The SBU’s military counterintelligence successfully dismantled a spy ring operating on behalf of Russia’s GRU. The ring was engaged in gathering intelligence on Ukrainian military airfields and combat aircraft. It consisted of 14 people from various regions of Ukraine, according to Glavkom.
The investigation established that the collected data could have been used by Russia to plan missile strikes on Ukrainian air bases where F-16s and Mirage 2000s are stationed.
The SBU reported that it all began with a man from Lviv who ran a Telegram channel about aviation. Russian intelligence recruited him after noticing that he had posted photos of Ukrainian combat aircraft in pro-Kremlin chat rooms.
The man enlisted 13 other subscribers to help gather information. They lived near military facilities and had high-quality photography equipment. Following the organizer’s instructions, they photographed:
- Ukrainian military airfields;
- combat aircraft;
- crews and technical personnel;
- aircraft takeoffs and landings.
Formally, this material was supposedly collected for a Telegram channel, but in reality it was stored in an online repository accessible only to the organizer. It was subsequently forwarded to a Russian supervisor.
To conduct surveillance, network members used professional cameras and hid in abandoned buildings or in open areas near air bases.
In addition to photographs, the Lviv resident provided Russia with helicopter takeoff and landing schedules, which were voluntarily shared with him by the commander of a Ukrainian Armed Forces aviation squadron.
