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.

Two Chinese nationals sit in Ukrainian custody tonight, accused of attempting to steal classified documentation on Ukraine’s Neptune anti-ship missile system. The weapon that sank Russia’s flagship Moskva.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it caught the pair red-handed in Kyiv. A 24-year-old former university student and his father, who resides in China but made periodic visits to Ukraine.

Chinese father-son espionage in Ukraine

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.

His father allegedly traveled to Ukraine to personally coordinate intelligence operations, according to the security service’s investigation. The family business, apparently, was espionage.

The student attempted to recruit a Ukrainian citizen connected to cutting-edge defense projects. The goal: technical documentation on Neptune missile production that could be smuggled back to Chinese intelligence services.

Ukrainian counterintelligence officers say they identified the operation early and arrested the student during a document handover. His father was detained as he prepared to transfer the stolen information to Beijing.

During searches, investigators seized mobile phones containing what they describe as coordination messages between the two suspects.

Both face espionage charges under Ukraine’s Criminal Code. Maximum sentence: 15 years with property confiscation.

Why would China want Neptune missile secrets?

The weapon has proven its worth in combat. Two Neptune missiles sank the Russian cruiser Moskva in April 2022—the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship and a potent symbol of Russian naval power. In March 2024, another Neptune strike hit the landing ship Konstantin Olshansky at its occupied Crimean base, rendering the vessel incapable of combat. 

The missile itself measures just over five meters long and weighs 870 kilograms (1 918 lbs). Range: up to 280 kilometers (173 miles). It can sink vessels displacing up to 5,000 tons.

Recent modifications expanded the Neptune’s capabilities beyond ships to ground targets that has an extended range of up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).

This advancement allows Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory, including strategic targets such as oil refineries, exemplified by a likely 14 March strike on a refinery in Tuapse about 450 km (279 miles) from the front line. 

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