The Security Service of Ukraine conducted a large-scale special operation in the Mykolaiv region, which resulted in the neutralization of another Russian intelligence network. This network consisted of 13 local residents who were working for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
The criminals were collecting intelligence about the locations and movements of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the southern region. They were also providing coordinates for Russian air attacks on residential and social infrastructure in the regional center.
It was under their guidance that Russian occupiers launched a missile strike from an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system on a multi-story building in Mykolaiv in the fall of 2022. As a result of the enemy shelling, seven civilians were killed, including a minor.
It has been established that Ukrainian object coordinates were transmitted to the FSB by Russian informants through a "liaison officer." This liaison officer turned out to be a pro-Kremlin blogger named Serhiy Lebedev, better known under the pseudonym "Lochmaty."
According to available information, he works for Russian special services as a "part-time correspondent" for the Moscow news agency "RIA Novosti" and is currently hiding in the temporarily occupied Donetsk.
In June of this year, the Security Service of Ukraine exposed him for engaging in intelligence and subversive activities against Ukraine and charged him with treason and violating the laws and customs of war.
During the investigation into the criminal actions of "Lochmaty," it was established that under the guidance of the FSB, he remotely created his own agency on the territory of the Mykolaiv region.
This agency included 13 local residents who were subscribers to his Telegram channel. Through this internet resource, the suspect recruited his agents and received intelligence information from them.
As a result of operational actions, the Security Service of Ukraine identified all participants in the Russian agency run by "Lochmaty" and detained them in various locations.
Based on the collected evidence, the investigators of the Security Service informed nine of the detainees about the suspicion under Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized dissemination of information about the movement, transfer of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment into Ukraine, the movement, transfer, or placement of Ukrainian Armed Forces). Currently, the individuals are in custody, and investigations are ongoing.
Four other participants in the hostile agency were found guilty of the committed crimes by the court and sentenced to 8 to 15 years in prison.
As for Serhiy Lebedev himself, he faces additional charges under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (state treason committed as part of an organized group during wartime).
Since the suspect is hiding from justice in the temporarily occupied part of eastern Ukraine, comprehensive measures are being taken to bring him to justice.
The special operation was conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine in the Mykolaiv region under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor's office.
