A former officer of the State Guard Department of Ukraine, Mykola Melnychenko, who was detained by employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and border guards at Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport on Wednesday, returned to Ukraine "to tell the truth," Melnychenko's friend, journalist of the National Television and Radio Company of Ukraine, parliamentary candidate in 223rd constituency of Kyiv from the Radical Party of Ukraine Natalia Rozynska has said.
“As a matter of fact, he said a long time ago that he would return. I guess he decided that now it’s time to come back and tell the truth,” she told Interfax-Ukraine in an interview on Wednesday.
Rozynska said she assumed that Melnychenko will be taken to the detention facility of the SBU, after which he will appear before a court that will select a measure of restraint for him.
Rozynska stressed that Melnychenko realized that he will be arrested in Ukraine, however “he also understands very well that he is not guilty.”
“He is a very brave and reckless person,” she said.
Rozynska also noted that she is getting ready to defend the ex-major at the trial.
“We will reject all those absurd charges and prove that Mykola is not the person who disclosed a state secret, he is a hero,” she said.
When asked about the state of health of Melnychenko, Rozynska said: “I talked to him, he is in good spirits. Lawyer Mykola Nedilko is staying with him.”
She also assumed that Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv was most likely to hear the Melnychenko case and select a measure of restriction for him.
“I have no doubt that we will prove that Melnychenko is right, but I am really worried about his life and health,” she said.
