Detained Belarusian spy interviewed Yermak four times
Inna Kardash being detained (Photo: HUR)
A Belarusian journalist identified as Inna Kardash worked
for Belarus’ KGB and used her reporting in Ukraine to gather intelligence, Texty.org.ua
reported
on Feb. 12.
Kardash, who worked as a reporter in Ukraine for years and had access to exclusive information and senior officials, was a KGB agent from 2015 and was assigned to Ukraine in 2020 to carry out agent work.
Ukraine’s SBU security service detained her on Jan. 27 for attempting to infiltrate a unit of Defense Intelligence (HUR). The Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Kyiv ordered Kardash held in custody.
Texty reported that much of the information Kardash gathered did not remain with the Belarusian KGB but was also passed to Moscow.
“Given today’s reality, the Belarusian KGB is essentially a regional branch of the Russian FSB; and, of course, Kardash knows that well,” the report said.
After arriving in Ukraine, Kardash worked at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, which has access to influential sources. She conducted four interviews with Andriy Yermak, the former head of Ukraine’s presidential office; her most recent published interview with him was in 2024. She also interviewed Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a former deputy of Yermak’s.
Texty noted that published interviews do not necessarily contain classified information, but long, private, trust-based conversations can reveal details off the record and help build relationships that enable future information exchange.
Authorities say Kardash’s objectives included gathering information about Belarusians and Russians fighting on Ukraine’s side, cultivating contacts with Chinese diplomats, and monitoring their activities.
Before joining Interfax-Ukraine, Kardash worked for now-banned
pro-Russian TV channel 112 Ukraine. Yegor Boltryk, director of
Interfax-Ukraine, confirmed to Detector Media that Kardash worked on the
agency’s staff from 2021 to 2024 but did not provide further comment.
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