The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police have dismantled a covert espionage network working for Russian intelligence, which used vehicle dashcams to guide missile strikes on critical Ukrainian defense infrastructure across seven regions of the country.
According to officials, five members of the group were arrested simultaneously during a coordinated security operation. The suspects were active in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Mykolaiv, as well as the Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The group’s members were young, with the youngest being just 16 years old, and the oldest 23.
An investigation revealed that the spy cell included a university student from Zaporizhzhia, a local acquaintance, her live-in partner, and two brothers from Kharkiv Oblast. Though acquainted, the group operated independently and communicated with a single handler from Russian intelligence.
After being recruited online via Telegram — a platform Russian intelligence agents increasingly use to lure potential collaborators with promises of "easy money" — the agents were instructed to gather coordinates for missile strikes on Ukrainian military targets.
To carry out their assignments, the operatives traveled between cities and parked vehicles near potential military sites with dashcams secretly recording for 8 to 12 hours at a time. The footage was used to assess the presence of Ukrainian personnel and equipment.
To avoid suspicion, the agents would leave the vehicle and monitor the surroundings from nearby cafés, which they used as makeshift surveillance posts. Periodically, they returned to their cars to recharge the cameras and replace memory cards with new ones for continued recording.
All five operatives were arrested at their residences. The suspects have been charged under Article 111, Part 2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code — high treason committed under martial law. They are currently in custody with no right to bail.
If convicted, they face life imprisonment and confiscation of all personal assets.
