The Security Service’s Military Counterintelligence Department, with the assistance of the Ukrainian Navy’s leadership, has exposed a sailor in the Mykolaiv region who shared videos of his unit’s bases on TikTok.

The investigation established that the contract soldier had posted on social media the combat positions of missile system operators defending the coastline of Ukraine’s southern region.

The suspect unlawfully disclosed classified information after deserting his military unit.

Whilst he was in hiding, he published more than ten previously recorded videos on his personal TikTok page, showing the locations and combat operations of the Navy unit.

The leaked footage was recorded on a mobile phone camera with geotagging, which enabled the enemy to pinpoint the coordinates of the Ukrainian troops’ defensive lines.

The ruscists could have used the published information to attack the positions of the Ukrainian Navy.

The SSU Military Counterintelligence acted pre-emptively and secured the Defence Forces’ temporary deployment sites when the suspect was exposed.

SSU investigators have notified the detainee of suspicion under Article 114-2.2 of the CCU (unauthorised disclosure of information on the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, enabling their identification on the ground, committed under martial law).

The penalty for this offence is up to 8 years in prison.

The operation was carried out jointly with investigators of the SSU Office in the Mykolaiv region under the procedural supervision of the Mykolaiv Specialised Defence Prosecutor’s Office for the Southern Region.

Over the past two weeks, the SSU detained three residents of the Kyiv region who had disclosed the positions of Ukraine’s air defence systems on social media.