A security official from Transnistria was convicted in Odesa for attempting to recruit an SBU employee

The Primorsky District Court of Odessa found Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Zatika guilty of treason.

This was reported by the publication “Court Reporter,” citing the court’s verdict.

According to the case file, Zatika, a native of Moldova, obtained Ukrainian citizenship in the early 2000s. In late summer 2019, Zatika, who held a leadership position in Department 2 (“B”) of the Ministry of State Security of the PMR, recruited another Ukrainian citizen for covert cooperation and gave him the codename “Scythian.”

Zatika tasked “Scythian” with infiltrating the ranks of the Security Service of Ukraine’s Odesa Regional Directorate and obtaining information about the network of agents operating on behalf of the “Transnistrian Moldovan Republic.”

“Skif” contacted an operative of the USBU in the Odesa region named Marina and offered to cooperate. The woman agreed, but as it turned out, she reported the incident to her superiors and subsequently acted under their supervision to facilitate the commission of the crime. In exchange for her assistance, she requested money and a passport belonging to a citizen of the Russian Federation. Marina provided “Skif” with a list of three names of individuals who allegedly worked for Ukrainian agencies in Transnistria, as well as information about Ukrainian Armed Forces military equipment along the Ukrainian-Transnistrian border. In reality, all of this information was fabricated. 

SBU officers handed over the reward—$500 in an envelope —via the driver of the “Chisinau–Odesa” bus. Zatka believed the task had not been fully completed and insisted that Marina find out where and how the SBU had recruited its agents in the PMR, promising to pay her more afterward. For her part, Marina wanted more—$5,000. She told her handler that there were crackdowns at her workplace—polygraph tests had begun. So, out of fear, she allegedly planned to flee Ukraine to Romania or Moldova. The handlers discussed the situation. Zatika said that Marina could come to Transnistria, since he had no connections in Romania or Moldova.

Later, “Skifa” was arrested in Odesa in June 2023; he struck a deal with investigators by turning in Serhiy Zatika and received a 15-year prison sentence, which he appealed.<span>Serhiy Zatika was tried in absentia. Since he holds Ukrainian citizenship, his actions were classified as high treason committed through prior conspiracy by a group of individuals. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of his personal property.</span>

Кирило Бойко