Searching for Ukrainian air defense: Russian agent detained for passing geolocations of Ukrainian Armed Forces units to occupants
Kyiv • UNN
The SBU detained a Russian agent who arrived in Ukraine on the eve of the full-scale invasion under the guise of a salesman and in 2023 began surveillance to identify Ukrainian air defense systems and radars to facilitate Russian air strikes.
The Security Service of Ukraine detained a Russian agent who arrived in Ukraine on the eve of February 24, 2022, under the "legend" of a seller of household and fuel and lubricants, and in 2023 began surveillance to identify batteries and air defense radars. This was reported by UNN with reference to the press service of the SBU.
Details
The SBU detained a Russian agent, who was supposed to locate Ukraine's air defense and adjust enemy fire on it. The suspect received the task from Russian military intelligence, for which he started working while living in Murmansk before the full-scale aggression.
To carry out the enemy's instructions, he arrived in Ukraine on the eve of February 24, 2022, under the "legend" of a seller of household and fuel and lubricant chemicals.
For a long time, he was in the status of a "sleeper agent" in order to settle in a new place and "unwind" his own business cover.
According to the SBU military counterintelligence, in the fall of 2023, Russian intelligence "deactivated" its agent. Under the guise of commercial trips, he "traveled" through the territory of Kyiv and Cherkasy regions, where he tried to detect air defense batteries and radar stations. He tried to detect Ukrainian NASAMS and Patriot air defense systems, used marine binoculars and high-resolution monoculars, and installed a hidden video camera in his car. The agent was supposed to pass the intelligence in the form of media files and geolocations of Ukrainian armed forces units to his Russian supervisor to conduct simultaneous air strikes against Ukraine.
The Russian agent was detained in his Kyiv apartment. During the search, the SBU seized optics that he used to track the positions of the Defense Forces. In the course of documenting the suspect, the SBU identified his "curator" as a staff member of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
The detainee was served a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and faces up to 12 years in prison.
Recall
The investigation revealed an extensive network of Russian agents posing as clerics of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) who worked to destabilize Ukraine by spreading disinformation, blocking legislationagainst the Moscow Church, and undermining international aid to Ukraine in support of Russia's war.
