A Kyiv Metro engineer allegedly let a network of agents who helped direct Russian missile and drone attacks against the capital and Kharkiv Oblast, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Jan. 18.
The agents tracked the movement and positions of Ukrainian troops in order to coordinate Russian aerial attacks, the SBU said.
Russia's Federal Security Service recruited the network leader, a Kyiv Metro engineer, during a meeting in Moscow in 2015, according to the SBU. After the full-scale invasion in 2022, he was instructed to create a network of agents who would monitor the activitiy of Ukrainian troops and cargo.
The engineer allegedly recruited acquaintances into the network, including a Kharkiv resident who deserted the Ukrainian military and previously worked for Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) for 10 years. This agent tracked and reported on the movements of Ukraine's military.
Another agent, an international road transport driver, identified and shared the coordinates of military checkpoints.
The ringleader then passed this intelligence on to the FSB, the SBU claimed.
The leader also personally directed Russian missile strikes on Kyiv, according to intercepted conversations.
SBU officers have detained the alleged leader in Kyiv and another suspected agent in Kharkiv. During the investigation, officers seized cell phones that they said contain evidence of collaboration with Russia, along with four firearms.
Both suspects have been charged with high treason in conjunction with the Prosecutor General's Office. A third suspect, currently in hiding abroad, may also be charged.
The suspects face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, along with confiscation of property.
Kateryna Denisova
