GRU operative detained over plot targeting Ukraine power lines
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a GRU agent who planned to attack power lines connected to the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. He installed a GPS transmitter on one of the main power line poles to guide Russian drones.
What do you need to know?
- Detention of a GRU agent: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has captured an agent of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, who was preparing attacks on power lines leading from the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant to Kyiv and the surrounding capital region.
- Planned attack: The arrested agent intended to guide Russian strike drones to high-voltage lines, having installed a GPS transmitter on one of the main power line poles.
- Background of the case: The detainee is a former employee of the nuclear power plant in Rivne, who resigned before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2015, a contact from Russian military intelligence got in touch.
The Security Service of Ukraine issued a statement regarding the detention of a Russian military intelligence agent from the GRU. “The Security Service of Ukraine has detained another agent of the Russian military intelligence in the Rivne region (better known as GRU). He was preparing a Russian airstrike on power lines supplying Kyiv and the entire capital region of Ukraine,” stated the SBU.
According to the statement, the detainee aimed to direct Russian strike drones at the high-voltage lines leading from the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant to Kyiv and the capital region. To achieve this, he installed a GPS transmitter on one of the main power line poles.
He planned an attack on the Ukrainian power plant. Who is he?
According to the SBU statement, the detained agent is a former employee of the nuclear power plant in Rivne, who resigned before the war began. In the spring of 2015, he was approached by a liaison from Russian military intelligence based in the Moscow region, offering money in exchange for cooperation. The detainee is currently in custody. He faces a life sentence with confiscation of property.
This incident is yet another example of the SBU's ongoing efforts to protect Ukraine's critical infrastructure from threats posed by Russian intelligence.
