SSU has exposed GRU agent who enlisted in Armed Forces of Ukraine and was spying in Kharkiv. VIDEO&PHOTOS
After being recruited, the Russian agent enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to gather intelligence from within. He and his wife were detained in Kharkiv and charged with treason.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the SSU press centre.
"The Security Service’s military counter-intelligence unit, with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, detained a Russian spy couple in Kharkiv: a male serviceman from the Defence Forces and his wife," the statement reads.
The investigation revealed that the Russians had recruited the Kharkiv resident through his neighbour – a professor at Kharkiv University, whom the SSU had exposed in March this year for coordinating shelling of the city.
The agent monitored Kharkiv’s air defence systems and fortifications
Following this, the man was mobilised into the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was assigned as a reserve soldier in a reserve company of one of the combat units. Under the guise of official trips, he, according to the SSU, gathered information on the locations of air defence units, electronic warfare units, and fortifications in Kharkiv.
In addition, the man marked the geolocations of local combined heat and power stations and key electrical substations on Google Maps, which supply electricity to the city and surrounding areas.
He enlisted his wife in his espionage activities
Subsequently, the man enlisted his unemployed wife to collaborate with the Russian security services.
Initially, the woman patrolled Kharkiv on her own, attempting to identify the locations of Ukrainian military bases. She passed the information she gathered to her husband and, according to the investigation, later began reporting directly to a Russian handler.
The agent wanted to join a UAV unit
The man’s next task was to undergo training in the operation of unmanned aerial systems and to pass on to the Russian security service the materials obtained during his training.
Upon completing the course, he expected to be promoted and transferred to the UAV unit. According to the investigation, this was intended to enable him to expand his capabilities for gathering intelligence for the benefit of the Russian Federation.
Eighteen devices were seized from the couple
SSU officers systematically documented the activities of the agent couple and detained both suspects.
The man was arrested during another reconnaissance mission, whilst his wife was arrested at their home.
During the searches, law enforcement officers seized 12 smartphones, four laptops and two tablets, which, according to the investigation, the suspects used to maintain covert contact with the Russian GRU.
SSU investigators informed both detainees that they are suspected of an offence under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – treason committed under martial law.
The suspects are currently in custody without the right to bail. If found guilty, they face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
