A high-ranking official in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has been arrested on suspicion of being a Russian agent. While the SBU did not disclose his identity, stating only that he was the chief of staff of its anti-terrorism center, Ukrainian media citing SBU sources have identified him as Col. Dmytro Kozyura.
The arrest was carried out by SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk. According to SBU’s statement, the suspect—described as a “rat”—allegedly gathered and transmitted information to Russia on at least 14 occasions. These were documented through audio and video surveillance, as well as digital forensics on the suspect’s mobile devices and computers.
Szef Centrum Antyterrorystycznego ukraińskiego SBU, płk Dmytro Koziura, okazał się szpiegiem działającym na rzecz rosyjskiego FSB. Dziś rano został osobiście aresztowany przez szefa SBU, Wasyla Małuka. pic.twitter.com/70xfLddWWu
— Monitor Konfliktów (@Monitor807) February 12, 2025
Malyuk confirmed that, as part of the operation, Ukrainian intelligence even used the suspect to transmit false information to Russian intelligence services. “We practically had to live together with him,” Malyuk said in a statement. “That’s how we managed to document him passing information to the Russians.”
According to the SBU, Russia’s Federal Security Service recruited the suspect in 2018. He remained a so-called sleeper agent until December 2024, when Russia reestablished contact with him—by which time he was already under surveillance.
The SBU stated that his handlers were former Ukrainian officials who had participated in the crackdown on the pro-Western Euromaidan revolution of 2013-14 and later fled to Moscow.
If convicted of high treason, Kozyura faces a potential life sentence.
Over the past two years, Ukrainian authorities have arrested and prosecuted hundreds of suspected Russian agents, including individuals in government, law enforcement, and critical infrastructure sectors.
Malyuk emphasized that the SBU’s internal security purge remains ongoing: “No matter how the enemy tries to penetrate our ranks, we will detect, document, and detain them in a timely manner.”
