Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said Friday that it arrested a Romanian citizen on suspicion of spying for Ukraine by sharing the locations of Russian air defense systems.The unnamed man is accused of collecting and transmitting information about air defense sites in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to Ukrainian intelligence services in the summer of 2024.In exchange, Ukrainian intelligence services allegedly promised to help the Romanian man leave Russia safely and allow him to join the Ukrainian military.Footage released by the FSB and shared by Russian media showed the man being detained and interrogated.
In the video, he appeared to identify his alleged Ukrainian handler by name and describe the location of an air defense system in Sochi.His name was Volodymyr, hes a senior officer in Ukrainian intelligence, the man said in English, with his face blurred.
I remember the crossroads where [the air defense system] was.
Later, I located it on maps and sent him the information.It was not immediately possible to verify the FSBs claims, and it remains unclear whether the man was speaking under duress.The Romanian citizen, born in 2002, has been charged with espionage and faces up to 20 years in prison under Russias Criminal Code.