Ukraine removes head of military intelligence

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on September 9 dismissed the head of the country's military intelligence, Sergei Grymza.

Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted a statement on the official website of the Ukrainian president announcing the decision, but did not explain the reason.

Mr. Grymza has been the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine since August 17, 2010.

In another development on September 9, Russia refused to allow Estonia to contact an Estonian security official who was detained by Russia and accused of espionage.

Russia detained Eston Kohver after a disturbance on the border between the two countries and refused to allow the Estonian consulate in Moscow to see him.

According to Reuters, Russia's FSB national intelligence agency arrested Kohver for "conducting espionage activities" inside Russia.

“We do not know where they are holding him,” Estonia’s National Security Agency said in a statement on September 8.

There is currently a dispute over whether Kohver was detained on Russian or Estonian territory.

Estonia said Kohver was detained by “unidentified elements from Russia” on its territory near the Luhamaa border checkpoint, forcing Estonia to summon the Russian ambassador in protest late last week.

But the FSB said Kohver was arrested on Russian territory because a search by Russian authorities found him carrying a gun, $6,539 in cash, a listening device and “other equipment for gathering intelligence.”

Estonia has denied allegations that Kohver was an intelligence officer.

Tensions are rising in Eastern Europe as the European Union (EU) and NATO accuse Russia of directly supporting separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.

Estonia, along with the Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania, joined NATO in 2004.

Youth Source