The military counterintelligence division of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Dnipro has detained a 17-year-old local resident suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence services. According to the SBU press office, citing case file materials, the young woman was preparing the intelligence basis for a new series of combined missile-and-drone strikes on the city. Counterintelligence sources say the suspect was exposed at the early stage of her subversive activity and detained at her home. The operation was carried out by SBU military counterintelligence officers under the procedural supervision of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.
Recruitment via "Easy Money" Telegram Channels
According to the case file, the suspect came to the attention of Russian intelligence services through Telegram channels that were looking for people for so-called "easy" earnings. According to investigators, it was through such channels that the 17-year-old Dnipro resident was recruited. After the young woman agreed to cooperate, she was given tasks to collect information on the locations of Ukrainian military formations in the city.
What Exactly the Suspect Was Collecting
Investigators note that after being recruited, the young woman walked the streets of Dnipro on foot and covertly photographed locations she believed were being used by Ukrainian military personnel. She passed the collected information to her Russian handler via a messenger: this included photographs as well as Google Maps screenshots with markers indicating potential targets. According to the SBU, the task was to track the coordinates of Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and National Guard units in Dnipro, which Russia could use to prepare new combined attacks. During a search, a smartphone was seized from the detainee, on which intelligence photographs and coordinates of Ukrainian facilities were stored.
Charges and Potential Sentence
SBU investigators informed the young woman of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — unauthorized dissemination of information about the movement, relocation, or location of the AFU and other military formations during martial law. The suspect faces up to 12 years of imprisonment. In addition, according to investigators, the question of additional qualification of her actions as treason is being considered. The investigation is ongoing.
Context: A Series of Informant Detentions
The detention in Dnipro is part of a series of military counterintelligence operations against networks preparing strikes on Ukrainian cities. Previously, law enforcement officers detained an informant who was preparing new strikes on Kharkiv Oblast, while in Kherson an entire network of enemy informants was uncovered who were preparing missile strikes on defense force units. These cases demonstrate that recruitment through social networks and messengers remains one of the key channels for recruiting agents to prepare combined attacks.
