SBU detains kindergarten employee over allegedly aiding Russian attacks on Kharkiv

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) cyber specialists exposed a kindergarten employee who was allegedly adjusting Russia's missile and drone strikes on the city of Kharkiv, the SBU reported on April 1.

Kharkiv has been at the forefront of Russian attacks since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion and saw an escalation in strikes in recent weeks.

The attacks destroyed almost all critical energy infrastructure, including a thermal power plant and all the electrical substations in Ukraine's second-biggest city, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

According to the SBU, the detainee monitored the positions of Ukraine's Armed Forces to learn the approximate number of personnel and military equipment after receiving geolocations of potential targets from Russia.

Ukraine's security service published photos purporting to show the suspect's messages with a "Russian handler" to whom she sent messages with the targets' coordinates on Google Maps, the SBU said.

The SBU reported that the detainee was remotely recruited by Russian intelligence in the autumn of 2023. Moscow contacted her through her friend from the city of Kupiansk, who fled to Russia during its occupation and joined Russia's forces.

A kindergarten employee was detained at her home "at the initial stage of her intelligence activity," the statement read. She is expected to be formally charged. If convicted, the suspect faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Russia intensifies attacks on Kharkiv, draining Ukraine’s air defense and civilian morale

This was the first time since 2022 that Russian troops used a glide air bomb, reportedly a new-type UMPB D-30 munition, to kill residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova