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Key Points: Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has dismantled a network of Russian agents attempting to locate F-16 Fighting Falcons and other military targets.

-The operatives sought intelligence on secret airfields, air defense systems, and drone countermeasures.

-The network, spanning multiple regions including Zaporizhzhya and Odesa, included Ukrainian military deserters. Information was passed to a Russian handler using forged documents.

-The arrests highlight Ukraine’s counterintelligence capabilities amid Moscow’s ongoing espionage efforts.

-In a separate operation, Ukrainian agents reportedly assassinated Russian Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov in Moscow, raising questions about Russia’s internal security and the extent of Ukraine’s operational reach within Russian borders.

Russian Agents Caught While Searching for Fighting Falcon in Ukraine

A group of around a dozen Russian agents and informants were arrested after attempting to discover intelligence on Ukraine’s ally-donated F-16 Fighting Falcons and other military targets.

On Tuesday evening, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced it had neutralized a large network of Russian spies operating within the country. The clandestine operation carried out at the behest of Moscow was to find the location of the Western-supplied aircraft – one of Kyiv’s closely guarded secrets.

According to the SBU, the agents and their informants “tried to identify the locations of secret military airfields where, according to the Russians, F-16 aircraft might be based.”

In addition, the Russian operatives were reported to have been carrying out reconnaissance operations “on the firing positions of Ukraine’s air defense systems and tried to find companies producing electronic warfare equipment to counter drones,” The Moscow Times reported.

The group’s leader allegedly was based in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while the network had agents working in five other regions, including Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolayiv, and Odesa. The informants included Ukrainian military deserters who were reported to be on the run from law enforcement.

NATO F-16. Image Credit: NATO Flickr.

Information was passed to the Russian handler, who according to Radio Free Europe reportedly employed “forged documents, including fake credentials, to conceal his identity.”

Handler, Informant, Soldier, Spy

When this war ends, the operation from both sides will no doubt make a compelling service on a streaming service – and has the elements of a Cold War spy thriller.

The SBU alleged that the Russian operatives’ mission was to gather high-value intelligence that could prove critical to Moscow, notably the F-16 fighter, which has greatly enhanced Kyiv’s air capabilities.

The agents gathered information from personal contacts, including soldiers on the frontlines – who unwittingly provided sensitive details.

“The members of the enemy cell acted separately from each other and focused on the resident (head) of the agent group, who was located in the Dnipropetrovsk region,” the SBU explained in a post on the Telegram social messaging app. “The military counter-intelligence of the Security Service exposed the entire enemy cell in advance, detained the organizer, and informed his key accomplices of the suspicion. Currently, the issue of announcing the suspicion to other network members is being resolved.”

The Russian agents and informants face between eight years and life in prison.

Taking the Fight to Russia

The news of the arrest of the Russian operatives also came hours after Ukrainian operatives carried out the killing of Russian Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov outside his apartment in Moscow. He was reported to be the highest-ranking Kremlin military official killed outside the combat zone since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion in February 2022.

F-16 Fighter Jet

F-16 Image: Creative Commons.

Normally Kyiv does not acknowledge responsibility in such operations, but as the BBC reported, “Sources from Ukraine’s SBU security service let it be known they were behind it.”

Kirillov was killed when an explosive, hidden in an electric scooter, was detonated by remote control – suggesting the Ukrainian agents may have either monitored his home by camera or were watching it in person.

The BBC report added, “The fact that Ukrainian intelligence can target the head of Russia’s military’s radiation, biological and chemical protection forces outside his home in south-eastern Moscow raises questions about Russian security and how far Ukraine’s capabilities can extend.”

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Senior Editor focusing on defense issues for 19FortyFive. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,500 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on X: @PeterSuciu – and on Bluesky: @petersuciu.bsky.social.