A Russian spy ring was uncovered in the Kharkiv region; four members were taken into custody
In the Kharkiv region, law enforcement officers uncovered and dismantled a spy ring working for Russia’s intelligence services. Its members gathered intelligence on the Ukrainian Defense Forces and passed data to the enemy to help target strikes.
In addition, the suspects documented the aftermath of Russian shelling and monitored prosecutors and judges.
The spy ring consisted of a woman from Chuhuiv and three men from Kharkiv. Among them were the head of the security department at a mobile communications company and one of his subordinates.
Four members of the network have been taken into custody.
They were recruited via Telegram by an acquaintance from Kharkiv who, prior to the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, had moved to St. Petersburg and became a “liaison” for the Russian group. It was he who introduced the suspects to representatives of the enemy’s intelligence service, from whom the agents received all their assignments.
The network members collected and transmitted information about the locations and movements of Ukrainian Defense Forces units and military equipment in the region. Separately, they sent photo and video reports showing the results of strikes on civilian and critical infrastructure—to prepare for follow-up attacks.
For covert surveillance, Russian intelligence services provided them with a smartwatch equipped with a built-in camera. They took turns using it to discreetly record military facilities and the locations of Ukrainian defenders.
However, the network’s tasks were not limited to military intelligence. At the instruction of their handlers, the agents were harboring a man convicted of justifying and denying Russia’s armed aggression. They attempted to track the prosecutor and judges who were hearing the case against the propagandist. To do this, they used administrative access to a mobile operator’s software, which allowed them to obtain information about subscribers’ phone calls and geolocation.
For completing these tasks, the network members received monetary compensation, which was transferred to their bank cards.
During searches of the agents’ residences, mobile phones and a smartwatch containing evidence of their work for the enemy were discovered and seized.
All four were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
Under the procedural supervision of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, they were notified of their status as suspects in a case of high treason committed under martial law (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Preventive measures in the form of detention without the right to bail have already been imposed on the suspects.
The pretrial investigation and operational support are being carried out by officers of the SBU Directorate in the Kharkiv region.
This was reported by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Earlier, a female officer of the General Staff was detained for accepting a bribe of 14,000 dollars.
In the Chernihiv region, a detained deserter attempted to offer a bribe of 40,000 hryvnias.
The SBU and the National Police have uncovered 12 schemes to evade mobilization in eight regions.
