An IT specialist from Zaporizhzhya equipped his apartment with an "observation post" to detect air defense and HIMARS movement

An IT specialist has been detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), facing a potential sentence of up to 8 years in prison.

The arrested individual, who lived in Zaporizhzhia and worked in the IT sector, had set up what he referred to as a "watch post" in his apartment to spy on Ukrainian military forces.

Using specialized optics, he was tasked with identifying the positions of air defense systems and Ukrainian artillery, specifically the HIMARS rocket systems, as well as tracking the movement routes of military columns and the locations of defense fortifications.

According to the report from the SSU, the information gathered by the IT specialist was meant to be relayed to a staff member of Russian intelligence via an anonymous chat in a messaging app. However, the operation was successfully thwarted in time. During the searches, law enforcement officers found a high-magnification tactical binocular, a range-finding grid, and a compass in his home.

The SSU noted that based on the coordinates recorded by the detainee, the occupiers were planning to launch a new series of missile and drone attacks.

The man is currently in custody and has been informed of the suspicion under part 2 of article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized dissemination of information regarding the movement, motion or location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the potential for their identification in the area, aimed at providing such information to a state conducting armed aggression against Ukraine) and faces up to 8 years in prison.

Source: SSU