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  • Ukrainian pilot instructor caught selling Western fighter jet secrets to Moscow
    A pilot trusted with Ukraine’s most sensitive air operations was secretly feeding targeting data to Russian intelligence, Ukraine’s Security Service says. The major worked as a flight instructor in an air brigade responsible for shooting down Russian missiles and drones. His unit also conducted ground strikes supporting Ukrainian army operations. Perfect access. What was he selling? Coordinates of F-16 and Mirage 2000 airbases. Flight schedules. Aircraft tail numbers. Even pilot names. Ukraine
     
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✇Euromaidan Press

Ukrainian pilot instructor caught selling Western fighter jet secrets to Moscow

Par :Vira Kravchuk
30 juillet 2025 à 11:45

A Ukrainian pilot-instructor with access to Western fighter jet programs spent months feeding targeting data to Russian intelligence services but was recently caught.

A pilot trusted with Ukraine’s most sensitive air operations was secretly feeding targeting data to Russian intelligence, Ukraine’s Security Service says.

The major worked as a flight instructor in an air brigade responsible for shooting down Russian missiles and drones. His unit also conducted ground strikes supporting Ukrainian army operations. Perfect access.

What was he selling? Coordinates of F-16 and Mirage 2000 airbases. Flight schedules. Aircraft tail numbers. Even pilot names.

Ukraine received its first Western fighter jets in late 2024, with the Netherlands delivering F-16s in October and France following with Mirage 2000-5F jets in early 2025.

Both aircraft serve dual roles: shooting down Russian missiles and drones while conducting precision strikes behind enemy lines using Western-guided munitions. The jets represent a major upgrade from Ukraine’s aging Soviet-era MiGs, offering NATO-standard capabilities and integration with Western weapons systems.

The Security Service of Ukraine announced the arrest on 30 July, revealing how military counterintelligence tracked the officer as he prepared to pass another batch of classified information to Russia’s GRU military intelligence service.

But the betrayal went deeper than basic intelligence gathering.

The major authored analytical reports for his Russian handlers, outlining specific tactics for combined missile and drone strikes designed to penetrate Ukrainian air defenses. Essentially providing a how-to guide for destroying the aircraft he was supposed to protect.

How did he communicate with Moscow? Anonymous email channels and encrypted messaging apps, according to investigators.

The timing matters. Ukraine has been integrating Western fighters including F-16s and Mirage 2000s into its air force operations. Russia has repeatedly targeted these aircraft with long-range strikes, making the intelligence particularly valuable.

The major faces life imprisonment with property confiscation under Ukraine’s wartime treason laws. The Security Service in western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is handling the investigation.

 

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