In a landmark treason case that underscores Ukraine’s ongoing crackdown on Russian infiltration within its state institutions, a one-time senior Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official has been handed a permanent life sentence after being convicted of spying on behalf of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
Colonel Dmytro Kozyura, who previously served as chief of staff at the SBU’s flagship anti-terrorism center, was found guilty of high treason in wartime under Ukraine’s active martial law framework, according to an official announcement from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. The conviction also included an additional charge of illegal possession of weapons, ammunition, and explosives, handed down by Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyy District Court.
Investigative details released by Ukrainian authorities reveal that Kozyura was first recruited by FSB operatives during a 2018 trip to Vienna, Austria. The contact laid dormant for more than six years, before Russian handlers reconnected with the mole in December 2024, tasking him with stealing a wide range of sensitive state and military intelligence. The former colonel was instructed to gather confidential data on Russia’s own force deployments and movements (as tracked by Ukrainian intelligence), as well as details of Ukraine’s Western-supplied weapons stockpiles, critical national infrastructure, and the whereabouts and plans of Ukraine’s top political and military leadership.
Kozyura operated out of a secret safe house in central Kyiv, where he used a concealed mobile phone and separate Wi-Fi router to maintain constant communication with his Russian handlers, including transmitting classified documents marked with top-secret clearance. His activities also included systematic monitoring of the aftermath of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian territory, reporting back casualty counts for both wounded soldiers and civilians to his Russian controllers, and surveilling core SBU command posts. Prosecutors confirmed Kozyura carried out his espionage activities in exchange for financial compensation from the FSB, naming his primary handler as Yuriy Shatalov, a senior FSB officer tasked with coordinating a broad network of Russian moles operating inside Ukraine.
The operation that uncovered Kozyura’s treachery, codenamed “Rat”, involved round-the-clock surveillance of the officer by SBU counter-intelligence teams, who tracked his movements for months before moving in to arrest him in February 2025. In a striking strategic twist, SBU officials revealed that even after they identified Kozyura’s espionage activities, they allowed the surveillance operation to continue while feeding large volumes of deliberately falsified disinformation to Russian forces through the mole, while simultaneously blocking him from accessing any genuinely sensitive Ukrainian intelligence. After his arrest, the SBU published an official photo of Kozyura in custody alongside SBU head Vasyl Malyuk, who led the counter-intelligence investigation personally.
In a statement following the sentencing, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized the gravity of Kozyura’s betrayal. “The colonel, a career officer in the SBU, had access to state secrets and was responsible for coordinating the fight against terrorism,” Kravchenko said. “Anyone who wears Ukrainian epaulets and begins working for the FSB becomes an enemy of Ukraine. Only the harshest punishment is appropriate for such individuals.”
This conviction is the latest in a long series of high-profile counter-intelligence operations launched by Kyiv after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian security services have exposed and dismantled dozens of Russian espionage networks across the country over the past four years, targeting moles embedded in government, military, and intelligence institutions as part of ongoing efforts to root out infiltration.