UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Oct 17 — A man suspected of directing Russian strikes against the Ukrainian military defending the city was detained in Kharkiv, reported the Security Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region.

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.

SBU spokesman Vladyslav Abdula said that the detainee was a 33-year-old construction worker. According to law enforcement, he tried to identify and pass on to the Russian military the locations of anti-aircraft missile systems and radar stations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

To establish the coordinates of military facilities, the man walked around the area and covertly recorded the location of potential targets.

“The places of the largest concentration of personnel and military equipment of the Defense Forces in the regional center and nearby areas were under the threat of fire,” the SBU said.

According to the investigation, he allegedly sent all the data he collected to his Russian supervisor in the form of photos and videos via messenger.

The Prosecutor’s Office also reported that the man was tracking the consequences of the attacks on Kharkiv using the coordinates of hits received from the FSB.

SBU detained the Kharkiv resident while he was performing a new task from Russian special services. The SBU seized his phone with evidence of his work for Russia. The man is currently in custody, and he faces life imprisonment.

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