Two Ukrainian nationals, Roman Lavrynovych and Petro Pochynok, and a Romanian national, Stanislav Carpiuc, have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
The suspect, an instructor at the Yavoriv training ground near the Polish border, had reportedly been tasked with planning terrorist attacks against commanders of Ukraine's Armed Forces stationed at the training center.
The Ukrainian admitted to the charges, saying he worked for Russia for ideological reasons.
Three men were detained, including a Russian sleeper agent, the SBU said in a statement.
Sergey Beseda, former head of the 5th Service of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), was an unconventional choice to represent his country in the talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on March 24. Seventy-year-old General Beseda, however, has been deeply involved in Russia’s all-out war against
According to law enforcement, the recruited agents were two teenagers aged 15 and 17 who sought quick money on Telegram channels.
According to the investigation, the suspect, an IT specialist from Kharkiv, was recruited by Russian special services and tasked with assembling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) containing metal fragments to maximize casualties.
Within a single week in February, several attacks against enlistment offices and personnel in Ukraine took place, resulting in injuries among both military and civilians. The most striking was the murder of an enlistment officer at a gas station in Poltava Oblast. A man killed the officer during an attempt
Russia and China are attempting to recruit U.S. federal national security employees impacted by the Trump administration's layoffs, CNN reported on March 1, citing four sources and a document.
Cybersecurity experts warn that the move benefits one of America's most persistent cyber adversaries, potentially weakening U.S. leverage in both cyber and conventional military operations.
"The U.S. and Russia maintained contacts on various levels during the three years of the war… and Europeans too," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a meeting with international journalists.
The joint media investigation sheds fresh details on reports of Russia-sponsored killings of U.S. soldiers that first surfaced in 2020, including names of Russian intelligence officers and their local collaborators involved.
The newly detained suspects, a 33-year-old soldier who went AWOL (absent without leave) and his 25-year-old wife, were looking for "easy money" and were recruited via the Telegram messenger by Russian intelligence services, the SBU said.
Hundreds of Ukrainian schools, businesses, embassies, administrative buildings, and media outlets, including the Kyiv Independent, received bomb threats via email on Oct. 14, prompting evacuations of state institutions.
"Evil Corp has used the Dridex malware to infect computers and harvest login credentials from hundreds of banks and other financial institutions in over 40 countries, resulting in more than $100 million in theft losses and damage suffered by U.S. and international financial institutions and their customers," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
"(RT) is also engaged in information operations, covert influence, and military procurement. These operations are targeting countries around the world, including in Europe, Africa, and North and South America," the State Department said.
A notorious unit of Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) is carrying out cyber attacks against critical infrastructure in NATO and EU countries, as well as Ukraine, Western intelligence agencies warned on Sept. 5.
The intelligence network operated in Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts. The suspects surveilled the Ukrainian Armed Forces and critical infrastructure facilities.
The perpetrators intended to target shopping centers, gas stations, pharmacies, and markets in Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic countries on the instruction of Russian intelligence services, according to the SBU.
Kyiv has denied any involvement in the attack. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told independent Russian media he believed there was "a malfunction with the gas equipment in the car."
Australian police arrested two Russian-born Australian citizens suspected of obtaining the country's military material to share it with Russian authorities, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on July 12.
After obtaining intelligence about the plans, the U.S. then shared the information with their German counterparts, who "were then able to protect (Rheinmetall CEO Armin) Papperger and foil the plot," CNN said.
The heightened security alert was first reported earlier in July as being connected to a possible terrorist threat directed at several U.S. military installations across Europe, including the facility in Germany where the U.S. European Command is based.
"We are now becoming a liability for our neighbors because Russia is using us as an operational base," an Austrian intelligence official told the Wall Street Journal.
Unnamed security officials told the Wall Street Journal that a number of details revealed in the subsequent investigation into the fire point to Russian involvement and the direct work of "experienced professionals."
Senator Mark Warner, who serves as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that Russia and its proxies are "sowing discontent or trying to pit groups against each other (to) further social division" in the U.K.
According to the SBU, the unnamed man provided geolocations of Ukrainian positions to Russian agents, who then used the intelligence to plan operations involving aerial bombs, artillery, and assault groups.
Viacheslav Morozov was arrested in January 2024 on suspicion of spying for Russia.
Russian Fund for Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad (Pravfond) describes its goal as providing "Russian compatriots with comprehensive legal and other necessary support in cases of violation of their rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests."
U.K. authorities did not clarify the specifics of Howard Michael Phillips' alleged espionage activities but said that there was unlikely to be a threat to the general public.
(Updated: )
