Ukraine said it has caught a spy from Eastern Europe tasked by Moscow to burn cars of military personnel in Ukraine.
The accused’s nationality remains unclear.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), in its Tuesday press release, said the accused worked for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after his discharge from military service in his home country.
The SBU said the man was then assigned to Ukraine and rented an apartment in Bila Tserkva, a city south of Kyiv, to help set cars of military personnel on fire – a common provocation by Moscow, per previous SBU reports.
“According to the instructions of the Russian special services, the suspect was supposed to track and burn the vehicles of Ukrainian defenders,” the SBU wrote.
“To identify potential ‘targets,’ the attacker walked around the city and photographed military vehicles,” it added. “In this way, the agent monitored the car of an [Armed Forces of Ukraine] AFU officer, and then, in the dark, poured a flammable mixture onto its hood and set it on fire.”
The man was reportedly tasked with recruiting more agents in Odesa before being detained on his way there.
He has been charged with arson and obstructing military activities, potentially facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
While the SBU has routinely reported about the arrests of locals spying for Russian intelligence – including former and serving military personnel – the mention of foreign spies remains a rare occurrence.
However, the latest report followed another similar case, in which a British man was said to have spied for Russia after initially arriving in Ukraine as a military trainer, where he leaked info on training bases and other foreign trainers to Russian intelligence.