Ukrainian Intelligence Says They Got the Russians to Arrest One of Their Own

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained and faces up to 15 years in prison thanks to a Ukrainian secret operation, Kyiv Post sources in intelligence said Wednesday, April 24.

In March, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (НUR) gained access to a huge amount of confidential information – including many of Ivanov’s own documents.

“In fact, he [Timur Ivanov] is a Russian patriot set up by Ukrainian intelligence, and the Kremlin elders took the bait,” the Kyiv Post source said.

Moscow was well aware of Timur Ivanov’s bribery, but it did not become a reason to bring him to justice. However, the huge leak of classified information and the publicity garnered by the Ukrainian operation ended Ivanov’s tenor as the second man in the Defense Ministry after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the source said.

Ivanov was detained on Tuesday evening, April 23, on suspicion of taking a bribe, Russian media outlet TASS reported.

Shoigu’s deputy was sent to a pre-trial detention center for two months – until June 23, 2024. Russian prosecutors allege Ivanov took a bribe of at least 1 million rubles ($10,800), during contracting and subcontracting works for the Defense Ministry.

The court confirmed the bribery allegations against Shoigu’s deputy, TASS reported.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said both Shoigu and President Vladimir Putin were informed of Ivanov’s detention, TASS reported.

Ivanov has worked in the Defense Ministry for over a decade, becoming Deputy Defense Minister in 2016. He also headed Oboronbud, a joint-stock company under the Ministry of Defense, for three years. Previously, he worked as a deputy prime minister of the Moscow region and at Russian fuel and energy companies.

Ivanov oversaw construction-related issues at the Defense Ministry, where he was responsible for building the main temple of the armed forces – the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

After the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he was placed in charge of the project to “restore” occupied Mariupol, which sustained extensive damage by the Russian Armed Forces.