Ross David Cutmore, a British national, was accused of spying in Ukraine by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), whose counterintelligence units reportedly acted with assistance from British special services.
The SBU said Cutmore carried out tasks for Russian intelligence in 2024-25, which included procuring weapons used for contract killings.
Local outlet RBC Ukraine, citing SBU sources, reported that Cutmore was likely involved in intelligence-gathering and sabotage activities in Ukraine. The report said he is in detention but did not specify when he was taken into custody.
Cutmore is said to have arrived in Ukraine in 2024 as a military instructor to help train military personnel. Before Ukraine, he reportedly served in the Middle East, presumably with the British military.
Investigators said Russian special services supplied Cutmore with firearms and ammunition to carry out “targeted killings” in Ukraine.
The source also suggested to RBC Ukraine that Cutmore may have imported and distributed the weapons used to assassinate volunteer Demyan Hanul, former lawmaker Iryna Farion, and former Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy.
Kyiv Post has reached out to the SBU for confirmation but received no response at the time of publication.
However, the SBU previously reported the arrest of a British spy whose background mirrors Cutmore’s.
In late October, a man accused of spying for Russia’s FSB in Ukraine – after initially arriving as a military trainer – was confirmed to be a British national.
The SBU announced his arrest without specifying his nationality, but Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office later stated in a press release that the suspect is British.
According to the earlier SBU report, the man came to Ukraine in early 2024 as an instructor for mobilized troops, valued for his “professional skills in fire and tactical training.” He allegedly went on to leak information about other foreign trainers and the locations of training sites to the FSB.
The Prosecutor General’s Office added that he conducted training for military personnel in Mykolaiv and briefly served in a border detachment before leaving his role.
Investigators said that after leaving the job, he tried to earn money by offering his services to Russian intelligence through pro-Kremlin channels. An FSB officer reportedly contacted him after he moved to Odesa.
He is said to have received instructions to build an improvised explosive device (IED) and retrieve a hidden cache containing “a pistol with two loaded magazines” for an unspecified attack. The Prosecutor General’s Office also stated he was paid $6,000 for one assignment.
He was detained before carrying out the planned attack and is being held without bail. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison.
Britain’s foreign ministry told AFP at the time that it was “aware of reports that a British national has been detained in Ukraine” and remained “in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities.”