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Ukrainian man spying for Belarus sentenced to 15 years in prison

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Ukrainian man spying for Belarus sentenced to 15 years in prison
Ukrainian border guards stand at the border of Ukraine and Belarus in Volyn Oblast, on Feb. 20, 2024. (Roman Pilipey / AFP)

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.

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Yuliia Taradiuk

Reporter

Yuliia Taradiuk is a Ukrainian reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been working with Lutsk-based misto.media, telling stories of Ukrainian fighters for the "All are gone to the front" project. She has experience as a freelance culture reporter, and a background in urbanism and activism, working for multiple Ukrainian NGOs. Yuliia holds B.A. degree in English language and literature from Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, she studied in Germany and Lithuania.

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