EMOTIONAL ESPIONAGE

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Spycraft, a podcast that tells gripping life and
death spy stories and the amazing devices and operations that
made them possible. Now, let's get started. In May twenty five,

(01:04):
Ukraine Security Service apprehended an IT specialists in Kristianifka Daniche
region for allegedly spying for Russia. The suspect was a
reportedly lured into espionage to the manipulative recruitment tactic involving
promises of a personal relationship rather than traditional incentives like
money or corrosion. According to the SSCU or the Ukraine

(01:25):
Secret ser Security Service, Russian military intelligence contact of the
man via a banned social media platform offering emotional connection
in exchange for sensitive military information. This approach highlights a
shift in espion RS tactics, exploring post personal vulnerabilities to
recruit informats. Now we know Russia typically uses a lot

(01:45):
of times what do they call that the Romeo and
the honey trap and the Romeo trap, and in this
case it looks like it's something similar. Tasks with identifying
Ukrainian military positions, including four fight areas and command posts
around Costiandovica. The suspect allegedly gathered information by discreetly observing

(02:07):
and recording locations during routine activities. The intelligence was intended
to facilitate Russian air strikes using guided bombs, posing significant
risks obviously to the Ukrainian forces. The SSU intervened early
in the operation, detaining the suspect where he could before
he could transmit to collect the data. He now faces
charges under part two of Article one point one of

(02:28):
Ukraine's Criminal Code for high trees and during wartime. The
incident again underscores the evolving nature of espionage in these
conflict zones. It has become much more sophisticated and obviously
they're doing something there. It's a little bit they're operating
in a little different capacity. So to kind of follow

(02:51):
up after being recruited, the man who was given a
serious task. He was asked to find and send the
exact coordinates of certain Ukraine any military locations. As we mentioned,
these were including these were including fortified defense areas. The
informant did not use any high tech spying tools. Instead,
he simply walked around the town in nearby areas quietly

(03:12):
collecting the information himself. He blended in with other locals,
pretending to go about his day while secretly scouting military spots.
The Russian military had a clear plan for what they
wanted to do with this information, so really a simple strategy,
and I don't know how often this would work. I

(03:33):
know the Ukrainians are saying that it's a harsh reminder
to stay alert, not to trust suspicious offers, even in
those disguise as emotional or friendly gestures. Out there, the
spy world continues to evolve,