Mykolaiv SBU disrupts Russian espionage operation at defense plant

The SBU exposed an agent couple in Mykolaiv who were collecting secrets of a defense plant for Russia. The participants were detained at the initial stage of their activities, preventing them from passing the information to the enemy.

This was reported by the SBU Communication Department.

The SBU CI jointly with the Ministry of Defense prevented an attempt of Russian agents to infiltrate one of the leading defense plants in the south of the country.

As a result of a special operation in Mykolaiv, a female Russian agent was detained who tried to obtain information about the location of the plant's facilities and the nature of state defense orders for the occupiers. She involved her partner, an employee of the company's logistics department, who had access to the necessary data, in the illegal activity.

Detention of Russian agents in Mykolaiv. PHOTO: SBU

The investigation revealed that the woman was recruited by Russian special services and used her partner's connections to collect secrets. The man passed her information about the status of government orders and the location of the defense plant's production facilities. However, the agent did not have time to pass the information to the occupiers: she was detained by the SBU at the initial stage.

During the search, a smartphone with evidence of communication with a "liaison" Sergei Lebedev, who works for the FSB and Russian military intelligence in Donetsk, was seized from the suspect.

Investigators served the couple a notice of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 111 (high treason under martial law) and Part 1 of Art. 114-2 (unauthorized dissemination of information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine). The agent is in custody, she faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property, and the issue of a preventive measure for her partner is still being decided.

In August, SBU military counterintelligence in Mykolaiv region exposed a Russian agent among the Ukrainian military. The traitor was an officer of a marine brigade on the southern front, who was recruited by the FSB and commanded a platoon of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Анна Бальчінос