A design engineer at a defence enterprise in Mykolaiv has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, with confiscation of his property, for treason. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), he attempted to pass on secret documentation concerning the latest gas turbine engines to the FSB, and also gathered information on the Defence Forces and energy facilities. The court classified the man’s actions under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code.
Briefly about the main points
- The court sentenced the engineer to 15 years’ imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of his property.
- The SBU has reported an attempt to pass on documentation relating to gas turbine engines to the FSB.
- According to the investigation, the recruitment took place through a former colleague from Russia.
- The man was allegedly recording the locations of the Defence Forces and the condition of energy infrastructure.
The FSB was interested in documentation relating to engine production
According to the findings of the investigation, Russian secret service attempted to obtain technical documentation on the manufacture of the latest gas turbine engines for use in its defence industry.
According to the security service, a former colleague of the engineer, who has been living in Russia since the 2000s, recruited him. On the instructions of his handler, the man was to photograph classified documents using his mobile phone and send the files via a messaging app. SBU reports an attempt to hand over the developments, rather than a successful handover of the materials.
The investigation has stated that it is collecting geolocation data on military and energy facilities
According to the SBU, in addition to gaining access to documentation, the engineer recorded the temporary locations of the Defence Forces and assessed the technical condition of energy infrastructure. The Russian side regarded these facilities as potential targets for missile and drone attacks.
To gather information, the man drove around the outskirts of Mykolaiv in his own car and saved his geolocation data on his smartphone. According to the investigation, he set up an anonymous email account to communicate with his handler and deleted the correspondence after each exchange.
Counter-intelligence detained an engineer in October 2024
Counter-intelligence officers documented the man’s activities and arrested him at his home in Mykolaiv. During searches, they seized computer equipment and mobile phones which, according to the SBU, contained evidence of collaboration with the Russian security service.
The SBU announced the verdict on 25 September.
