Two men were detained in Kyiv and Odesa, who are suspected of preparing attacks on military units of the Defense Forces, energy and telecommunications facilities in three regions.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The investigation says that in the zone of special attention were army units that provide security for the General Staff of the Armed Forces, data on the Defense Forces in the Poltava region, as well as the Kyiv TV tower and the capitalʼs CHP. The men were recruited by the Russian FSB — they operated separately from each other and received money from Russia.
According to the investigation, at first the suspects tried to identify the locations of the bases of Ukrainian troops, and then transfer their coordinates to the occupiers in order to adjust the air attacks. In order to gather intelligence, one of the suspects got a job as a freight forwarder in an Odesa company that supplies food products to units of the Defense Forces.
Another man is suspected of collecting data on the technical condition of the Kyiv TV tower after it was shelled in March 2022. SBU claims that he photographed the exterior of one of the thermal power plants, which provides electricity and heat to a large part of the capital region.
According to SBU, Russian troops wanted to use this information for missile strikes on the local CHP plant and TV tower.
SBU employees took measures to secure the bases of the Defense Forces and strengthened the protection of critical infrastructure. The suspected men were caught red-handed while they were spying for Russian forces.
According to the investigation, one of the suspects is a technological engineer of the Odesa food industry enterprise. The other is a 24-year-old from Kyiv. At the end of January 2024, they were recruited remotely by an FSB personnel agent, whose identity has already been established.
During the searches of the detaineesʼ homes, mobile phones with evidence of correspondence with FSB and bank cards containing Russian funds were seized. They were informed of the suspicion of treason — the men face life imprisonment.
- On March 26, SBU detained two men who tried to blow up a section of the railway line connecting the central and eastern regions of Ukraine. Thus, they hoped to disrupt the logistical routes of supplying weapons, ammunition and fuel to the Armed Forces.