The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has announced it detained a 45-year-old female resident of Kharkiv who is accused of helping the Russian army to prepare missile strikes on Kharkiv City Hall.
According to the SBU press service, the woman was allegedly gathering intelligence for a potential new strike by Russian forces on a location linked to one of the city council departments.
“The suspect was preparing a new Russian strike on a city council department site. She believed Ukrainian military personnel could be nearby and therefore passed the coordinates to the occupiers for a possible attack,” the SBU statement said on Thursday, July 17.
The woman, who is unemployed, was reportedly recruited after leaving pro-Russian comments on Telegram channels. She was tasked to scout the area around administrative buildings and look for signs of Ukrainian military presence. She maintained contact with her Russian handler via a chatbot linked to Serhiy Lebedev, also known by the alias “Lokhmatyi,” who works for the Russian special services in occupied Donetsk.
The SBU documented her reconnaissance activities before detaining her at her residence.
She has been formally charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2, Article 114-2: unauthorized dissemination of information on the movement, deployment, or location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, allowing for their identification;
- Part 2, Article 436-2: justification of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine and glorification of its participants.
The woman is currently being held in custody and has been refused bail. She faces up to eight years in prison with asset confiscation.
The operation was carried out by the SBU in Kharkiv region under the procedural supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office.