A former high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence official, Colonel Dmytro Kozyura, has been sentenced to life in prison for high treason and espionage on behalf of Russia's FSB security service, Ukraine's prosecutor general announced. Kozyura previously served as chief of staff of the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) anti-terrorism center.

An SBU operation codenamed "rat" uncovered that Kozyura used a safehouse in Kyiv to communicate with Russian handlers, passing classified information about Ukraine's military and leadership in exchange for financial rewards. The prosecutor general stated that Kozyura agreed to share state secrets and deserved the harshest punishment.

According to the investigation, Kozyura was recruited by Russia's FSB in Vienna in 2018, but contact was reestablished only in December 2024. He was tasked with gathering and sharing intelligence on the deployment and movement of Russian armed forces, as well as information on Ukraine's weapons, infrastructure, and political and military leadership.

The SBU reported that Kozyura's activities included spying on SBU command posts and systematically reporting the consequences of Russian strikes, including the number of wounded soldiers and civilians. He also shared documents marked "secret" with his handlers.

Prior to his arrest in February 2025, the SBU claimed to have used Kozyura to "flood Russian forces with a massive amount of disinformation" while preventing him from accessing critical intelligence. The Shevchenkivskyy District Court in Kyiv found him guilty of high treason under martial law and illegal handling of weapons and explosives.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk