The Ukrainian interior minister's adviser, People's Front MP Anton Gerashchenko, has said that Stanislav Yezhov, an assistant and interpreter of Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, who was detained on December 20 on suspicion of cooperation with the Russian special services, spied for Russia for at least two years.

"He worked for the Russian special services for at least two years," Gerashchenko told journalists in Kyiv on Thursday.

He specified that Yezhov was recruited a few years ago while working at the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States.

"Today it is known that he was recruited by the Russian special services during his work at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington several years ago," he said.

Gerashchenko noted that Yezhov's spouse is a Russian citizen and suggested that he could have been intimidated by "some issues related to his wife's relatives" or compromised before his family or civil service and thus obliged to cooperate.

"But it will all become known during the investigation," he said.

He also said that there were "a lot of Russian agents" in the Ukrainian authorities who work for the Russian special services.

"First and foremost, these are our Armed Forces, National Police, government and law enforcement agencies, as well as security and defense bodies," Gerashchenko said.

As reported, late on December 20, counterintelligence officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) exposed an official from the Ukrainian Cabinet's secretariat for activities in the interests of the aggressor country's special services, the SBU press center has reported.

"Law enforcement agents found that the official had been recruited by the Russian special services during an extensive trip abroad. The SBU agents documented that the official followed Russian supervisors' instructions and collected information about the Ukrainian government's activities, using special equipment," the report said on Wednesday evening.

The collected information was delivered to the supervisors via electronic communications channels.

The Russian-hired agent was detained in his office, the SBU's press center said. The operation took place with the assistance of top Ukrainian government officials.

Criminal proceedings were opened pursuant to Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason, that is, an act intentionally committed by a citizen of Ukraine to the detriment of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability, defense capacity, state, economic or information security of Ukraine: defection to the enemy's side when martial law is in effect or when there is an ongoing armed conflict, as well as espionage, assistance to a foreign state, a foreign organization or their representatives in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine). The punishment is imprisonment for a period from 12 to 15 years, with or without confiscation of property.