Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has detained a 62-year-old resident of Izium who allegedly passed coordinates of Ukrainian troops to the Russian command and helped plan a breach of Ukraine’s defensive lines.
The SBU apprehended the suspected Russian informant in the Kharkiv region as he prepared an attempt to break through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses. The man shared with occupying forces the coordinates of fortified positions, backup command posts, and military depots, according to the press service of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Investigators say the suspect, acting on instructions from a Russian intelligence service, monitored Ukrainian troop positions and relayed precise geolocations to the Russians. He reportedly focused on backup command posts, fortified areas, ammunition and fuel depots, and artillery firing positions.
Russian command intended to use the data to plan strikes with combat drones and guided aerial bombs, and to determine main axes for a ground assault on Ukrainian defensive lines, officials said.
To communicate with Russian special services, the informant allegedly used an anonymous chat in a messaging app, sending maps marked with potential targets and detailed descriptions of the sites.
According to the investigation, his anti-Ukrainian comments in Telegram channels drew the attention of Russian special services. He then canvassed the city and surrounding areas, recorded the locations of Ukraine’s Defense Forces on his smartphone, and systematically compiled the data for transmission to the Russians.
SBU cyber specialists uncovered the clandestine channel and documented the man’s activities before detaining him. During a search, officers seized a mobile phone containing evidence of cooperation with Russian special services.
The SBU has served him with a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code for the unlawful dissemination of information about the location of military formations under martial law. He is being held without the right to bail and faces up to eight years in prison.
The SBU conducted the operational measures under the procedural supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office.
