The man was arrested in February 2025 after a special operation codenamed "Rat," the SBU said. According to court documents, he was recruited by Russia’s FSB in 2018 in Vienna. He remained dormant for a period before Russian handlers reestablished contact in late December 2024 and tasked him with collecting and passing information about Ukraine’s intelligence on the movement of Russian forces.
Russian handlers also sought classified details on the equipment of Ukraine’s security and defense forces, the condition of critical infrastructure sites, the effects of strikes on Ukrainian cities, personal data on senior military and political leaders, and other intelligence.
Enumerating Kozyura’s crimes, the SBU said it used him in a counterintelligence operation, feeding large volumes of disinformation to Moscow.
The SBU said investigators quickly identified a hidden communications channel to the foreign service organized through an intermediary in Russia, a former aide to a former MP from the now-banned pro-Russian Party of Regions. The service also identified and documented crimes by Kozyura’s FSB handler, Yuriy Shatalov.
The agent used a safehouse in Kyiv to communicate with his handler, relying on a dedicated mobile phone and a Wi‑Fi router, the SBU said. Searches of locations linked to the suspect uncovered communications equipment and other material evidence of cooperation with the FSB.
The court found him guilty of high treason during wartime,
handing down a life sentence.