The counterintelligence department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has prevented another attempt by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to infiltrate the Ukrainian Defence Forces.
During a special operation in Kharkiv region, the SSU detained a former lawyer who, allegedly acting on FSB instructions, had enlisted in one of the elite brigades of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces to conduct espionage from within the unit.
According to investigators, the suspect collected and transmitted information to Russian intelligence about the deployment and movements of the military unit in which he served.
SSU officers identified the alleged agent at an early stage. The agency said its counterintelligence response helped protect Ukrainian military positions and disrupt Russian combat operations on the eastern front.
Investigators established that the former lawyer had previously been sentenced to prison at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion for illegally disclosing information about Ukrainian Defence Forces operations.
After his release, an FSB officer contacted him through a messaging application and offered cooperation in exchange for evacuation to Russia.
The Russian intelligence officer subsequently instructed him to enlist in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and provide targeting information for Russian strikes against Ukrainian troops.
During searches, SSU officers seized a smartphone containing evidence of the suspect's alleged cooperation with Russian intelligence.
SSU investigators have charged him under Part 2 of Article 111 of Ukraine's Criminal Code — high treason committed under martial law. The suspect remains in custody without the possibility of bail. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment and confiscation of property.
