A soldier sold the Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions in the Odesa region to the Russians for $30

A court has extended the detention of a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier suspected of collaborating with Russia’s FSB. According to the investigation, he passed on information about the deployment locations of military units in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in exchange for $30.

This is stated in a ruling by the Mykolaiv Central District Court. 

On August 26, 2026, the soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Ground Forces was notified of his status as a suspect under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (treason). He was detained that same day. The following day, the court ordered him to be held in custody without the right to post bail.

According to the case file, on March 6, 2026, a comment appeared on one of the Telegram channels from a user who, according to the investigation, turned out to be an employee of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The comment offered a “high-paying job” in Ukraine in exchange for information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces.

“We don’t abandon our own” —that was the code phrase from the ad, as noted in the court order. On March 23, the soldier replied with exactly that phrase and then asked what the job entailed.

He was tasked with passing on information about the whereabouts of military personnel and was promised $30 for each piece of information. He agreed. After that, according to the investigation, he sent information about the deployment locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.

According to the investigation, the soldier informed his contact about the locations of Ukrainian units in the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.

In particular, he described military positions, fortifications, and equipment that, according to him, could be seen in satellite images. He also sent six images from Google Maps with markings in the area of the village of Chabanka in the Odesa region.

In one of the messages cited in the court ruling, the man wrote about a military unit, military equipment, and radar stations. In another, he indicated the locations of military units in the area between Chabanka and Chornomorska.

Investigators believe he acted on his own initiative and did not stop until he was detained by law enforcement officers.

The judge extended the pretrial detention measure through November 26. No bail was set: under martial law, bail is not provided for suspects charged under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code.

Ірина Глухова