The publication dedicated its material to the suspect in state treason, Kulinich, and his actions aimed at undermining Ukraine's defense capabilities, alongside former Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Volodymyr Sivkovych, who is also suspected of state treason. Both acted in the interests of the aggressor state, the Russian Federation.
Journalist sources in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the prosecutor's office revealed that Kulinich, appointed as the head of the SBU in Crimea, was expected to perform early warning functions regarding signs of preparation for an attack by Russia from occupied Crimea, but instead, he encouraged corruption and diverted resources from counterintelligence.
Sources from The Times believe that Kulinich destabilized the operations of the SBU in Crimea and undermined its counterintelligence efforts.
Massive anti-terrorism drills in the Kherson region, initiated by Kulinich to identify weaknesses in Ukraine's defense, took place in April 2021, less than a year before the full-scale invasion.
The publication notes that Kulinich was also gathering information on the movements of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and passing this data to the Russians.
Journalists discovered that Kulinich's trips abroad alongside Sivkovych, who had been monitored by Ukrainian intelligence for "years," began to raise suspicions among Kulinich's colleagues in the SBU. The Times emphasizes that this was particularly noted by Vasyl Maliuk, who now heads the SBU.
The Ukrainian special service managed to seize evidence of Kulinich's anti-state activities from a computer in Moscow and during searches of an apartment in Kyiv, according to the report. Among the evidence were, in particular, joint photos of Sivkovych and Kulinich, as well as a photo of Kulinich with a person whom the U.S. government identified as an "active agent of the FSB of Russia."
When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, including from Crimea, Kulinich was aware of this in advance and, in the early hours of the major war, "blocked any attempts to inform the SBU leadership" (then headed by Ivan Bakanov) about the real situation.
The SBU informed the British publication that Kulinich not only failed to take measures to protect Ukraine but also disobeyed orders, relocated his staff to another region, and "even confiscated weapons from SBU personnel."
It was after these actions that Kulinich was announced to be dismissed, and he was later detained and arrested.
The Times emphasizes that Kulinich's arrest led to the start of a "major purge" of the SBU, which is still ongoing, and the dismissal of Bakanov, whose position was taken over by Maliuk.