The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a man in Kharkiv suspected of helping direct Russian aerial attacks on the base of an elite Ukrainian military unit.
In a post on Telegram on April 23, the agency said the man helped Moscow’s forces to identify the location of the Military intelligence’s (HUR) Kraken special unit.
Russian forces planned to carry out the attack using "ballistic missiles and guided aerial bombs of the KAB-500 type," the post said.
Moscow has recently intensified attacks against Kharkiv using missiles, glide bombs, and drones to destroy infrastructure and kill civilians.
The SBU claimed the man had been recruited at the beginning of April via social media where he had been posting anti-Ukraine content, describing him as an “ideological supporter of racism.”
He was arrested in his home and his mobile phone which allegedly contained incriminating messages with Russian security services was seized.
The man has been charged under part 2 of Art. 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized dissemination of information about the movement, movement or location of the Armed Forces if it is possible to identify them on the ground).
The man faces up to eight years in prison.
Chris York
