Ukraine’s security services on Monday detained an official from a secret anti-corruption unit on accusations of spying for Russia.
Although Ukraine and Russia have arrested dozens of alleged spies during their war since Russia’s 2022 invasion, espionage cases inside government agencies are rare.
“An employee of the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) Central Office was detained,” the SBU security service said in a statement.
“He worked in the most elite, closed unit, ‘D-2’, and spied for the Russian special services,” it said, without disclosing his name.
Earlier, the SBU searched NABU offices in Kyiv and at the country’s specialised anti-corruption prosecutor’s office.
NABU said it was conducting an “internal review” and was “investigating the legal basis of the actions taken, including the use of force against an employee.”
The SBU alleged the suspect had transferred classified information to a deputy head of security of Ukraine’s ex-president Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted in 2014 and now lives in Russia.
A video posted by the SBU showed armed men in camouflage hauling the suspect out of a car, pushing him to the ground and handcuffing him.
He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau was set up after a pro-European revolution in 2014 as part of reforms designed to move Kyiv closer to Europe as it fought Moscow-backed separatists in its east.
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