Smeshko Ihor Petrovych

General-"intelligence officer", former head of the SBU during Yushchenko's poisoning

Military engineer-missilist (born 1955, Khrystynivka), Doctor of Technical Sciences. Career in special services: military attaché in the USA (1992–95), head of the Intelligence Committee under the President, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense (1997–2000), Deputy Secretary of the NSDC. Head of the SBU (September 2003 – February 2005). Advisor to Poroshenko (2014–19), founder of the pro-European party "Force and Honor", presidential candidate in 2019 (~6%). Since March 2022, suspended political activity.

"Dinner at the dacha"

He headed the SBU when on 5 September 2004, presidential candidate Yushchenko was poisoned at the dacha of his deputy Satsyuk. Smeshko's name has been linked to the case for years, but in 2019, the General Prosecutor's Office and the SBU confirmed he was never under suspicion; he himself denies involvement and won a defamation lawsuit against Nalyvaichenko (2021).

Assets and Crimea

According to the 2019 declaration: 14 plots of land (>7 ha), a 406 m² house, apartments in Kyiv, a recreation base in Mykolaiv region, around $270,000 in cash. The media (OBOZ) has called on anti-corruption agencies to verify the origin of the assets. His wife has owned an apartment in Crimea (Koreiz) since 2012. Periodic "compromising" allegations about connections with the FSB remain unconfirmed.