Ukrainian Court Sentences Russian Spy to 15 Years for Espionage | Ukraine news - Межа

The court handed down a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property to a Russian intelligence agent who fought against the forces of the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine and attempted to infiltrate the Security Service of Ukraine for espionage.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the decision was officially recorded after the case was heard in court.

The offender was detained in October 2021 in the city of Vinnytsia.

As part of the investigation, it was established that the defendant is a 43-year-old resident of a portion of the Luhansk region that is temporarily occupied, who fought against the ATO forces in eastern Ukraine from 2014 to 2016.

Having served in the armed formations of the Russian Federation, he helped seize control of settlements in the region, including the town of Sorokyne.

Subsequently he was recruited by an FSB officer, who before the start of the full-scale war directed him to territory under Ukrainian control.

Upon arriving in Vinnytsia, the agent was allegedly to locate Ukrainian controllers in order to provide up-to-date information participants in the so-called LNR terrorist organization.

In reality, he sought to establish contacts with SBU officers to collect intelligence for the benefit of the Russian Federation.

The SBU counterintelligence acted in advance and uncovered the agent at the initial stage of infiltration into the ranks of the Ukrainian security service.

As a result of the investigation, the court found him guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 1 of Article 111 (“treason”) and Part 1 of Article 258-3 (“participation in a terrorist organization”).

The court’s decision underscores the seriousness of the criminal intent to destabilize the work of Ukraine’s security forces and the threat to national security.

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