Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) conducted searches at the premises of Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) employees in an attempt to retaliate for the exposure of its alleged traders with Russia, as well as to weaken Ukraine ahead of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi. In the first case, they have already openly admitted to it.

This was stated by political expert Taras Zahorodnii in a Facebook post.

"NABU came to conduct searches at the SBU for two reasons: to take revenge for the exposure of its traders with Russia and to weaken Ukraine ahead of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi. They have already openly admitted to the first. NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) are conducting searches at agencies directly countering Russian aggression, both on the domestic and international fronts. This time, the searches targeted SBU employees under the pretext of 'looking for organized crime'," he said.

The expert pointed out that those providing information support to NABU are making no secret of the fact that this is an open confrontation with the SBU.

"This appears to involve both personal revenge and an attempt to undermine Ukraine's position ahead of the negotiations. According to the foreign-funded organization Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), the 'fault' of the SBU employees targeted by the searches is that they allegedly 'obstructed NABU and SAPO'. They are not even hiding the fact that NABU is using its powers to settle personal scores," he said indignantly.

The expert stressed that the searches took place, "by a 'strange coincidence'," on the eve of important negotiations in Abu Dhabi scheduled for November 10–11.

"Foreign agents have suddenly become much more active on orders from Washington (NABU has an official office for an FBI representative, and Abakumov, according to various reports, recently underwent 'training' in the United States. It cannot be ruled out that he received instructions directly from Witkoff and Kushner), which is now pushing Ukraine toward capitulation," he said.

Zahorodnii recalled the timeline of previous NABU searches and compared them with the dates of important negotiations.

"NABU launched all its 'high-profile' cases ahead of important negotiations at which Ukraine was expected to arrive in a weakened position. All these cases were immediately forgotten, but the media climate and the pressure exerted on the state remained," he stated.

In conclusion, the expert focused on what he described as NABU's broader objective in this situation.

"The agents are carrying out the orders of those who dislike the fact that Ukraine does not want to surrender, continues to fight, and is destroying our enemy. This is hardly surprising. NABU and SAPO are agencies hostile to the state and operating under external operational control," Zahorodnii wrote.

Earlier, experts had also compared NABU's activities with major foreign-policy events.

  • November 10, 2025 — the public phase of Operation Midas.

  • November 23, 2025 — negotiations in Geneva.

(Interval: 13 days.)

  • November 28, 2025 — searches at the Office of the President of Ukraine.

  • November 30, 2025 — negotiations in Florida.

(Interval: 2 days.)

  • December 27, 2025 — five members of parliament formally notified of suspicion.

  • December 28, 2025 — meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump.

(Interval: 1 day.)

  • January 21, 2026 — suspicion notice issued in the "green tariffs" case.

  • January 22, 2026 — meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump.

(Interval: 1 day.)

  • February 15, 2026 — Herman Halushchenko detained.

  • February 17, 2026 — negotiations in Geneva begin.

(Interval: 2 days.)

  • October 20, 2026 — meetings in Oslo.

  • October 21, 2026 — confirmation of searches by NABU.

(Interval: 1 day after the meetings.)