FSB resident pastor recruited his sons to spy for the AFU

The SBU military counterintelligence service has unmasked an FSB agent group that operated in Donetsk and Ternopil regions. This was reported by the SBU on 9 July.

Theresident of the spy cell was a pastor of a Protestant church. In the summer of 2023, he left Ukraine for the EU as a father of many children, and from there arrived in Russia, where he began working for the FSB.

The pastor enlisted his two adult sons to work for the Russian security service.

One of them is a serviceman of one of the combat brigades, whom the SBU detained in April 2024. He tried to hand over to the Russian secret service the locations of firing positions and fortifications of the Defence Forces.

The second son was detained the other day in Ternopil region, where he was scouting air defence combat positions and locations of AFU training centres.

Investigators of the SBU informed the resident pastor of the Russian secret service in absentia of suspicion under part 2 of article 111 of the Criminal Code (high treason committed under martial law).

Since the traitor is hiding on the territory of the Russian Federation, complex measures are being continued to bring him to justice.

The criminal actions of his sons are qualified under part 2 and part 3 of article 114-2 (unauthorised dissemination of information on the direction, movement of weapons, arms and ammunition to Ukraine, movement, movement or deployment of the AFU or other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, committed under martial law) of the Criminal Code.

Both spies are in custody. They face 8 to 12 years in prison.