Ukraine has detained a man in the Donetsk region suspected of acting as an agent for Russia and coordinating strikes on the frontline town of Druzhkivka and surrounding areas, Ukrainian authorities said.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) report released Tuesday, Feb. 3, the 41-year-old suspect had been evading mobilization and was waiting for the full occupation of the Donetsk region. Russian intelligence services allegedly contacted him after he wrote to a Russian chatbot expressing his willingness to cooperate.
Used mother to gather intelligence
SBU investigators said the suspect rarely left his home to avoid conscription and instead used his mother, who was unaware of his alleged cooperation with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), to collect information.
While receiving volunteer aid, the woman walked through the city and, at her son’s request, noted the locations of Ukrainian military personnel, the SBU said.
After she returned home, the suspect questioned her about troop concentrations and the movement of military convoys toward the front line, investigators added.
Passed data to Russian intelligence
According to the SBU, the suspect immediately relayed the information he obtained to an FSB handler.
Ukrainian authorities said Russia intended to use the intelligence to track and shell Ukrainian troop positions.
SBU counterintelligence officers detained the suspect at his home. During a search, officers seized a smartphone containing evidence of his alleged cooperation with the FSB.
SBU investigators have formally notified the suspect of charges under Part 2 of Article 111 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code – high treason committed under martial law. Under Ukrainian law, treason carries the harshest penalty during wartime.
The suspect has been remanded in custody without the right to post bail. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The SBU added that additional measures were taken to secure Ukrainian forces’ positions that may have been exposed.