Klymenko: Preparation of the attack on NABU and SAPO began back in autumn 2024

Preparation for last year’s attack on NABU and SAPO began back in the fall of 2024 — long before the adoption of the law that restricted the independence of anti-corruption bodies.

This was stated by SAPO Head Oleksandr Klymenko in an interview with the project “Є питання”.

According to him, after the law was passed, the SSU continued to exert pressure on NABU and SAPO.

When asked whether he considers Andriy Yermak the main architect of the attack, Klymenko replied that decisions were made collectively during meetings. At the same time, he mentioned a recorded conversation in which Yermak insisted that “the law cannot be rolled back,” even after the president had effectively decided to repeal it.

According to Klymenko, Yermak proposed creating an expert group involving international specialists, which could delay the process and reduce the intensity of protests.

The SAPO head also stated that over the past year, law enforcement had recreated the mechanism for preparing such an attack. In particular, he said, the so-called urgent searches were prepared in advance, and evidence for them was falsified.

Klymenko claims that some participants in those events later became subjects of criminal proceedings themselves and received notices of suspicion. Among the public figures involved in the attack, he mentioned Yulia Tymoshenko.

According to the SAPO head, the former first deputy director of NABU was also involved in the preparations, providing advice and documents.

The greatest resistance to NABU and SAPO, Klymenko claims, is currently coming from the Security Service of Ukraine. At the same time, some of the people he identifies as involved in preparing the attack, after its failure, “played dead” and kept a low profile, understanding the possible consequences.