The SSU Counterintelligence neutralized another russian intelligence network, deployed in several regions of Ukraine.

The group included 7 prisoners from penitentiary institutions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Chernihiv regions, where they were transferred from prisons in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region.

All of the convicts had short period of time left to the full term. The FSB recruited them and ‘suggested’ to request Ukrainian authorities to be transferred from the penitentiaries in the temporarily occupied area, as provided by law.

After the release, the new russian agents were to perform the enemy’s assignments against Ukraine.

The SSU established that the supervisor of the network was one of the senior officers of the correctional facility No 38 of the terrorist organization ‘lnr’. The FSB coordinated his actions.

In particular, the prison officer coerced the inmates to sign a written consent to cooperate with the occupiers.

Only under this condition, he ‘ensured’ their transfer to penitentiary institutions in Ukraine-controlled territory and return home.

In this way, the ‘supervisor’ created an agent network for collecting information on deployment and movement of Ukrainian Defence Forces in the frontline areas in the east of Ukraine.

After the release, an FSB officer was to contact former prisoners via anonymous messengers and give a pre-arranged password. The occupiers planned to use this channel to gather intelligence.

The SSU’s proactive efforts exposed the russian agents and disrupted the plans to obtain intelligence.

The recruiter was notified, in absentia, of suspicion of creation of a terrorist group (Article 258-1.3 of the CCU).

The SSU identified and tracked all organizers of the crime in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region.

The investigation is ongoing.

The SSU Office in Kyiv and Kyiv region carried out the operation jointly with the SSU Main Investigation Department under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office.