SBU exposes AFU chaplain of unspecified confession who turned out to be a Russian Intelligence agent

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained an AFU chaplain in Kiev (confession not specified, — ed.), who turned out to be an agent of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate. Before the main mission, the attacker was also engaged in the correction of Russian air attacks on the Ukrainian capital. An agent of Russian military intelligence, who acted under the cover of a chaplain for espionage in the ranks of the airborne assault troops of the AFU, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, based on evidence collected by military counterintelligence and investigators, the court convicted a Russian agent working for the Russian military intelligence service (known as GRU). The attacker turned out to be a resident of Kiev, recruited by an employee of the 317th intelligence center of the GRU.

According to the case materials, the agent developed a legend about chaplaincy activities, under the cover of which he tried to mobilize in brigades of the DShV. His main goal was to infiltrate the headquarters of the Airborne Assault Forces Command to spy on elite units of the Defense Forces. In case of success, he was to transmit to the curator the geolocations of basing and routes of movement of Ukrainian troops near the front line.

A separate task of the agent was to collect personal data on AFU servicemen. This information was intended for the preparation of recruitment operations and sabotage. Before starting the main task, the accomplice of the occupants underwent a «test», correcting air strikes on Kiev.

The SBU officers timely revealed the enemy’s plan and detained the mole in March 2024 in Kiev, when he was interviewed for enrollment in the ranks of Ukrainian paratroopers. The court found the agent guilty under part 2 of article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law). The investigation was conducted under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

We shall remind you that earlier the mass media published information that in Volyn law enforcement agencies exposed a clergyman who allegedly received 10 thousand dollars as an undue advantage. For these funds, he promised to «consecrate» a man subject to military service as a deacon, which would allow him to receive a deferment from mobilization. It is characteristic that information about the confessional affiliation of the accused was concealed in the media until the last. Later it turned out that the accused turned out to be a local cleric of the OCU.