Deacon of UOC-MP and psychotherapist spied on Kharkiv defenders - SSU. PHOTO
Two FSB agents who were spying in the frontline city were detained in Kharkiv. They are a local psychotherapist and his accomplice, a deacon of the Kharkiv diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
This was reported by the press service of the SSU, Censor.NET reports.
"The perpetrators tried to identify the places of the largest concentration of personnel and military equipment of the Defence Forces. They also collected personal data of Ukrainian defenders and routes of movement in the regional centre. To obtain intelligence, the doctor secretly used his patients, including military personnel undergoing psychological rehabilitation after performing combat missions at the front.
He involved his close acquaintance, a deacon of the local cathedral of the Kharkiv Diocese of the UOC (MP), in cooperation with the FSB," the statement said.
The cleric covertly solicited the "necessary" information from parishioners. He reported the information to the doctor, who summarised the "report" and sent it to his Russian curator via messenger.
"To communicate with the FSB, the agent used a separate phone and a SIM card, which he hid in the mailbox in the entrance of his house. However, such secrecy measures did not help them. The SSU documented the crimes of both suspects and detained them at their places of residence," the SSU said.
For some time, the doctor was a "sleeper agent" of the FSB. In the spring of 2024, the Russian special service remotely "activated" him to carry out subversive activities in Kharkiv.
During the searches, mobile phones and computer equipment with evidence of cooperation with the FSB were seized from the detainees.
They have been served a notice of suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- p. 2, Art. 28, Art. 111 (high treason committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons under martial law);
- p. 1, Art. 436-2 (justification of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, glorification of its participants).
The offenders are in custody without the right to be released on bail. They face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
