KHARKIV OBLAST, UKRAINE, May 10 — In Kharkiv, a 28-year-old man accused of collecting intelligence for Russian strikes on Kharkiv and the region will be tried, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reports.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, in March 2023, an employee of one of the local pharmaceutical companies contacted a citizen of the Russian Federation via the Telegram messenger.

The man allegedly received tasks from a Russian man who wanted to collect information about the location and movement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkiv and the region. Then, according to the investigation, the Russian army planned to use the received information for further missile and drone strikes.

“The Kharkiv resident took photos of critical infrastructure, military-industrial complexes, and military facilities in the city and region. Then, he sent them to a “mentor” from the Russian Federation. To communicate with Russians, he used SIM cards of Russian mobile operators,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.

Law enforcement officers added, the man marked which territory he had surveyed on the screenshots of a map. He also reportedly mapped Ukrainian checkpoints, dugouts, trenches, and other military objects he recorded.

The man was detained during another recording of information for Russian troops. For high treason, the accused faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

In total, since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 1,000 people in the Kharkiv Oblast have received a notice of suspicion in proceedings over treason, collaboration, and dissemination of information about the movement of the Armed Forces.

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  • The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a resident of the Vovchansk district who allegedly was spying on the Kharkiv defense lines, reported the SBU press service.