Security Service of Ukraine
- Ukraine says it's uncovered an all-female spy ring that passed military information to Russia.
- The women are accused of high treason, and face life in prison if found guilty.
- Ukraine's intelligence service said they were feeding Russia info on troop and vehicle movements.
Counterintelligence officers have unmasked an all-female ring of spies who were aiding Russia's invasion with military intelligence, Ukraine's Security Service announced on Tuesday.
The group, based in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, passed information on to both the FSB — Russia's main spy agency — and the pro-Russian mercenary Wagner Group, according to the announcement.
The Ukrainian security agency, known as the SBU, said that Russia recruited the women before last year's full-scale invasion, adding that they had been on "standby" until recently. They have not been identified.
While three of the women remained in their hometown of Pokrovsk, a city northwest of the city of Donetsk, the fourth moved to Russia to coordinate their activities and is still at large, the SBU said.
The three women in Pokrovsk were caught as they went about their reconnaissance, covertly snapping photos of Ukrainian facilities and targets, the agency said.
It claims that they had been using a secure chat app to inform the Russian side about the numbers and movements of troops and vehicles in the region. They paid particular attention to attack helicopters, combat planes, and heavy armored vehicles, the SBU said.
The intelligence agency published text messages purporting to have been exchanged between the women, with most of the specifics blurred out.
Insider was unable to independently verify the claims, and it is unclear if the women have admitted or denied the accusations, which amount to high treason. They face life imprisonment if found guilty, according to the announcement.
The alleged unmasking comes a day after the SBU said it had uncovered a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The agency said it had arrested an informant, a woman, who passed vital information on the leader's movements during a visit to the Mykolaiv region, in the south of Ukraine, in order to launch a massive airstrike there.
The purported plan was foiled due to the SBU gaining advanced knowledge and putting on extra security measures, the agency said.
It is unclear if the woman arrested was part of this alleged spy ring.