Ukraine's Security Service detains defence industry worker hunting for Western weapons

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agent who had taken a job at a defence industry plant in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad Oblast and who tried to collect intelligence on foreign weapons and the repair of Ukrainian military equipment.

Source: press service of the SSU; press service of Kirovohrad Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Details: The SSU reports that the Russian accomplice was a local resident who was recruited by the FSB long before the full-scale invasion. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office reports that the man agreed to cooperate with Russia in early 2023.

According to the SSU, he won the attention of the Russian secret service during his long stay in Russia, where he worked at various facilities. He was subsequently put on "standby" and sent to Ukraine, where he was "activated" after the beginning of the full-scale war in February 2022. Following the FSB's instructions, he was specifically employed at a defence company in Kirovohrad Oblast.

A few weeks ago, he was appointed to a caretaker position. The man almost immediately started collecting intelligence in favour of Russia. The SSU reports that it thoroughly recorded his every move.

First of all, the offender tried to establish the exact number and types of foreign weapons being serviced at the Ukrainian defence company.

Quote from the prosecutor’s office: "When the suspect was on the premises in June, he took photos of a range of documents on the economic activities of the defence industry company marked as 'classified'. Later he passed them to a representative of the Russian secret service."

More details: He was caught red-handed and arrested while covertly taking photos of secret documents. The FSB had promised him assistance in travelling to Russia and obtaining Russian citizenship if he successfully completed his missions.

The man has been served with a notice of suspicion under Article 111.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason under martial law). He has been remanded in custody as a measure of restraint, without the right to be released on bail. The investigation is ongoing. The offender faces life imprisonment.

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