The SBU exposed an FSB spy ring that was directing Russian strikes against the Defense Forces
The Counterintelligence Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine exposed an FSB agent network that was assisting Russian troops in coordinating airstrikes against the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Its activities spanned the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad regions.
Following a multi-stage special operation, SBU officers simultaneously detained four enemy informants in the eastern and central regions of Ukraine. The investigation revealed that the suspects operated independently of one another but shared a common handler based in Russia.
The enemy’s priority targets were logistics depots containing the Defense Forces’ weapons and ammunition, as well as air defense combat positions. In addition, the agents collected data on locations with the highest concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and military equipment. It has been established that the perpetrators came to the attention of Russian intelligence when they posted anti-Ukrainian comments in the chat rooms of Telegram channels.
One of the network’s members turned out to be a former employee of a machine-building plant in Kramatorsk, who was gathering geolocation data on operational airfields and fortifications in the region. Two other agents passed on the coordinates of military facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk region to the Russians. Among them were an employee of a municipal utility company from Kamianske and a deserter from Pavlohrad.
In the Kirovohrad region, an unemployed man from Znam’yanka was also detained; acting on orders from the FSB, he had been walking around the city and recording geolocations that he believed were being used by the Defense Forces. To maintain secrecy, the suspects transmitted intelligence to a Russian intelligence officer via an anonymous chat in a messaging app and deleted the correspondence after each communication session.
SBU officers uncovered the subversive activities of the enemy agents in advance, documented their crimes, and detained all four participants. During searches, mobile phones containing evidence of their work for the FSB were seized from the detainees.
SBU investigators notified the suspects that they are suspected of violating Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (treason committed under martial law). The suspects are currently in custody. They face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
In the Mykolaiv region, two people were injured over the past 24 hours as a result of attacks by Russian drones.
In the Poltava region, a fire broke out at an industrial facility as a result of Russian shelling.
In addition, since the evening of August 11, Russian troops have attacked four districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region nearly 20 times with drones and missiles. A 57-year-old man was injured as a result of the strikes.
On the night of August 11–12, Russian occupation forces struck Zaporizhzhia. The attack damaged one of the facilities belonging to the “Epicenter” chain.
