Forest ranger arrested in Kharkiv for spying on Ukrainian troops

Source: Ukraine’s Security Service

On Friday, Ukraine’s Security Service of Ukraine said it has arrested a forest ranger in Kharkiv who spied on Ukrainian military forces.

Recruited by Russian intelligence, the suspect allegedly gathered information about the Ukrainian troops defending Kharkiv. His routine inspections of the state forestry allowed him to snoop on the locations of Ukrainian troops.

The ranger whose name is undisclosed monitored checkpoints and fortified positions of Ukrainian units and later sent their geotags to his Russian handlers. His espionage helped Russia have information about the number of the units and the weapons they were using.

SBU operatives raided his house to arrest the spy. Further investigation revealed that he had maintained contact with an acquaintance who fled to Russia in early 2022 and became a collaborator whose activities was overseen by a GRU case officer.

During the search of the forest ranger’s house, the SBU seized his mobile phone containing evidence of his espionage and correspondence with his Russian handlers.

The man has been charged under Article 111 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code of Ukraine.  Espionage charges can now send him to prison for life.