Drug-addicted Sumy resident receives 8-year prison term for spotting Russia strikes in 3 regions – SBU

Based on evidence from military counterintelligence and State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) investigators, an FSB informant—a drug addict from Sumy detained by the SBU in September 2025—has received a real prison sentence.

In a Telegram message on Monday, the SBU reports that the suspect hitchhiked across three regions of Ukraine to track locations of the Defense Forces, which Russia targeted for aviation, drone, and artillery strikes.

"According to the case files, the Russia task was carried out by a drug addict from Sumy, who came to the attention of the FSB while looking for money ‘for a dose’ in Telegram channels," the report says.

Initially, the perpetrator tracked the combat positions of Ukrainian air defense in his region, and later Russia "dispatched" him to Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk region.

"There he rented two apartments: in one he stayed during reconnaissance sorties, and in the other he set up an ‘observation post.’ Following FSB instructions, the informant installed a video camera with remote access for Russia intelligence services on the apartment windowsill," the SBU notes.

The agency clarifies that by using the online broadcast, Russia hoped to record the movement of AFU military equipment toward the front line.

Following this, according to the report, the accomplice was tasked with marking geolocations of checkpoints and fortified areas in the Pokrovsk direction.

It is documented that the suspect arrived via hitchhiking at a settlement near the line of combat contact, where he recorded the positions of Ukrainian troops during walking tours over two days.

SBU officers detained him at his place of residence in Sumy, where he had returned to prepare a "report" and send it to the FSB via messenger.

Based on SBU materials, the court found the informant guilty under Part 3 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (dissemination of information on the location of the AFU under martial law).

"Taking into account cooperation with the investigation, the perpetrator received 8 years of imprisonment," the SBU informs.

The investigation was conducted by SBU investigators in Sumy region under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor’s office.