As a result of counter-sabotage efforts in Sumy region, the SSU exposed another russian agent.

The offender is a rector of a temple of moscow patriarchate’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Shostka district, Sumy oblast, who secretly cooperated with the FSB.

On the aggressor’s instructions, the priest collected intelligence on deployment of the Defence Forces in the region.

Primarily, the traitor tried to identify locations of command posts and depots with the AFU’s artillery weapons.

To do so, he drove around the border area and covertly took photos and videos of Ukrainian targets.

Invaders needed this information to conduct missile and artillery strikes as well as to carry out sabotage.

The russian agent also collected personal data of local government officials and law enforcement officers.

The SSU detained the suspect on his attempt to pass classified data on officials of local military administrations to the aggressor.

According to the investigation, the archpriest was recruited by an officer of the FSB Office in Bryansk region in September 2022.

He came to the attention of the russian intelligence because of his pro-kremlin views, which he often shared with others.

To communicate with the enemy, the agent used anonymous messengers and transmitted the collected information as text messages and geo-referenced media files.

During the searches at the suspect’s home and in the church, the SSU found:

• mobile phones with evidence of communication with the FSB;
• pro-russian literature.

SSU investigators have notified the enemy informant of suspicion of high treason committed under martial law (Article 111.2 of the CCU).

Court is to decide on custody as a measure of restraint.

The SSU Office in Sumy region carried out the operation under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor’s Office.