A suspected Russian spy was caught by the Security Service of Ukraine after investigators exposed a National Guard serviceman who leaked secrets about a defense plant. SBU agents said he gave Russian intelligence information about a key Dnipropetrovsk Oblast facility and the unit that guarded it.

Russian spy exposed in National Guard ranks

Ukraine’s Security Service reported on 31 July that it exposed another agent working for Russian intelligence. The SBU said the man served in a National Guard brigade based in Zaporizhzhia. He allegedly sent Russian forces classified data about a strategic defense plant in Dnipropetrovsk oblast. That plant manufactures explosives and different types of ammunition. The mole also passed information about the military unit responsible for guarding the site.

Insider reached out to Russia

According to the SBU, the serviceman had worked at the plant before he was mobilized. Investigators said he personally contacted Russian intelligence and offered them secret information in exchange for money. His knowledge of the site and its security measures came from his previous work there.

Arrest and charges

The SBU, supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the command of the National Guard, documented the actions of the suspected “mole.” Agents detained him after confirming his involvement. Investigators from the SBU’s main investigative department notified the suspect of suspicion under part 2 of article 111 of Ukraine’s criminal code. That article covers state treason committed during martial law. The suspect faces life in prison with confiscation of property if found guilty.

UK intelligence has exposed how Russian GRU sabotage units have carried out a global campaign of subversion, disinformation, and covert attacks. In its 23 July defense intelligence update, the British Defense Ministry has named the Russian units and outlined their years-long operations across Europe, Africa, and Ukraine.

On 18 July, the UK sanctioned three Russian GRU units and one interference agency, along with 18 military intelligence officers, for targeting the UK, its allies, and Ukraine. 

British report reveals global GRU operations

According to the UK Defense Ministry’s Intelligence update published on 23 July 2025, Russia is “escalating its global campaign to subvert its adversaries and increase Russian influence.”

“Whilst Russian military intelligence (GRU) is at the forefront of these efforts, Russia has also turned to an increasing variety of non-state actors to conduct a full spectrum of overt to covert activities, including espionage, assassination, sabotage, and electronic, cyber and information operations,” the update reads.

The UK identified Unit 29155, also known as the 161st Specialist Training Center, as a key actor. Its cyber wing launched the WhisperGate attack—deploying destructive malware—in Ukraine in 2022. The wider unit was behind multiple sabotage and assassination operations, including the 2018 attempted murder of Yulia and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, the 2011 ammunition warehouse bombing in Bulgaria, and a 2014 blast in Czechia.

Unit 26165, or the 85th Main Special Services Center, has run widespread espionage operations. It also provided targeting intelligence for Russian missile strikes, including the 2022 bombing of the Mariupol theater that killed hundreds of civilians, including children.

Unit 74455, part of the Main Center for Special Technologies, has carried out cyberattacks on democratic elections, national infrastructure, and financial control systems.

The fourth entity, the African Initiative, is a Kremlin-linked interference agency. UK intelligence says it conducts information operations in Africa, including the spread of conspiracy theories aimed at undermining global health efforts.

A suspected Russian spy in Ukraine’s national anti-graft bureau was arrested in Kyiv after security officials accused him of leaking restricted data to Russian intelligence via a traitor tied to fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych. Liga reports that the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Kyiv ordered the officer’s pretrial detention without bail until 20 September.

Anti-graft bureau officer suspected of spying for Russia

Liga, citing a law enforcement source, reports that the arrested individual is Viktor Husarov, an officer from the D-2 closed unit within the central office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). He was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on 21 July.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the suspect allegedly carried out espionage on behalf of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Investigators claim he passed information about Ukrainian law enforcement officials and civilians to Russian intelligence through an intermediary. That intermediary, the office said, was Dmytro Ivantsov — a known traitor and former deputy head of personal security for Yanukovych, who assisted the former president’s escape to Russia in February 2014.

The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed that at least 60 episodes of transmitting restricted information had been documented.

“For each such transmission, the NABU officer received funds to his bank card,” prosecutors added.

The officer has been officially charged with state treason and unauthorized actions involving restricted information committed by a person with authorized access.

SBU operation aimed to neutralize Russian penetration of NABU

On 21 July, the SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office announced the launch of a special operation to disrupt Russian infiltration within NABU. The agencies stated they had detained a staff member of the central apparatus of NABU suspected of spying for Russia.

