Planned Terrorist Attacks in Kharkiv Prevented by Arrest of Alleged Russian Agent, Say Security Services

Ukrainian counter-intelligence officers have arrested a man on suspicion of transferring intelligence information on targets in Kharkiv to the Russian security services.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the man had been spying on Ukrainian military pilots, commanders of special forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and SBU officers within the city.

The SBU provided evidence that he had made covert photographs and video recordings of individuals and vehicles in areas adjacent to military bases, on their movement routes as well as the homes of Ukrainian service members.

As part of the operation to arrest the agent, a cache of explosives which were to be used to commit terrorist acts, were recovered close to the agent’s home.

According to the SBU investigation, the defendant is a Kharkiv resident, who had been, recruited in November last year by an individual identified as A. P. Salitsev, a member of an FSB operational group based in the Belgorod region.

An SBU spokesman added that it had been established that FSB contact with the agent was facilitated by relative living in the territory of the Russian Federation.

In addition to monitoring Ukrainian personnel it was also believed that he had been trying to identify enterprises of the defense and industrial complex of Ukraine in preparation for missile strikes on the city.