The SBU neutralised the FSB agent network that was adjusting the occupiers' air strikes on the military and civilian infrastructure of Zaporizhzhya. This was reported by the SBU press centre.
"As a result of a special operation in the regional centre, a leader of the enemy group was detained. On 18 October this year he guided Russian missiles at an apartment building in the city centre. That night, 5 people were killed and 5 others were seriously injured as a result of the enemy shelling," the statement said.
According to the investigation, the traitor was a local resident, a representative of the Zaporizhzhya "military reenacting club", which brings together fans of reenacting historical events, including military battles. In mid-October 2023, he was remotely recruited by the FSB to conduct reconnaissance and subversive activities.
To communicate with the Russian secret service, his accomplice chose the operational pseudonym "Palestinian" and created an anonymous chat room in a popular messenger. To ensure the fulfilment of hostile tasks, he formed his own group of informants, which included four local residents, including his relatives.
According to the investigation, they reconnoitered the locations of the Defence Forces in Zaporizhzhya, as well as transmitted the geolocation of residential infrastructure and industrial facilities. To collect intelligence, the informants walked around the area or visited the facilities and took photos and videos of them on their own phones.
They passed the information to the "Palestinian", who then sent it to the FSB through a "liaison" in one of the temporarily occupied cities in Zaporizhzhya Region.
During the searches of the detainee's and his accomplices' residences, the SBU seized firearms, computer equipment and mobile phones with evidence of criminal activity. The law enforcement also found prohibited Soviet and pro-Kremlin symbols.
SBU investigators have now served Palestinian a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons under martial law) and a custody as a measure of restraint has been chosen. He faces life imprisonment.
On the night of 18 October, Russian troops launched six missile attacks on Zaporizhzhya. One of the strikes hit a multi-storey building in the city centre. The strike killed five people and injured five others.