The SSU has apprehended the largest network of Russian agents that specialized in "hunting" for F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine

The Military Counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine has neutralized a large agent network of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). The perpetrators were spying on Ukraine's Defense Forces in five regions.

As a result of a special operation, 12 Russian agents and their informants were exposed. Some of them were deserters who had abandoned their units in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and, while evading justice, were recruited by the Russian intelligence service.

The members of the Russian cell acted separately, each reporting to a leader (resident) of the agent group based in Dnipropetrovsk. For concealment, the leader used forged "cover documents," such as fake "volunteer" and "anti-corruption activist" credentials.

He recruited accomplices from Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Odessa regions. In these areas, the agents gathered intelligence on the fire positions of Ukraine's air defense systems and attempted to identify the locations of secret military airfields where, according to the Russian forces, F-16 jets might be based.

Another task of the agents was to locate companies involved in the production of radio-electronic warfare equipment against Russian drones.

To gather intelligence, the agents secretly relied on their acquaintances, including Ukrainian soldiers stationed in frontline regions of Ukraine. When they received preliminary information, they would go to the field for further reconnaissance near potential targets.

Initially, the members of the agent group reported to the leader, who then passed the information on to his Russian handler.

The Military Counterintelligence of the SSU successfully exposed the entire Russian cell in advance, arrested the organizer, and notified his key accomplices of suspicion. Authorities are currently working on bringing charges against other members of the network.

During searches, mobile phones, flash drives, military documents, and forged IDs were seized.

Comprehensive measures are underway to hold other members of the Russian agent network accountable. The perpetrators face a prison sentence ranging from 8 years to life imprisonment with property confiscation.