The law enforcement officers detained a scientist from Kharkiv, who helped the Russians to improve the Shahed attack drones — it is those with which the Russians constantly attack Ukraine.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
According to the investigation, the 72-year-old mechanical scientist was commissioned by the Russians to develop blueprints to improve the Shahed. In particular, he worked on the modernization of engines and catapult installations.
SBU says that the suspect remotely transferred technological developments to his acquaintance, the general director of one of the Russian machine-building plants, which produces units for drones. Since 2023, this enterprise has been closely cooperating with the Russian company engaged in the production of Iranian Shahed attack drones, which the Russians label under the name "Geran-2".
According to the investigation, the suspect communicated with the Russians using e-mail and a popular messenger. He disguised his cooperation with the occupiers by preparing scientific papers in the field of drones.
The law enforcement officers discovered that the suspected scientist involved in the project work his former student, who fled from the Kharkiv region to the Russian Federation at the beginning of the full-scale war. His student got a job at the Moscow University of Technology, where drones are being developed for the Russian army.
The suspected scientist has already been detained. During the searches, his computer, phone and other evidence of cooperation with Russia were seized. He is suspected of aiding the aggressor state — for this he faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
In addition, the investigators plan to report the suspicion in absentia to his accomplice, a former student of Kharkiv University, who is hiding in Russia.
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