The Russian agent, an IT specialist from Mykolaiv, was reportedly “activated” by the FSB, according to the SBU. He was instructed to move to Kyiv to gather intelligence on prominent politicians and military and security officials, including their addresses and travel routes.
According to the agency's press service, he operated under the guise of providing computer system administration services to collect intelligence.
The agent later recruited another IT specialist from Odesa to carry out espionage activities. Together, they created a network of informants that gathered information on Ukrainian troop deployments.
Both agents were detained simultaneously in Kyiv and Odesa. Authorities reported that smartphones containing evidence of their activities were seized during searches. The detainees have been charged with treason under martial law and face life imprisonment, along with seizure of property.
SBU counterintelligence operations
On May 19, SBU announced the arrest of a Russian agent working as security guard at a university. The agent was coordinating and directing Russian air strikes on Kyiv and Donetsk Oblast, as well as gathering information on military and energy facilities.
On May 13, SBU arrested an agent in Kyiv who was illegally registering Starlink terminals for the Russian army. The suspect was also a deserter who had fled from his military unit.
On May 12, an SBU employee was arrested for providing information about SBU operatives to Russian intelligence agencies. She has been charged with treason.
SBU head Yevhen Khmara reported that the agency is investigating more than 130,000 criminal cases involving Russian armed aggression, amounting to 80% of all crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.