The SBU exposed eight Russian agents who were registering Starlink accounts for the occupiers
On June 29, the Security Service of Ukraine exposed eight more Russian agents who, acting on orders from the Russian Federation, were registering Starlink satellite terminals for the needs of the occupying forces. According to the investigation, their activities were coordinated by the aggressor country’s intelligence services.
The investigation revealed that the suspects were residents of various regions of Ukraine, aged 18 to 44, who had come to the attention of Russian intelligence officers through Telegram channels advertising “easy money.”
For example, in the Rivne region, two conscripts were detained who had deserted their military unit without authorization and subsequently collaborated with the enemy.
After being recruited, both deserters first registered Starlink devices in their own names and provided the relevant details to their handlers in Russia.
Afterward, the agents received instructions from Russian intelligence officers to involve as many people as possible in the illegal verification of the terminals.
To do this, both perpetrators used the passport information of at least 14 of their acquaintances under false pretenses.
Two suspects, who already had prior convictions for theft and robbery, were detained in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
According to SBU counterintelligence, the perpetrators initially registered the Starlink terminals in their own names and provided the necessary details to a Russian handler, and then recruited 14 more people to participate in the illegal registration of the terminals.
In Volyn, an 18-year-old resident of the regional capital was exposed for registering a Starlink device in his own name and granting access to Russian agents, and then recruiting seven more acquaintances who illegally activated the satellite systems for Russia.
Based on the evidence gathered, investigators from the Security Service informed the detainees of their status as suspects in connection with the crimes committed under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2 of Article 111 (treason committed under martial law);
- Part 1 of Article 111-2 (aiding an aggressor state);
- Part 4 of Article 408 (desertion).
The suspects face sentences ranging from 10 years in prison to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The comprehensive operation was conducted under the procedural guidance of the Dnipropetrovsk and Volyn regional prosecutor’s offices, as well as the Rivne Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense in the Western Region, according to the SBU.
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