Two Zaporizhzhian Women Caught Allegedly Spying for Russia, Military Intelligence Says

Two women from Zaporizhzhia were allegedly involved in scouting the positions of air defense systems and sharing the identification data of Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) soldiers, including that of family members, with Russian authorities.

The Cyber specialists of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have allegedly exposed two agents affiliated with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Zaporizhzhia, according to a statement from the SBU press service.

One of the defendants attempted to identify the locations of air defense anti-aircraft missile systems on the front lines in the region.

She may have also provided the FSB with the names and phone numbers of her relatives, who are soldiers of the AFU, as well as the contact information of their comrades fighting on the front lines.

“During the ‘friendly talks,’ the Russian agent recorded her conversations with the military regarding battlefield tactics, subsequently transmitting the corresponding audio files to the occupiers,” the report stated.

The other suspect conducted reconnaissance on the front lines, documenting the temporary bases of personnel and military equipment of the AFU.

For each completed task, the FSB then transferred up to Hr. 6,000 to their agents’ bank cards.

The SBU discovered the women’s subversive activities during the initial stages of their intelligence gathering and detained them in their residences.

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Russian security forces say the suspect – a 28-year-old Uzbek citizen – admitted during interrogation to having been recruited by Ukrainian special services.

According to the investigation, the two Zaporizhzhia residents were remotely recruited by an FSB representative in the summer of this year. They drew the attention of Russian authorities by subscribing to Russian Telegram channels with bots attempting to collect intelligence on Ukraine’s military forces.

Based on the collected evidence and in keeping with Ukraine’s Criminal Code requirements, the investigators from the SBU have notified the women they are under suspicion of treason committed under martial law, with potential life imprisonment as the penalty.

Earlier, the SBU in Odesa uncovered another agent of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) who posed as a rescuer and attempted to determine the coordinates of the HIMARS rocket artillery systems.

The SBU conducted a large-scale special operation in the Mykolaiv region, resulting in the neutralization of one of the largest Russian intelligence networks since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Kyiv Post asked SBU representatives what motives are behind those who collaborate with the Russians. The officials said that a generalized “profile” of a spy for Russia is difficult to ascertain.