Ukrainian police detain man who offered services to Russian intelligence on darknet

Ukrainian law enforcement officials detained the leader of an organized group that set fire to the cars of Ukrainian enlistment officers at the request of Russian intelligence and advertised other services to Russia on the darknet.

If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison, Ukraine’s security services (SBU) said on Monday.

According to their statement, the suspect posted his "CV" on the darknet, offering "services" for burning the cars of representatives of the Ukrainian military registration and enlistment office.

Russian intelligence saw his post and tasked the man with destroying military vehicles in his hometown, the western Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi, the SBU said.

“Burn the cabin together with the interior, break the glass, and pour gasoline inside the trunk,” said the message allegedly sent to the suspect by a Russian intelligence officer.

Together with other local residents, the suspect reportedly destroyed several cars using Molotov cocktails and filmed on his phone how the cars were catching fire, later sending a “report” to “customers” in Russia.

During the searches, the police seized the suspect’s mobile phones and SIM cards, which he reportedly used to communicate with Russians.

This is not the first time Ukrainian collaborators have used the darknet to find or offer services to Russian intelligence.

Earlier in June, the SBU detained two people who reportedly helped Russian intelligence spread pro-Kremlin propaganda and hack the phones of Ukrainian soldiers. They registered fake social media accounts on various social networks and messengers using SIM cards from Ukrainian mobile operators and then sold these accounts to Russian intelligence on darknet forums.

In 2022, the SBU said it neutralized a group that hacked almost 30 million accounts of Ukrainian and European Union citizens and sold their data on the dark web, mostly to pro-Kremlin propagandists. According to the report, this data was then used by Russia to spread fake news from the frontlines. The goal of this operation was large-scale destabilization in Ukraine and the EU, according to the SBU.