Kyiv: The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) detained a married couple suspected of spying for Russia in the Black Sea town of Odessaone of the largest ports in Ukraine.
An SBU statement on Thursday did not name the couple but accused them of gathering intelligence for Russia on the locations of possible military deployments and the movement of air defense units.
He said the pair were suspected of being Russian military intelligence officers who had planned to set up a network of agents in southern Ukraine.
SBU agents found cellphones and computer equipment with evidence of “hidden correspondence with the attacker”, he said.
“The SBU arrested the two spies when they attempted to transfer classified information to Russia,” the SBU said.
The couple could not be reached for comment.
Odessa has come under frequent fire since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, but it remains under Ukrainian control.
The SBU said the detained man and woman arrived in Ukraine in 2018 and received residence permits, and that the man had served in the Russian army.
He said the detainees sent the information they gathered to a former Russian special forces officer in Crimea who had cooperated with military intelligence. The Crimean peninsula was seized by Russia in 2014.
The SBU also released a series of photos of the couple’s arrest, the detainee’s military documents showing his military rank of colonel, and the detainees’ Russian passports.
An SBU statement on Thursday did not name the couple but accused them of gathering intelligence for Russia on the locations of possible military deployments and the movement of air defense units.
He said the pair were suspected of being Russian military intelligence officers who had planned to set up a network of agents in southern Ukraine.
SBU agents found cellphones and computer equipment with evidence of “hidden correspondence with the attacker”, he said.
“The SBU arrested the two spies when they attempted to transfer classified information to Russia,” the SBU said.
The couple could not be reached for comment.
Odessa has come under frequent fire since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, but it remains under Ukrainian control.
The SBU said the detained man and woman arrived in Ukraine in 2018 and received residence permits, and that the man had served in the Russian army.
He said the detainees sent the information they gathered to a former Russian special forces officer in Crimea who had cooperated with military intelligence. The Crimean peninsula was seized by Russia in 2014.
The SBU also released a series of photos of the couple’s arrest, the detainee’s military documents showing his military rank of colonel, and the detainees’ Russian passports.
