The suspect faces treason charges for providing the locations of Black Sea Fleet vessels and air defense sites
A Russian woman suspected of treason has been detained in Novorossiysk, a major port city on the Black Sea in southern Russia, the Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday. The agency said she gathered and sent information on Russian military assets to Ukrainian intelligence.
The FSB stated that the suspect worked on a civilian vessel in the ports of Novorossiysk and Sochi. During this time, she allegedly initiated contact with a pro-Ukrainian terrorist group, which the FSB said is controlled by Ukrainian intelligence services. The woman is accused of collecting details regarding the locations of Russian Navy vessels and air defense sites and sharing them with her Ukrainian handlers.
”No damage was allowed to be inflicted on military equipment or personnel of the Russian Armed Forces due to timely measures taken,” the statement reads.
The FSB’s branch in Krasnodar Region has opened a criminal case under the article for high treason. The woman has been placed in pretrial detention. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The agency has also shared a video of the woman’s arrest. In the clip, when confronted about passing information about military facilities to a foreign government, she said she “didn’t see anything terrible in it.”
The video also included a recorded confession in which the woman said she was contacted by a representative of Ukrainian intelligence.
“He offered me monetary compensation for cooperation. I agreed. Later, he gave me tasks to collect information about the locations of military facilities in Novorossiysk, Sochi, and Sevastopol,” she said. The suspect stated that she sent the information to a person named ‘Maxim’ via Telegram and acknowledged her guilt.
In a separate message, the FSB warned that Ukrainian intelligence services are increasingly using Telegram and WhatsApp to recruit Russian citizens for reconnaissance and sabotage activities.
Earlier on Thursday, the Russian security services reported the arrest of another woman in St. Petersburg who has also been charged with collecting data on Russian military personnel on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence and aiding in the organization of an act of terrorism.
The woman allegedly helped establish the residences of Russian servicemen, as well as their vehicles and those of family members “for the purpose of preparing and carrying out terrorist attacks against them,” the FSB said. The suspect faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
