Largest Russian Spy Network Liquidated In Ukraine

The agents were handed over to the SBU by their contact "Shaggy". One of the largest networks of Russian agents was operating near Mykolaiv.

It included 13 informants, who were exposed by the SBU. The SBU press service reports that.

"The Security Service conducted a large-scale special operation in the Mykolaiv region, as a result of which another network of Russian agents was neutralised. Among them were 13 local residents working for the FSB," the release said.

What did the informers do?

The attackers gathered information on the location and movements of the defence forces in the southern region;

They coordinated Russian air strikes on the residential and social infrastructure of the regional centre;

"The Russian informants passed the coordinates of the Ukrainian facilities to the FSB through a 'contact'. This turned out to be pro-Kremlin blogger Sergei Lebedev, better known by his nickname 'Shaggy', the SBU added.

Shaggy exposed the network of agents

This June, the SBU blew the whistle on Lebedev's intelligence and explosives activities against Ukraine and reported suspicion of high treason and violation of the laws and customs of war.

During the investigation into the criminal actions of "Shaggy" it was found that he remotely created his own agency on the territory of the Mykolaiv region on the instructions of the FSB.

"It included 13 local subscribers to his Telegram channel. Using this Internet resource, the defendant recruited his agents and then received information from them," the agency added.

As a result of the operational actions, the SBU officers identified all the participants of the Russian secret service and detained them in different places. On the basis of the collected evidence, SBU investigators charged nine detainees under Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

So far, the accused are in custody.

The court found four other participants of the enemy agency guilty and sentenced them to 8 to 15 years' imprisonment.

Shelling of Mykolaiv

Acting on a tip-off from agents of this network, the Russian occupiers shelled a multi-storey building in Mykolaiv with an S-300 surface-to-air missile system in the autumn of 2002.

At the time, 7 civilians, including a minor child, were killed by enemy fire.