NABU said that it had earlier received a warning in August 2023 from SBU leadership about potential risks involving the suspect. The agency said it initiated an internal interview process to evaluate possible disciplinary action or dismissal. However, according to NABU, the SBU advised it not to proceed in order to avoid interfering with an ongoing counterintelligence operation targeting other individuals connected to the traitor.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General have uncovered a Russian mole in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). He worked in the elite, classified D-2 unit and was spying for the Russian intelligence service.

The investigation has established that the agent’s subversive activities were coordinated by traitor Dmytro Ivantsov, the former deputy head of security for ousted ex-president Viktor Yanukovych. In February 2014, Ivantsov helped Yanukovych flee to Russia after EuroMaidan protests, where over 100 activists were killed by pro-government snipers. He stayed in Crimea, where he was recruited by the FSB.

The SBU documented at least 60 instances of the suspect transmitting classified information to the former deputy head of Yanukovych’s security. According to the intelligence agency, he gathered foundational data on Ukrainian law enforcement officers and other citizens targeted by Russia for planned terrorist attacks and special information operations. Moscow planned to use this information for its attacks on them.

The agent obtained personal information about potential Russian targets from closed databases of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. For each completed task, he received payments from his handler via bank card transfers.

“Earlier, SBU officers alerted NABU leadership about possible risks related to this employee. However, the agency’s management took no response measures, and the suspect continued working in his position while attempting to destroy evidence of his illegal activities,” the SBU statement says.

After documenting the crimes of the spy, the SBU and Prosecutor’s Office detained him, seizing his phone and computer equipment used to contact his handler. He faces imprisonment for up to 15 years.

Skyeton, the Ukrainian developer of the well-known long-range Raybird unmanned aerial vehicles, which have logged over 350,000 hours of combat flights, has become a target of technological espionage by unscrupulous European companies, The Telegraph reports. 

Roman Kniazhenko, the company’s CEO, reveals this. According to him, Western manufacturers visit “as guests” with alleged proposals for cooperation, but instead they are trying to steal production secrets. 

“Then they do beautiful pitch books, beautiful presentations about how they’re operating in Ukraine. But actually they’ve done just a couple of flights in Lviv [the western city more than 1,000km from the front line],” he says. 

Sometimes, Kniazhenko continues, he sees in their presentations, “literally my own words, without any change.”

He also emphasizes that while Ukrainian drones withstand real combat conditions, taking off even from puddles, European governments are spending billions on products that merely simulate combat effectiveness. 

“The big problem, after that, is that billions of dollars go to the companies that still don’t have any idea what they’re doing,” says Kniazhenko. 

Meanwhile, the Skyeton team, currently 500 people strong, works 24/7 developing drones for the toughest frontline conditions.

One example of its effectiveness was an operation in the Black Sea: Ukrainian special forces went missing at night, and a Raybird, with its lights on, was able to locate them in the dark waters.

“From one side, everything looks perfect for us. But it was like hell, a night of hell. When you are destroying something you feel good for a couple seconds. But when you know that you saved someone. Like, it’s a totally different feeling,” explains Kniazhenko. 

He also urges the West to fund the production of Ukrainian drones on its territory instead of starting a startup from scratch. Every country has the technologies it is good at, he stresses, adding that for Ukraine, it is clear that it is drones. 

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Stability in Ukraine is in China’s own interest, and Beijing holds the most powerful levers to influence Moscow and urge Russian ruler Vladimir Putin to end the war, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi says, according to UkrInform. 

Tykhyi calls on China, which has been called the main sponsor of Russia’s war, to view Ukraine not merely as another European country, but as a future member of the European Union. He emphasizes that “Ukraine–China relations are ongoing, dialogue exists.” Kyiv is also openly responding to instances of Chinese citizens participating in combat on Russia’s side or engaging in acts of industrial espionage.

For instance, on 9 July, Kyiv detained two Chinese nationals, accused of attempting to steal classified documentation on Ukraine’s Neptune anti-ship missile system. The weapon that sank Russia’s flagship Moskva.

The younger suspect studied at a Kyiv technical university until 2023, when he was expelled for poor grades. Instead of returning to China, he stayed in Ukraine. The SBU suggests he used his remaining contacts to target someone with access to advanced weapons development.

“Recently, Chinese nationals were detained for gathering sensitive information about Ukrainian weapons. These facts are not being concealed,” the spokesperson says, adding that such incidents damage bilateral relations, and Ukraine cannot ignore threats amid all-out war.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a senior EU diplomat that China “cannot accept” Russia’s defeat in the war against Ukraine, arguing that such an outcome would allow the US to focus its foreign policy on Beijing. However, this does not fully indicate that Beijing is focused on Moscow’s victory. 

