Ukrainian authorities have sentenced a 24-year-old serviceman to 15 years in prison for defecting and providing intelligence to Russian intelligence. The individual, who left his post without authorization, was identified as having collected critical information on the locations of Ukrainian military facilities. The SBU presented evidence from military counterintelligence and investigators to support the conviction, highlighting the threat posed by the defector’s activities to national security.
The case is part of a broader pattern of intelligence violations by individuals serving in Ukraine’s defense forces. The conviction serves as a deterrent against potential future breaches of security protocols, particularly in the context of ongoing conflicts with Russian military forces. While the SBU did not disclose the exact nature of the information gathered, it emphasized that the defector’s actions could have had serious implications for the country’s defense and military strategies.