Accessibility links

Breaking News

Ukraine Detains Ex-Police Officer Suspected Of Spying For Russia


Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said that the ex-officer "collected data on the social, political, and economic situation in Zaporizhzhya and regularly visited Crimea." (file photo)
Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said that the ex-officer "collected data on the social, political, and economic situation in Zaporizhzhya and regularly visited Crimea." (file photo)

Ukraine's security service (SBU) says a former police officer has been detained in the southern region of Zaporizhzhya on suspicion of spying for Russia.

In a statement on July 31, the SBU said that the ex-officer, whose name was not disclosed, "collected data on the social, political, and economic situation in Zaporizhzhya and regularly visited Crimea" following Russia's seizure of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula in 2014.

In Crimea, the suspect "handed the collected data to a representative" of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)," it said.

The announcement comes after the SBU said on July 18 that it had arrested an unidentified former police officer in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava on similar charges.

Russia seized and annexed Crimea in March 2014 after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed from power by the pro-European Maidan protest movement the previous month.

Moscow has also fomented unrest and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, where more than 13,000 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict since April 2014.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL

    RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG