The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Wednesday, June 14, that it had exposed an alleged Russian agent working in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who was responsible for trying to pass information relating to plans for the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The individual, who was acting as an agent of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, was identified as the result of an operation conducted in the Dnipropetrovsk region by the SBU military counterintelligence service with the assistance of the leadership of the AFU.
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The suspected collaborator was a resident of Enerhodar, in the Zaporizhzhia region, who had joined the AFU prior to the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, where he served in one of the garrisons in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The investigation found that in late 2022, he had been recruited by a member of the Russian military intelligence and was instructed to collect information about plans for Ukrainian combat operations.
On the eve of the AFU’s 2023 summer offensive, the individual received an urgent task from his Russian handler to find out the start date and main direction of Ukrainian counterattacks, along with logistical routes for Western-supplied weapons and military equipment.
In addition, the suspect, according to the SBU, made attempts to identify radio communication channels being used by units of the Ukrainian forces.
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According to the investigation, the suspected traitor used the Telegram messenger for direct communication with Russian military intelligence. However, before that, the defendant passed intelligence and subversive material to Russia through his mother, who remained in the temporarily occupied Enerhodar area, where she came to the attention of the Russian Armed Forces.
SBU officers promptly exposed the suspected mole, documented his criminal actions and detained him while in the act of performing another task on behalf of the aggressor.
Based on the collected evidence, SBU investigators informed the detainee that he was under suspicion of high treason committed under martial law, in accordance with the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
An investigation is currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime. The detainee is in custody. If found guilty, he faces a life sentence.
The special operation was carried out under the procedural guidance of the specialized prosecutor’s office in the area of defense of the Eastern Region.
This is not the first time that the SBU has exposed a suspected collaborator serving with the AFU. On June 1, the SBU detained a serviceman, a former resident of Bakhmut accused of collecting information on Western weapons, number of personnel and the location of air defense systems.
He had been recruited by Russian forces before the full-scale invasion began and was initially tasked with reporting on the effectiveness of Russian missile strikes, but was later persuaded to join the AFU.
He also used Telegram loaded onto a “burner” phone to communicate with his Russian handler.
He was arrested and informed by SBU investigators that he was being detained on suspicion of high treason committed under martial law.
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