Ukraine court sentences Russian agent to 8 years in prison under Terrorist Act

The Security Services of Ukraine (SSU) has announced that an "agent of Russian military intelligence who planned a series of terrorist attacks in Odesa region" has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

The SSU detained the agent in early January this year when he apparently caught recruiting a perpetrator of the planned attacks.

The court of first instance found the accused guilty under Article 258.2 (terrorist act) of the CCU and sentenced him to 8 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The SSU statement reads:

"The investigation established that the foreigner periodically came to Ukraine to carry out assignments he got from russian special services. His supervisors from russian military intelligence operated from the territory of the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldavian Republic.

"His main task was to destabilize the social and political situation in Odesa region through sabotage and terrorist acts. For this reason, he organised the arson of a military vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Odesa in December 2021 and the defacement of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred memorial sign.

"Further targets were supposed to be the offices of volunteer and patriotic organizations, as well as military equipment in Odesa region."