The SBU detained a priest of the UOC (MP) who was preparing an attack on the echelons of the Armed Forces in Kharkiv Oblast for the Russian GRU
The priest had to transfer the recorded footage to his curator through an anonymous chat in the messenger.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted a multi-stage special operation, as a result of which the intelligence network of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) was neutralized, which was correcting shelling of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine. Thanks to this operation, it was possible to prevent a series of airstrikes by the Russian Federation against Ukrzaliznytsia facilities in the Kharkiv region. About this informs press service of the department.
During the special operation, two agents of the Russian military intelligence were detained, who were preparing to attack echelons of the Armed Forces, which were transporting personnel, equipment and ammunition to the front line.
According to the case materials, the main suspect was a citizen of Russia, the abbot of one of the UOC (MP) churches in Kharkiv, who was recruited by the Russian special services even before the full-scale invasion. After the beginning of the invasion of the Russian Federation, he was contacted by a staff member of the GRU, whose identity has already been established by the SBU.
The enemy special service gave the clergyman the task of gathering information about the schedules and routes of the movement of echelons of the Armed Forces in the Kharkiv region. For this purpose, the priest involved an acquaintance of his, an employee of the local branch of Ukrzaliznytsia, who gave him access to official documents with information about the time of departure, arrival and unloading of the Defense Forces trains.
The priest had to forward the recorded footage to his curator through an anonymous chat in the messenger. For the conspiracy, they used encryption symbols and started correspondence only after stipulated “smileys” at a certain time. After each communication session, the participants deleted the correspondence. The occupiers planned to fire according to the received coordinates after receiving the “detailed report”.
The security service exposed the enemy’s accomplices in advance and foiled the plans of the Russian Federation. After an operative combination, both persons involved were detained in their residences. During the searches, mobile phones and SIM cards of various operators with evidence of intelligence and subversive activities were seized from them.
So far, SBU investigators have notified the cleric and his accomplice of suspicion under Part 3 of Art. 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized dissemination of information about the transfer of weapons, armaments and military supplies to Ukraine, the movement, transfer or deployment of the Armed Forces or other military formations, committed under martial law). The sanction of the article provides for a punishment of up to 12 years of imprisonment.
The perpetrators are in custody. The issue of additional qualification of their criminal actions is also being resolved.
The special operation was conducted under the procedural leadership of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office and with the assistance of the leadership of the regional branch “Southern Railway” JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”.
