The Security Service of Ukraine has apprehended another agent of russian military intelligence (‘the GRU’) near Odesa. He is a resident of unrecognized Transnistria and tried to obtain secret Ukrainian developments in the field of unmanned systems.

To carry out the enemy assignment, the agent arrived in Odesa region and had to recruit a member of the Defense Forces working with drones.

After establishing ‘contact’ with the Ukrainian serviceman, the spy hoped to obtain technical documentation on the latest Ukrainian strike and reconnaissance UAVs.

At all stages, the asset reported to his handler – the ‘deputy minister of defence of Transnistria’, who cooperates with russia’s GRU.

The SSU identified the spy as soon as he arrived in our country posing as ‘an entrepreneur importing Ukrainian food’.

The SSU documented the man’s every move, which allowed to detain him ‘red-handed’ when he tried to obtain a flash drive with classified information on UAVs.

According to the investigation, the agent planned to take it to unrecognized Transnistria to set up his own production of combat drones for russia.

However, the Service foiled the enemy’s plans. During the detention, the SSU also found two pistols on the suspect. The firearms have been sent for forensic examination.

Based on the evidence, SSU investigators served the detainee a notice of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU:

• 114.1 (espionage);
• 263.1 (illegal handling of weapons).

The suspect is in custody and faces up to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

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