Russian student sentenced to 5 years for collecting sensitive military data for Ukraine’s security services

A Russian student was found guilty Thursday of passing the locations of Russian troops to Ukraine’s security service (SBU), and was sentenced to five years in a maximum security colony.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) told the state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti that the student collected information about the locations of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine "using the internet." In return, he received payment from the SBU.

The report doesn’t specify what type of information the suspect was able to obtain online, given that he resides in the Russian city of Birobidzhan, located in Siberia near the China–Russia border. Birobidzhan is known to be the world’s only autonomous Jewish territory outside Israel.

According to RIA Novosti’s report, the student “fully admitted his guilt and cooperated with the investigation.” He could have received a much harsher punishment, as treason in Russia can carry a life sentence.

A video shared by Birobidzhan’s local media shows the suspect with a sack over his head being escorted from a car to the court by a security officer.

Recorded Future News couldn’t verify RIA Novosti’s latest report, but cases of passing military information to security services for a reward are common in both Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Ukraine’s cyber police detained a man who, posing as a food delivery courier, collected data about the location of Ukraine’s military, critical infrastructure facilities, and hospitals for wounded soldiers.

According to Ukraine’s cyber police, the suspect met a representative of Russia’s special services “in one of the messengers.” He received payment from Russia for filming videos of critical sites in western Ukraine.

In January, the SBU detained a pro-Russian hacker suspected of launching cyberattacks against Ukrainian state websites and leaking strategic information. If found guilty, he could face up to 12 years in prison.

Similar cases also happen in Russia. In October, two Russian citizens were detained in Siberia for allegedly carrying out cyberattacks on Russian networks on behalf of Ukraine. If found guilty, they could face up to 20 years in prison on charges of treason.

Last year, three residents of the Russian city Rostov-on-Don were sentenced to prison or fined for carrying out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Russian sites.