SBU officer convicted in Odesa region for disseminating information about military

The Ovidiopol District Court of Odesa Region found an SBU officer guilty of illegally disseminating information about the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On November 26 and December 10, 2024, the accused sent a Telegram user images of the area from Google Maps with the geographical coordinates of the military unit, the Court Reporter publication reported, citing the verdict.

On January 6, 2025, the gunner was detained and initially classified as high treason with the prospect of 15 years in prison or life. According to the investigation, the suspect corresponded with an unidentified employee of an intelligence agency. He denied his guilt, calling the materials falsified. The lawyers said that the phone was not seized during the search and was put into the suspect's hands during his arrest, and that he had allegedly never used it before.

Six months later, the case was transferred to court with a less severe qualification - dissemination of information about the location of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which provides for five to eight years in prison.

In September 2025, the defendant and defense counsel still claimed that the evidence was falsified. But in subsequent hearings, the defendant pleaded guilty in full and said he did not deny anything.

In the end, the court took into account the defendant's sincere remorse and his active cooperation with the investigation and his negative attitude to the crime, and that the crime did not lead to serious consequences. Therefore, the court sentenced the man to a reduced sentence of two years in prison.

In September, the SBU military counterintelligence detained an associate professor at a local university in Odesa on suspicion of collaborating with the Russian federal security service.

Кирило Бойко