Defendant Alexander Bezrukavy in the Warsaw District Court. Photo: Novaya Gazeta Europe
Proceedings continue in the Warsaw District Court in the case of four Ukrainian citizens and one Russian, who are accused of sending parcels containing explosive and flammable substances. Novaya-Europe attended the hearing.
On May 27, the court examined the interrogation records of two defendants, Ukrainians Vladyslav Derkavets and Vyacheslav Chebanenko. Both insist they did not know what exactly was in the parcels and agreed to take part in sending them because they were promised money for it.
What Vladyslav Derkavets said. Derkavets is a young Ukrainian citizen who in the summer of 2024 was living with his girlfriend in Katowice, Poland. By that time, he had already spent a year in Poland in connection with a bank account hacking case and was under administrative supervision. He was prohibited from leaving the country.
At the same time, Derkavets had no job. Then he was approached with an offer by an acquaintance of his, also a Ukrainian, Sergey Yevseyev. He advised Vladyslav to write on Telegram to a user with the nickname Warrior. He offered him the job of transporting several parcels.
Derkavets agreed and went to Kaunas, Lithuania, where he bought a shovel and went to a cemetery. According to him, there he dug up two corn cans containing items that did not arouse suspicion.
After taking the cans, the Ukrainian returned to Poland and left them near the exit from the A2 highway in the direction of the city of Zgierz. Then Warrior gave him a second assignment, and Derkavets again went to Kaunas. At the same cemetery, he dug up drone parts that were to be delivered to Dusseldorf.
On the way to Germany, his car broke down, but Warrior demanded that he hurry. Derkavets called a tow truck, which took him to the border with Germany. From there he made his way to Dusseldorf, left the parcel, and returned back.
Later the Ukrainian went to Vilnius, where in a hotel room he assembled four parcels, placing massage pillows and cosmetic sets in each of them. Following Warrior's instructions, Derkavets switched on the massager, left the parcels on a bench in a Vilnius park, and returned to Poland.
Soon, three parcels caught fire in a truck near Warsaw, at Leipzig Airport, and at a warehouse in Birmingham. The fourth was intercepted in time by Polish police. Derkavets was detained in a rented apartment in Katowice.
During the hearing, the judge asked Derkavets whether these assignments had not seemed suspicious to him. He replied that at times he had doubts, since digging things up in a cemetery really did look strange. Nevertheless, he continued carrying out the assignments for the money.
What Vyacheslav Chebanenko said. Chebanenko is a Ukrainian citizen. As stated in the investigation by VSquare, re:Baltica, LRT, Delfi, Frontstory, and The Insider, in his home country he served four years in prison in a case involving the rape of his wife.
The man admitted that in August 2024, together with his acquaintance, Russian citizen Alexander Bezrukavy, he sent parcels with branded T-shirts to Canada and the United States. According to the plan, they were supposed to divide the goods between themselves and send them in parts. But at the last moment, Chebanenko said, his friend reported that he had forgotten his passport. As a result, he sent all the parcels alone.
According to the journalistic investigation, this was a test assignment; those shipments contained neither explosives nor flammable substances. Later, Chebanenko arrived in Vilnius and received there a parcel with massage pillows, cosmetics, and sex toys.
As journalists claim, the man rented an apartment and there divided this parcel into four separate ones. After that, according to their information, he activated timers on the devices and left the apartment.
According to Chebanenko, this way of earning money was offered to him by Sergey Yevseyev and Russian citizen Yaroslav Mikhaylov. Poland has placed the latter on an international wanted list, believing him to be involved in sending parcels with explosives. According to journalists, the Russian is in Azerbaijan. The foreign ministry of that country did not respond to Novaya-Europe's request about Mikhaylov's whereabouts and status.
Chebanenko also said that at some point what was happening began to seem suspicious to him, and he decided that it involved drug trafficking. After that, he stopped carrying out the assignments. Exactly when this happened is unknown.
Chebanenko also revealed another important detail. According to him, Yevseyev and Mikhaylov promised to pay him about three to four thousand euros a month for such assignments. Whether he received this money is unknown.