Ukraine has arrested two foreigners allegedly committing arson in western Ukraine on behalf of Russian intelligence.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the two men were aged 27, adding that they are “citizens of a neighboring European country” without specifying where.
In its Tuesday press release, the SBU said the first man was recruited abroad after posting pro-invasion messages on social media, drawing the attention of Russia’s military intelligence (GRU). The man then enlisted help from his friend, and Russia’s GRU sent them to Ukraine.
The two were said to be ordered to commit “a series of arson” to “further destabilize the socio-political situation in western Ukraine,” first starting with Chernivtsi, a regional capital bordering Romania.
“Initially, the suspects stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Chernivtsi, and the very next day they committed arson, which was filmed on camera and ‘reported’ to the curator of Russia’s GRU,” the press release says.
The SBU said they were arrested while attempting “additional reconnaissance” in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, another region in western Ukraine.
“SBU officers detained the agents ‘red-handed’ while they were conducting additional reconnaissance near a village council in the Ivano-Frankivsk region,” it adds.
The men have been served with notices of suspicion, a precursor to formal charges under Ukrainian law, and remain in custody without bail.
The two face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
Russia-backed arson, foreign spies
The SBU has long accused Russia of staging arson cases to destabilize Ukraine, though the involvement of foreigners has been relatively rare until recent months.
In most SBU press releases, the alleged agents are described as local recruits – often teenagers – looking for quick cash and approached by Russian intelligence on social media, though some had also posted pro-Kremlin messages before being contacted.
Some are also tasked with planting homemade bombs, which the SBU said is often assigned to those successfully committing arson.
But in November, the SBU announced the arrest of another Eastern European spy tasked by Russia to set fire to military cars in the Kyiv region.
The man was reportedly recruited abroad and sent to Ukraine to commit arson before attempting to set up a spy ring, but was arrested before he could do so.
Another high-profile espionage case is the arrest of Ross David Cutmore, a British national who initially arrived as a military trainer.
The SBU provided few details about Cutmore, noting only his Middle East service and his arrival in Ukraine in 2024 as a military instructor. He is also believed to have taken part in several high-profile contract killings
However, his profile closely matches an earlier report involving a British man’s arrest in Ukraine. The unnamed suspect in the case was also a military instructor who then allegedly went on to leak information about other foreign trainers and the locations of training sites to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).