A Donetsk Oblast resident who spied on Ukrainian military positions for Russia was found guilty of collaborationism and sentenced to 12 years in prison, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Jan. 5.
The man's sentence is shorter than some of the other prison terms issued in similar cases, which the SBU explained by his cooperation with law enforcement. In some cases, Ukrainians found spying for Russia during the full-scale invasion have been charged with treason, which can carry a life sentence if convicted.
At the beginning of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine, the convict supported the invasion on his social media pages, bringing the attention of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), who then recruited him, according to the SBU.
The man was reportedly spying on Ukrainian military positions in Donetsk Oblast, in particular, on artillery positions and the movement of heavy armored vehicles near Avdiivka.
He was sending this information to a Russian-led militant in the occupied territory of eastern Ukraine, who then forwarded it to an employee of the FSB administration in Russia's Rostov region, the SBU wrote.
"The invaders needed the intelligence to plan their combat operations on the front line and to carry out targeted missile and artillery strikes on units of the Ukrainian troops."
The SBU officers detained the informant in Donetsk Oblast in March 2022.
Avdiivka has been one of the hottest spots on Ukraine's battlefield since early October, when Russia launched a new offensive against the town, which has been on the front line since Russia's first invasion of the Donbas in 2014.
Ukrainian forces have continued to defend the now-destroyed town, just 10 kilometers north of Russian-occupied Donetsk, and largely prevented Russia from securing significant gains.
Francis Farrell
