The Safety Service of Ukraine (SBU or SSU) has uncovered a novel espionage marketing campaign suspected to be orchestrated by Russia’s Federal Safety Service (FSB) that includes recruiting Ukrainian minors for felony actions underneath the guise of “quest video games.”
Regulation enforcement officers mentioned that it detained two FSB agent teams following a particular operation in Kharkiv. These teams, per the company, consisted completely of youngsters aged 15 and 16.
“The minors carried out hostile duties of conducting reconnaissance, correcting strikes, and arson,” the SSU mentioned in an announcement launched Friday. “To masks subversive actions, each enemy cells operated individually from one another.”
As per the search recreation guidelines set by the FSB, the kids got geographic coordinates, after which they have been instructed to get to the situation, take pictures and movies of targets, and supply a normal description of the encircling space.
The outcomes of those reconnaissance missions have been subsequently shared to the Russian intelligence company by way of nameless chats. The SSU mentioned the data gathered from these actions was used to hold out airstrikes in Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s principal safety arm additionally revealed that it has detained “all members of the enemy teams” who have been discovered taking pictures of air protection amenities within the nation. One of many organizers has been taken into custody and faces life imprisonment.
Additionally charged in reference to the efforts is a “liaison” of the FSB agent teams, a police officer from the Krasnodar area of Russia. He has been charged in absentia underneath Half 2 of Article 113 of the Prison Code of Ukraine, which pertains to acts of sabotage dedicated underneath martial legislation.
The event comes because the Pc Emergency Response Workforce of Ukraine (CERT-UA) warned of a brand new set of cyber assaults that it mentioned have been aimed toward protection firms within the nation in addition to its safety and protection forces. The intrusions have been attributed to a Russia-linked actor tracked as UAC-0185.