Two foreigners who spied in Odesa for FSB sentenced to eight years in prison

Two foreigners have been sentenced to eight years in prison for providing Russia with information on the location of Ukrainian defenders and air defense systems in Odesa.

The press service of the Prosecutor General's Office announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

The foreign nationals were found guilty of unauthorized dissemination of information about the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Part 3 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Prosecutors proved in court that in late February 2024, two brothers who temporarily lived in Odesa entered into a conspiracy with an employee of the Russian Federal Security Service.

According to Ukraine's SBU State Security Service, the convicts are two citizens of a South Caucasian country.

"They agreed to carry out the task of carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine. They even wrote and sent the curator applications to join the ranks of the FSB. The convicts scouted the places of the greatest concentration of personnel and military equipment of units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Odesa," the press service said.

The two also passed the geolocation of Ukrainian air defense systems to the Russian security agency.

According to the SBU, in the future, enemy henchmen hoped to create their own network of informants whom they planned to recruit under the guise of a public organization.

According to prosecutors, for each successfully completed task from Russia, the henchmen of the aggressor received a monetary reward from the curators. The amount of the reward depended on the importance of the object and the difficulty of gathering information about it.

"As a reward for their 'services,' both brothers hoped to receive 'positions' in the event of the occupation of Odesa: one wanted to become the head of the regional branch of the FSB and another wanted to head the city council," the report said.

Law enforcement officers detained the men in March 2024 when they carried out another enemy mission. A phone that the accused used only to communicate with the FSB was seized at the scene.

"Before their arrest, the Russian informants tried to photograph the perimeter of the building of a potential target and transmit its geolocation to the aggressor. If the necessary coordinates were obtained, the occupiers planned to launch a strike on it. However, the Security Service thwarted the plans of the attackers," the press service said.