Russia forces Ukrainians to become spies by threatening to kill their families

Ukraine's security service detains suspects after exposing a network of Russian spies. Photo: SBU/AVALON

Russia is forcing Ukrainians to become spies, threatening to kill their families, the Kiev security service SBU said after dismantling a spy network working for Moscow.

The SBU said it had detained five former and current Ukrainian intelligence officers suspected of disseminating information at military facilities. , defensive fortifications and energy facilities with their enemy.

It is unclear whether the alleged collaborators had pro-Russian sympathies, but the SBU said its investigation revealed they were recruited by the FSB, Russia's internal security service. services, “using, among other things, threats to kill their families.”

“The Security Service of Ukraine neutralized the powerful FSB military counterintelligence agent network that operated in Ukraine,” the service said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine said that one of the alleged double agents was an active regional SBU agent, the rest are former employees of security intelligence and foreign intelligence services.

«In addition, for each completed task, the attackers received funds from the Russian Federation,» they said in Kyiv. added security service.

Five former and current Ukrainian intelligence officers are suspected of working for Moscow. Photo: SSU/AVALON

Similar tactics were used by Ukrainian military intelligence HUR to recruit Russians for attacks behind enemy lines.

There are reports of pensioners being blackmailed into attacking recruiting stations in Russia, and young men who are forced to undermine the railway infrastructure.

The arrest of one of the spies who allegedly conveyed details of the movement of Ukrainian troops Photo: SBU/AVALON

Local news agencies reported that their network operated in the south of the Zaporozhye and Odessa regions, as well as half of the Donetsk region. Donbass.

«The criminals conducted reconnaissance in places with the greatest concentration of Ukrainian personnel and equipment in the front-line zones,» the SBU reported.

The group reported that it shared information about defensive structures near Odessa port, the location of missile launchers in the northeastern Kharkov region and passed on details of the movements of Ukrainian troops, the Kiev prosecutor general said.

One of the spies allegedly shared information about USB flash drives being smuggled through border checkpoints items.

Another of the alleged double agents once worked for Russian military intelligence GRU.

Ukraine's security service has revealed classified information about a number of alleged Russian networks helping Moscow's forces coordinate long-range attacks .