Astrakhan resident arrested on suspicion of espionage

A resident of Astrakhan, suspected of passing information about military facilities to Ukrainian intelligence, has been taken into custody.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, in April the FSB reported the detention of a Romanian citizen in Sochi. According to the security forces, he was collecting data about the locations of air defense systems on orders from the Ukrainian special services. The case was opened under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Espionage", which provides for up to 20 years in prison.

A local resident, a citizen of one of the North African states, suspected of espionage, was detained in Astrakhan, the FSB reported today.

According to the agency, he established and maintained contact via a messenger with an employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and, on his instructions, collected and transmitted information "about military installations and critical infrastructure facilities located in Astrakhan".

"A criminal case has been opened against the detainee on the grounds of a crime under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (espionage), and a preventive measure in the form of detention has been chosen," the agency's website says.

We recall that earlier the Krasnodar Regional Court found guilty of collecting information on the infrastructure of the region of Ukrainian citizen Yevgeny Monastyrev and sentenced him to 11 years in prison.

In October 2024, the Supreme Court of North Ossetia sentenced Ukrainian citizen Yevgeny Konin to eight years in prison, finding him guilty of espionage.