A high-ranking official in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has been arrested on suspicion of working as a Russian agent, marking the latest in a series of espionage crackdowns since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
While the SBU did not name the individual, Ukrainian media citing sources identified him as Col. Dmytro Kozyura, chief of staff of the agency’s anti-terrorism center. Footage released by local media showed Kozyura handcuffed as he was taken into custody by SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk.
According to an SBU statement, the suspect—described as a “rat”—allegedly passed classified intelligence to Russian handlers in at least 14 documented instances. Investigators gathered evidence using audio and video surveillance, as well as access to his mobile devices and computers.
SBU chief Malyuk, who personally oversaw the operation, briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky throughout the investigation. The agency revealed that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) recruited the suspect in Vienna in 2018, but he remained inactive until communication resumed last December.
“Thanks to encrypted program bookmarks, we gained access to the traitor’s gadgets—mobile terminals, computers,” Malyuk said in a video statement posted on the SBU website. “We basically lived with him, conducted audio and video monitoring, and documented the transmission of intelligence to the enemy.”
Malyuk added that during the investigation, Ukrainian authorities deliberately fed Moscow false information to mislead Russian intelligence.
“The self-cleansing of the SBU continues,” he said. “No matter how the enemy tries to penetrate our ranks, we detect them in a timely manner, document their actions, and detain them.”
Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has intensified efforts to root out Russian operatives within its institutions, unveiling multiple counterintelligence operations.
