As a result of a multi-stage special operation in Mykolaiv region, the SSU Counterintelligence neutralized an agent network of the main directorate of the general staff of the russian armed forces (known as the ‘GRU’).

Its members collected intelligence on numbers and types of military equipment of Ukraine’s Defence Forces arriving in the oblast for repair and maintenance.

The resident (head) of the enemy group is an employee of a local defence enterprise. He had been recruited by the russian intelligence back when he studied at a military institute in the former USSR.

Since then, the asset had been on standby and was activated after russia’s full-scale invasion.

Following the GRU’s instructions, the enemy agent created his own network in the southern region. He involved his wife, who worked with him at the defence plant, and two acquaintances: from Mykolaiv and from Ochakiv.

The group operated along two lines of reconnaissance and sabotage ‘work’.

The first involved the couple, who gathered information on the available Ukrainian weapons at the defence enterprise and their technical condition.

To do this, they used their access to the facility’s secret documentation and classified information.

The other two agents tracked locations and routes of Ukrainian Armed Forces units involved in the region’s defence or counteroffensive operations on the southern front.

They passed the data to the network’s head, who ‘reported’ to his GRU handler. Anonymous chats in one of the messenger apps were used for communication.

However, the SSU worked proactively, and all four members were timely exposed and apprehended on an attempt to pass intelligence to the aggressor.

During the searches, the SSU seized russian documents, banned communist symbols and unregistered weapons.

Based on the collected evidence, SSU investigators served three detainees notices of suspicion under Article 111.2 of the CCU (high treason committed under martial law).

The fourth individual is charged under Article 114-2.2 of the CCU (unauthorized dissemination of information on sending, transfer of weapons, armaments, ammunition to Ukraine, movement, transfer or deployment of the AFU).

All four suspects are in custody, facing life imprisonment. The investigation is ongoing.

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