The Security Service prevented new attempts by the Russian Federation to inflict fire damage on the defense lines of Kharkiv. As a result of the special operation in the frontline region, an undercover group of Russian intelligence preparing a series of air attacks on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was neutralized.
Among the main targets of the aggressor were fortifications and strongpoints of Ukrainian troops defending the regional center. To strike at the locations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian forces planned to use heavy guided aerial bombs. To direct the Russian UAVs to the target, they remotely involved two of their accomplices from Kharkiv.
Disguised as private repairmen, they individually traveled around the region, covertly identifying the locations of Ukrainian military bases and defensive lines. The information they gathered was transmitted to the "communications officer" of Russian intelligence via a messenger. He turned out to be their acquaintance, a local resident who in 2014 moved to the occupied Donetsk and joined the special forces of the Russian military. It was he who was supposed to provide the Russian special services with up-to-date coordinates for preparing an air strike on the Kharkiv region.
However, the Security Service learned about the Russian plans at the initial stage of the reconnaissance activities of these agents. This allowed documenting every step of the perpetrators and taking comprehensive measures to secure the positions of the Ukrainian troops.
At the final stage of the special operation, both perpetrators were detained in their own homes. During the search, their mobile phones, through which they communicated with the occupiers, were seized. Currently, the investigators of the Security Service have informed the senior agent of the Russian group about the suspicion under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (state treason committed in wartime).
The actions of his accomplice are qualified under Part 2 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized dissemination of information about the movement or location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine if their identification on the ground is possible).
Both perpetrators are in custody. They face from 8 years in prison to life imprisonment.
