Description: Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy has announced that SBU (Ukraine’s internal security service) has uncovered several Russian spy networks and other Ukrainian nationals who were suspected of being sympathetic to the Russian cause. The SBU has reported that a head of department from a state – owned bank has been arrested, suspected of financing Russia’s war, while the spy networks had been operationally active in Kyiv, and Kharkiv. SBU also announced that a certain company from the Dnipropetrovsk region enabled Russian state – owned structures to build a laboratory for the development of nuclear weapons.
Impact: With Russian hybrid threats on the highest level since the commencement of the war, Ukrainian forces are expected to enhance counterintelligence efforts across all regions in the country. Russia would seek to exploit US and European calculative approach towards providing support to Ukraine to enlarge counter insurgency operations and conduct even broader hybrid operations to cripple Ukraine’s military and intelligence infrastructure.