The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained two agents from the Russian military intelligence (GRU) who were operating in the Kharkiv region. They were coordinating missile and bomb strikes by the Russian forces on the regional center and its surroundings.
According to the case materials, the individuals worked together as a pair. They turned out to be a local unemployed man and his partner.
For concealment, the agents posed as volunteers helping stray animals. They even set up an improvised "shelter" in their yard. Under the pretext of traveling to rescue abandoned animals, they toured the area and recorded geolocations for fire strikes.
Among the potential targets were backup deployment points, checkpoints of the Defense Forces, and medical facilities where wounded Ukrainian soldiers were receiving treatment.
The traitors gathered additional information covertly from local residents whom they met during reconnaissance missions.
The obtained intelligence was relayed via phone to their contact, a militant fighting on the eastern front and cooperating with the Russian GRU.
SSU counterintelligence swiftly uncovered the spy pair, documented their crimes, and arrested them at their residence. Simultaneously, comprehensive measures were carried out to safeguard the positions of the Defense Forces in the frontline area of the region.
It was established that the Russian military intelligence remotely recruited both individuals through their fellow villager, who has been fighting against Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
During searches of the detainees' properties, mobile phones containing evidence of their communication with the Russian GRU were seized.
Currently, SSU investigators have notified the suspects of charges under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed by a group of individuals under prior conspiracy during martial law).
The perpetrators are in custody. They face life imprisonment with asset confiscation.
