Russian security officers have detained a university student in Luhansk on suspicion of spying on the military for Ukraine, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The Federal Security Service said the Russian citizen collected coordinates for troop deployments and administrative buildings that Ukrainian forces subsequently targeted with drone strikes.
According to the regional branch of the FSB, the suspect is a resident of the Markovsky district who was enrolled at a local higher education institution. Investigators reported that he used his mobile phone and a dashboard camera in his vehicle to record photos and videos of sites sought by the Security Service of Ukraine.
The announcement was released by the press service of the regional security directorate to the local news agency Lugansk Information Centre. Officials stated that a criminal case has been opened against the student under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code for high treason and Article 276 for espionage.
Legal penalties and security agencies
The Federal Security Service, commonly known as the FSB, is Russia's primary domestic intelligence agency and the main domestic successor to the Soviet KGB. The service frequently conducts counterintelligence investigations in areas controlled by Russian forces. The Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, serves as the primary intelligence and counter-espionage authority for the Ukrainian government.
Under Russian criminal law, Article 275 governs state treason committed by Russian citizens through assistance to foreign states, while Article 276 addresses espionage. Convictions under these articles carry severe penalties, including lengthy terms of imprisonment in high security penal institutions.
Treason convictions across Russian courts
The Markovsky district is situated in the northern portion of the Luhansk territory, a region in eastern Ukraine's Donbas where Moscow declared annexation following the outbreak of full-scale conflict. Russian security bodies have expanded monitoring of civilians and university students across territories under their administrative control.
The detention in Luhansk comes amid several high-profile treason cases adjudicated by Russian military tribunals. In another case noted in Russian state reports, the Pacific Fleet Military Court sentenced a 61-year-old resident of the Far Eastern city of Ussuriysk to 23 years in prison on treason charges.
