The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) neutralized the FSB agent network operating in Kherson. During a special operation, three members of this network were detained, who, although acting separately, were subordinated to a single Russian curator, Alexander Kostin. Kostin, who was the occupation “First Deputy Minister of Information Policy” on the temporarily occupied left bank of Kherson region, was responsible for creating agent networks in the region.
Three residents of Kherson were recruited into this network. One of them cooperated with the aggressor during the occupation of the city, but after the liberation of the territory, he disappeared from sight. The agents were collecting intelligence on the location and movement of Ukrainian defense forces to prepare Russian missile and drone strikes. Among the main targets of the enemy were the positions of mobile air defense firing groups and the bases of the SBU, National Police and Prosecutor’s Office. During the searches, mobile phones and computer equipment with evidence of criminal activity were seized from the detainees.
The detainees are charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: high treason and unauthorized dissemination of information about the deployment of the Armed Forces. They face life imprisonment with confiscation of property. Kostin and his accomplices were also charged with encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and high treason.
