The Security Service of Ukraine, with support from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, systematically uncovers Russian espionage networks and eradicates criminal schemes within the country’s security and defense forces.
Since the start of the full-scale war, employees of the SSU’s Military Counterintelligence Department (DVKR) have exposed 207 Russian intelligence agents collecting information on Ukraine’s Defense Forces and military facilities. Fifty-two of these agents were active military personnel. Forty-four traitors have already been sentenced to terms ranging from 12 to 15 years.
For example, a former commander of a Ukrainian Special Operations unit received a 15-year prison sentence for leaking operational plans of Ukrainian special forces to the Russian army. The SSU detained him in the fall of 2024 and confiscated his clandestine communication devices containing evidence of contacts with his Russian military intelligence (GRU) handler.
In 2025 alone, the SSU’s military counterintelligence has dismantled three Russian espionage networks.
In Zaporizhzhia in August, a Russian intelligence network was uncovered, which included a mobilized individual and a local priest of the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate). The operatives guided Russian aerial bombs toward Ukrainian Defense Forces positions and recruited new members for the Russian cell.
In Odessa, four FSB agents were arrested along with their senior handler. They were directing Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian arms, ammunition, and equipment depots, and gathering geolocation data on air defense units to help bypass Ukraine’s air defenses.
In Lviv, a 38-year-old informant was arrested for preparing coordinates for Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian helicopter airfields.
The SSU’s military counterintelligence also prevented the embezzlement of over 44 billion UAH in the defense sector. Since the start of the war, the department blocked 114 schemes to evade mobilization, stopped 222 illegal arms trafficking cases, and prevented weapons from being taken from combat zones.
In addition to countering the aggressor and its collaborators within Ukraine, the SSU’s military counterintelligence conducts special operations behind Russian lines and participates directly in frontline combat.
Since the start of the full-scale war, DVKR personnel have destroyed 219 Russian tanks, 358 armored combat vehicles, 318 artillery systems, and 73 electronic warfare systems on the battlefield.
