Ukraine's military counterintelligence revealed that the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service and the so-called 'National Security Ministry' of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine recruited relatives of Ukrainian army officers; the SBU press service reported this on Wednesday.
The operatives found that the wives of three Armed Forces' officers were recruited during their stay in Russia and on the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
'The women undertook psychological pressure, they were threatened with a ban to leave or enter the country, imprisonment and suppression on their parents. Therefore, they provided written agreements for a confidential cooperation taking pseudonyms,' the message says.
The special services tried to get information on ranks, positions, locations and duties of the officers and the data about military units, where they serve as well as their involvement in the operations of the Joint Forces. It was noted that the wives of the officers were forced to agree on cooperation with Russian special services, but after they returned to Ukraine, they were helping the investigation and testifying on the conditions of their recruitment and tasks.
Ukraine’s Security Service reminds that the state treason and creation of terrorist groups and organizations leads to imprisonment for up to 15 years, as Criminal Code puts it. Yet, if a citizen did not act voluntarily and willingly informed the state institutions on his/her links to foreign special services, no criminal liability is provided.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Security Service stated that Russia deployed recruitment centers and units of Wagner private military company in Luhansk region.
