The Ukrainian Security Service (SSU) has detained a police officer accused of spying for Russia.
The SSU said it dismantled a Russian intelligence network that was operating in the Mykolaiv region, according to a post published on Telegram.
Two members of the spy cell have been detained by Ukrainian officials following the investigation.
The spy network, which was working for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), and the embattled country’s military intelligence agency GRU was also operating in the Dnipropetrovsk and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
Francisco Seco/AP/SSU
Ukrainian officials claim the suspect recruited his father, who is a former police officer, for “reconnaissance and subversive activities.”
On the directives of a Russian intelligence group, agents in Mykolaiv were tasked with collecting data on the locations and movements of Ukrainian armed forces operating in the region and key critical infrastructure facilities.
The suspect used his official position as a police officer to obtain information and extracted intelligence from colleagues at work “under the guise of friendly conversations,” according to the SSU.
The SSU counterintelligence captured the suspect while he attempted to evade authorities and flee to Russian-occupied Crimea.
Petros Giannakouris/AP
A photo posted on Telegram shows the suspect on the ground as he is apprehended by Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian intelligence officials also released images of phones used to carry out espionage activities and Russian currency.
The police officer has been in contact with the head of a Russian intelligence cell, Andriy Shevchenko, since 2015.
“At the direction of Shevchenko, his agent in Mykolaiv collected data on the locations and movements of the Armed Forces units in the region. The defendant also tried to establish the locations of strategic enterprises of the defense industry and reported to the occupiers on personnel decisions in the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine,” the SSU said.
Russian forces allegedly shelled energy facilities in Prykarpattia based on the suspected spy’s intelligence, according to the SSU’s statement.
Kay Nietfeld/DPA
The intelligence agent was also tasked with recruiting potential candidates for espionage activities. He attempted to enlist former and current law enforcement officers and military personnel in Mykolaiv in the intelligence network.
Authorities discovered evidence after they seized electronic devices from the suspects and also found Russian symbols and rubles.
The detainees are currently in custody and face life imprisonment if convicted.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry and Ukrainian security service for comment.
The arrest comes amid a major cross-border incursion launched by Kyiv in a surprise attack.
Earlier this month, a suspected Russian spy was arrested by the SSU in the Donetsk oblast for allegedly gathering intelligence about Ukrainian military movements.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost two-thirds of the troops he had before the invasion of Ukraine, according to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, which posts estimates of Russia’s troop and equipment losses daily.
The latest update said Russia lost 1,120 soldiers over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 600,470.
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