Enemy intensified its use of "honey traps" in attempts to assassinate military personnel - SBU
Kyiv • UNN
The SBU reports an intensification of Russian special services' efforts to eliminate Ukrainian military personnel through online dating. Since the beginning of 2026, more than 50 such cases have been prevented.
The enemy has begun actively using "honey traps" in an attempt to kill Ukrainian soldiers, warns the Security Service of Ukraine, reports UNN.
The SBU military counterintelligence is recording a significant increase in activity by Russian special services in attempts to eliminate Ukrainian soldiers using the so-called "honey trap" technique. This involves assassination attempts on Defense Forces soldiers who were targeted for killing through online dating and staged meetings with women. Since the beginning of 2026 alone, the SBU has prevented more than 50 such cases
As the SBU notes, "to lure soldiers into a 'honey trap,' the Rashists mostly use dating sites and thematic chats in messengers. On these platforms, enemy agents operate, offering soldiers intimate relationships from fake accounts." "Then Russian special services arrange meetings with men, inviting them to pre-prepared locations for their subsequent murder," the statement reads.
"Most often, to eliminate Ukrainian defenders, the Rashists use homemade bombs planted at the site of the planned terrorist attack. The enemy also uses lethal poisons synthesized from narcotic, psychotropic, and other chemical substances," the SBU stated.
The SBU cited several such cases:
- in March 2025, in the Kharkiv region, an FSB agent was detained who, under the guise of 'volunteer' aid, handed a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier medicines and food products laced with poison;
- another Russian agent sent our soldier a bottle of a drink to which she added a lethal dose of 'methadone.' Then the suspect suggested he drink the 'gift' during an online video date. SBU officers acted preemptively and intercepted the package with the drink in time. Chemical analysis confirmed the presence of toxic substances in the bottle that could have led to fatal consequences;
- in January 2026, SBU military counterintelligence, in 'hot pursuit,' detained an FSB hitman agent who attempted to stab a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier in Zaporizhzhia. According to case materials, Russian special services lured the Ukrainian defender to an industrial zone under the guise of a 'date' with a girl from a dating site. However, instead of her, a killer in a balaclava appeared, attacking the soldier from behind and inflicting six knife wounds to the neck, chest, abdomen, and right leg. The Security Service detained the attacker and identified the woman who, on FSB orders, communicated with the victim from a fake account and lured him to the site of the planned assassination.
Currently, investigations are ongoing into these and other facts under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Art. 111 (high treason); Art. 115 (premeditated murder); Art. 258 (terrorist act). The perpetrators face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
"The Security Service urges Ukrainians, including military personnel of the Defense Forces, to be vigilant and reminds once again: if you receive such 'offers,' see suspicious objects or individuals, or obtain information about the activities of Russian special services, their pages on the Internet and social networks used for recruitment, report it to the SBU," the special service emphasized.