SBU detains border guard on suspicion of guiding Russian missiles to Odesa

Ukraine's Security Service detained a sailor of the State Border Guard Service on suspicion of adjusting missile and drone strikes on Odesa.

According to the SBU press service, the detainee was identifying the combat positions of mobile fire groups, radar stations, and anti-aircraft batteries protecting the port city's sky.

Using the intelligence, the Russians hoped to prepare a new series of air attacks on the regional center, bypassing Ukrainian air defense. Among the main targets of the Russian Federation were the places where Ukrainian troops involved in the fighting on the southern front were concentrated. According to the case file, the agent drove around the city and its surroundings in a taxi to take covert photos of military facilities from the car window.

The SBU detained the border guard red-handed when he was taking pictures of the facade of a military facility where the Russians were preparing a missile strike. The investigation revealed that the sailor was recruited by the FSB when he was looking for easy money on Telegram channels.

During the search, a smartphone with evidence of working for the enemy was seized from the detainee. SBU investigators served the sailor a notice of suspicion of high treason committed under martial law.

The detainee is in custody without the right to be released on bail. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Earlier, three citizens of Ukraine, one of whom is a resident of Odesa region, were sentenced to 15 years in prison for high treason and collaboration. The Odesa court also found an entrepreneur detained in 2022 guilty of treason and illegal handling of weapons and sentenced him to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. According to the case file, a 54-year-old businessman from Odesa district, recruited by the federal security service, was involved in the adjustment of enemy strikes. He came to the attention of the Russian secret service in the summer of 2018, when he was visiting relatives in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol.

Кирило Бойко