The situation at a glance: Zelenskyj is threatening traitors in Ukraine after his arrests

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has threatened traitors in their own country with consequences for their support of war enemy Russia. “We are taking action against traitors and all kinds of machinations that weaken our state and our Ukrainian society,” he said in his video message broadcast in Kiev. “And anyone who takes the path against Ukraine, against the law in Ukraine, must remember that there will be an answer.”

At the same time, Zelensky praised the work of the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities, including secret services, investigative bodies and the public prosecutor’s office, as “very good”. The president himself did not give any details. However, the SBU secret service and the General Prosecutor’s Office had issued an unusually large number of unverifiable reports during the day about suspected Russian collaborators and agents.

Security authorities report several arrests

The SBU, for example, reported the arrest of a department head at a state-owned bank. The bank manager is said to have been involved in financing the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Authorities also released photos of the detainee and of a Russian passport that the suspect is said to have used. The man is said to have transferred money to the Russian occupation troops. In addition, according to the SBU, in another case there was a raid on the opposition-affiliated television presenter Max Nasarow, who is said to have justified the Russian war of aggression.

Another communication spoke of an uncovered espionage network of the Russian domestic secret service FSB. The group’s task was to transmit information about the bases and the transport routes of Ukrainian troops and military equipment to the Russians so that they could direct their missiles and drones to the positions. The group was active in the capital Kiev and in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. This could not be independently verified either.

Finally, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the secret service claims to have uncovered a company that is said to have helped Russia build a laboratory for the development of nuclear weapons. The suspect in the case was the owner of a Ukrainian building materials company, it was said. Russia, which is a nuclear power and has a large number of nuclear weapons, in turn accuses Ukraine of seeking such weapons of mass destruction.

Courts in Ukraine repeatedly hand down sentences with long prison sentences against people who help Russia in its war against the country.

Zelenskyj: Working on better anti-aircraft defense

After the new devastating attacks with Russian ballistic missiles, Zelensky said that Ukraine is working on getting more anti-aircraft systems to better protect its cities. In Kiev, at least three people died in the center of the capital on Saturday when buildings were damaged in a Russian air strike. Authorities spoke of fallen debris from a rocket that had been fired.

There was also devastation in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after a Russian rocket attack. According to authorities, a dead person was found under the rubble of a building. Eleven people were injured. There was also serious damage to a cathedral.

Ukraine is working on modern systems that can repel such air strikes with ballistic missiles, Zelensky said in his video message. The Ukrainian air defense reported that it had destroyed two of four missiles. According to reports from eyewitnesses, the air alarm only started when explosions had already occurred.

Zelensky also stated that Ukraine is working to destroy the launch systems for such ballistic missiles on Russian territory. Last but not least, the country is developing its own missiles with a longer range.

“Our long-range capabilities are one of the most important tools for protecting human lives,” Zelensky said. It is already visible every night that Ukraine is hitting Russian military targets with its missiles and drones, thus bringing the war back to its neighboring country. Ukraine repeatedly sets fire to the fuel depots on the Russian side, which are important for supplying the Russian troops.

The country has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for almost three years.