The key facts

  • A resident of Spassk-Dalny born in 2008 has been detained, suspected of passing data to Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate
  • A case has been opened under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ('High Treason'), which carries a penalty of up to life imprisonment
  • The suspect has been placed in pre-trial detention, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the investigation

Detention in Spassk-Dalny

Law enforcement officers detained a resident of Primorsky Krai suspected of passing data to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense. The anti-terrorism commission reported this on its Telegram channel, which Gazeta.Ru cites.

What the suspect is charged with

According to the agency, the detainee is a resident of the city of Spassk-Dalny born in 2008, meaning he is 18 years old. Via the Telegram messenger, the young man established and maintained contact with a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and, on the curator's instructions, collected and transmitted information about the fuel and energy facilities of Primorsky Krai for payment.

The case and the suspect's status

The investigative department of the Russian FSB Directorate for Primorsky Krai has opened a criminal case under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ('High Treason'), which provides for penalties of up to life imprisonment. The suspect has been placed in pre-trial detention, has pleaded guilty and is actively cooperating with the investigation.

Context of previous detentions

Gazeta.Ru also recalls similar cases in Crimea. At the end of September, operatives detained a Russian citizen born in 1988 in Kerch, who had created a group on a foreign messenger, organized fundraising and the purchase of equipment for Ukrainian Armed Forces units through it, and passed information about Russian military facilities to the republic's security service. Earlier, the detention of a Sevastopol resident on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Ukraine was reported.

Significance of the case

The case is notable for the suspect's age: according to the commission, the collection and transmission of information about fuel and energy facilities was carried out by a person born in 2008, the recruitment took place via an open messenger, and the motive cited was payment. For residents of the region, this means that fuel and energy facilities remain in the focus of the security services, and the statutory maximum penalty — life imprisonment — shows how such actions are classified. The agency does not disclose details of exactly what information was transmitted and in what volume, so the scale of the damage caused cannot yet be assessed.