In Mykolayiv, an espionage network linked to the main headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff (known as GRU) has been neutralised, reports the SBU press service.
The criminals collected intelligence regarding the quantity and types of military equipment of the Armed Forces arriving in the Region, including those for repair and maintenance.
The head of the enemy group turned out to be an employee of a local defence enterprise, who was recruited by Russian intelligence during his military institute training in the former USSR.
Since then, he had been in a "waiting mode" and was activated after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
According to instructions from Russian GRU, the resident created his own espionage network in the southern region. He recruited his wife, with whom he worked at the defence plant, and two more acquaintances: one from the regional center and one from Ochakiv.
Thus, the criminals operated along two main directions of intelligence and subversive activities.
On the first front, the Russian agents, who were a married couple, gathered information about the types and technical condition of Ukrainian weaponry at the defence plant, using their access to its classified documentation and other sensitive information.
Two other enemy agents tracked the locations and movement routes of Ukrainian Armed Forces units involved in the defence of the region or counteroffensive operations on the southern front.
The gathered data was transmitted by Russian agents to their resident, who then reported to his "curator" within the GRU. Anonymous chats in one of the messengers were used for communication.
However, SBU counterintelligence acted proactively, timely exposing the Russian espionage network, and detained all four participants while attempting to transfer intelligence to the aggressor.
During searches of the perpetrators, Russian documents, banned communist symbols, and unregistered weapons were seized.
Based on the collected evidence, the SBU investigators have charged three of the detainees with suspicion under Article 111 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (state treason committed in wartime).
The fourth suspect has been charged under Article 114-2 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorised dissemination of information about the movement, transfer of weapons, armament, ammunition to Ukraine, movement, transfer, or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine).
Currently, all of them are in custody, and the investigation is ongoing. The perpetrators face potential life imprisonment.
Vitaliy Kim, the head of the Mykolayiv Regional Military Administration, thanked the SBU for their effective work.
In Dnipro, an FSB agent posed as a military officer to spy on the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The criminal faces potential life imprisonment.