The counterintelligence service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a Russian military intelligence agent in Dnipro who was transmitting coordinates for air strikes on critical infrastructure in south-eastern Ukraine, according to the SBU.
According to the investigation, the detainee was a 54-year-old fitter at a local construction company. He came to the attention of the Russian special services when he tried to purchase forged documents to travel abroad under the guise of a foreigner. After being recruited, the agent passed on the geolocation of power-generating enterprises that provide electricity to a significant part of the residential buildings in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia to his handler.
To collect data, the suspect used access to facilities that his company was restoring after shelling. During the repair work, he photographed buildings with geolocation coordinates and recorded their technical condition. He sent this information to his handler, effectively coordinating repeated strikes by the Russian army on energy infrastructure.
For the sake of secrecy, the agent used several phones, which he periodically changed and kept with a relative. SBU officers identified him and detained him at his place of residence.
He has been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — treason committed under martial law. The detainee is in custody without the right to bail. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The operation was carried out by SBU officers in the Dnipropetrovsk region under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor’s office.