Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced on 7 September it has detained a Russian woman accused of helping guide deadly drone and missile strikes on the northeastern city of Sumy.
The SBU said the woman, who held a residency permit in Ukraine and had long lived in Sumy, began providing targeting data to Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) after Moscow’s full-scale invasion began.
“After the start of the full-scale invasion, she began remote cooperation with the GRU Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” the SBU stated.
The woman allegedly gathered information on locations in Sumy where Ukrainian troops might be stationed, surveying areas or subtly questioning acquaintances. She then messaged precise coordinates to her GRU handler via messenger app, the SBU claims.
The SBU also alleges she tried recruiting locals into a network of Russian collaborators. Her phone, used for “subversive activities” benefiting Russia, has been seized, the agency said.
Overnight strikes on Sumy, near Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia, involved both drones and missiles, according to regional authorities. They said one drone struck a residential area, damaging homes and shops, while air defenses downed another.
The detained woman could face life imprisonment for charges including inciting treason and disclosing data that led to grave consequences during wartime, the SBU warned.
The strikes came as Ukraine grapples with a surge in Russian attacks using Iranian Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones in recent weeks. Ukraine says it has shot down over 200 drones since mid-September.
And today, 8 September, Sumy suffered a missile strike that destroyed and damaged residential buildings, injuring two people.
