The Odessa Military Academy has responded to the detention of one of its employees

The Military Academy commented on a statement by officials of the Security Service of Ukraine regarding the arrest of one of its associate professors on suspicion of treason.

As the Academy emphasized, the suspect’s arrest took place with the cooperation of the Academy’s command and military counterintelligence agencies.

“The actions of this individual have absolutely no connection to the Academy’s activities, its staff, or its cadets. Every day, our military personnel fulfill their duty—training officers for the army that defends the country,” the Academy stated.

The Military Counterintelligence Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine<span>detained the associate professor, identifying him as a Russian military intelligence agent of critical importance to the Russian Federation. According to the SBU, he spied for the enemy by exploiting his position as an associate professor</span>at the research center.

At the request of a Russian group, the agent copied and sent to a handler in the Russian Federation design documentation on the Defense Forces’ latest strike drones. The official also groundlessly dismissed the developments of Ukrainian arms manufacturers, which were undergoing expert evaluation of their tactical and technical characteristics, as unpromising.

To this end, he prepared negative conclusions on test projects for unmanned and robotic systems, which he claimed were unsuitable for use in combat conditions. However, the SBU’s military counterintelligence documented the associate professor’s every move.

Thanks to its proactive measures, the Security Service used the mole to misinform the enemy and prevented the transfer of secret Ukrainian defense developments to the Russians. In the final stage of the special operation, SBU officers caught the agent red-handed in his office as he was attempting to send new documents to his handler in Russia.

It has been established that the associate professor was recruited by Russian intelligence officers through an acquaintance from Russia. In exchange for carrying out espionage tasks, the suspect hoped to secure a position in the Russian occupation administration. During a search, two cell phones and computer equipment were found in the suspect’s possession, which he used for covert communication with Russian intelligence. The man is currently being held in custody without the right to bail.

Кирило Бойко