SBU says it stopped major breach of sensitive air defense data to Russia
Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Dec. 21 that an attempt by a Russian agent to provide Moscow with information about Ukraine’s air defense systems had been foiled.
Ukraine’s Military Counterintelligence said in a statement issued on Dec. 21 that a former Air Force officer had been collecting information about Ukraine’s air defense systems in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in order to pass it on to Russia.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, in the southeast of the country, is close to Ukraine’s Donbas region, where Russia has waged an eight-year covert war against Ukraine after fomenting a fake insurgency there in 2014.
Following a buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops near Ukraine’s eastern border in recent months, concerns have grown that Moscow may be planning to escalate its war on Ukraine to a full-scale invasion. Inside information about Ukraine’s air defenses would be crucial if Russia were to attempt such an invasion.
The SBU said that suspect is believed to have been hacking Air Force servers and copying sensitive information, which he later intended to provide to the Russian secret services during his next private visit to Russia.
This suspect has been charged with unauthorized handling of information and aiding or participating in a terrorist organization. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
The SBU did not reveal the identity of the suspected Russian agent.
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