Based on materials from the Security Service of Ukraine, a Russian agent has been sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. He was exposed in January this year for adjusting enemy strikes on Ukrainian troops in Donetsk region.
This was reported by the SSU.
According to the investigation, the man directed Russian guided aerial bombs and long-range artillery at the locations where Ukrainian forces were based on the Kramatorsk axis.
The agent turned out to be a local labourer who cooperated with one of the Russian armed groups fighting on the eastern front.
To recruit the man, the Russians used an acquaintance of his from Russia. The perpetrator told him about his expectations of the entire territory of Donetsk region being seized.
After being recruited, the agent acted under the direction of a Russian serviceman who served as a liaison and passed the information received to his commander.
Following his handler’s instructions, the traitor tracked fortifications and firing positions of the Defence Forces. He disguised his reconnaissance trips as journeys to take on casual work in Kramatorsk.
The man passed the collected information to the enemy via a messenger app in the form of screenshots of the coordinates of military sites on Google Maps. To verify the data received, Russian troops first launched reconnaissance drones and, after confirming the targets, prepared strikes.
SSU officers detained the agent at his place of residence. Law enforcement also took measures to secure the positions of the Defence Forces in the area of his espionage activity. During a search, they seized two smartphones that he used for covert communication with the enemy.
The court found the man guilty of high treason committed under martial law (Part 2, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The investigation was carried out by officers of the SSU’s Main Directorate in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, under the procedural supervision of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.