The Security Service of Ukraine has reported the exposure of an FSB spy ring which, according to the investigation, was gathering data to target air strikes against the Defence Forces in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions. During a multi-stage special operation, four informants were detained simultaneously. All have been charged with high treason committed under martial law.
Briefly about the main points
- The group members worked separately, but had a shared supervisor from Russia.
- The investigation cites warehouses, air defence positions, military personnel and equipment as targets.
- The individuals in question came to the attention of the FSB because of anti-Ukrainian comments they made in Telegram chat groups.
- During the searches, mobile phones containing evidence of work for the FSB were seized.
- The suspects could face life imprisonment with confiscation of their property.
How the network of agents operated
According to the investigation, the suspects acted independently of one another, but were working for a common handler based in the Russian Federation. The Russian security service’s priority targets were logistics depots containing weapons and ammunition, Ukrainian air defence positions, and locations where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and military equipment were most heavily concentrated.
The SBU has established that the Russian security service took an interest in these individuals following their anti-Ukrainian comments in Telegram channel chat rooms. They passed on intelligence via an anonymous chat in the messaging app, and deleted the chat history after each communication session.
Arrests in three regions and a suspicion
One of the network’s members was a former employee of a machine-building plant in Kramatorsk. According to the SBU, he was gathering intelligence on the locations of operational airfields and fortifications in the region. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the coordinates of Ukrainian military facilities were passed on by an employee of a municipal utility company from Kamianske and a deserter from Pavlohrad.
An unemployed man from Znam’yanka was detained in the Kirovohrad region. According to the investigation, he was walking around the town recording geolocation data which, in his view, could be used by the Defence Forces. During searches, mobile phones containing evidence of his work for the FSB were seized from the detainee.
SBU investigators have notified all those implicated of the charges against them for Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code — treason under martial law. They are currently in custody. The penalty under this section provides, in particular, for life imprisonment with confiscation of property; however, guilt and the sentence are to be determined by the court. The operations were carried out by the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the procedural supervision of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