European firms stole drone secrets from a top Ukrainian manufacturer while falsely claiming their own UAVs were tested in combat, according to Skyeton CEO Roman Knyazhenko. He did not name the specific European companies allegedly involved. Skyeton’s flagship Raybird drone has flown over 350,000 combat hours, The Telegraph says. 

European drone makers accused of copying, then vanishing

In an interview with The Telegraph, Knyazhenko said some European manufacturers approached Skyeton under the pretense of cooperation. However, then they used the meetings to extract technical details and even plagiarized phrases from company materials.

“Sometimes I open presentations of other aircraft from Europe, and I see literally my own words, without any change,” he told the outlet.

He said firms conducted only a few drone flights far from the front line — such as in Lviv in western Ukraine — and still claimed their systems were “combat tested.” These misleading claims allowed them to secure government contracts worth billions, diverting funds from proven Ukrainian systems.

“They’re investing in technology that’s actually fake. In the end, you will have nothing,” Knyazhenko said, warning that the deception not only wastes money but also harms Ukraine’s war effort.

Skyeton says Raybird drones built under battlefield pressure

Skyeton, formerly focused on ultralight aircraft, now works directly with the Ukrainian army. CEO Roman Knyazhenko said roughly half the drone’s components have been replaced in recent years to enhance radar evasion and endurance. The system can reportedly fly 2,500 kilometers and stay airborne for up to 28 hours with various payloads. He added that pressure on engineers is extreme, with repairs often needed overnight to avoid leaving brigades without support.

“In peacetime, you would say a couple of weeks or a month. But right now, you have one night,” Knyazhenko said. “Because if you do not do it in one night, tomorrow the enemy will try and approach us and we will not have aircraft in the air, so we will have casualties.”

Poor foreign parts and legal limbo slow Ukrainian production

Skyeton says it had to start building more parts itself after receiving faulty imports. Knyazhenko cited one shipment of gimbal cameras where half didn’t work. Test logs showed they failed before leaving the factory, he said. The supplier denied responsibility. Legal action, Knyazhenko added, would take years — while frontline units went without equipment.

“Every day of delay will cost us millions,” Knyazhenko said, noting Skyeton’s strict government contracts and the constant demand from Ukrainian brigades.

Rapid evolution defines Ukraine’s drone edge

Skyeton says it constantly refines its drones for real combat conditions. Engineers, it claims, adjusted launch systems and designed UAVs that can take off from puddles within minutes. Knyazhenko said key technologies may become obsolete in two weeks.

“Three years here feels like 20 years in peace time,” he said.

He warned that visiting a Ukrainian factory doesn’t mean firms can replicate the work. “It’s the same story as building a BMW from scratch. It takes years,” he said.

In Foreign Affairs, former Biden officials Jon Finer and David Shimer said most countries — including the US — now lag behind Ukraine in drone warfare. Knyazhenko added that instead of rebuilding systems like the Raybird, Western countries should simply fund Ukrainian production abroad.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) caught a Russian agent red-handed as he was filming a military airfield in preparation for a Russian strike, the agency reported on June 15.

According to the SBU, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) recruited the unemployed 24-year-old via the Telegram messaging app to collect coordinates for air attacks on airfields and logistic depots.

The FSB had allegedly instructed him to find military facilities and carry out reconnaissance on the ground in exchange for “easy money.”

The man was detained outside an airfield in Rivne Oblast while filming its outer perimeter with a hidden camera in his car. The SBU seized a phone and the camera on the scene, while other evidence was taken from the agent’s apartment.

If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment for high treason.

The SBU regularly announces it has foiled Russian agents and terrorist plots against military and civilian targets. The FSB usually targets unemployed people, those with criminal records, or addicts, according to the SBU's data.

In April, the SBU detained an instructor at a training center in Lviv Oblast who was planning to assassinate the base's commanders. That same month, the SBU detained nine FSB agents, including five minors, for plotting terrorist attacks in central and eastern Ukraine.

More than a fifth of FSB recruits in Ukraine are minors.

Power cut off in Russia’s Kaliningrad in sabotage operation, Ukrainian military intelligence says

In the early hours of June 14, Ukrainian agents drained the coolant from the substation’s power transformer before setting the facility on fire.

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell