SBU Captures Alleged Russian-Belarusian Spy Guiding Attacks on Kyiv Energy Sites

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has arrested a man suspected of working for Russian and Belarusian intelligence services who allegedly helped guide strikes on Kyiv’s thermal power plants, according to SBU on December 29.

The suspect was detained in Kyiv, where investigators say he was gathering intelligence on the positions of Ukraine’s Defense Forces on behalf of Belarus’s State Border Committee and, acting on instructions from Russia, assisted in adjusting attacks on energy facilities in the Kyiv region.

The SBU said the information he provided was intended to help Russian forces disable critical power-generating sites responsible for heating large parts of Kyiv’s residential areas and social infrastructure.

Law enforcement documented that the man initially monitored one of the city’s thermal power plants from his apartment window before conducting closer reconnaissance near the facility to assess its condition following recent strikes.

He allegedly forwarded the collected data to hostile intelligence services to enable further attacks on the capital’s energy infrastructure.

Investigators said the suspect expected to be evacuated from Ukraine after completing his tasks and had prepared a backpack with essential items for an illegal border crossing.

SBU officers uncovered his plans in advance and detained him at his residence in Kyiv, while additional measures were taken to protect potential targets.

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According to the investigation, the detainee is a local laborer who was recruited through Telegram channels by Russian and Belarusian operatives after posting pro-Kremlin comments online.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Security Service, in coordination with the National Police, prevented an assassination attempt targeting a worker at a defense industry facility in Zaporizhzhia.

According to investigators, a Russian intelligence operative was preparing to carry out the killing of a senior specialist employed at a local defense plant.

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