Assassination of Konovalets in Declassified Documents of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine

On May 23, 1938,  on stalin’s personal order, NKVD agent Pavlo Sudoplatov killed OUN leader  Yevhen Konovalets. Declassified archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reveal the key role of soviet agent Vasyl Khomyak (“Lebid”), who was recruited after his arrest in 1921. In 1933, he was infiltrated into the OUN emigrant community under the guise of a “fugitive” from the USSR.

In Belgium, Khomyak gained Konovalets’s trust, was vetted, and joined the Provid’s work. He handed over hundreds of pages of the  OUN’s internal  materials to soviet intelligence. Despite threatening signals, such as attempts to recruit other figures, he was not exposed. Through Khomyak, moscow  was receiving critical information about the OUN’s strategic plans.

This murder was the result of a sophisticated operation of disinformation, trust, and manipulation, – a weapon that works as well as bullets. This case is a reminder that in war, not only armies are decisive, but so are information, loyalty, and the ability to recognize betrayal.

Read more about Operation “Stavka” on the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine’s social media pages.