Authorities have uncovered a 33-year-old man acting on behalf of an enemy intelligence agency. To weaken the defenses of Ukraine, he set fire to five military vehicles in the capital and was preparing for an even more audacious crime – the assassination of a Ukrainian serviceman.

The agent was exposed by operatives from the criminal investigation department in collaboration with local police and the Security Service of Ukraine.

Investigators determined that the perpetrator had arrived in Ukraine from occupied Crimea back in 2021 and settled in Ivano-Frankivsk, where he lay low awaiting instructions from his Russian handlers. He later moved to Kyiv, where he began his subversive activities.

Enemy intelligence tasked him with committing arson on military equipment in the capital to undermine the support for Ukrainian defenders. Consequently, he set fire to five military vehicles, one of which belonged to a Hero of Ukraine. He was apprehended during the last arson incident.

After completing the arsons, the agent received new instructions to track and eliminate a high-ranking official in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The hostile intelligence service promised to extract him to the Russian Federation to evade responsibility.

Following the coordinates provided by his handler, he retrieved a firearm with ammunition from hiding and began preparations for the assassination.

Thanks to timely action, law enforcement apprehended the suspect under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and seized material evidence of his criminal activities.

The suspect has now been informed of the charges under part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Obstruction of lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period). The court has chosen a preventive measure of detention. The penalty for this article can be up to eight years in prison.

The question of additional legal qualification of the suspect's actions is currently being addressed.