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

A secret Russian intelligence document obtained by The New York Times shows the FSB’s growing alarm over Chinese espionage, despite Moscow’s repeated public claims of an unbreakable friendship with Beijing.

Although President Vladimir Putin has hailed a “limitless” partnership with Xi Jinping, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) refers to China as “the enemy” in an internal memo that outlines counterespionage priorities. The undated eight-page planning document was likely written in late 2023 or early 2024 and was authenticated by six Western intelligence agencies contacted by The New York Times.

The FSB accuses Chinese intelligence of attempting to recruit Russian scientists, officials, and businesspeople, collecting military secrets related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and using corporate and academic fronts to gather information in sensitive regions, including the Arctic and Central Asia.

The intelligence standoff unfolds as Putin and Xi continue to tighten their alliance, having met over 40 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Though bound by economic needs, the two powers operate with deep mutual distrust, NYT says. Russia relies heavily on China for oil exports, electronics, and alternatives to Western companies. According to an FSB document, tensions persist within this strategic relationship.

Origins and validation of the document

The document was obtained by cybercrime group Ares Leaks, according to NYT. Although the group did not disclose how it accessed the file, six Western agencies deemed it credible. It is the most detailed known insight into the Russian counterintelligence view of China.

China provides 80% of critical electronics for Russian drones, intelligence agency says

Espionage targets and recruitment

The FSB claims Chinese agents are particularly focused on Russia’s military tactics in Ukraine, especially drone warfare, modernization methods, and countermeasures against Western weapons. Chinese defense-linked institutions reportedly flooded into Russia soon after the 2022 invasion, seeking firsthand data from the conflict.

The memo also mentions Beijing’s interest in Russia’s discontinued ekranoplan project and the recruitment of aviation scientists. Dissatisfied or financially pressured employees of aircraft research institutes were considered likely targets.

Digital surveillance and WeChat monitoring

The FSB directive includes the monitoring of Chinese messaging app WeChat and mandates hacking into phones of espionage suspects. Officers are instructed to accumulate data using internal software tools to identify threats and intercept leaks of strategic information.

Concern over territorial claims and historical revisionism

The FSB warns of Chinese academic efforts to find “ancient Chinese peoples” in Russia’s Far East and spread revanchist narratives. A 2023 Chinese map labeled areas of Russia with historical Chinese names. Officers are ordered to investigate such activities and restrict access for involved foreigners.

Russia, China declare joint front against US as Xi wants “end to external interference” in Moscow

Intelligence tension in the Arctic and Central Asia

The document also highlights Beijing’s growing interest in Russia’s Arctic development and the Northern Sea Route. FSB analysts believe Chinese spies use mining companies and academic research to access strategic data.

Managing risk without disrupting ties

Despite these concerns, the FSB is cautious not to trigger diplomatic fallout. The document advises against public statements labeling China a threat and requires high-level approval before any sensitive actions.

Hungary's European Affairs Minister Janos Boka said on May 27 that it is difficult to lead constructive negotiations with Ukraine on its EU accession, as Kyiv is allegedly conducting "information and intelligence" operations on Hungary's territory.

The statement comes after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on May 9 that it had dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, detaining two agents accused of espionage against the Ukrainian state.

The Hungarian government denied the accusation as a smear campaign and instead declared it had exposed two Ukrainian spies operating in Hungary. The controversy has put a further strain on an already fragile bilateral relationship.

Talking to journalists ahead of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels on May 2, Boka said that constructive negotiations on Ukraine's entry to the EU would be difficult in this context.

Hungary, whose government is widely regarded as the most Russian-friendly in the EU, has been blocking the opening of accession negotiation clusters with Kyiv. After the scandal broke out, Budapest announced it is suspending talks with Ukraine on national minority rights, long presented by Hungary as the main roadblock in accession negotiations.

Budapest has repeatedly accused Kyiv of discriminating against the Hungarian ethnic minority concentrated in southwestern Zakarpattia Oblast, an accusation that the Ukrainian leadership denies. Much of these disputes center around Ukraine's language laws that require at least 70% of education above the fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian.

In turn, Kyiv has long accused Budapest of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty through political interference and dual citizenship schemes. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also consistently obstructed sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine within the EU.

Amid the escalating controversy, Orban has also accused Ukraine of meddling in Hungary's internal affairs and colluding with the Hungarian political opposition.

The agenda of the May 27 meeting in Brussels includes the possibility of stripping Hungary of its voting rights as the EU is looking for ways to override Budapest if it vetoes Ukraine's accession.

This will be the eighth hearing regarding Hungary since the European Parliament triggered Article 7 procedures against the country in 2018. Article 7 of the EU Treaty allows for the suspension of Council voting rights if a member state consistently breaches EU founding principles.

Decision on lifting range restrictions on arms for Ukraine made months ago, Germany’s Merz clarifies

“In this respect, yesterday in Berlin, I described something that has been happening for months: namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek