Security Service of Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is Ukraine's domestic intelligence and law-enforcement agency, responsible for state security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism and anti-corruption work.
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NABU suspects Ministry of Justice forensic experts of false valuation for SBU official's wife
Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies NABU and SAP have notified forensic experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise (KNDISE) of the Ministry of Justice that they are suspected of producing knowingly false conclusions about the market value of an elite apartment belonging to the wife of a senior Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official. The case centers on an apartment bought for 21.6 million UAH whose contract value was recorded at 12.8 million UAH, and on a subsequent KNDISE expertise that valued it at 12.3 million UAH. NABU says the experts ignored a recall of their appointment and backdated the conclusion, using the case to push for an independent expert institute under its own authority.
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Ukrainian Navy strikes Russian Borisoglebsk airfield with Neptune missiles, hitting six Su-34M bombers
On the night of October 15, Ukraine's Naval Forces struck the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Russia's Voronezh Oblast using the Neptune coastal missile system. According to the Ukrainian Navy, six Russian Su-34M fighter-bombers were hit, with President Volodymyr Zelensky and a Navy spokesperson specifying that four were destroyed and two damaged. Aviation support equipment was also destroyed, and fires and secondary detonations were reported on the airfield grounds. Russian authorities had not commented on the attack as of reporting.
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Ukraine's SBU dismantles seven illegal arms trafficking channels across multiple regions
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), working with the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the National Police, said on 15 October it had shut down seven channels of illegal weapons and ammunition sales in several regions of the country. Suspects include active-duty servicemen, a village council deputy and a local repeat offender; seized items range from Russian AK-12 assault rifles to nearly 390 kilograms of explosives.
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Russian drone strike hits Rivne university, injuring dozens
On the morning of 13 October a Russian drone struck a building of Rivne State Humanitarian University in the centre of Rivne, setting it on fire, damaging the second floor and façade, and injuring dozens of people. Most of the wounded were university administrative staff; all students were in shelters at the time. The Faculty of Music Arts building was almost completely burned out, and Ukrainian authorities opened a war-crimes investigation.
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SBU says it foiled Russian-directed plot to bomb military bus in Rivne
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) says it prevented an attempt to blow up a minibus carrying Ukrainian military personnel in Rivne, arresting a 19-year-old Kyiv university student. The SBU says the suspect was lured via messages on Telegram promising quick earnings, then directed by a Russian handler who sent him to Rivne to retrieve an improvised explosive device from a cache. The agency describes the case as the fourth Russian-directed terrorist plot it has foiled in the city since the start of 2026.
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Nord Stream sabotage trial: Kuznetsov's defense to cite two military commanders as witnesses
The defense of Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov, who is standing trial in Hamburg for the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, plans to present written sworn testimony from two of his military commanders, including a figure described as the likely organizer of the entire operation. Kuznetsov himself will not testify; his lawyers argue that as a servicemember he is not authorized to disclose details of his activities. He denies involvement in the sabotage, and Ukraine officially rejects the accusations against him.
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Ukrainian drone strikes hit Russian missile-fuel and launch-complex facilities overnight
On the night of 9 October 2026, Ukraine's Defence Forces struck Russian facilities tied to missile launches and rocket-fuel production, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. Three missile-related targets were confirmed hit: a branch of the Barmin Research Institute of Launch Complexes near Dalneye Konstantinovo-5 in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the Centre for Elimination of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles near Surovatikha in the same oblast, and the Redkino Research Plant in Tver Oblast. Fires broke out at the Redkino plant; the regional governor said no workers were hurt. Reports also describe simultaneous drone strikes on an oil depot north of Belgorod, the Ukhta refinery in the Komi Republic, and sites in Kaluga Oblast.
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Ukraine serves in absentia notice of suspicion on Black Sea Fleet commander over Kyiv apartment attack
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and prosecutors served an in absentia notice of suspicion on Admiral Serhiy Pinchuk, commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, for ordering the 8 July 2024 cruise missile strike on a residential apartment building in Kyiv that killed 13 people including 5 children. Investigators say the strike was carried out with 3M-14 Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the frigate Admiral Makarov and the submarine B-261 Veliky Novgorod in the Black Sea, on the basis of a combat order signed by Pinchuk. The notice was served in absentia because Pinchuk is in Russia.
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Ukraine hits Volgograd oil refinery and Samara Transneft hub in overnight drone strikes
On the night of October 2, 2026, Ukrainian drones struck oil infrastructure in Russia's Volgograd and Samara oblasts, hitting the Lukoil-Volgograd oil refinery and the LVDS "Samara" Transneft dispatch station. Ukraine's General Staff confirmed both strikes, and President Volodymyr Zelensky described them as a fair response to Russian escalation. The attacks came despite US pressure on Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil facilities.
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Russian drones hit Kyiv's Pivdennyi Bridge for fourth time in a day, paralysing cross-river traffic
Russian forces struck the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge in Kyiv with drones around 5:00 a.m. on 2 October 2026, the fourth hit on the bridge in roughly 24 hours and part of a wave of attacks that fully closed the bridge and restricted traffic on the Paton and Metro bridges. The overnight strike also hit a 25-storey residential building in the Darnytskyi district, killing one person and injuring two. The closures caused a major transport collapse across the city, with large traffic jams, rerouted buses and trolleybuses, and a Kyiv Defense Council decision to tighten bridge rules during air-raid alerts.
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Russia launches massive combined missile and drone strike on Kyiv overnight, killing civilians including a child
In the night of 29–30 September 2026, Russia carried out a large-scale combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine with the main strike direction targeting Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast. Ukrainian air defense reported intercepting 5 ballistic missiles and 155 of 188 launched drones. Two women were killed in Kyiv and a child died in Vyshhorod, where rescuers pulled three survivors from the rubble of a destroyed house. Fires and damage were recorded in four Kyiv districts and across multiple Kyiv Oblast districts, and 8,000 Kyiv households lost power before DTEK restored supply.
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Ukrainian drones hit Edelweiss-95 oil depot in Krasnodar Krai, SBU claims four depot strikes overnight
In the night of 28 September 2026, drones struck the Edelweiss-95 oil depot in stanitsa Novotitarovskaya, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, sparking a fire. Ukraine's SBU said it struck four oil depots in the region overnight using drones from its Alpha Special Operations Center. Russian regional authorities had not officially confirmed the attack at the time of initial reporting.
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Ukraine hits two Russian defense plants, oil and drone sites in multi-region strikes
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces struck two Russian defense plants in the Tula and Voronezh regions overnight on September 28, alongside oil facilities in Krasnodar Krai, drone-launch sites in Kaluga and Oryol, targets in Bryansk, and a target in the Black Sea. SBU units struck oil facilities in Krasnodar during the day, and Russian authorities reported downed drones and damage in Voronezh region.
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Ukrainian strikes hit Azov optical-mechanical plant, Ilysky refinery, and Russian air-defense assets overnight
On the night of 25–26 September 2026, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in Rostov Oblast — a facility linked by open-source analysts to several Russian missile programs — along with the Ilysky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, a Pantsir-S2 air-defense system, an ammunition depot in Sievierodonetsk, and a P-18 Terek radar in Donetsk Oblast. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the Azov strike was carried out by its Alpha Special Operations Center together with the Ukrainian Navy, using Neptune cruise missiles and Ruta, Palyanytsya, and Bars jet drone-missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly confirmed the strikes.
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EU extends Ukraine sanctions for three years but drops Usmanov and Fridman, prompting Ukrainian criticism
On 22 September, the EU Council extended Ukraine-related sanctions for 36 months until 22 September 2029, the first time the regime has been renewed for three years instead of the usual six-month cycle. In the same decision, the EU removed Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list. Ukraine called the delisting "shameful" and unjustified, and the Baltic states announced national sanctions in response. A day later, on 23 September, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned French citizen Martin Ryan, who had been sentenced to ten years in prison on espionage charges that France rejects.
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Ukraine strikes Moscow oil refinery and logistics complex in largest drone attack on Russian capital
In the night of 19–20 September 2026, Ukraine launched a massive drone and missile attack on Moscow and Moscow Oblast, hitting the Gazpromneft Moscow Oil Refinery in Kapotnya and a warehouse complex in Sofyino. Fires broke out at both sites. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called it the largest drone attack ever on the Russian capital. At least two people were killed and six injured across Moscow Oblast, and more than 400 flights were cancelled or delayed at Moscow airports. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the operation involved the SBU, Unmanned Systems Forces, SSO, HUR and Foreign Intelligence Service.
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Zelensky: SBU military counterintelligence deploys new drone interceptor against Russian 'Geran-5'
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on September 19 that the SBU's military counterintelligence created a new interceptor drone and used it successfully against Russian reactive "Geran-5" Shahed-type drones, including twice in a single day. Zelensky said he was informed of the results by acting SBU head Oleksandr Poklad, and published video footage of the intercept. The development comes as Ukraine faces an interception gap with faster reactive drones and is testing multiple interceptor models while seeking to scale up production.
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Suspected eavesdropping device found in Lviv mayor's official car
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi announced that a device possibly used for eavesdropping, containing an antenna and a SIM card, was discovered in his official service car. Sadovyi turned to law enforcement about the find and publicly challenged authorities to reinstall the device if it was placed there legally. The discovery comes roughly a year after a similar suspected listening device was reportedly found in his office.
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Ukraine hits Rostov airfield and Yaroslavl oil refinery in overnight strikes
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck a military airfield in Rostov-on-Don and the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl on the night of September 17. The SBU carried out the airfield strike, while the refinery hit was a joint operation of the SBU, the Unmanned Systems Forces, military intelligence (HUR) and the Foreign Intelligence Service. Russian governors reported no casualties from either attack.
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Ukrainian parliament dismisses Prosecutor General Kravchenko after he announced suspicion against NABU chief and left Ukraine
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada voted 317-0 to dismiss Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on 15 September 2026, one day after he announced suspicions against NABU director Semen Kryvonos and a person close to the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), and left the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky had suspended Kravchenko the previous evening. The dismissal comes against the backdrop of the 'Carthage' operation, conducted by NABU and SAP, which has exposed a corruption scheme involving officials of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG).