Scientist arrested in Kharkiv for assisting Russia with drone development
The Ukrainian counterintelligence from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a 72-year-old scientist in Kharkiv who had been working for Russia’s military-industrial sector.
This is according to the SBU’s press center, as reported by Ukrinform.
The scientist, who is a specialist in mechanics, was designing schematics for the improvement of Shahed-type kamikaze drones at the request of Russian contacts, specifically focusing on engine upgrades and catapult launch systems.
Investigations revealed that the scientist remotely transferred his technological designs to an acquaintance, the director of a Russian machinery plant producing parts for drones. This plant closely collaborates with a Russian company manufacturing Shahed-type combat drones, rebranded as Geran-2 by Russian forces, since 2023.
To communicate with his Russian associates, the scientist used email and popular messaging apps, disguising his involvement as academic research in the UAV field.
The investigation further uncovered that he had enlisted a former student to help with the project. This student fled from Kharkiv to Russia at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, where he now works at a Moscow technical university developing drones for the Russian Armed Forces.
The SBU documented the scientist’s activities and arrested him at his residence. During the search, authorities seized computers, mobile devices, and flash drives containing evidence of his actions in support of Russia.
The suspect has been charged under Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (assistance to an aggressor state), which carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. An arrest warrant is also planned for his former student, now in hiding in Russia.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
As reported by Ukrinform, the SBU has notified journalist Vladyslav Hulevych from Kropyvnytskyi of suspicion in absentia. He is a supporter and ideologist of "russianism" who is hiding in Moscow.