The Security Service of Ukraine has exposed a top ‘mole’ working for the FSB and shut down another russian intelligence network. The traitor was one of the officials of the SSU Counterterrorism Centre - the Chief of Staff of this Center.

To uncover and detain the aggressor’s agent, an unprecedented special operation was carried out, which involved a set of overt and covert measures. The operation was given the name 'Rat'.

‘The SSU Internal Security had been looking into the traitor for a long time. We actually surrounded him from all sides, monitoring every step of the ‘rat’ around the clock – contacts, communication, texting, literally ‘living’ in his phone, he was constantly under audio and video surveillance. The neutralization of such a traitor is, without exaggeration, a historic special operation, given the level of the agent, his professional training and the scale of damage he could potentially cause to state security during the war. The case was under my personal control, and I reported on the development and conducting of the special operation to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who was aware of all the details,’ said the SSU Head Vasyl Maliuk.

The Head of the Security Service, who supervised the detention of the ‘rat’ and was in the operational and investigative team, emphasized that the SSU not only uncovered the FSB agent, but also used him in a counterintelligence ‘game’: through the traitor the SSU fed the enemy a large amount of disinformation.

To prevent harm to Ukraine’s national security, the official was restricted from accessing really important data.

‘Such a special operation demonstrates that the SSU is able to respond promptly to threats and effectively counteract the adversary. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have carried out a serious cleansing process, which is still ongoing. We are doing everything to protect our country from internal and external enemies,’ said SSU Head Vasyl Maliuk.

The criminal proceedings documented 14 large-scale episodes of his unlawful activity, only a part of which the SSU can disclose to the public due to legal restrictions and to prevent the enemy from obtaining additional information.

Overall, the FSB tasked the members of the agent network to collect and transmit information on the defence sector, focusing on data on Ukraine’s awareness of the deployment and movement of enemy forces at the frontline. russia was also interested in classified and restricted information on the weapons of Ukraine’s Security and Defence Forces, the state of critical infrastructure, the consequences of enemy missile attacks on targets in Ukraine, the country’s top military and political leadership, and the operation of State Registers after russia’s cyberattack in December 2024, as well as other information that could be used to conduct sabotage against Ukraine.

The criminal proceedings also pertain to the traitor’s close relatives, including his father and mother, who justify russia’s aggression, praise putin and, judging by the audio intercepts, know about their son’s work for the FSB. The parents are to be notified of suspicion under Article 436-2 of the CCU (justification of russia’s aggression against Ukraine).

At the same time, the official detained by the SSU worked for russia not only for ideological but also for financial reasons.

According to the investigation, the spy was recruited by the FSB in 2018 in Vienna. For some time, he was put on standby by his russian supervisors for security reasons and did not carry out active espionage. However, at the end of December last year, the FSB resumed contacts with him, which were also under the operational control of the SSU Internal Security Unit.

The SSU Internal Security together with the SSU Main Investigation Directorate uncovered a covert channel of communication between the agent and the enemy special service, which was set up through a Ukrainian citizen who had previously fled to russia. According to confirmed intelligence, during the Revolution of Dignity this person was a member of the so-called ‘staff of Andriy Kliuyev’ and an assistant to one of the MPs of the now banned party of regions; he also took an active part in organizing the Anti-Maidan. Among other things, he personally transported cash from moscow, which was then distributed to the participants in paid rallies. It is planned to serve this individual a notice of suspicion of high treason – both in complicity with this enemy agent and in separate episodes.

The Service also identified the FSB handler, Yuriy Shatalov, who coordinated the activities of the agent network.

The ‘rat’ used a safe house in Kyiv to communicate with the resident of the enemy intelligence service. He was provided with a special mobile phone, a Wi-Fi router and a SIM card, which he used to covertly transmit information collected for russia’s federal security service, including documents containing state secrets.

The investigation has a lot of indisputable evidence of the perpetrators’ criminal activity, including materials obtained as a result of complex operational and technical measures, interception of information transmitted to the enemy, audio and video, texting, etc.

The detained official was notified of suspicion under Article 111 of the CCU (high treason). He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The operation and investigation were carried out under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.