There is no information about Chervinsky’s whereabouts, he could have been abducted for transfer to Russia - lawyer Yosypov.

Neither his defence lawyers nor his family know where ex-intelligence officer Roman Chervinskyi is now. After the court hearing in Kropyvnytskyi, where no decision was made to extend the measure of restraint, Chervinskyi was taken to an unknown destination.

According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Chervinsky's lawyer, Andriy Yosypov, on the Pryamyy TV channel.

The lawyer reminded that on 19 April, at midnight, the term of the preventive measure of detention had expired. The court in Kropyvnytskyi did not make any decision to extend the measure of restraint, but Chervinskyi was taken from the courtroom in an unknown direction. The defenders of the intelligence officer fear that, given the numerous successful special operations involving Chervinsky against Russia, he may be secretly handed over to the aggressor state.

"As of 06.30 pm, neither we, as defence counsels, nor Chervinskiy's wife, nor his family know the whereabouts of Chervinskiy. On 19 April, late in the evening, he was supposed to be released from custody. But as of today, we do not know his whereabouts for certain. We have filed statements both about the abduction and illegal detention of Chervinsky with the law enforcement agencies. As of today, we do not have any information about his whereabouts," Yosypov said.

Read more: Court did not extend Chervinskyi’s detention, but they may try to arrest him without trial - lawyer Lysenko

"From the media, we have seen the alleged fact that he was escorted to the pre-trial detention centre in the city of Kropyvnytskyi. But given the circumstances of the convoy, namely, how he is being transported, the repeated changes of cars, and the fact that we have not even seen him actually being put in the car used for the convoy, neither I as a defence lawyer nor his relatives can say for sure, to guarantee that he is in the conditions of the pre-trial detention centre," the lawyer said.

"For two days now, law enforcement agencies have not responded to our appeals," Yosypov added.

"We had information about the fact that Chervinsky was wanted in the Russian Federation. And I would not like to go too far ahead, but I will not rule out this fact, and at least we will check the fact that Chervinsky could have been abducted - this is only an assumption - to be handed over to the enemy. I will not completely reject this fact either. Why? Because, once again, the story of Chervinsky and the history of his special operations against our enemies is well known not only to the public. Those operations that could be openly discussed after their completion. Both 'Wagnergate' and Tsemakh. The biography of Chervinsky raises our fears that he may not be in a pre-trial detention centre," the lawyer said.

Read more: Court hearing in Chervinskyi case has been postponed

"We would have been much calmer if the measure of restraint had been extended, but we would have known for sure that there was a court decision to extend it. Whether it is legal or illegal, whether it is justified or not, is another question. We would react accordingly. But the very absence of information, including from the Kirovohrad District Court, on the adoption of any decision on the basis of which he could be held in custody, the absence of information from law enforcement agencies within two days about his whereabouts and the lack of response to our statements, the absence of information from the pre-trial investigation body and the prosecutor's office in this criminal proceeding, information directly to defence counsels and the family - all this really makes us - again, only as an assumption - think about the worst

"I would really hate to think about the worst, but given Chervinsky's biography, given the criticism he has expressed, criticism in the 'Wagnergate' case, criticism of Yermak and Zelensky in the case of the transfer of Tsemakh to the Russian Federation, one of the key witnesses in the case of the Malaysian Boeing shot down over the territory of Ukraine. I really hope that on Monday, when both the judiciary and the law enforcement system start working in a slightly better mode, we will have a little more information. But as of today, we have no information - neither we nor the family - about Chervinsky's whereabouts. The information that is publicly available about his possible convoy to the pre-trial detention centre in Kropyvnytskyi has not been confirmed in any way," the lawyer summed up.

Watch more: Rally in support of Chervinskyi is held in Kropyvnytskyi in front of court. VIDEO

The case of Roman Chervinsky

The media reported that the Ukrainian military had been recruiting a Russian pilot for several months to hijack the plane. According to media reports, Roman Chervinsky was among them. Subsequently, as the SSU noted, the "operation" was carried out over the objections of the SSU and without the consent of the relevant state authorities. As a result, the enemy received information about the deployment of personnel of the Ukrainian Air Force and Ukrainian aircraft at the Kanatove airfield. This allowed the Russian Armed Forces to shell the airfield.

Later, Chervinsky gave Censor.NET an exclusive interview in which he spoke about the operation at Kanatove airfield.

In April 2023, the SSU served Chervinsky with a notice of suspicion in the case of the shelling of the Kanatove airfield in Kirovohrad region by the occupiers. He was detained in the Ternopil region.

Major General Viktor Hanushchak, who was in charge of the military unit to which Colonel Chervinsky was assigned as deputy commander, told Censor.NET that the operation at Kanatove airfield had been agreed with the top leadership of the Armed Forces. However, the court refused to hear Hanushchak and did not accept evidence in favour of Chervinsky.

Roman Chervinskyi was one of the intelligence officers who organised an operation in 2020 to detain Russian mercenaries from the Wagner PMC, luring them to Belarus. There, the mercenaries were supposed to board a plane that would later be crash-landed in Ukraine by the Ukrainian special services. However, the operation failed. On 24 June 2021, President Zelenskyy confirmed the preparation of a special operation against the Wagnerites. Zelenskyy also said that the special operation against the Wagnerites was the idea of other countries and that Ukraine was involved in this issue as much as possible.

In December 2021, DIU intelligence officers Chervinskyi and Semeniuk spoke about the betrayal of the operation. According to Chervinskyi, several people from the President's Office could have leaked information about the operation to detain the Wagnerites. He also said that the Presidential Office threatened the ex-intelligence officers with criminal proceedings.

On 28 December 2023, Colonel Roman Chervinsky was served a notice of suspicion of attempting to seize USD 100,000 by impersonating an official of the State Fiscal Service.