SSU detains Russian “welder” spying on Ukrainian air defenses and airfields

According to Ukrinform, the SSU press center reported this.

The investigation established that the Russian had a permanent residence permit in Ukraine and was spying under the cover of working as a welder at a private company in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

During business trips to various regions of Ukraine, the suspect tracked the coordinates of Ukrainian troops. Among the main objects that he was "interested" in were air defense units, checkpoints, and airfields of the Defense Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region and in western Ukraine.

According to the SSU, when military facilities were identified, the informant marked their locations on Google Maps to compile a report for Russian military intelligence.

It has been documented that while in western Ukraine, the perpetrator attempted to identify local airfields with combat aircraft belonging to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As noted, the SSU counterintelligence had been monitoring this Russian since the beginning of his espionage activities. This enabled not only the documentation of his crimes but also the identification of all locations the suspect had scouted for the Defense Forces.

The informant was detained at his place of residence in the Kirovohrad region.

According to the case file, the Russian was recruited by the GRU through an old acquaintance who cooperates with Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region.

During searches, a smartphone containing evidence of his cooperation with the enemy was seized from the detainee.

Currently, SSU investigators have notified the informant of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized dissemination of information about the movement or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations established in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, committed under martial law).

The perpetrator is in custody. He faces up to 12 years in prison.

As reported by Ukrinform, the SSU detained the former chief of a workshop at one of the machine-building plants in the Donetsk region for coordinating air strikes by the Russian army.

Photos: SSU