SBU Detains FSB Agent in Mykolaiv Targeting Ukrainian Military

The SBU CI detained an FSB agent in Mykolaiv who was adjusting air strikes of Russian troops on the city. The offender, a 35-year-old recidivist, was recruited while serving a sentence in a Russian penal colony and worked for the enemy in Ukraine.

This was reported by the SBU Communication Department.

SBU CI detained an FSB agent in Mykolaiv. He was a 35-year-old man with a criminal record who acted as a corrector of Russian air strikes on Ukrainian positions in the port city.

According to the case file, before the start of the full-scale war, the defendant was serving a sentence for serious crimes in a correctional facility in Kherson. After the occupation of the regional center, he was transferred to one of the colonies of the Russian Federation, where he was recruited by an FSB officer.

On the instructions of the FSB, the agent came to Mykolaiv through third countries, and then began to carry out enemy missions. SBU officers promptly exposed his activities and documented them in detail at an early stage.

The main goal of the Russian agent was to identify points of concentration of Ukrainian military forces in the frontline city. To do this, the suspect walked around the area, covertly photographing possible locations of the Ukrainian military, as well as extracting information from his friends during ordinary household conversations.

The agent was detained directly at his place of residence, while taking measures to ensure the security of the defense forces' locations. During the search, his cell phone, which he used to communicate with his Russian handler, was seized.

The SBU served the agent a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for punishment for unauthorized dissemination of information on the deployment or movement of the Armed Forces under martial law. The offender is in custody and faces up to 12 years in prison.

The issue of additional qualification of his actions under Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for criminal liability for high treason under martial law, is being decided.

The operation was carried out by the SBU in Mykolaiv region under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor's Office.

In December last year, the SBU military counterintelligence neutralized a large-scale agent network of the group. As a result of the special operation, 12 Russian agents and their informants were exposed, whom the group leader engaged in cooperation in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.

In addition, an FSB agent was detained in Mykolaiv, who was adjusting enemy strikes on the city. He was trying to help the enemy bypass Ukrainian air defense by identifying the positions of anti-aircraft missile systems and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces using a hidden video camera in the attic of a high-rise building.

In the frontline Mykolaiv region, the SBU has repeatedly detained teenagers involved in sabotage, including acts of vandalism and arson of military equipment and infrastructure.

Анна Бальчінос