SBU Nabs Russian Mole in Ukrainian Combat Brigade

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has arrested an alleged Russian mole within the ranks of one of its combat brigades fighting in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine.

In its Tuesday press release, the SBU said the suspect was serving as a contract soldier in the Kupyansk sector, from where he leaked troop locations – including that of his own unit – to his handler from Russia’s Military Intelligence (GRU).

The statement said the man was recruited remotely by the GRU in January this year. The brigade in which he served and the soldier’s age were not specified in the press release.

The motivation behind the spying act is also unclear.

The suspect reportedly leaked the intelligence to his handler, whom the SBU said has been identified as “a Russian military intelligence officer who is on the front lines of the eastern front,” via voice messages “in an anonymous chat.”

The suspect also supplied his location and was planning to leave the area after tipping off his handler, the SBU said.

“The enemy was most interested in the coordinates of the headquarters, reserve command posts, fortified areas, and firing positions of the Defense Forces,” the press release states.

“Based on the agent’s geolocations, the occupiers were preparing missile and bomb strikes, before the traitor had to leave the perimeter of fire damage,” it adds.

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The suspect was detained on the front line after the SBU said it had detected the plans in advance, and had confiscated the two phones he used to communicate with his handler.

The man is charged with committing high treason under martial law and faces life imprisonment if convicted.

Kupyansk is a city in the northern part of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Russian border.

The city was briefly occupied by Russian forces between February and October 2022, after which it was liberated by Ukrainian forces during the Kharkiv counteroffensive.

The city currently remains under Ukrainian control, with Russian forces concentrated to the north and east of the city, according to the open-source battlefield map DeepState UA.

Between late 2024 and early 2025, there have been confirmed cases of Russian troops using chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk sector.

Between late April and early May of 2025, Ukrainian forces also reported multiple instances of Russia’s armed forces attempting to break through Ukrainian defenses via assaults on motorcycles.