Ukraine terminates secret communications agreement with Russia

Taras Melnychuk, the Ukrainian government's representative in the Verkhovna Rada, has announced that Ukraine is withdrawing from its agreement with Russia on secret communications.

Melnychuk made the announcement via his Telegram channel, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

“The agreement between the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers and the Russian Federation for a direct classified telephone line between Kyiv and Moscow has been terminated,” Melnychuk stated.

The agreement, which had been in effect since 1998, is now dissolved. This move follows Ukraine’s earlier withdrawal from a separate agreement with Russia regarding joint border control, which was signed on October 18, 2011, in Donetsk. According to Melnychuk, these actions are in response to the “armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”

In February 2023, Melnychuk also announced Ukraine’s withdrawal from three agreements related to border cooperation with Russia, Belarus, and within the CIS.

In related developments, Hungary has recently called on the EU to establish a secret communication channel with Russia.