"Ukrainian Intelligence Agent Arrested in Crimean Peninsula on Espionage Charges"

"Leaking Information on Russian Military Bases"
Possibility of Up to 20 Years Imprisonment

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reportedly arrested a Ukrainian intelligence officer on espionage charges in the Crimean Peninsula, according to the Russian state news agency TASS on the 12th (local time).

The FSB stated that "the Ukrainian intelligence officer transmitted real-time information about the permanent Russian military garrisons in the Crimean Peninsula and Sevastopol to Ukraine via a camera."

Russian military helicopters and barracks deployed in the southern Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Maxar Technologies [Image source=Yonhap News]

The officer, born in 1982 and a Ukrainian citizen, was confirmed by the FSB to have been recruited to collect classified information for the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) under the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense while staying on Ukrainian territory.

The FSB said it is investigating the officer on charges of espionage as defined under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. A conviction for espionage in Russia can result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The Crimean Peninsula is a strategic stronghold forcibly annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, hosting major Russian military facilities including the Black Sea Fleet base.