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Ukrainian national detained by FSB in southern Russia on suspicion of espionage

It is specified that the 40-year-old Ukrainian national was engaged in gathering sensitive information on the personnel and movements of Russian units from the zone of the special military operation

ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 15. /TASS/. Operatives from the Rostov Region branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) have detained and filed criminal charges against a Ukrainian national on suspicion of engaging in espionage on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB press service reported.

"Operatives of Russia’s FSB Directorate for the Rostov Region have detected and interdicted illegal activity by a Ukrainian citizen involving the gathering of information about deployment sites of military units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the interests of the adversary. Criminal charges have been filed under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (‘Espionage’)," the FSB press service said.

The FSB specified that the 40-year-old Ukrainian national was engaged in gathering sensitive information on the personnel and movements of Russian units from the zone of the special military operation and then passing it on to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) via a web messaging app.

"Data obtained by the Ukrainian side could have been used by the Ukrainian command to deliver strikes on the points of deployment of Russian units, which would result in losses among personnel and hardware of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," the law enforcement agency explained.

The operatives detained the suspect and confiscated the devices he used for communicating with his Ukrainian handlers.

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