appeal the decision. The defenders also emphasise that all Chervinskyy's actions were coordinated at the appropriate level, and the bombing of the airfield was not a consequence of the failure of the operation, as it had been shelled before.
It was reported that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a former acting commander of one of the units of the Special Operations Forces, Roman Chervinskyy, in the case of the Russian missile attack on the Kanatove airfield.
On 21 April, Chervinskyy was served a notice of suspicion under the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on abuse of power or authority by a military officer.
According to the case file, Chervinskyy, together with other individuals, arbitrarily decided to conduct a so-called special operation to take over a Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft. The Russian pilot allegedly agreed to the offer to defect to Ukraine. Instead, in the summer of 2022, Russia shelled the Kanatove airfield in Kirovohrad Region. As a result, one soldier was killed and 17 were injured.