During a special operation in Odessa, an agent of the Russian special services was detained, who was professionally proficient in conspiracy methods. He turned out to be the former head of criminal intelligence of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (which was disbanded in 2015) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
The attacker gathered intelligence, including information about the leadership of the Security Service.
The enemy agent was also interested in classified information about the identification data of officials and veterans of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the results of investigations into high-profile cases.
He transferred the collected information to his "liaison" in Moscow, a staff member of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation, Sergei Yeromin, whose activities are coordinated by the FSB.
The occupiers use the received information to identify "potential targets" among Ukrainian security forces, carry out sabotage and special information operations to discredit them, and attempt to recruit them.
It was established that the enemy accomplice moved to Odessa after his release from the police in 2014. He came to the attention of the Russian special services because of his pro-Kremlin views, which he expressed among his former law enforcement colleagues.
According to SBU counterintelligence data, the traitor was recruited by representatives of the aggressor country in June 2022.
Since then, on the instructions of the Moscow "curators", the agent has been gathering intelligence on the Security and Defense Forces, and information on the socio-political situation in the south of Ukraine. To transmit data in the Russian Federation, he used a previously developed electronic communication channel.
The traitor tried to involve several former employees of the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Odessa region in subversive activities.
During searches of the detainee's residence, law enforcement officers discovered the means of communication he used to communicate with representatives of the Russian Federation.
So far, SBU investigators have informed the perpetrator of suspicion of treason, committed under martial law, and the court has chosen a preventive measure for him in the form of detention.
Within the framework of criminal proceedings under part 2 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, urgent investigative and operational actions are ongoing to establish the crime's circumstances and bring other guilty persons to justice.
Measures to expose and detain the traitor were carried out by units of the SBU of the Odessa region under the coordination of the Counterintelligence Department of the Security Service and the procedural leadership of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.