Russian strike spotter in Odesa jailed for 15 years for treason
A court has sentenced an agent of Russian intelligence services who directed missile and drone strikes on Odesa to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
According to Ukrinform, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported this.
The suspect was detained in November 2022 in Odesa.
The investigation found that he drove around the city in his own car, secretly recording locations of Ukrainian Defense Forces bases using a concealed dashcam.
The man stored the collected information on a memory card, which he planned to pass to his handler in Russia.
If obtained, the intelligence was intended to help Russian forces target missile weapons and attack drones at the deployment sites of Ukrainian troops.
SBU officers acted preemptively and detained the suspect while he was attempting to transfer the intelligence to Russia.
According to investigators, the agent was a recruited local unemployed man. He came to the attention of Russian operatives after posting pro-Kremlin messages in Telegram channel chats.
In exchange for cooperating with the enemy, he hoped to receive a position in an occupation administration if Odesa were captured.
During searches, authorities found a hidden dashcam in his vehicle, a memory card, and a smartphone containing evidence of his collaboration with Russia.
Based on SBU materials, the court found him guilty under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law).
As previously reported, another Federal Security Service agent was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for passing on the locations of Ukrainian Defense Forces near Kharkiv and urging repeated strikes on a local thermal power plant.