Officer of the Special Forces Roman Chervinsky, who is hiding from the investigation, is a de facto deserter, has been notified of suspicion of abuse of authority and will not escape responsibility, Head of the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Vasyl Maliuk said.

In an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering about the prospect of investigating the case against the military, who wanted to organize a special operation to hijack a Russian aircraft in the summer of 2022, as a result of which the enemy received information about the location of the Ukrainian aircraft and delivered a missile gift at Kanatove airfield, Maliuk said: "Literally today, a key defendant, Roman Chervinsky, was suspected of abuse of power. Since a person who previously liked to give interviews and engage in personal PR is hiding from the investigation, does not come for interrogations, and is even absent from his place of residence."

According to the SBU head, Chervinsky is actually a deserter, since he has not appeared in the service for almost eight months.

Maliuk said the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) initiated criminal proceedings on this fact under Article 407 of the Criminal Code (unauthorized leaving a military unit or place of service).

"But no tricks will help to avoid responsibility. In my opinion, the scoundrel, whose actions led to the death of one Ukrainian soldier and the wounding of seventeen more, should be punished. Indeed, some characters decided that they could arbitrarily carry out the so-called 'special operation' and Russian aircraft. They began to communicate with the enemy pilot, who allegedly agreed to go over to the side of Ukraine," Maliuk said.

He drew attention to the fact that the SBU and the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense immediately expressed their comments on this plan, it was not agreed upon by other public agencies, since the special operation contained many risks, "but some people decided to act at their own discretion."

"As a result, they didn't get the enemy aircraft, but the enemy found out where the Ukrainian planes and personnel were stationed. And launched a missile attack. The commander of the military unit was killed, and 17 defenders were injured. Not to mention the completely broken two combat fighters, the destroyed runway, other equipment and buildings," the SBU head said.

"Obviously, Chervinsky's actions, which led to such consequences, need a legal assessment. The SBU opened criminal proceedings. Therefore, everything is logical and according to the law," the SBU head said.

He also said the case was opened under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code (exceeding power or official authority by a military official).

Earlier, materials were published in the media, according to which Chervinsky, an officer of the Special Forces, tried to recruit one of the Russian pilots to fly a combat aircraft to Ukraine.

The SBU is investigating the circumstances of the missile attack on Kanatove airfield in Kirovograd region in July 2022, which occurred due to unauthorized actions of individual servicemen.

"The State Security Service of Ukraine is investigating all the circumstances that led to a massive missile attack on Kanatove airfield on July 23, 2022. According to the investigation, this shelling was provoked by unauthorized actions of individual servicemen who decided to conduct a so-called 'special operation' to seize the aircraft of the aerospace forces Russia, whose pilot allegedly agreed to the proposal to go over to the side of Ukraine," the Ukrainian security service said in the statement.