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.