Ukrainian man spying for Belarus sentenced to 15 years in prison
A Ukrainian man convicted of spying for Belarus has been jailed for 15 years, Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) said on Dec. 23.
According to the SBU, the 24-year-old local unemployed man was recruited by Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) to spy on Ukraine's northern borders and was detained in July 2025 in Ukraine's northwestern Volyn Oblast bordering Belarus.
The detainee was tracking the locations of Ukrainian military, checkpoints, fortifications and routes along Ukraine's northern border, walking around the border area, and adding coordinates of military facilities on Google Maps, the SBU said.
The SBU officers exposed the agent, documented his crimes, and detained him at his place of residence. During a search, a smartphone, used for contacting a Belarusian KGB agent, was seized.
Based on the materials provided by the SBU, the court found the agent guilty under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (treason committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy under martial law).
Belarus remains one of Russia's closest allies in the war against Ukraine.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is widely seen as a close ally of Putin. He allowed Russian forces to use Belarusian territory to launch attacks on Ukraine at the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022.
