Topic: Law enforcement
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SBU detains Kharkiv couple suspected of spying for Russian military intelligence
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) detained a married couple in Kharkiv on suspicion of transmitting information about Ukrainian forces, defensive positions, and energy infrastructure to Russian military intelligence (GRU). The husband, a mobilized soldier in a Territorial Defense brigade, allegedly tracked air defense, electronic warfare and fortifications in Kharkiv and marked power facilities on Google Maps, while his civilian wife reportedly gathered information on Ukrainian troop locations and eventually reported directly to a Russian handler. Both face state-treason charges under martial law and are in custody without bail.
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Russian occupation court in Zaporizhzhia Oblast sentences Melitopol journalist Iryna Levchenko to 15 years
An occupation court in Russia's Zaporizhzhia Oblast sentenced retired Melitopol journalist Iryna Levchenko to 15 years in a penal colony on espionage charges. Levchenko, who had been in Russian captivity for more than three years, was convicted under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code after a closed trial whose substantive allegations Ukrainian sources describe as fabricated.
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Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles and over 120 drones overnight; strikes kill civilians and two police officers
In the night of September 3–4, Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine using a Kh-31 guided missile and 121 drones, about half of them jet-powered. Ukrainian air defenses reported intercepting most of the incoming weapons, but strikes hit multiple regions including Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, killing at least two civilians and two police officers. A fire at a Rosneft oil depot in Sochi was also reported during the same night.
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Assassination attempt on Russian general in Engels days after Ukraine notified him of suspicion over Okhmatdyt strike
An unknown assailant on a motorcycle shot and critically wounded a Russian Aerospace Forces officer on the morning of 3 September in the settlement of Probuzhdeniye near Engels, Saratov Oblast. Russian media identified the victim as Major General Mykola Varpakhovych, commander of the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division. The attack came three days after Ukraine's SBU and the Office of the Prosecutor General notified Varpakhovych in absentia of suspicion in connection with the July 2024 missile strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv.
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Germany to boost Ukraine military aid after blaming Russia for Leipzig airport drone attack
On 1 September Germany formally blamed Russia for a series of drone incidents at Leipzig/Halle airport in August and announced a package of response measures. Berlin plans to supply Ukraine with thousands of strike drones and Iris-T air-defence missiles in September, deepen intelligence cooperation, and push for tougher EU sanctions. Germany also decided to close Russia's consulate in Bonn and terminate the lease of the "Russian House" in Berlin. The AfD in the Bundestag called for investigating a possible "Ukrainian trace," putting it at odds with the government's position.
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Kyiv shootout between SBU and GUR erupts over alleged FSB plot against Chechen exile leader Zakayev
Ukraine's SBU said it prevented an FSB-ordered plot to assassinate Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled head of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's government, who was in Kyiv for Independence Day on 24 August. The case targeted Stepan Kaplunov, a Russian-national volunteer and deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) embedded in a GUR special unit. On 2 September, a shootout in Kyiv's Berezniaky district during a search of Kaplunov's apartment left three GUR personnel wounded. Kaplunov and RDK say he was abducted by SBU officers on 23 August and his confession was extracted under pressure; the SBU says his group attacked its investigative team. President Zelensky called the incident 'absolutely shameful,' an SBU official was dismissed, and the DBR and Prosecutor General's Office opened investigations.
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HUR warns of disinformation campaign targeting military intelligence amid SBU clash
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said on 3 September that a targeted disinformation campaign is being deployed to discredit military intelligence and its combat units, urging the public to trust only verified official sources and asking journalists to report any paid offers of dubious material. The warning came against the backdrop of an armed confrontation between HUR and the SBU in Kyiv on 2 September tied to the detention of Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov, and was followed by President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissing an SBU department head and calling the SBU–HUR clash "shameful."
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Danish intelligence warns of concrete Russian sabotage planning targeting defense firms linked to Ukraine aid
Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service (PET) publicly warned that Russian intelligence services are conducting concrete planning of sabotage operations against Danish defense-industry companies, particularly those linked to military aid to Ukraine. PET head of counterintelligence Emil Græsholm said Russian services are also recruiting ordinary Danish citizens through social media and gaming platforms to carry out preparatory tasks, sometimes without the recruits knowing they are working for Moscow.
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Tusk calls fire at Polish drone plant supplying Ukraine's army deliberate sabotage
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on 2 September that a fire at the Grupa WB (WB Electronics) drone factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna, which supplies unmanned systems to the Polish and Ukrainian armed forces, was a deliberate act of arson and sabotage. A separate fire at a JFG Composites aviation-components facility in Lublin remains under investigation, with Tusk saying arson has not been proven but cannot be ruled out. Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has opened a terrorism-related investigation into the Grupa WB blaze, and Tusk warned of intensified Russian efforts to destabilise Central and Eastern Europe.
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Zelensky dismisses senior SBU official after Kyiv shootout between GUR and SBU
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on 2 September dismissing Oleh Vitaliyovych Khramov from his post as head of the SBU's Department of State Secrets Protection and Licensing. The move follows an armed clash in Kyiv's Dnipro district between personnel of Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) and the Security Service (SBU), connected to the reported abduction of Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander Stepan Kaplunov.
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Armed clash between SBU and HUR in Kyiv linked to missing Russian Volunteer Corps deputy commander
On the morning of 2 September, an armed confrontation broke out on Yurii Shumskoho Street in Kyiv's Dnipro district between operatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and personnel of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Ministry of Defence. The SBU said its Alpha unit used weapons against an armed group that attacked its investigative team during a search tied to a joint SBU–HUR operation that allegedly foiled an FSB terrorist plot against a Russian opposition figure in Ukraine for Independence Day. Media and Kaplunov's lawyer say the shooting was opened by the SBU against unarmed HUR personnel after a handshake agreement, with several HUR servicemen wounded. President Zelensky condemned the incident as "absolutely shameful" and signalled personnel decisions and internal investigations.
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Germany accuses Russia of Leipzig drone attack on Ukrainian cargo plane; two suspects identified
On 1 September Germany formally accused Russia of orchestrating the 4–5 August drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport targeting a Ukrainian An-124 cargo aircraft. Investigators have identified two suspects: a Russian-born man with a Latvian passport linked to Russian intelligence, and a Belarusian-Russian citizen who entered the EU on an Italian tourist visa. Berlin announced retaliatory measures, and EU foreign ministers meeting in Ireland discussed tightening visa rules for Russian nationals.
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Germany accuses Russia over Leipzig airport drone, announces diplomatic measures
Germany officially accused Russia of being behind a drone incident at Leipzig airport that struck a Ukrainian transport aircraft, and announced a set of punitive measures. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany will revoke the agreement with the "Russian House" in Berlin, close Russia's consulate in Bonn by September 18, summon the Russian ambassador, tighten checks on Russian citizens entering the country, and step up pressure on the Russian shadow fleet. The Russian Embassy in Berlin will remain Moscow's only diplomatic mission in Germany.
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Fire breaks out at Polish drone plant supplying Ukrainian military; arson investigated
A fire broke out at the WB Electronics plant in Skarżysko-Kamienna, Poland, on the night of August 31. Polish authorities, including the Internal Security Agency, are investigating the possibility of arson or sabotage. No casualties were reported.