SBU arrests Russian spy ring using dashcams to target Ukrainian troops
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and National Police have detained a Russian spy ring that used dashcams to guide missile strikes on military targets in seven regions of the country, the SBU reported on May 26.
Five individuals working for Russian intelligence were arrested simultaneously in Zaporizhzhya, Sumy, Mykolaiv, as well as in Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. The youngest member of the group is just 16 years old; the oldest is 23.
Investigators found that the group included a student from Zaporizhzhya, his local acquaintance, and her partner, along with two brothers from Kharkiv Oblast. Though they knew one another and operated under the same handler, each carried out missions independently.
After being recruited remotely via Telegram channels promising "easy money," the agents were tasked with identifying coordinates of Ukrainian military sites.
Their method involved parking vehicles near potential military targets with dashcams running for 8 to 12 hours, recording the presence of Ukrainian personnel and equipment. To avoid suspicion, they would leave the cars and wait in nearby cafés, using them as informal “observation posts.” They periodically returned to swap out memory cards and check battery levels.
SBU counterintelligence uncovered the group in advance and, after securing the sites used by Ukraine’s Defense Forces, apprehended all suspects at their homes.
All five have been formally charged under Part 2 of Article 111 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code—treason committed under martial law. They remain in custody without bail and face life imprisonment if convicted.
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