Ukrainian spy caught in central Russia – FSB

The suspect was allegedly collecting information on a military plant for Kiev’s military intelligence agency, the HUR

A Ukrainian military intelligence asset has been detained in central Russia, the security agency FSB reported on Thursday. He had been tasked with filming a military production enterprise, it claimed.

The agency has not revealed the identity of the alleged Ukrainian spy, but said he was a Russian citizen in his early 20s, who had initiated the contact with Kiev’s HUR spy service. He was promised money for taking photos and videos of the military plant, the statement said. The suspect is under investigation for state treason, according to the FSB.

Footage released by the Russian agency shows the moment when the man was detained at an unidentified location near a railway.

This week, the FSB separately reported catching two other people, who had allegedly intended to conduct sabotage on behalf of Kiev. One case occurred in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, and the other in Sverdlovsk Region in the Urals.

Both individuals were intercepted while trying to conduct arson attacks, the agency alleged. In Sevastopol, the suspect was reportedly offered $1,000 to carry out the mission.

According to US media, the CIA invested millions of dollars in rebuilding the HUR from scratch after the 2014 Western-backed armed coup in Kiev. The US has turned Ukrainian spy services into “potent allies against Moscow,” the Washington Post reported last year.