SBU uncovers Russian spy network behind airstrikes on Kyiv and sabotage in Odesa region
As reported by Ukrinform, the SBU released this information in an official statement.
According to case materials, the group consisted of two direct agents who carried out assignments, a liaison who transmitted instructions to them, and a handler—GRU officer Maksim Chachin—who oversaw the operation.
SBU counterintelligence detained the two agents back in February 2025.
Since then, a series of comprehensive investigative measures have helped identify additional members of the enemy network and document their communications.
The investigation revealed that the GRU officer had recruited a former lecturer from a prominent Kyiv university. She left for Russia in 2021 and subsequently agreed to cooperate with Russian intelligence.
Following the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a former university professor established direct contact between her former student—a 27-year-old Kyiv resident who supported Russia’s armed aggression—and Russian intelligence operatives.
She later introduced him to another Kyiv local who joined the spy network. This individual turned out to be a 40-year-old former serviceman with access to information about the deployment locations of Ukrainian Defense Forces units.
Together, the two agents scouted strategic sites, marked them on Google Maps, and sent the coordinates to their handler to facilitate missile and drone strikes on Kyiv.
The operatives later relocated to Odesa, where they initially went into hiding. Acting on further instructions from Russian intelligence, they set fire to two mobile communication towers and several electrical substations.
The suspects were also preparing terrorist attacks using improvised explosive devices, but the SBU successfully thwarted these plans.
Law enforcement authorities have submitted an indictment to the court against both agents under the following provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 2, Article 28 and Part 2, Article 111 (high treason committed by a group of individuals in collusion during martial law); Part 2, Article 28 and Part 2, Article 113 (sabotage committed by a group of individuals in collusion during martial law); Part 2, Article 194-1 (intentional damage to energy infrastructure); Part 2, Article 28 and Part 1, Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosives by a group of individuals in collusion).
The suspects remain in custody and face the possibility of life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
A formal notice of suspicion is also being prepared for the GRU handler and the liaison who facilitated communication within the spy network.
The investigation is being carried out by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor’s office.
As earlier reported by Ukrinform, the Security Service of Ukraine detained an FSB agent who had been gathering intelligence on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to support attacks on Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region.
