🎧 Listen: In today's episode of The Journal podcast, brett_forrest details the life and mysterious death of a Ukrainian banker. Was he working for Moscow as a spy or was he a patriot for Ukrainian interests?
This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Speaker 2: They said, oh no, actually Kireev was working for Ukraine and he was a hero to his country, something that's directly an opposite story. That really just left everybody perplexed. Speaker 2: He was tall and he was a large man. He was thick set, balding, rarely seen in anything but a suit. He looked like a financial professional. He liked to go big-game hunting in the Carpathians. He liked to go skiing in France. He liked to visit Greece with his family.
Speaker 2: It's got a very much checkered past: the many, many accusations over the years of corruption, simple financial corruption but also deep penetration by the Russian security services. Speaker 2: In those years, especially before 2014, it was a little bit easier to be both faithful to Ukraine while also having important and close relationships with folks of influence in Russia. A lot of people who were concerned about Russian influence sometimes didn't really understand where Denis Kireev's loyalties really lied.Speaker 3: And we have been watching protests spread across Ukraine for the first time.Speaker 4: The crowd in Independence Square is now much angrier.
Speaker 2: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is elected president of Ukraine, and this starts to change the outlook for Denis Kireev. Speaker 2: And that's when things really begin to get serious for Denis Kireev. Because in 2021, he's summoned to the headquarters of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the GUR, and there the head of the GUR, General Kyrylo Budanov, has a proposition for him.Speaker 2: He sat him down and he said that he wanted Kireev to try and infiltrate Russian military intelligence on behalf of his country.Speaker 2: That was a big decision for Kireev, but it was his opportunity.
Speaker 7: Most of the Russian forces have abandoned the strategically crucial Antonov Airport, just six miles outside of Kyiv. Speaker 2: He shows up at the table. Photos are later circulated where you see negotiators on either side of the table, and there's Kireev and a lot of people who knew him. They were shocked.Speaker 9: Obviously after his appearance there, his connection to the special services became evident for everyone. It was no longer possible to hide, but unfortunately back then the situation was critical and we had to take the risk.Speaker 2: The negotiations don't go very far.
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