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Ukraine’s top intelligence and security service said on Tuesday it had detained a suspected Russian “mole” among its ranks in Kharkiv amid intense fighting in the northern region.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced that it had detained an employee at its Kharkiv branch, who after an investigation was found to be working for the Russian special services, Ukrainian news agencies reported.
A National Guard soldier is on duty outside of Kharkiv in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
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The staffer, who used to serve on the Kharkiv city council, was reportedly recruited by Russian officials in March 2022 and took a job at the SBU’s counter-terrorism headquarters in the northern region.
The “mole” then gained access to and transmitted not only contact details of SBU officials, but also military offensive routes, checkpoints, details of military equipment and data it reportedly entered into closed government systems on a daily basis.
In return for his support of Russia, he was reportedly given security guarantees for himself and his family should Russia succeed in conquering the region.
He was charged with high treason under martial law and arrested by the Ukrainian authorities.
Armed soldiers of the National Guard walk along a trench at one of the sections of a defense line outside Kharkiv, Kharkiv Krai, north-eastern Ukraine. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
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Details of the alleged mole were not released and government officials covered his face in photos taken during his arrest.
The announcement of the SBU comes just over two months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the head of the SBU in Kharkiv, Roman Dudin, in late May for ineffective leadership in the early days of the war.
A subsequent investigation into the allegations leveled against Dudin was launched, Ukrainian news agencies reported.
Kharkiv, some 30 miles from the Russian border, has seen intense fighting since the onslaught of Russia’s first invasion in February and again during its second surge earlier this year.
KHARKIV REGION, UKRAINE – JUNE 14, 2021 – A soldier fires a howitzer sight during artillery drills of the Eastern Operational-Territorial Command of the National Guard of Ukraine, Kharkiv Region, northeastern Ukraine. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
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Fighting in Kharkiv has intensified in recent weeks and Ukrainian forces have retaken previously occupied areas of the northern region.
The US estimates Russia has suffered heavy casualties, and 70,000 to 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in action, according to Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl Monday.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter at Fox News Digital. You can reach her at [email protected] or @ctlnmcfall on Twitter.