Chaplain-spy who tried to join paratroopers on front sentenced to 15 years in prison

A court has sentenced a Kyiv resident to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property after he attempted to infiltrate the headquarters of the Command of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the guise of a chaplain to spy on elite units of the Defense Forces.

This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine, according to Ukrinform.

Law enforcement officers uncovered the enemy’s plan in advance and detained the Russian agent in Kyiv in March 2024, while he was undergoing an interview to be enlisted with the Ukrainian paratroopers.

The investigation established that the mission was carried out by a Kyiv resident recruited by an officer of Russia’s GRU 317th Intelligence Center.

Together, they devised a cover story about chaplaincy work, under which the agent tried to mobilize into the brigades of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

If successfully integrated, the traitor was supposed to provide his handler with geolocations of Ukrainian troop deployments and movements near the front line.

Additionally, the enemy expected to receive from the agent personal data of Ukrainian servicemen to prepare recruitment operations and sabotage.

Before attempting his main tasks, the occupiers tested their accomplice by having him adjust Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.

The court found the agent guilty under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law).

As reported by Ukrinform, the Security Service of Ukraine detained in the Kyiv region an IT specialist from one of Ukraine’s leading energy companies who was directing Russian strikes on critical infrastructure in the capital region.

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