In Donetsk Region, law enforcement officers have detained a suspect accused of directing Russian attacks. He turned out to be a municipal worker from Sloviansk.
“The Security Service’s counter-intelligence has detained another enemy spotter in Donetsk Region. He turned out to be an employee of a municipal enterprise in Sloviansk who began working for Russian military intelligence (better known as the GRU),” they said.
The man came to the Russians’ attention because of anti-Ukrainian comments he posted in Telegram channel chats.
Investigators documented how he tracked, for Russia, backup command posts of the Defence Forces in the frontline city and their movement routes. For cover, the agent took a job as a general labourer at a local municipal landscaping and maintenance enterprise.
There, under the guise of work trips, he continued to monitor locations where Ukrainian troops and equipment were concentrated in the Sloviansk sector.
He stored the information he gathered on his smartphone as coordinates of potential targets, which the Russians were preparing to strike with guided aerial bombs and rocket artillery, including the Smerch multiple-launch rocket system.
SBU officers exposed the agent, documented his crimes and detained him at his place of residence. In parallel, measures were taken to secure Defence Forces locations in the area of enemy reconnaissance activity.
During a search, officers seized a mobile phone containing evidence of work for the Russian GRU.
Security Service investigators served him with a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law). The man is being held in custody without the right to post bail. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
- Since the start of the year, the SBU has exposed more than 150 people in cases involving treason, espionage and corruption.