Counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine, in coordination with the Minister of Defense, prevented a Russian intelligence penetration attempt at one of the leading defense factories in the south of Ukraine.
As a result of a special operation in Mykolaiv, a Russian agent was detained while attempting to obtain information for the Russian forces about the locations of dispersed facilities of the defense enterprise in the region.
Investigation revealed that the woman involved enlisted her partner—a staff member of a Ukrainian defense industry enterprise—to commit the crime.
Initially, the Russian forces recruited the woman. Knowing that her affiliated company cooperated with the defense factory in Mykolaiv, the Russians tasked her with collecting information on the locations of DIU facilities and the types of defense contracts in the southern region.
For this purpose, she used her partner, who worked in the material and technical supply department of the defense factory and interacted with the woman’s company.
The SSU uncovered the spy pair at the early stage of their cooperation with the Russian forces.
It was established that the man provided the woman with information about the status of government contracts and the locations of the enterprise’s production workshops.
However, the agent did not manage to “report” to the Russian forces, as she was detained by the SSU at this stage.
During a search, investigators seized the woman’s smartphone containing evidence of her contacts with her “handler,” Serhiy Lebedev (known by the alias “Lokhmaty”), who works in Donetsk for the FSB and Russian military intelligence.
The female suspect is in custody and faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property. Measures for her accomplice are currently being determined.
