In a statement on the Telegram channel, the SBU said it had arrested the leader and four main accomplices on charges of treason and sharing classified information about the location of the Ukrainian army. According to the SBU, the group of 12 spies mentioned above divided their work, monitoring military airports and the location of air defense systems in 5 southern and northeastern provinces of Ukraine, along with tracking the addresses of businesses. industry operating in the field of electronic warfare, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian soldiers stand in front of F-16 fighters at an undisclosed location
The Kyiv side added that among the spies there were people who deserted from the Ukrainian armed forces and were recruited by Russian special forces during their time in hiding. The spies asked acquaintances serving on the front lines in the Ukrainian army about secret information related to F-16 fighters or the location of the Ukrainian air defense system. They then scout near potential targets, then pass the information back to the group leader. This person will report to a supervisor in the Russian military intelligence agency, the SBU said.
Ukraine’s security agency announced that it had “neutralized” the above spy network and continued to find more people involved. Those convicted can face life sentences in Ukraine.
Currently, Russia has not commented on the above information.
Previously, Reuters quoted Ukrainian security sources as saying that the SBU was behind the assassination of Mr. Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russian Army’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces on December 17.
Russia “remains 5 settlements” to control all of Luhansk
TASS agency reported on December 17 that Russian forces have expanded the surveillance area near the city of Kreminna in Luhansk province, eastern Ukraine in the past few days. TASS quoted Russian military expert Andrey Marochko as saying that he had repelled a corps and destroyed more than 10 Ukrainian armored vehicles around Kreminna, adding that Moscow currently only needs to control 5 more settlements to be able to control the area. Complete control of Luhansk. On December 16, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said the country’s army controlled 99.3% of Luhansk territory. Ukraine has not commented on the above information.
West of Luhansk, Russian forces continued to advance deep into central Ukraine and declared control of the Gannivka settlement in Donetsk province, about 10 km south of the city of Kurakhove. Kurakhove is a strategic location that the Ukrainian side is also forecast to be on the verge of falling.
On December 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that this year the Russian army has controlled at least 189 settlements. According to AFP, Moscow is taking advantage of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions – four areas that Russia announced to annex and also set conditions for Ukraine to give up control of the above areas to create premise for peace negotiations.
Ukrainian army exercises in Donetsk on December 14
Meanwhile, on December 17, the Ukrainian army said it shot down 20 Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched at night. In addition, the Ukrainian army’s special forces on the same day posted videos of suicide UAV attacks allegedly targeting North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk province in recent days, according to the newspaper. Ukrainska Pravda.
The Command of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine said that at least 50 North Korean soldiers were killed, adding that after the attacks, the opponents set up observation posts to early detect UAVs from Ukraine. Russia did not comment on Ukraine’s recent statement that North Korean soldiers were present in Kursk and participated in the fighting.
The British Ministry of Defense intelligence agency said on December 17 that during nearly 3 years of fighting in Ukraine, the Russian army lost more than 3,600 main tanks and nearly 8,000 armored vehicles. The British side said that the above loss forced Moscow to put some types of vehicles in reserve, many of which were outdated, upgrade some of them and bring them to the front line for use. Moscow did not comment on the above figure.
Kyiv revealed it possesses laser weapons that can shoot down planes
Interfax quoted the commander of the Unmanned Systems Force of Ukraine Vadym Sukharievskyi as claiming that Kyiv possesses a laser weapon called Tryzub, with the ability to shoot down aircraft at an altitude of about 2 km.
“We can confirm that Ukraine is now the fifth country, if I’m not mistaken, that can boast of possessing laser weapons,” Mr. Sukharievskyi said on December 16, adding that Kyiv is trying to improve the type. This weapon increases its effectiveness and range. Currently, Mr. Sukharievskyi did not specify in what cases he used the Tryzub laser.
Laser weapons are considered by military experts to be a suitable option if they can be developed to have the ability to shoot down UAVs. This weapon has a low cost per use and can deal with the tactic of using multiple UAVs to attack at the same time that both Russia and Ukraine are applying, in the context of using expensive anti-aircraft missiles to intercept. Cheap UAVs will not be practical.
In addition, the Ukrainian official also mentioned that Kyiv is developing a “mother UAV”, with the function of carrying many small UAVs to create an advantage in the number of UAVs in each attack.
