Security Service of Ukraine: Russian espionage ring was uncovered in Odessa
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and military counterintelligence announced the detention of several members of a Russian spy ring in Odessa, as reported by the press service of the SBU.
As counterintelligence states, the leader and coordinator of the group is a Ukrainian citizen. She was trained in the annexed Crimea, and participated in the events at Kulikovo Field on May 2, 2014.
"The detention of all active members of the group in Odessa was carried out during a transfer of important documents," the head of the military counterintelligence service of the SBU, Levchenko added.
The SBU said that overall nine members of the group were detained on the 19th of March. As a preventative measure, four of them have been detained, the rest are under the control of the SBU.
"We know that every one of them has a Ukrainian passport. We do not know yet whether they have passports issued by other countries," the head of the SBU's Chief of Staff, Oleksandr Tkachuk, said.
He also added that the purpose of the network was to penetrate critical infrastructure facilities in the southern regions and military facilities. The agents were to receive information regarding the deployment and movement of military units.
"The second task that was issued by the General Staff of the Russian Federation was supposed to be sabotage and terrorist attacks against Ukrainian citizens in the southern regions," Tkachuk noted.
According to Levchenko, they were able to prevent the transfer of information. He also noted that the network operated not only in the southern regions, but also in the area of the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone). The network included both active and discharged servicemen.
Earlier the Security Service announced the exposure of 10 administrators of anti-Ukrainian social media groups which were coordinated by Russian special services.