Court sentences Russian agent who tried to 'get hired' by SBU to 15 years in prison

A court has sentenced an agent of Russia's special services to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. The man had fought against Ukrainian Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) forces in eastern Ukraine and later attempted to infiltrate the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for espionage.

The SBU said this in a statement seen by Ukrinform.

The agent was detained in Vinnytsia in October 2021.

The investigation established that the suspect is a 43-year-old resident of the part of the Luhansk region temporarily occupied by Russian forces, who fought against ATO forces in eastern Ukraine from 2014 to 2016.

While serving in Russia-backed armed groups, the traitor helped the Russians seize settlements in the region, including the town of Sorokyne.

Later, the suspect was recruited by an FSB officer and, even before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was sent to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

After arriving in Vinnytsia, the agent was supposed to contact Ukrainian intelligence officers under the pretense of providing up-to-date information about members of the "LPR" terrorist organization. In reality, he was attempting to establish contacts with SBU officers in order to collect intelligence for the benefit of the Russian Federation.

SBU counterintelligence officers preempted the operation and exposed the agent at an early stage of his attempted infiltration of Ukraine's security service.

Based on SBU materials, the court found the agent guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 1 of Article 111 (high treason) and Part 1 of Article 258-3 (participation in a terrorist organization).

Photo: SBU