F-16 positions were searched: SSU uncovered a network of Russian agents suspected of espionage

The military counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine has detained 12 suspected Russian agents and informants. They were spying on Ukrainian defense forces in five regions of the country and searching for the locations of F-16 aircraft and other strategic facilities.

According to the SSU, some of the suspects are deserters who voluntarily left the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and were hiding from justice. It is noted that it was at this time that they were recruited by Russian special services.

It is reported that the suspects acted separately from each other, but were closing in on the head of the intelligence group, who was in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The suspected organizer used forged documents for the conspiracy, including fake certificates of a «volunteer» and an «anti-corruption activist.»

He recruited suspected accomplices from Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Odessa regions to his activities.

In these regions, the suspects were scouting Ukrainian air defense firing positions. They were also looking for secret military airfields where, according to the Russians, F-16 aircraft could be based. In addition, one of the tasks was to find the addresses of companies that produce electronic warfare equipment against Russian drones.

The agents «secretly» recruited military acquaintances who were in front-line regions. After receiving preliminary data, the suspects conducted additional reconnaissance in the area near potential targets. The collected information was passed on to the group leader, who, in turn, sent it to the Russian curator.

It is noted that the SSU exposed the network's activities early on and detained its organizer and four key accomplices. During the searches, mobile phones, flash drives, military documents, and fake IDs were seized from them.

Investigators informed the detainees of suspicion of high treason and unauthorized dissemination of information about the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They face from 8 years in prison to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Currently, comprehensive measures are continuing to identify and hold accountable all those involved in the activities of the Russian spy network.

We will remind you that in Mykolaiv, the Security Service of Ukraine detained a resident of the Kherson region, who is suspected of espionage in ten regions of Ukraine.