A mole who changed his phone number dozens of times and was hiding in Odesa was exposed within the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The SBU detained a Ukrainian Armed Forces contractor suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence. He passed on the coordinates of Ukrainian positions in the south and changed his phone number 77 times to maintain secrecy.

This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.

According to the agency, the man directed Russian strikes against Ukrainian Armed Forces targets on the southern front. Every two days, he changed SIM cards on eighteen smartphones. It was through these devices that he coordinated shelling in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia directions.

SBU officers secured the Defense Forces’ positions in advance. The agent was detained when he left his military unit without permission to “go into hiding.” He first hid in Odesa, then in Mykolaiv.

The investigation established that the Russian special services spotted him while he was looking for “easy” money on specialized Telegram channels.

After being recruited, the man recorded voice messages for his handler in Russia. In them, he described in detail the military facilities where he served.

The enemy was most interested in the locations of engineering crossings and Ukrainian fortifications 5–10 km from the front line. In addition, the soldier marked the locations on Google Maps and sent the Russians the coordinates of nearby Ukrainian units.

Investigators informed the detainee that he is suspected of violating two articles of the Criminal Code. The first is Part 2 of Article 111, treason under martial law. The second is Part 5 of Article 407, unauthorized absence from a military unit.

The man was taken into custody without the right to post bail. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Ірина Глухова