Ukrainian counterintelligence dismantles suspected Russian spy link

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) counterintelligence has detained another alleged agent of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Kharkiv region.

The detainee is a local resident and the husband of a previously exposed informant who had been passing data to the FSB for the purpose of coordinating air strikes.

According to the SBU, Russian intelligence initially identified the suspect’s wife, who used a Telegram bot to transmit coordinates of Ukrainian Defence Forces units in the Dnipropetrovsk region. She was later joined in cooperation by her husband.

He reportedly gathered information on the locations and movement routes of Ukrainian troops in the Kharkiv region, photographed personnel and military equipment, marked positions on Google Maps, and transmitted the data to the FSB via anonymous accounts.

To conceal his activities, the suspect used an acquaintance who occasionally transported him around the city and surrounding areas in a private vehicle. Following the exposure of the wife, the SBU documented the husband’s activities and detained him at his place of residence.

During searches, law enforcement officers seized a smartphone and a laptop containing evidence of cooperation with Russia. Investigators have charged him under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law).

The suspect is currently in custody and faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

By Vafa Guliyeva