KHARKIV OBLAST, UKRAINE, May 9 — 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.

“The aggressor was most interested in the geolocation of [defensive] fortifications and weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine [that are] protecting the city on the northern border,” the SBU reported.

According to the SBU, Russian special services also wanted to get information about the locations of mobile air defense firing groups that “hunt” for Russian drones in the border areas of the region.

SBU’s spokesman, Vladyslav Abdula, noted that the man had mapped out required coordinates on Google Maps and sent locations to the Russian special services.

The SBU detained the man and issued him a notice of suspicion. Currently, he is in custody and faces up to 8 years in prison.

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

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  • On May 9, the court announced a guilty verdict for a 31-year-old man who worked in Izium’s “police” during the Russian occupation of the city. He is sentenced to 13 years in jail. Vladyslav Abdula, spokesman for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Kharkiv region, reported about this on his Facebook page.