Kharkiv region couple worked for enemy posing as animal volunteers - SSU. PHOTO

The SSU detained two Russian military intelligence agents operating in Kharkiv region. They were adjusting the aggressor's missile and bomb attacks on the regional centre and its suburbs.

This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the SSU press centre.

According to the case, the defendants worked in a couple. They were a local unemployed man and his live-in girlfriend.

"For the sake of secrecy, the agents posed as volunteers helping stray animals.

For this purpose, they even set up an improvised "shelter" in their own backyard. Under the guise of searching for abandoned animals, they travelled around the area and recorded geolocations for fire," the statement said.

What goals were the traitors looking for?

Potential targets included reserve deployment points and checkpoints of the Defence Forces, as well as medical facilities where wounded Ukrainian soldiers were being treated.

The traitors obtained all additional information "in the dark" from local residents whom they met during reconnaissance raids.

"The agents transferred the received intelligence by phone to their acquaintance, a militant who is fighting on the eastern front and cooperates with the Russian gru," the SSU added.

How were the enemy spies detained?

The SSU CI exposed the agent couple in a timely manner, documented their crimes and detained them at their place of residence. At the same time, comprehensive measures were taken to secure the positions of the Defence Forces in the frontline area of the region.

It was established that Russian military intelligence remotely recruited both suspects through their fellow villager, who has been fighting against Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

During the searches, mobile phones with evidence of their communication with the Russian GRU were seized from the detainees.

The SSU investigators have now served them with a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed by a group of persons under martial law).