The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained an instructor at a training center in Lviv Oblast who was planning assassinations of the base's commanders, the SBU said on April 14.
The suspect, an instructor at the Yavoriv training ground near the Polish border, is accused of simultaneously working for both the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and Russian military intelligence (GRU).
The Yavoriv training ground, officially the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, located just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Ukraine's western border with Poland, has been a key hub for military training.
According to the case file, the agent had been granted "carte blanche" by his Russian handlers to determine how the attacks would be carried out.
The SBU said he explored multiple assassination methods, including planting an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the headquarters or training buildings and covertly using a fellow instructor — unknowingly — to deliver explosives to Ukrainian commanders.
The suspect also reportedly considered passing target coordinates to Russia for a precision missile strike on military personnel undergoing training at the facility. Russian forces attacked the Yavoriv base in March 2022, reportedly killing over 60 soldiers.
The SBU said it exposed the plot before any action was taken. Law enforcement agents documented the suspect's communications and detained him as he was preparing proposals for the planned attacks.
Investigators also found that the agent had established contact with an FSB handler and collected detailed information about the composition and operations of Ukrainian units training at Yavoriv.
During a search, authorities seized three mobile phones with SIM cards used to communicate with Russian intelligence agencies.
The man has been charged with high treason under martial law. He is currently in pre-trial detention with no option for bail and faces a potential life sentence with confiscation of property.
The arrest follows a March 31 announcement by the SBU that another group suspected of assisting Russian missile strikes on Kyiv was also apprehended.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
