Due to a special operation in Odessa, military counterintelligence of the Security Service uncovered two agents of the Main Directorate of the Russian Federation’s General Staff (better known as the GRU).
The assailants obtained information regarding potential locations and movements of air defense units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area. However, even from the outset of subversive activity, Security Service personnel uncovered the Russian agency promptly and gained control over it. Early in 2018, they were dispatched to Ukraine and granted a residence permit. By doing this, Russian military intelligence aimed to develop its own spy network south of Ukraine.