Ukrainian senior lieutenant who fled to Russia charged with treason

A Ukrainian border guard who served in the Zakarpattia region and supposedly fled to Russia has been charged with high treason, the state investigation bureau, or DBU, said in a statement on Monday.

While the DBR will not reveal the suspect’s name, a law enforcement source told LIGA.net that it is Ruslan Syrovyi, who last week was reported to have been a Russian agent and fled to Russia.

In the statement, the DBR indicated that the suspect "gave a long interview to one of the Russian social media groups, where he said that he had been engaged in subversive activities against Ukraine since 2014, while serving in the Luhansk region."

"The man provided the terrorists from the so-called LPR [Luhansk People’s Republics] with information on the location of Ukrainian armed forces units," the DBR said.

It added that, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the suspect began to cooperate more actively with Russian security services, including by helping Russia target their striked on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, law enforcement officials said.

The DBR adds that, following an injury last year, he was transferred to the Zakarpattia region and led a cyber defence group of the communications department of one of the border guard units, where he continued to "transfer data to the Russian special services."

The suspect allegedly fled to Russia when he found out he was going to be checked by the Ukrainian security service by illegally crossing the border with Hungary.

"The traitor said that his family had already received Russian citizenship and he allegedly plans to settle in the Far East, where he is offered work and housing," the DBR said.

If found guilty, the suspect faces up to 15 years in prison.