A Ukrainian court has sentenced a former senior Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of high treason and illegal weapons possession, the SBU said.
According to the agency on Thursday, the former chief of staff of the SBU’s Anti-Terrorist Center was detained in February 2025 during what it described as an unprecedented counterintelligence operation codenamed “Rat.”
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The SBU said the former official had been recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Vienna in 2018.
According to the investigation, Russian handlers resumed contact with him in late December 2024 and tasked him with collecting intelligence on Ukraine’s knowledge of Russian troop deployments, weapons used by Ukraine’s security and defense forces, critical infrastructure, the aftermath of Russian strikes, and personal information about Ukraine’s senior military and political leadership.
The agency said it monitored the suspect throughout his espionage activities and used him in a counterintelligence operation to feed the FSB large amounts of disinformation before his arrest.
According to the SBU, the suspect communicated with Russian intelligence from a safehouse in Kyiv using a separate mobile phone and Wi-Fi router.
During searches, investigators said they seized communication equipment and other evidence allegedly confirming his cooperation with the FSB.
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The SBU also said it identified the suspect’s intermediary in Russia, described as a former aide to a former member of the Party of Regions, a banned political party in Ukraine, and the alleged FSB handler of the agent network as one Yurii Shatalov.
The court found the former official guilty under Article 111, Part 2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code (high treason committed under martial law) and Article 263, Part 1 (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives).
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