Ukraine Arrests State Defense Plant Employee Over Charges Of Spying For Russia

A Ukrainian state-owned defense industry worker has been taken into custody over suspicion of sharing sensitive information regarding Ukrainian military equipment with the Russian intelligence in exchange for money, Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said in a statement Thursday.

“The investigation found that an employee of one of the state defense enterprises was recruited by an employee of the 316th intelligence center of the Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during his stay in the territory of Russia in 2014,” the statement read.

The suspect was arrested for espionage on July 3 when he was attempting to cross the state border of Ukraine in the direction of the Russian Federation.

Investigators confiscated flash drives and mobile phones with the information that detainee was going to transfer to the employee of the Russian GRU during a regular meeting in Voronezh city, Russia.

The detainee was tasked with collecting and transmitting military information, which, when leaked, could “risk Ukraine's defense capabilities.” The accused reportedly shared information on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in exchange for payment. He also logged data about the equipment which had come in for repairs and its progress. The man defined the ownership of the equipment by specific military units.