Another informant of the Russian military intelligence received a real prison term, the SBU reports. The offender was collecting intelligence on the deployment and movement of the Defence Forces in the frontline territory of Mykolayiv Region.
On the instructions of the Russian secret service, he tried to identify the firing positions of the Ukrainian artillery, including HIMARS combat crews. In case of receiving intelligence, the informant planned to pass it to the occupiers to prepare targeted missile and drone strikes on the locations of Ukrainian troops.
However, SBU CI officers detained the offender in August 2022 during his reconnaissance "raid". Taking into account his cooperation with the investigation, the court sentenced him to 11 years in prison.
According to the investigation, the convict is a local resident who was remotely recruited by Russian military intelligence after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. He came to the attention of the occupiers as a supporter of the Kremlin's narratives in various social media.
According to the SBU, he received a proposal for covert cooperation with the aggressor on his phone via a popular messenger. Later, the traitor communicated with a staff member of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (known as the GRU). An anonymous chat was used for communication.
Based on the SBU materials, the court found the offender guilty under Part 3 of Art. 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorised dissemination of information on the movement of the Armed Forces committed under martial law).
Earlier in Mykolayiv, a tactical training instructor who turned out to be a Russian agent was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In particular, he reconnoitered the locations of personnel, military equipment and ammunition depots.