The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a university lecturer in Kharkiv suspected of directing Russian missile and air strikes on the city on behalf of Russian military intelligence.
According to the SBU Facebook post published on Thursday, Feb. 5, the suspect was working for Russia’s military intelligence agency, the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU), and transmitted coordinates for planned missile and bomb attacks on Kharkiv.
The SBU said the suspect is a 61-year-old woman who works as a foreign language lecturer at a local university. She was recruited by Russian intelligence through a relative living in Russia.
After being recruited, the woman patrolled Kharkiv documenting the locations of Ukrainian forces’ personnel and military equipment, according to the SBU.
The suspect also photographed buildings and marked their locations on electronic maps, identifying sites she believed could be used by the Ukrainian military.
In addition, the SBU said she covertly gathered information about Ukrainian forces during casual conversations with acquaintances, posing the inquiries as everyday discussions.
The collected intelligence was compiled into reports, some of which were written in English for secrecy, and sent to her GRU handler via encrypted messaging services.
To conceal her alleged cooperation with Russia, the woman periodically changed smartphones, communicated with her handler through anonymous chat rooms, and deleted correspondence after each session, the SBU said.
Counterintelligence officers exposed the suspect in advance, documented her activities, and detained her at her residence. During searches, officers seized smartphones used to collect and transmit data.
The SBU said additional security measures were taken to protect Defense Forces locations in areas affected by Russian reconnaissance activity.
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, she faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.