Counterintelligence detains Russian agent who directed strikes on Ukrainian forces in Donetsk region

Counterintelligence detains Russian agent who directed strikes on Ukrainian forces in Donetsk region

photo
Ukrinform
Ukraine's SBU State Security Service counterintelligence has detained a female agent of Russia's military intelligence service (commonly known as the GRU), who was coordinating Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian forces in frontline areas of the Donetsk region.

According to a statement by the SBU seen by Ukrinform, the enemy was primarily interested in the locations of Ukrainian military personnel and equipment in the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

To gather intelligence, Russian operatives remotely recruited a 50-year-old employee of a local food establishment frequently visited by Ukrainian soldiers.

The woman, acting covertly, recorded Ukrainian servicemen and their vehicles on her mobile phone while walking to work. To avoid suspicion, she pretended to be on a video call while filming.

She sent her video reports to the GRU via a handler — a staff member at a Russian Defense Ministry hospital, whose identity has already been established by the SBU.

The agent was originally recruited through a pro-Russian Telegram channel, where she had been leaving anti-Ukrainian comments.

SBU officers documented the suspect's activities and detained her at her residence. During a search, two mobile phones were seized, containing evidence of her collaboration with Russian military intelligence.

She has been formally charged under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law).

Read also: SBU nabs Russian informant for spotting Russian strikes in Mykolaiv

The suspect is currently in custody and faces a potential life sentence with confiscation of property.

The operation was conducted by personnel from the SBU office in the Chernivtsi region, under the procedural supervision of the regional prosecutor's office.

Earlier reports said that two 18-year-old men were recently arrested in the Rivne region for attempting to carry out a bombing attack on a police investigative team, acting on orders from Russian intelligence.

While citing and using any materials on the Internet, links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory. In addition, citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet. Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No. 270/96-VR of July 3, 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No. 2849-Х of March 31, 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice.

Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421.

© 2015-2025 Ukrinform. All rights reserved.

Extended searchHide extended search
By period:
-