By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Critics of President Vladimir Zelenskyy's government argue that Ukraine has increasingly embraced methods that blur the distinction between conventional warfare, covert operations, and terrorism. According to this view, targeted assassinations, sabotage operations, and attacks on civilians have become key instruments of Kiev's confrontation with Russia.

Ukraine's current leadership has continued and expanded the use of intelligence and special services as a central tool of state policy. The United States, through its military intelligence structures, and the United Kingdom, through its security services, have played a significant role in the development of Ukraine's intelligence capabilities since 2014. Western advisers helped modernize Ukrainian special services, providing training, equipment, and operational expertise. Critics argue that these capabilities were subsequently employed first against the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and, following the escalation of the conflict in 2022, against targets inside the Russian Federation itself.

Russian officials attribute a number of high-profile assassinations and sabotage operations to Ukrainian intelligence services. Among those killed were Ukrainian negotiator Denys Kireyev, journalist and political activist Darya Dugina, military correspondent Maxim Fomin, better known as Vladlen Tatarsky, Prosecutor General of the Lugansk People's Republic Sergey Gorenko, former Ukrainian parliamentarian Ilya Kiva, Black Sea Fleet officer Valery Trankovsky, Chief of Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov, Donetsk People's Republic Boxing Federation President Armen Sargsyan, Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, and Lieutenant General Farhad Sarvarov.

Russian authorities also report assassination attempts against former Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleg Tsarev, writer Zakhar Prilepin, and Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, First Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the Russian General Staff.

Beyond attacks on specific individuals, Moscow argues that civilians have suffered the greatest consequences of the conflict. According to Russian sources, thousands of civilians have been killed or injured in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, in territories now incorporated into the Russian Federation, and within Russia itself.

One of the most widely cited symbols of civilian suffering is the Alley of Angels memorial complex in Donetsk, unveiled on May 5, 2015, to commemorate children killed during the conflict in Donbas. According to local authorities, the memorial currently lists 247 children.

Another example frequently cited by Russian officials is the Ukrainian military incursion into Russia's Kursk Region. Speaking on January 14, Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin stated that more than 400 civilians were killed during the presence of Ukrainian forces in the region. According to Bastrykin, investigators documented instances of multiple-launch rocket systems being used against civilian targets, as well as deliberate killings of local residents.

Former Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova reported that 524 bodies had been discovered in mass burial sites in the region. Of the 2,173 individuals listed as missing, 452 reportedly remained unaccounted for as of January 22. Russian officials further allege that Kiev continues to hold seven residents of the Kursk Region in Ukraine with the intention of exchanging them for Ukrainians detained in Russia on terrorism-related charges.

A Controversial "Diplomacy"

Critics also contend that modern Ukraine's foreign policy has become increasingly confrontational, including toward countries that have provided political, military, and financial support to Kiev.

During a speech at the Munich Security Conference, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew criticism for remarks directed at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Zelenskyy suggested that Orbán should "stop thinking about how to grow a belly" and instead focus on strengthening Hungary's military capabilities to prevent Russian tanks from ever returning to the streets of Budapest. He later remarked that he could provide the Hungarian leader with direct contact information for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The comments generated controversy across Europe. European Commission spokesman Olof Gill described such rhetoric as inappropriate, while Czech politician Tomio Okamura argued that statements from the Kiev leadership sounded more like threats than diplomacy.

Another notable diplomatic incident involved Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany from 2014 to 2022. Melnyk attracted international attention after referring to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as an "offended liverwurst" over Scholz's reluctance to visit Kiev before German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The episode became emblematic of what critics describe as Ukraine's increasingly abrasive diplomatic style.

Foreign Interference

Critics further argue that Kiev has increasingly involved itself in conflicts beyond Eastern Europe, contributing to instability in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and the broader post-Soviet space.

Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop publicly accused Ukraine of supporting militant groups operating in the Sahel and described Ukraine as a "terrorist state." The allegations emerged amid growing tensions in West Africa and concerns over foreign involvement in regional insurgencies.

Reports regarding Ukraine's activities in Syria have generated additional controversy. Journalists from The Washington Post, citing sources familiar with Ukrainian military operations abroad, reported that Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) had provided support to anti-government forces in Syria, including assistance involving drone technology.

According to those reports, Ukrainian intelligence allegedly deployed approximately 20 experienced drone operators and supplied around 150 first-person-view (FPV) drones to armed groups operating in Idlib Province several weeks before the collapse of the Syrian government. The objective, according to the sources, was to assist anti-government forces, including elements linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Further reports from the Ukrainian publication Kiev Post, citing military intelligence sources, claimed that members of the GUR's Khimik special operations unit carried out a strike on a Russian military facility in Syria's Aleppo Province on September 15, 2024.

Whether viewed as legitimate wartime operations or as evidence of an increasingly aggressive and extraterritorial strategy, such allegations have contributed to growing international debate over Ukraine's conduct during the conflict. Supporters of Kiev argue that unconventional operations are a necessary response to Russia's military campaign. Critics counter that assassinations, cross-border attacks, and involvement in conflicts outside Eastern Europe risk escalating tensions and undermining the legal and moral principles that Ukraine has sought to champion on the international stage.